Ok...so I am new to this forum and also new to the whole idea of living in an RV. I am thrilled to be here because I am already seeing so many posts about topics I have not even considered!! Thank you all for this forum as it is exactly what I have been looking for!

Now...

I am a single mother of two toddlers (3 and 4). Here are just a few of the concerns I have thought of ...any feedback would be appreciated!!

* family photos momentos - did you all take them or leave them behind?

* safety of living in campgrounds. We would definitely live in a campground - we have so many beautiful places here in NC and I will save the cross country stuff for when the kids are older. But I wonder about safety? All the naysayers in my life tell me that an RV is not safe and that we would be vulnerable to break -ins and such. However, I have this feeling that campgrounds - especially in this area - where RV folks stay part or all of the year - are likely very close knit and almost a community. Thoughts?

*Mechanical issues. BIIIG concern for me. As a single mom, the last 4 years have been one fiasco after another with car repairs. I cannot seem to find a mechanic that is both competent and honest. If I purchase an RV that is sound and has no known issues - I am sure that things will go wrong at some point and I am worried about finding someone trustworthy that won't take advantage of me. Thoughts? I have this idea in my mind that at whatever RV park we settle in....the other campers will all have this one guy they use and trust to repair their RV's and his name will circulate around the park. However, this may be the naive imaginations of someone that has never lived in an RV park!

Well, there are so many more questions but I will start with this. Any suggestions or thoughts you have would be appreciated and thank you

We kept one album of photos, scanned the rest. Not many mementos, what few we had we found/made spaces for in the RV. You may be able to talk family into storing a suitcase full of stuff, get a nice wheeled one that they won't have a problem moving and won't be an eyesore in their closet. Don't inflict a flimsy cardboard box or a loose pile of stuff on them! Grandparents are a soft touch if you mention you are saving the stuff for the grand kids and they could come by and play with it when you are near.

Safety in campgrounds is entirely up to you, if you stay in safe campgrounds you'll not have issues, if you stay unsafe places you'll likely regret it. Safe and unsafe places exist almost everywhere and a spot can move from one category to the other in just a few months. If you aren't sure start off with something like the Escapees "Days End" list that has a lot of good spots for free or cheap and their "discount Directory" that has a bit more expensive spots. Follow that up with a web search of the campground and the community where it is located and see if there are any issues mentioned.

A few examples, we wanted to stay near family in Yakima Washington, found a park near them but the web search made it clear we wanted to avoid it. Found three other parks nearby that were a lot safer and had a nice stay. In Montana we had stayed in Columbus at their free park on the Yellowstone river for many years, gave it a quick search before heading that direction and found several reports of drug deals and a problem with a group of homeless folks that had moved in. Found a spot across town to stay for the night that was just fine. Looking for a free spot along the Arizona Mexico border, found one area that had a lot of problems with border crossers of several sorts, wasn't far to another spot that was off the crossing route and had no mention of any issues. Stayed close to the RV for a couple days to keep an eye on things and when we felt that there was no problem went back to our usual activities.

As to break-ins, unless you have a fancy home alarm, reinforced doors and windows bars your house/apartment is no harder to break into than an RV. Actually the RV is likely safer as you are closer to neighbors in an RV park and RVers tend to watch out for neighbors a lot better than many neighborhoods. The only thefts we saw in over 10 years of fulltiming were idiots that left expensive stuff sitting in plain view in remote locations. One fellow left a $600 generator that could be picked up with one hand sitting on the side of the road, came home and DUH it was gone! The other was not quite as bad, he lost a fancy new hitch, again at a remote location because he used a $5.00 pin to secure it rather than a $20.00 lock. Not really a DUH situation as they are rarely stolen but still skipping the locking option wasn't a great decision.

Mechanical issues are a problem for everyone, way too many folks out there are crooked or just don't have the promised skills. We used the Day's End list to see if someone was near us and followed that up by talking to the campground staff about who local was good. On the road you have a bit less of a choice but if you can get on-line a web search is going to be a big help. Pay with a credit card from a trusted institution so you have some leverage if you feel cheated. Get a written estimate and make it clear that you will be consulted if the cost goes up by more than 10%. I'm not a big fan of them but in your case an extended warranty might be a good option. Just tread carefully, make sure every step they require is done in the required order or there is a good chance your claim will be denied.

Stanley has given excellent advice. We did scan in all of our family pictures, taking only a few albums with us and storing the others with our adult son. (We are older than you. )

RV parks are some of the most crime free areas of the country. While there is always some risk, I can think of nowhere that the risk would be less.

  On 8/5/2016 at 9:42 AM, Stanley P. Miller said:

"We kept one album of photos, scanned the rest. Not many mementos, what few we had we found/made spaces for in the RV. You may be able to talk family into storing a suitcase full of stuff, get a nice wheeled one that they won't have a problem moving and won't be an eyesore in their closet. Don't inflict a flimsy cardboard box or a loose pile of stuff on them! Grandparents are a soft touch if you mention you are saving the stuff for the grand kids and they could come by and play with it when you are near."

 

Love this idea!! Thank you

 

 

 

 

"As to break-ins, unless you have a fancy home alarm, reinforced doors and windows bars your house/apartment is no harder to break into than an RV. Actually the RV is likely safer as you are closer to neighbors in an RV park and RVers tend to watch out for neighbors a lot better than many neighborhoods. "

 

Awesome! That is what I had hoped to hear <3

 

 

 

  On 8/5/2016 at 6:50 PM, Kirk said:

Stanley has given excellent advice. We did scan in all of our family pictures, taking only a few albums with us and storing the others with our adult son. (We are older than you. )

 

RV parks are some of the most crime free areas of the country. While there is always some risk, I can think of nowhere that the risk would be less.

I am so relieved to hear that...I really let people get into my head but I just knew deep down that this was right and therefore we would be safe. Thanks for responding you guys are so helpful!

Also - thank you Stanley for the tip about the mechanics - I am going to check this list out that you keep referencing as well

  On 8/5/2016 at 9:44 PM, mindfulmama said:

 

Also - thank you Stanley for the tip about the mechanics - I am going to check this list out that you keep referencing as well

It's the Day's End listing of free and inexpensive ($15 and under) places to stay. As part of these listings, there's also a "Good Guys" list that lists mechanics and other services people have used in their travels.

You must be an Escapees member to have access to the Day's End. Here's the Escapee's page that gives price and contact information:

https://www.escapees.com/parking/overnight-parking

Or, go to http://www.daysenddirectory.com/ .

Here is a link to some info from the Escapees Discount Directory: https://escapees.com/parking/travel-guide/park-feedback

Escapees parks info is available from the left side menu on that page too.

Check out this site for service when needed. Wish more people would give a review so it would help others. Quite often in parks, there will be local mobile service guys. They are good to use and usually more reasonable than taking the RV in at a service center. Good luck!

http://rvservicereviews.com/Index.asp

Be alert and watch what goes on around you. In many places you may see a lot of gray hair.

Safe Travels!