The trail we followed to Our 'Custom RV'

by Jim Schrankel
(Olympia Washington)

Our Custom RV Home on Wheels!

The Day we found our 'future' Custom RV,
We were coming back from a tent camping trip, thoroughly soaked with all our camping gear squeezed into our Jeep.

Sitting at a stoplight I looked over and saw an RV trailer sales lot. All used units. Within a day or two, we purchased a 1972 21' Terry Travel Trailer.

The inside was all greens and oranges and all the colors we thought were really cool in the late 60s and 70s. Well, we changed out all that stuff and cleaned up the outside of the trailer to the point we had a darn fine looking rig.

One thing led to another and before I knew it, I had purchased, renovated and sold 30 more 70s era trailers. I really had the bug.

Then a friend introduced me to the fulltime lifestyle and I knew that's what I wanted to do. So for the past 10 years, we have lived our lives with that goal in mind.

Two years ago, I bought as much 5th wheel as I could afford and this past summer bought as much truck as I could afford. Our bills are paid down, and 598 days from now, the full time adventure begins.

The amount of upgrades, modifications and renovations I have made on our 12 year old 33' Alpenlite are too numerous to mention, but you can see most of them if you cut and paste this address:

http://picasaweb.google.com/alpenliter/ExtremeMakeoverRVStyle?feat=directlink

Most folks wouldn't go to this much effort to redo their RV, but this is going to be our home, so we are making it as comfortable as possible.

Still to come is the solar conversion, but am holding off as late as possible, hoping that our Presidents' Stimulus Package, will result in the eventual lowering of prices of solar as production ramps up. (Hey, I can dream can't I??)

In the meantime, we will continue to use our trusty Honda 2000. I've spent hours pouring over RV forums, trying to cover any eventuality, but realized that is impossible, so will just let it happen.

Like the cowboy, I have a VA disability, somewhat smaller, that will help with expenses and medical if needed. But boondocking will be the biggest savings that I can actually control. I was happy my wife found this website, and will be spending many hours perusing it.

Thanks Cowboy!