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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 10:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

coachg wrote:
Stay at hotels when you can, sleep in your Sprinter when you can’t

I absolutely LOVE the opposite approach, at least in the western U.S. outside of CA: van first, motels only if necessary. Roll to a stop in a forest, desert, field, hospital parking lot (I ask; they're fine with it), etc., open the doors and windows to enjoy the breeze or wind, climb into bed, and go to sleep under the stars smelling sagebrush. No reservations required or needed. I exclude most of CA because it's disallowed or discouraged by the police; you'll need some heat at a ski resort; and there are too many bugs, too much rain and humidity, and not enough public land east of the west Texas dry line. Of my couple of thousand such nights, maybe 5 were in campgrounds.

Then when the sun comes up, I can just lie there and look at the scenery, sail, fix or buy breakfast, and/or step from bed to driver's seat and hit the road. SOOOO simple, SOOOO pleasant, and SUCH a smile on my face. Given the choice between that and a $500 hotel room free of charge, I prefer the former. Preferences!
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spennie



Joined: 13 Oct 1995
Posts: 975
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 1:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Airstreams may be pretty, but they're like a cave if you're 6'4" like me.

My wife & I have been doing the camping trailer & full-sized van thing for many years (20?), and it's hard to beat. All our gear is locked up & secure, and our trailer is nice & comfy. When we're in the Delta, we can just lock up the trailer & go into the city if we feel like it. When we're at home, the van's already loaded for local trips, and the trailer's safe in it's storage yard. The van actually acts as a storage vault for our WS gear!

Several of our friends have converted after seeing how well it works. If I were single, I might go for just a smaller motorhome, but a trailer has minimal maintenance (almost none), no engine or transmission to break down, dirt cheap to buy, dirt cheap registration, and no need for a tow car that's not suited to windsurfing.

The mileage sucks, true, but you're not buying hotel rooms.

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rlemmens



Joined: 09 Feb 2008
Posts: 206

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 4:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

spennie wrote:
Airstreams may be pretty, but they're like a cave if you're 6'4" like me.

Lol, I guess that's true I feel like I have plenty of room in it. I'm a little over 6' but have definitely hit my head on the doorway out Wink they even put a little foam along the top of the door for dorks like me. It's definitely less spacious compared to others but i figure if i go somewhere I won't be inside a ton except to sleep, cook, work and watch a movie at night. I know lot's of people with trailers and the trailers normally don't last too long so I sacrificed space for longevity, not to mention they tow so much better. But just like everyone has gear preferences they have camping preferences. 12 of one or a dozen of the other.
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J64TWB



Joined: 24 Dec 2013
Posts: 1685

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 5:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great post. Great tips. Especially from those who have experience with the road life. Thanks Iso, SB, spennie, riemmens! Wondering on ideas for a more permanent place to retire? Needs would be access to some body of water, warm(er) climate, near a small city or larger town, preferably with a university. Always thought the front range of Colorado would be good. Sunny, mild Winters, access to Mountains. Don't know about windsurfing. Possibly Fort Collins, Boulder area or Denver. Other ideas would Bend OR, or somewhere cheap on the ocean, so we could have a small sailboat as well? Chesapeake? Charleston?

Thinking about it since my wife and I are about 10 years away as well.
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J64TWB



Joined: 24 Dec 2013
Posts: 1685

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 5:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cali could be an option. Possibly the Bay area but very congested and expensive.
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schweitzer



Joined: 18 Jul 2000
Posts: 45

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 5:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you are going to be all onboard, i.e. no home base, you need to think
about where you would be leaving any thing you tow.

a large RV would command a high price in a park if you want hook ups.
Hook-ups would be nice option if you need it (like for Heat)

