Friday, May 20, 2016

#WYFF - Shopping for a New Home


I would love to explore Tucson in-depth, it looked like a charming city. Maybe we can do this next winter or early spring.  We decided to travel home a new route - via Tucson. Our travel change was fairly sudden and we hadn't taken the time to discover who we knew along the way. We did remember fellow-chaplains from Misawa are assigned to Davis Monthan. We sent a quick email, which they didn't see. We decided to go ahead and drop by the chapel and hopefully catch at least Chris. In a strange quirk, as we pulled up, Chris AND Jen were exiting the chapel. Chris is on leave but had to come in to take care of a bit of paperwork. They were heading off on a 12 hour drive, and we had a long drive ahead of us too. We chatted a few minutes and said goodbye.

Why did Michael have a hankering for driving through Tucson? He has haunted ads, online shopping sites, dealers and forums for at least 20 months. This one had promise and we could see it in person if we stopped by Tucson. Twenty months ago, I thought Michael's hunt was silly. We've been debt free for nearly 20 years. We didn't want to spend our savings on a toy as we moved into retirement. We planned to be on the road a few months and then head to Japan. Plans changed. Doctors began to say I need to learn to drive our rig. I've been working on that, but the trailer is getting increasingly hard to drive for anyone...and more so for someone who has never pulled before. Motorhomes looked better. Michael wanted a Diesel Pusher/Class A. The more we looked, the more we realized this hunt would take a bit of time. Just because we COULD get a loan for zilliions of dollars, doesn't mean we think it's wise to spend so much on something that WILL depreciate.....as retirement approached we could see we would not have one before retirement. This makes financing even more difficult. ::wink::   More doctors are saying I need to learn to drive our rig....we know what we'd like to find having traveled in our trailer for 8 months.....a living area with enough seating for us all to sit in it at one time, a bunk for each kid, STORAGE, a bigger bed for Michael and I and I'd really like a bed that didn't require levitating to make....the small kitchen is a challenge but I can make it work.... Finding Class A DP with 3 BUNKS is a challenge. When we DID find them they had no storage (closet turns into bunks), had only 2 beds, were over 45 feet long, or were out of our price range. There is a nice one by Thor with bunks AND an over the cab bed...but it was just a bit more than we felt right financing.

This motorhome is a 2005 diesel pusher. It has 43K miles on it - not bad for a CAT C7 engine. It is priced considerably below book value. The owner had modified it, and the mod doesn't appeal to many (though he save all the pieces). I have 80 pictures - but why bore you, if we don't buy it?

It has four slides. Yuuki was offended we wouldn't allow her to give her  sniff of approval.  

The opposing front slides make a "spacious" living area. There is a loveseat (2 recliners really) on one side and a 3 seater couch across the way. The driver and passenger chairs swivel so there is seating for 7, as is.  But do you see what is sitting where the dinette should be? I wasn't sure I'd like it at all - but we are brainstorming work arounds.  This would give each child their own NORMAL sized twin bed. BTW it also has a FULL-SIZE QUEEN mattress. We currently have the Queen short they put in most RV's.  There is a third frame and mattress under the bottom bunk.  I'm thinking curtains or something for privacy....The kitchen is the same size I currently have. I'm not loving all the glass and mirrors, but would remove as much as possible. I'd love tile and not carpet - but I can deal. We'll get a portable table for when we can't eat or study outside. Alex and I will have to come up with a new early morning routine.....

Not sure why I have to sit in the seat of each one we try - maybe to give the illusion that I can drive our rig. ::snort:: But, I think I could drive this. 


Photo of the slide

Michael noticed a few items he wants  to adjust the price for or fix. We'd like to have a certified inspector give it a once over, so we know if there are more repairs we'll have to do. We need to check the price of registration and insurance and then see about a loan....which may be  a no go. Our income IS very steady, but the loan we tried to take 8 months ago was turned down as we haven't used credit for over 20 years....not totally true...we charge everything and pay the card off once a month. We were told this would show credit....but they want credit with a set payment that we would be obligated by someone else to pay off monthly.  The few things we bought on "credit" to build credit, we paid off early - also not a help according to our bank.

We are interested in this motorhome. Even if we can't get this one, seeing the layout - bunks without sacrificing the storage space needed for the extra people - gives us more options as we continue to save, shop and wait.

Other than that - we saw lots of road, saguaro and truck stops today. 

Yes, we ARE sleeping at Flying J again. We are looking forward to rejoining our trailer...but this works and is an adventure. We learned a lot from the trip out - and have one less person this time. I pulled out the sleeping bags, used the picnic blankets and window shades to block out light, and rearranged the luggage in the back so Alex can sleep back there....I think it will be better. We feel safer at a truck stop than at a rest area or deserted parking lot.  


#WYFF is sponsored by Fulltime Families. View more of our Friday exploits by clicking the #WYFF tab above.