Serene Wandering

In the months since we last posted, the best thing that happened was the birth of our grandson!   Grandpa has been babysitting one or two days a week!

He has also been trying to empty our house using Craigslist.  The stories we can tell!    Here are a few highlights to chuckle over.

Just today,  a man was very determined to be the first to buy our shop vac.  He came, purchased it for our advertized $30, and then sent a text asking Randy for the pictures so he could re-list it for $49!

Randy created a “feeding frenzy” with a couple of Natasha’s cast-off furniture items.  She had a very rough dresser and nightstand which Randy identified as needing to be completely sanded and repainted.   He posted it at 10:30 pm and eventually took the post down and turned off his phone so we could get some sleep.

Our son in law had an old dresser he thought should be thrown out.  Randy listed it for $40, and created another frenzy.  It was purchased by a family who came and purchased the dresser and five other items.  We have created a bit of a showroom in our living room with our items for sale.

Our dining room furniture was posted for moments.  Randy posted it, got up from the computer, and walked to the garage.  His phone rang with a buyer asking if we still had the set.  It had been posted for about 30 seconds.

We had a cardio-glide exercise machine and a bread maker that had been listed for months and price dropped many times.  For no apparent reason, they both sold in the same morning.

A buyer was interested in a queen size bed we had posted but we were at a basketball game that went to overtime.  The buyer wanted the bed and met us at home at 10:30 pm.

We have other craigslist stories but you get the idea!

Even though we are getting pennies on the dollar for many of these once valued possessions, it is freeing to let them go – with just a couple of exceptions.  My piano (that I have had “longer than Randy”) was given to a friend’s granddaughter who is excited to begin piano lessons.   My grandmother’s sewing machine that I had acquired several years ago was sold to a young woman just hours before the piano was picked up.  That was a hard day for me.

We have received several question about our RV.  I thought I would give a quick review on how we decided to go with a truck/fifth wheel combination.

Like many families, we have been tent camping for a long while.   As the years went by, and sleeping on the ground got uncomfortable, we decided to get a pop-up trailer.  That didn’t work out very well for a variety of reasons.  It turned into a nice boat that we enjoyed for 24 years.  We just sold it this fall.

In 2001, we bought a small Keystone Laredo fifth wheel.  We loved that trailer and it worked great for trips up to a week or 10 days out.  As we though about going full time, it became clear the Laredo was not the answer.  We started researching what we really wanted.

We have been visiting the Boise RV Show for many years.  Serene and I always agreed not share our opinions until we had looked at all the models. Four years in a row we both liked the Montana 3400RL fifth wheel best.  We believed it would fit our needs.

We decided to go fifth wheel instead of the more common Diesel Pusher Class A motor home and towed vehicle.  We will use our truck (or legs and bicycles) as transportation and forego the additional engine, transmission, and additional maintenance. We opted for the more spacious living quarters available in the fifth wheel as compared to a Class A motor home in our price range.

In March of 2012, we bought the new Montana 3400RL. This model has been the number one selling fifth wheel for the last 11 years.  That was a selling point for me since I reasoned that most of the issues have be worked out.  Also, we knew that feedback from their customers had been incorporated in the newer models.  As with any product, there are always slight changes that take place, and I already see a few differences in our 2012 as compared to 2013 and 2014 models.  

2012 Montana 3400 RL

Here is anRV dealership YouTube links for a 2012 Montana 3400RL:

Short video

We also bought a new 2012 Ford 1-ton (350) Super Duty diesel crew cab pickup to tow it.  We opted for single rear wheels, as opposed to dual rear wheels.  That allowed us to get a short bed, rather than a long bed.  Turning  and parking are better with a short bed, but it can’t tow as much.  However, it tows the Montana easily.

2012 F-350 Super Duty Crew Cab Short Bed

Combined,  these two new purchases were less than any newer Class A diesel floor plan we have seen.  In fact, we haven’t seen a Class A floor plan we like yet.  But we keep looking just for fun.