# Ask the guy that lives full time in a motor home. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 6, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773 "2010-07-06T21:03:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/1 "2010-07-06T21:03:31Z")
A couple of people have asked that I post this. After I retired my wife and decided to live in a motor home and travel around the US. Ask away! ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/2 "2010-07-06T21:14:29Z")
Do you come to Tucson in the winter, along with the rest of your kind? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/3 "2010-07-06T21:16:53Z")
Where do you park it? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/4 "2010-07-06T21:24:23Z")
Are current gas prices a problem for you? ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/5 "2010-07-06T22:20:40Z")
Related to **Alice The Goon** ’s post, is there a sense of community among others in RVs, or does everyone socialize with their own friends and family? And while I’m thinking about it, is “snowbird” a polite phrase to use? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/6 "2010-07-06T22:22:16Z")
Is “About Schmidt” one of your favorite movies? Do people at RV parks really say “Permission to come aboard, Captain?” to come into your motor home? ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/7 "2010-07-06T22:30:46Z")
Will you adopt me? ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/8 "2010-07-06T22:34:26Z")
What happened to the ‘r’ in your name? ---
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/9 "2010-07-06T22:37:55Z")
> [@Alice\_The\_Goon](#): > > Do you come to Tucson in the winter, along with the rest of your kind? Our winter destination has varied quite a bit over the 8 years we have been doing this. Florida, South Padre Island, Bouse Az and Benson AZ are ones we have stayed at for a month or more. Bouse is close to Quartzsite which is home to over 500,000 RVers over the course of a winter. ---
**Author:** ![Tully\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ab992/32.png) [@Tully\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tully_Mars)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/10 "2010-07-06T22:40:37Z")
Why did you choose a motor home as opposed to a travel trailer and a diesel pickup? Do you have a tow-behind? ---
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/11 "2010-07-06T22:41:02Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > Where do you park it? We are not “boondockers” - people that park in areas without full hookups - water, electricity like BLM land. So we stay in RV parks. Cost is anywhere from $160 per month to $350 per month plus electricity. ---
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/12 "2010-07-06T22:52:11Z")
> [@cornflakes](#): > > Related to **Alice The Goon** ’s post, is there a sense of community among others in RVs, or does everyone socialize with their own friends and family? > > And while I’m thinking about it, is “snowbird” a polite phrase to use? There sure is a sense of community among many full timers however there is no common mold for us. Some are doctors, lawyers, plumbers, truck drivers and anything else you can think of. There does seem to be a common thread though - most are friendly and helpful - not too many snobs. We are not snowbirds as the RV community defines it since we full time and don’t own home to go to, but I am not aware of any negative connotations for the word. ---
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/13 "2010-07-06T22:56:02Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Is “About Schmidt” one of your favorite movies? > > Do people at RV parks really say “Permission to come aboard, Captain?” to come into your motor home? That is one I have missed. I will have to check it out. While we do use some nautical terms - dinghy for towed vehicle, galley for kitchen and shore power for the electrical hook up - I have never heard anyone say “Permission to come aboard, Captain”. ---
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/14 "2010-07-06T22:57:43Z")
> [@postcards](#): > > What happened to the ‘r’ in your name? Good one! I had to think a minute. I was a diver before I became a driver and didn’t want to change my name. ---
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/15 "2010-07-06T22:59:55Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Will you adopt me? Are you pretty and compliant? ---
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/16 "2010-07-06T23:10:13Z")
> [@Tully\_Mars](#): > > Why did you choose a motor home as opposed to a travel trailer and a diesel pickup? > > Do you have a tow-behind? Traditional travel trailers aren’t too common in our world. There are a lot of fifth wheel trailers though - maybe about half and half motor homes and fivers. There are all sorts of folks out there though that full time in everything from pickups with slide in campers to homemade things that defy classification and bus conversions. I considered a fiver but I didn’t want to have to drive a big honkin diesel to the grocery store or to dinner plus DW (dear wife in our vernacular) pointed out me that she could go back to the bathroom without me having to stop and that was a big plus. I do pull a car (toad or dinghy). I have a Honda Accord that I pull four down - about 65,000 miles so far. It gets about 26 MPG and seats four comfortably. The tow bar arrangement RVers use is pretty sophisticated and very easy to hook up without requiring close alignment of the two vehicles. ---
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/17 "2010-07-06T23:18:49Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Are current gas prices a problem for you? Well it can cost a chunk to cross the county since we get about 7 miles per gallon, but it used to cost more for oil to heat our house in NH. If we don’t stop along the way it takes us about 14 days to go coast to coast because we only drive 200 to 300 miles a day. It took us a little while to get out of vacation mode, into full timing mode and slow down. Usually we stay somewhere at least a month and then move on. ---
**Author:** ![FallFast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ba9def/32.png) [@FallFast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FallFast)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/18 "2010-07-06T23:34:28Z")
What state are you a resident of and how does that work when you spend so much time in other states. Plus, mail, where does it go, how do you keep up with certain bills like Ins etc. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/19 "2010-07-07T00:02:21Z")
Sounds like you’re driving a class ‘A’. How big is it? Make/model? Slides? We lived in our 28’ class ‘C’ for five months last year and enjoyed being free of all the “stuff” that was in storage. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773/20 "2010-07-07T01:36:19Z")
What are your contingency plans for a tornado? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-the-guy-that-lives-full-time-in-a-motor-home/545773.md?page=2)