A family on the road living fulltime in an RV.

Tag: Finding the Perfect RV

In Search of Our Nomadic Home – We found her!!!!

Our trip suddenly seems very real. Even Panada Express thinks so. We got most of our homeschooling books. We got our black belts.  (One of the reasons we’ve been putting…

Our trip suddenly seems very real.

Even Panada Express thinks so.

We got most of our homeschooling books.

We got our black belts.  (One of the reasons we’ve been putting off our trip.)

And…

…after months of dreaming

…and looking at RVs.

We found her, The Millennium Cedar!

Here she is being delivered.

Thing 1 was just a little excited.  He has been carrying the brochure around everywhere  since it was delivered on Sunday.  It’s almost odd.

Old and new owners.

Here is a quick tour.  I can’t wait to look for fabrics and paint.  This “hotel look” is going down, baby.

Living room

Kitchen

Since we got our black belts that weekend both sets of grandparents were able to join us in welcoming exploring our new home.  That’s my dad.  He’s awesome.  Thing 2 is back in his bedroom on top of the 3rd bunk Meow Cow’s bed.

Boys’ bunks

Master bedroom

Huge closet in the master bedroom (Praise God.  I’m not going to have to get rid of everything.)

Opposite of bed in master bedroom which will become the office

The WC

We are beyond the moon excited!  (Not about the WC…that would be weird.)  We’ve been searching for months. In the beginning, we were “CERTAIN” we were going to get a diesel pusher.  I wanted a vintage bus conversion.  For a few weeks, we seriously considered an Airstream but the bunk model we wanted was $35k+ and it was very small. At one point I said, “To hell with it, let’s just get a VW bus and go.”  That idea lasted all of 30 seconds.  We went back and forth.  After reading about other families on the road and looking at our finances we decided the 5th wheel was the best choice for us financially and space wise.  Besides, after years of driving a little Honda, Brent is going to look hot behind the wheel of a big ole’ diesel truck.  I may just have to get him a cowboy hat.

This month has been crazy and things feel like they are suddenly happening fast.  Reminds me of waiting at the beach to watch the sunset.  You wait and wait and just as soon as it starts to dip behind the ocean’s edge, it’s over.

We actually had put a deposit down on one at a dealer a week and a half ago but left the dealership feeling a little unsure.  It was used and in good but not great shape.  The bunk room was a little small but we thought it would work.  The boys were “meh” about their room.  It was on a Sunday evening so the banks were closed and we weren’t sure if we were going to be approved for a loan. (Oringinally we were going to finance the RV and pay for the truck and now we doing the opposite.)  When we got home I looked on Craigslist and saw a “2006 Cedar Creek with bunks and 3 slide outs”.  I had not seen this listing despite checking almost daily.  It was priced well below blue book so I emailed them assuming it had been sold.  It hadn’t.  The next morning, we called the other dealership and told them we had changed our mind.  Then I drove down to LA to look at the Cedar Creek with Thing 1.  With just Thing 1. (Good thing, I took Thing 1 he asked all the technical questions while I checked out the cosmetics.)  Brent was so busy with work, he couldn’t afford to get away which I meant I had to make the decision if we would spend every available penny we had for an rv by myself.   Ummm…pressure?  I knew instantly that this was “the one”.  I’m good at that.  ðŸ˜‰  Thankfully, when it was delivered to our house he loved it!

Now all we need to do is get a truck.  I guess we put the cart before the horse.

with  love,
Jenn

Share this:
13 Comments on In Search of Our Nomadic Home – We found her!!!!

In Search of Our Nomadic Home – Part One

My realilty and ideals rarely match up and the search for a nomadic home has not been any different. The Ideal We’ve been dreaming about this trip for a few…

My realilty and ideals rarely match up and the search for a nomadic home has not been any different.

The Ideal

We’ve been dreaming about this trip for a few years.  In my head, I’ve always seen us rolling down the highway kicking up dust in an old restored bus conversion or even an Airstream. The sun is setting and golden rays reflect off the worn aluminum.  Brent drives along wearing a cardigan with wooden buttons while Bon Iver or Nick Drake plays. My perfectly cherry red pedicured feet rest on the dashboard. The boys hang out together discussing whether they want to read or play Scrabble.

The Reality

Brent is not a big fan of cardigans.  My polish is always chipped.  And the boys torment the cat.

And this…

…the engine.

Brent’s response when we looked at a 1953 vintage bus conversion?  “You don’t have to work on it.”

We’ve been looking at RVs for a few months now. This was one of the first we saw and she charmed me.

I saw character. I  saw myself in vintage aprons. I saw potential.

Brent saw old.  Brent saw me with PMS and no privacy.  Brent saw work.

He’s probably right but take a look at this pad.

Only Front “door” knob

Groovy orange chairs

Built in magazine rack

Legit lighting

Swanky built-in toaster

Dashboard fan

\

I’d love to replace “PRIVATE COACH” with “NEWSCHOOL NOMAD”

Not sure about the toilet flush button.  Seems like trouble.

All of this for $6000.

However, at that price the toilet may be the least of our troubles.

More than likely we’ll end up with something newer, more reliable, more spacious, and, to some a little, “obnoxious”.  Despite my imagination, we are not posing for an Anthropolgie catalogue.  We are going to be living life with two young boys, two pugs, and a cat.  Living life means Brent is going to be working. The boys are going to be schooling and playing.  I’m going to be blogging, cleaning, and cooking sometimes with PMS so a new fangled slide out or two extra room might be nice.

Still a girl can dream.

And the search continues.

With love,
Jenn

Share this:
11 Comments on In Search of Our Nomadic Home – Part One

Type on the field below and hit Enter/Return to search