After completing the Great Loop, our plan was to buy a 5th wheel camper and travel North America. We went to dealer to look at 5th wheel campers. We knew we did not want a super sized unit. Our plan is not to go set up and stay for long periods of time. We want to see sites. Like traveling by boat, it is about spending a day or two in each place and then moving on. Maybe one day we will have a list of places we want to go back and spend a week. But for now we want to stay compact and mobile.
The sales person asked what size truck we have, so she could match us up with the right size camper. We didn't have a truck yet. She said; Well you really need a truck first. She indulged us and showed us a few different length models and talked about the size truck needed to pull it. We felt that something in the 30' range would be best for us. We left there with a 29' 5th wheel in mind. We had an idea of what size truck we needed. Soon after, we purchased a truck with a towing capacity of 12,800 lbs.
Now we developed a list of needs for the the camper. We plan to boon-dock as we travel along.
Boon-docking is camping without hookups, no electric, no sewer, no water. So I nice sized water tank and black/gray water tanks is a necessity. for Electrical we can carry a generator in the bed of the truck. We also wanted to have a bed that could be used without putting a slide out. The search was on.
After looking at a lot of 5th wheel models. We finally settled on a 30' Class C motorhome. WHAT!!!
We decided that the motorhome is more suited for they type of travel we wanted to do and had the maneuverability we wanted to be able to stop at roadside attractions. The Thor 28Z met our requirements. We (I) looked on RV Trader for the Thor 28Z. We wanted one that was a year old, less than 25,000 miles, leather like furniture, the larger AC unit, and pre-wired for solar. (Recycled leather is what they call it these days. Not sure what is recycled about it, but it sounds so eco-friendly. Which is is probably not at all.) We located units that fit our requirements in Texas, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Missouri. Missouri was perfect since we had a trip planned to Missouri in mid September. We made a deal on it in late August and the dealer agreed to hold it (with a deposit) and allow us to inspect it when we got there. He would return our deposit if we didn't like it.
We rented a car and drove to Independence, MO on Sept 10. The next day we drove on to the RV dealer and inspected the RV. It was exactly what we expected. It was a year old model, but had very little wear. We turned in the rental car and Ubered back to the dealer. We signed the final paperwork and headed to Branson, MO. for a three night stay. More about Branson in the next post.
We haven't come up with a name for her, but we are thinking about names. Let me know if you have a suggestion.
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| Parked at Musicland Campground, Branson, MO |
