Historic Charleston in 2006In February 2004, Tom and I got the bug to try RVing - we had attended a local RV show and it sparked some fond camping memories when we were young.   My experiences were the traditional kind - with my family in a trailer, his was with a bunch of guys out in the Canadian wilderness.  This was something that really intrigued us - we both love the outdoors and we felt ready to take our interest to the next level …but after looking at the prices we went into sticker shock.   Whoa - some of the RVs cost more than our house - so we decided it was best to rent first.  

Yep i guess we are wimps -
Rental RV but  we felt it was important to learn if we were truly suited to this lifestyle without going into hock and could actually live together in such a small space without strangling each other.   

In April of 2004, we rented a 34’ Mirada for 2 weeks and visited 6 different campgrounds in Georgia and South Carolina.   We had a blast and did not strangle each other - not once - though we were tempted to while trying to load our toad @ a Myrtle Beach CG.  Yea, I think we were pretty good entertainment for our neighbors that day.  We highly recommend renting before buying.  We learned so much and it convinced us that we did want to buy an RV someday. 

Our next step was to research the various manufactures, pick a floorplan, understand the mechanics, learn the lingo, figure out the financing, etc. To get smarter we spent about 15 months digging deeper and had (oops still have will always have)  a coffee table full of RV books, magazines, and manufacturer brochures.  We attended 3 more RV shows and even traveled to Harrisburg, PA for a really large show in the fall of 2004,  visited several RV dealers around the country and read & asked many (tons) of questions via the RV Net Class A forum. 

Our Allegro Bus @ The FactoryFinally we narrowed down our choice - to a 40’ Allegro Bus from  Tiffin Motorhomes  and we ordered it on June 30th, 2005 from  Kings Campers  in Wausau, WI.  What a great manufacturer and dealer!  We took delivery right after Labor Day in 2005.  This is an expensive hobby but we feel we have prepared ourselves financially to truly enjoy this lifestyle - or for the most part - it’s always a work in progress.  We are still recovering from the sticker shock.

Some say - our way is not camping.  We have to agree - not in the traditional sense. We actually call it touring the U.S. in style and enjoying a campfire as often as we can.   

To learn more about our RVing experiences, checkout the links listed on the side bar menu beneath “Go RVing” — or here are some quick links to get right to things…

Our Bus Pictures -  Many pictures - some taken of the Bus - while it was still at the factory where it was built and others taken - during our maiden voyage.

More Bus Pictures - A few more “interior only shots” taken in March - 2006

Bus @ Christmas -  Our Bus decorated for Christmas in 2006.

Bus Renovations -  In late 2007 we completed  major renovations to our Bus.  We hired a Tiffin Motorhomes worker to  replace the carpet with tile - everywhere except under the dinette and the raised area in the bedroom.  Tiffin lets you buy the tile @ cost at their service/parts facility but you must find your own worker to complete the installation.  In addition we  replaced the day/night shades with the new MCD Duo shades on all the house windows and all the valances were recovered.  The later two projects we did ourselves.   I don’t have a special section for these projects yet largely because I want to take some better pictures — but you can see some prelimnary ones via these links - just page to the bottom of both.   Tile —  Windows. 

Year 1 Recap  Year 2  Recap  - Highlights of our trips since buying the Bus. 

RV Trip Scrapbook -  A scrapbook i did of our 1st RV trip in a 34’ rental unit in April of 2004.

RV Rentals - Checkout this site for a long list of RVs to rent all across the U.S. and in Canada.  Class C’s, pop-ups, Class A Gas, Diesels,etc.  The process worked great for us.  After you make contact through this site, you work directly with the owner.  They offer a lot of pictures and good descriptions of what you must do to use this service.