The reason I mention this is that you spoke of Ski Schweitzer as a place
to be, certianlly it is, and many do do the RV thing.
Right now you could do the rest of the season for $99
But, I am at Schweitzer and can tell you that you will not find an RV hook-up,
so you should be pepared to weather out the cold like it has been here lately,
-13 F / 35 mph. You could argue about the wind chill here ,
but it is about weather your exposed flesh will freeze in 3 or 4 min.
The lift ride is 5, should find yourself here then, you would be umong
many who are "Storm Skiers" You would find me on a snomobile,
assuring that your ride stays at 5 min.
Show up here, Find me, It would be great to meet one such as you who is
,as I am, avid windsurfer and Skier, who approches the possibility
of becoming "Full Time".

niemi@coldreams.com
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boardsurfr



Joined: 23 Aug 2001
Posts: 1266

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 6:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

frederick23 wrote:
Wondering on ideas for a more permanent place to retire?

Consider Cape Cod. You get 100-degree days for windsurfing from April to November or December and lots of variety in windsurf conditions. Significantly cheaper than the Bay area as long as you don't need a beach front home - but all places are within a 5 or 10 minute drive to the ocean. Hyannis is a decent sized town, other towns are smaller and more picturesque. We've moved here 1 1/2 years ago and love it. Many windsurfing friends are either in the process of moving here for retirement, or hope to move here in the future.
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U2U2U2



Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 5467
Location: Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania. Colorado

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

frederick23 wrote:
Great post. Great tips. Especially from those who have experience with the road life. Thanks Iso, SB, spennie, riemmens! Wondering on ideas for a more permanent place to retire? Needs would be access to some body of water, warm(er) climate, near a small city or larger town, preferably with a university. Always thought the front range of Colorado would be good. Sunny, mild Winters, access to Mountains. Don't know about windsurfing. Possibly Fort Collins, Boulder area or Denver. Other ideas would Bend OR, or somewhere cheap on the ocean, so we could have a small sailboat as well? Chesapeake? Charleston?

Thinking about it since my wife and I are about 10 years away as well.


Colorado::

Does tick all the boxes on your list, one day 20F next 65F. Lots of sunshine.
Mild winters compared to Minnesota, North Dakota. Well I known about windsurfing, you could sail a lot if you are prepared to sit and wait, lots of front passage and clearing wind events, some very pleasant days, theta if you rig a 3.7 or 7.3 chances are you get to sail at least one, sometimes both. Not what I consider a windsurf mecca, has a LOT of windsurfers who are dedicated to sail.

From a sailing aspect similar to Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico.

If your priority was Windsurfing..its easy. If not you weight your options.

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coachg



Joined: 10 Sep 2000
Posts: 3549

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 8:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

isobars wrote:
coachg wrote:
Stay at hotels when you can, sleep in your Sprinter when you can’t

I absolutely LOVE the opposite approach


That is because you only have to worry about 3 people, me, myself & I. I don’t have that luxury. My wife is a city bred Japanese woman who only wants to look up at the stars if it is out of a hot tub. All the hotels I book have to have a kitchenette. Not to cook mind you, but to boil water because there isn’t a hotel in America that has hot enough tap water for her to take a bath in. We are kind of the modern, multi-cultural version of the old "Greene Acers" television series.

Coachg
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 8:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

rlemmens wrote:
it's not ideal to load and unload gear from your motorhome since interior moisture is a trailer/motorhome's worst enemy (let alone salt). The trick to driving them is just going slow and taking your time, I'm only 26 so I don't have years of driving experience, but just go slow

I envy people with that attitude; it makes driving much simpler. The only things that finally slowed me down on the empty remote highways I usually drive were deer, increased police technology, and the threat of arrest at 16 over the speed limit. It has taken a significant change of attitude, especially when it's already blowing.

You're right that trapped moisture ruins MHs/RVs, but that moisture thing must be a humid climate issue, maybe compounded by salt water. I've kept soaked gear inside my vans and RV for decades with zero issues of any sort, but I have lived in desert climates since 1973 (and will never foreseeably live anywhere else) and leave windows open to let things dry.


Last edited by isobars on Mon Mar 03, 2014 9:01 pm; edited 1 time in total
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