Information request January 17, 2010, 10:33:09 pm Yahoo Message Number: 109251My name is michael and I am writing to you for some advise. My wife and I are planing on relocating to Phoenix Arizona from Baltimore MD. It is a 2300 mile endeavor which can be a lot of fun. Now here comes the options: either we drive an Rv to Arizona or Share the drive with a more experience RV who is going into the same direction. I hope you can advise on which option to follow. You are more than welcome to share my email address with your club members. Our exodus date is April 19th 2010. We do have a 9yr old Beagle Dog that will travel with us.Any advise, websites would be a great help in our planning process.Looking forward to your response.ThanksMichael mathomas05 at juno dot com I received this request and answered it, but I thought I would forward on for others thoughts.
Re: Information request Reply #1 – January 18, 2010, 07:15:17 am Yahoo Message Number: 109254Quote My name is michael and I am writing to you for some advise. My wife and I are planing on relocating to Phoenix Arizona from Baltimore MD. It is a 2300 mile endeavor which can be a lot of fun. Now here comes the options: either we drive an Rv to Arizona or Share the drive with a more experience RV who is going into the same direction. I hope you can advise on which option to follow. You are more than welcome to share my email address with your club members. Our exodus date is April 19th 2010. We do have a 9yr old Beagle Dog that will travel with us. I'm not sure Michael has given us enough information to make suggestions. 1. By "drive an RV" does he mean drive one they own or does he mean rent one? 2. By "share the drive..." does he mean this RVer is offering to let him and his wife and dog ride along in their RV and experiment with driving one? 3. If they are moving is there a car involved that needs to get to AZ? 4. If they don't use an RV now do the plan to use one in the future? Are they wanting to experiment with one?Without knowing this background I'll toss out some initial suggestions: Unless you know the RVer who is willing to "share the ride" really well and have a basic relationship that you trust, I wouldn't get in close quarters for a 2300 mile trip. What do you know about how this guy will handle an inexperienced driver at the wheel of his RV? What do you know about how he(they) feel about a dog in those close quarters? What will you do if after day one he says, "This isn't working; you're going to have to find another way to get to AZ"? If Michael is really interested in experimenting with the RV lifestyle, I think the standard advice should apply. He and his wife and dog should start with renting a rig and camping close to their present home a few times before they head out on the road. He might also explore whether there is someone in his present area who could give him some basic driving instruction for an RV. (What size rig are we talking about anyway?) Over-all I have a bit of a queasy feeling about whether Michael has thought through all the issues for himself.Clarkie