{"id":647,"date":"2014-10-28T15:12:44","date_gmt":"2014-10-28T15:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/?p=647"},"modified":"2014-10-28T21:39:18","modified_gmt":"2014-10-28T21:39:18","slug":"your-incomplete-guide-to-buying-a-used-rv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2014\/10\/28\/your-incomplete-guide-to-buying-a-used-rv\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Incomplete Guide to Buying a Used RV"},"content":{"rendered":"

I think our marriage has a pretty typical division of domestic labor: my husband is generally in charge of purchasing the automotive needs of the family, my job is to drive the kids around thousands of miles while crushing Goldfish crackers all over the back seat. It works for us.<\/p>\n

So it was pretty out of character for both of us when I suggested that I do the research and purchase a used RV for our family, and that he consented. (Which probably means he thought I said, \u201cTV,\u201d but whatever.)<\/p>\n

As a person who is not inclined to think mechanically about anything, this was a definite challenge, but I felt up to the task, and spent about 2 months researching before narrowing down the choices, going to several lots across state borders, and finally finding \u201cthe one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because I\u2019m helpful, I\u2019ve compiled some tips on my purchasing experience, so you\u2019ll know what not to do if you\u2019re ever in the market for a motorhome of your own.<\/p>\n

1.) You have never known the depths of inadequacy until you\u2019ve tried to retract an RV awning. Factor in the cost of extensive psychotherapy into the sales price.<\/p>\n

2.) Be mindful when test-driving that Cousin Eddie jokes fall flat, Thelma and Louise jokes: flatter.<\/p>\n

3.) The person who designed all Courtyard motel rooms from 1983-89 went on to decorate every motorhome since. I assume.<\/p>\n

4.) Your salesman doesn\u2019t know what Pinterest is. Or email. Or the Internet. The office manager is a guy named Gutenberg who still deals in carbon tissue paper and rotary phones.<\/p>\n

5.) You don’t need a special drivers license to drive a Class C motor home. Not even if you beg and plead because your original photo from the DMV looks like a tragic Frida Kahlo self portrait.<\/p>\n

6.) When they say that a unit sleeps 8, make sure they are referring to humans and not hobbits.<\/p>\n

7.) Patient Zero convalesces on a used RV mattress. Replace accordingly. <\/p>\n

8.) An RV can get 18-22 miles per gallon. Oh wait. Check that. They use<\/em> 20 gallons to run the coffee maker and dome light at the same time.<\/p>\n

9.) When the dealer refers to \u201cblackwater\u201d and \u201cgreywater\u201d tanks, it has nothing to do with fall fashion trends.<\/p>\n

10.) Speaking of backwater, typical division of domestic duties should resume the moment this needs emptying. <\/p>\n

11.) It takes a lot more Goldfish to decorate a 31 foot motorhome.<\/p>\n

\"She<\/a>
She doesn’t have a name yet, so we will just call her, “Ours.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a92014 Tracey Henry<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I think our marriage has a pretty typical division of domestic labor: my husband is generally in charge of purchasing the automotive needs of the family, my job is to drive the kids around thousands of miles while crushing Goldfish crackers all over the back seat. It works for us. So it was pretty out […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[2],"tags":[98],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3NIOM-ar","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":817,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2018\/07\/06\/road-warriors\/","url_meta":{"origin":647,"position":0},"title":"Road Warriors","date":"July 6, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Guys, Louise is in an RV mechanics chat room right now diagnosing why the front floorboards are 437 degrees. She just asked for my PayPal password. She is reading responses from Pearl, Gene and Tito. She is flipping through the RV manual and saying words I don't understand like, \"alternator\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":665,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2016\/04\/25\/faqs-about-our-upcoming-summer-plans-without-the-qs-only-the-as\/","url_meta":{"origin":647,"position":1},"title":"FAQ\u2019s About Our Upcoming Summer Plans Without the Q\u2019s, only the A\u2019s","date":"April 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"~Three weeks, 3700 miles to two western National Parks through thirteen states in an RV with 9 kids and 48 bottles of vodka. ~I don\u2019t really like to use the term \u201ccrazy,\u201d I prefer \u201cinappropriately optimistic.\u201d ~Not quite \u201ccamping\u201d and certainly not \u201cglamping\u201d\u2014with that many people in a 32 foot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":876,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2019\/07\/03\/on-the-road-again\/","url_meta":{"origin":647,"position":2},"title":"On the Road Again","date":"July 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Greetings, Fellow Adventurers! If you recall from our last episode, the caravan of 15--because obviously that is the best number in a traveling party--made its way around the Northeast, at times even crossing international borders. A fabulous time was had by all. This summer, the menfolk feedback from Louise and\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 3 comments","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":782,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2018\/06\/26\/the-packing-list\/","url_meta":{"origin":647,"position":3},"title":"The Packing List","date":"June 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"1. Clothes and stuff Me: Even if we do laundry twice during the trip, that makes about 90 T-shirts and 180 socks just for reference. Butch: Over\/under that we return with 11 of the original sock total? Me: Under is how that works. 2. Outdoor Movie System with 70' Screen\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":705,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2016\/07\/22\/day-15-keepin-it-real\/","url_meta":{"origin":647,"position":4},"title":"Day 15. Keepin’ it real","date":"July 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Day 15 We piled the 13 of us back into the RV this morning while it was still dark. It instantly felt like being snatched from the bosom of our West Yellowstone sanctuary and hurdled onto the harsh Interstate abyss. I can describe what reentry is like to you only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":713,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2016\/07\/26\/18\/","url_meta":{"origin":647,"position":5},"title":"18","date":"July 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Today it was Thelma and Louise vs. Day 18. Day 18 lulled us into a false sense of security during the long, smooth ride from Minneapolis across the green fields of Wisconsin on our way to our final destination of Chicago. Day 18 gave us no traffic, clear roads and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":650,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647\/revisions\/650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}