full time

[senior traveller 97]

hi everyone we are from the uk and looking to spend at least one year traveling around your vast country, we are hoping to start our adventure about this time next year as i believe it will take me that long to plan everything with help from you!, i am looking for any advice at all,ie routes, where to purchase rv? any problems we may encounter with visa's etc any help would be most appreceiated, thank you.

 

[LEN]

Welcome
A lot depends on what type of RV you want to purchase. Also new or used. We have a well respected dealer on this board and if purchasing what he has to offer I would recommend Grandview. As far as Visa I know several full timers from other country's and they are limited to 6 months. As to routes, winter south and summer north, there is so much to see in this country alot depends on what you are interested in. You have a good amount of time take it slow and do a lot of research. And remember you will need to learn to drive on the wrong side of the road.

LEN

 

[senior traveller 97]

thank you for your advice, we would be looking to spend around $18000 on an rv , maybe an older one with possibly gas and diesel,something like an Arrow, or even an older Georgie boy we are interested in wildlife as my partner is a very keen photographer, and i am a golfer, we also love all the historical sites, we are not keen on large cities but we will make trips to them but we prefer smaller towns with lots of interesting past, we have just spent 3 months traveling around New Zealand in a converted vw camper (a little to small for a year long trip) as to driving we spend a lot of time in France and Spain diving on the "wrong side" so this is not a problem, but i'm not sure about your Freeway's !!! regards Tony

 

[C Nash]

Tony 18,000 want get you much in the rvs here. Think you are talking MH. You can find units for that that are ok but will need a lot of repairs. Probably will need tires, batteries, hose etc. Lot to see here and we have some great National and state parks. Plenty of small towns to explore. Give us some idea where you plan on and maybe we can give suggestions on things to see.

 

[LEN]

With your budget I'm thinking a good class C like a lazy daze, a good one if you shop and you do have time is in your budget. They are well built and I have seen several Fultimers in them. Diesel is not in the budget unless you can get into the mid 20's for a good Blue bird but they are rock soloid and class A. you said nothing about a toad. Where a smaller class C you can get around to most places a Class A will need something to go for sight seeing but will have more storage and room in general.
Here are a couple ideas.

http://www.rvtrader.com/listing/1995-LAZY-DAZE-M-22-Front-Lounge-108397273

http://www.vintagebirds.com/

LEN

 

[toyzrus]

How about a rental unit? We see them all the time running up and down the highway.

 

[JCZ]

Welcome
A lot depends on what type of RV you want to purchase. Also new or used. We have a well respected dealer on this board and if purchasing what he has to offer I would recommend Grandview. As far as Visa I know several full timers from other country's and they are limited to 6 months. As to routes, winter south and summer north, there is so much to see in this country alot depends on what you are interested in. You have a good amount of time take it slow and do a lot of research. And remember you will need to learn to drive on the wrong side of the road.
LEN

Actually, we drive on the "right" side of the road. They drive on the "wrong" (left) side fo the road. How can the right possibly be wrong.....

 

[LEN]

Renting a unit for a year would be way over budget and no return.

LEN

 

[Cruzincat]

Normally, most people would not recommend purchasing a unit from one of the nationwide rental companies, but if you are limited in what you can pay and if you can get them to warranty it for a year, they usually have rental "stores" all around. If you have a problem you might be able to get it worked on without too much trouble. I wouldn't do this without the warranty covering the length of your trip, though. And you'd have to check it out thoroughly before buying it.

 

[senior traveller 97]

Thank you all for your very informative comments, we will take your advice and up our budget to $25000, that will give us a bit more of a selection, thank you Len for your idea but we are not sure if going the route you suggest with a "Toad", would be in our new budget?, Chelse we are not sure of any routes at the moment, but I was hoping to be in the South to start with, maybe Florida or somewhere warm, starting around the begining of April 2014, purchasing the van and then heading up the pacific highway? but i would be grateful for any tips and detailed routes and places to visit, basictly all the info i can gather to make this a great adventure, after all a year long trip from the uk will take a bit of planning and i want to try and get it right with help from you guys who have loads of experience,thanks to all Tony.

 

[C Nash]

Tony Fl has a lot to offer just depends on things of interest to you. April is a good time of year to start in Fl but it can be hard to get campsites at this time of year. Probably need to stay on I-10 and go across country at this time of year. Lot to explore from I-10. Give us some idea of what interest you and maybe we can better advise you.

 

[OregonEllen]

If you start in Florida, you'd be going up the Atlantic coast. The Pacific coast is California to Oregon and Washington.

 

[JCZ]

Oregon Ellen.....welcome to the board.

I-10 goes from Santa Monica, Calif. to Jacksonville, Fla......ocean to ocean and the southern most route across the country.

The best way to remember it is that the even numbered freeways runs east and west while the odd number freeways run north and south.

I've traveled the North American continent extensively on motorycycles with my wife and other friends. We've learned long ago that if time is not a concern the best way to see this country is to stay off of the interstates and other freeways and stay on the two lane roads. You'll really get to see and know this beautiful country and all it has to offer that way.

 

[TJFogelberg]

I 2nd the Lazy Daze suggestion - I bought a used 27.5 Class C Lazy Daze last Fall, It is very comfortable to drive and live in for 2 adults with 2 dogs. We tow a Honda CRV. Check out the Lazy Daze sites for more info. As to seeing America, be sure to visit Minnesota, especially the North Shore (Lake Superior). There is history, golf, and more. Duluth is worth a couple of days - one of the largest inland ports in the world. Todd