We lived in more permanent residences in Arizona from 1994 until 1999. At first we lived in our Minnie Winnie in an RV Park in Mesa, Arizona for a year. Then we bought an older double wide mobile home in a family park a few miles from Arizona State University and gave the Winnie to charity. The mobile home was only about 900 square feet, but after the camper it seemed gigantic. After living there for about a year, we decided that we really didn’t like being in the city. We found 3 acres about 25 miles southwest of Phoenix and put a brand new double wide “manufactured home” on it. This one was 1600 square feet and had a master bathroom that was so big we probably could have parked the Winnebago in it. We planted trees, bushes, and cactus, and really enjoyed living there. Because of some problems with our contractor, we roofed, sided, and painted our garage. Then we started to feel that even out there in the desert it was getting too crowded. We had done lots of research on straw bale homes over the years and we really wanted to build one. Our new plan was to buy an older trailer that we could live in while we built a shop, then sort of live in the shop while we built the house. Besides, building the shop would give us some experience in straw bale construction.

We started the search for a large older trailer right away. Then after we started thinking about it, most of the places we might want to live were quite a distance from our house. It seemed silly to drive for a few hours, look at a few pieces of land and then drive home again. We thought that a small tent camper would give us a little more flexibility. So we bought a used Starcraft, practiced setting it up and taking it down a few times (we learned from the tarp experience that practice is very, very good) packed it up and headed toward Tucson. The southeast corner of Arizona looked like a reasonable place to live and we wanted to check it out. We pulled into a campground and cranked up the tent—and it came right back down. We cranked it up again and it came right back down again. The ratchet gear thing on the crank had gone bad. So we headed home. The dealer we bought the trailer from replaced it at no charge (thank you Kempton’s Travel Town) and a few weeks later, we were on the road again. This time, we had a good lead on 15 acres of land in Douglas Arizona. The land was gorgeous. It was beautiful untouched desert about 2 miles back from a two lane road. Unfortunately it was also about a mile from any electricity (we are interested in solar living, but not ready to go completely solar yet), and several years away from telephone service (that means NO internet connections—not a popular situation for us). We really liked the area, but it was too far out even for us. So we headed back to our little tent trailer and enjoyed the heck out of the rest of the weekend. We were staying in a wonderful RV park called Double Adobe. We have talked about going there again and probably will during the fall or spring months. It was while we were sitting there one evening after dinner that we started reminiscing about our camper days in the Winnebago. We both admitted that there were times when we missed those days. We also both admitted that building a house from the ground up had lost its appeal. It was then that we decided that we wanted to return to the full-timing life that we had started 6 years earlier.

We started the great camper hunt. This time we knew that we were going to buy a much newer unit and probably go with something much larger because we plan to live in it for a while. Again, we did a lot of research. I cannot stress enough here that the research is essential. You have to know what works for you before you spend your money. I have talked with several fellow full-timers who bought the first thing that looked good and have regretted it. The first hurdle was to decide if we wanted a trailer or a motorhome. For us, the thought process finally came down to this: if you drive a motorhome, you really need to tow a “getting around” vehicle. If your motorhome breaks down, you have no home. And, on top of all that, it seemed like the insurance costs would end up being higher also. After all, you have to insure 2 vehicles. When you tow a trailer, if your truck breaks down you still have a place to live. You don’t have to tow something to putt around in, and you only insure one vehicle. Insurance on the trailer doesn’t cost nearly as much as insuring a “getting around” vehicle. Once we made the decision that we wanted something towable, the next question was...

We started visiting every dealer in the area and walking through everything from about 25 to 35 feet long, including the class C and class A motorhomes. We did finally rule out all the motorhomes because they always seemed cramped—even when the slides were out. They never felt quite tall enough either. Gary is over 6 feet tall and always felt like he had to duck when he walked around in them. We walked through at least 100 units over the next few months. After all the walkthroughs, we finally decided that trailers always seemed to have the same problem as the motorhomes—they felt a little cramped and they felt a little short for Gary. So, finally we decided that 28 to 30 feet felt like the right length and a 5th wheel was the right style. We even decided on a Sunnybrook 28 footer that we like best. Now the next step was selling the house and determining what kind of tow vehicle we needed.

Some words of wisdom for anyone looking at trailers. Here are some of the things you may not think about while you are searching for the right rig—but you should.

1. Think about what you are going to use it for. How much time are you going to spend in it.? There is a big difference between a 27 and a 29 footer. Slides make a big difference too. If you only intend to use your rig a few months each year, it may not make any sense to buy a brand new one.
2. There are only a few standard floorplans. Decide which works best for you. Stand at the sink or stove and pretend to use the kitchen. Sit on the sofa and pretend to watch TV. You may like the rear kitchen best, or you may like the rear lounge best. You decide—but take your time!
3. Look at the construction. Check out the inside of the cabinets. Are they held together with staples or screws? Do they feel substantial enough to slam shut a few times without disintegrating?
4. Check out the bathroom. Sit on the toilet. Stand in the shower with the door or curtain closed. Can you live with it?
5. If you are looking at used rigs, check the ceiling carefully. Look for anything that looks like water damage. Check the inside of the closets also.
6. Take the time to look at many, many units. Each one is a little different from the last and you will learn to rule out those features that you don’t want or need.

The first question to be answered is Diesel vs Gas. Since neither of us really knew anything about diesel, we started asking people whose opinion we valued what they thought. We asked our mechanic, and we asked the people at the dealership where we saw the Sunnybrook. The overwhelming opinion seemed to be that based on the type of use we were planning, gas would be the smart choice. We both felt that the diesel engines are too loud and that diesel smells bad. About the time we decided on gas, there was an article in the April 1999 issue of Trailer Life Magazine that talked about that very question. The article basically explained that if you intend to put over 100,000 tow miles on the vehicle, the diesel engine might pay for itself if you find inexpensive diesel fuel. They seemed to feel that most people probably would not get their investment out of the engine. The test they performed was on the Ford diesel and the Ford V10. If you have any questions about the test, you can probably get a back issue. Here is their website: Trailer Life if you are interested. That article helped us make the decision once and for all. We decided to go with the gas engine. Then we looked at all the weight ratings and decided that a 1-ton would be right. My brother complained that if we bought a truck with “dualies” that he would be related to a redneck. Well, we couldn’t have that. Besides, after talking with a number of people in the truck business, it appeared that a V10 engine would be our best choice. The Dodge V10 3/4-ton was rated to pull enough weight to easily tow the trailer we wanted to buy, so that is what we settled on. There were no 2500 V10 trucks to be found in the Phoenix area, so we ordered the truck we wanted from Dodge. It is a longer wait (10-12 weeks), but there is a lot to be said for getting exactly the options you want. Now the only thing left was to sell the house.