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THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE HAS APPEARED IN THE RECORD July 24, 2002

Taking the RV plunge, once again


If you are a glutton for light reading, don't turn the page - I'm about to give you an update on my January 2001 column entitled, "Back on the road again ...but in what? " If you remember, the earth shattering social issue was all about whether we should buy a Westfalia or a 22 'Class C motor home. I figured after camping in our van we deserved some real comfort.

Take it from me, RVing is fun but buying an RV is not. Just deciding what vehicle is best suited for one's budget and needs can be a real hassle. The long and short of it was that we finally eliminated the Westfalia option. With no toilet and too much confinement for our taste we couldn't see ourselves remaining "happy campers" for very long. As for a small Class C rig, we soon realized that we were in a state of total denial. The reality of having to climb up every night to a cabover bed in order to sleep on a mattress with only 3' of height to spare and then crawl over each other just to go to the toilet, finally sunk in. While we survived in a similar bed in our Fifth Wheel when traveling around North America in 1998, it wasn't always amusing especially with Charlie, our Boxer, curled up between us. Besides that was almost four years ago and looking back, our journey had turned into more of a challenge than an adventure.

After months of indecision, calling owners and "inspecting" their rigs, we finally found what we were looking for ... or at least we certainly hope so. No, it is neither a Class C nor a Class A motorhome. To be precise we now own a 20' Class B, 2000 model with all the bells and whistles, including generator and only 35,000 kilometers. We've already nicknamed her, "the ambulance". For those of you who are not RV aficionados, a Class B motor home is a compact unit that looks much like a regular van except that it is longer and has a raised roof. Viewed from the outside, you would never believe that there is room for the standard features of the bigger motorized RVs. Madeleine, who had always been attracted to "smaller " recreational vehicles for the so-called "easy " driving, tried for months to steer me in that direction.

Aside my initial concern over their limited size, the other reason why I resisted was because, per square foot, they are generally pricier than their Class A and Class C counterparts. A brand new, fully loaded Class B can climb as high as $78,000. (Excluding taxes) which is the price of many of the bigger RVs. In a normal market, the cost of a three-year-old RV drops by as high as 45 percent due to accumulated depreciation. This year's market, however, is anything but ordinary. What with the many Baby Boomers taking up the RV lifestyle, low interest rates, the lousy stock market and increased highway driving since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, prices for used RVs aren't dropping nearly as fast. Some owners are asking close to the same price they paid for their RVs, three years ago.

There was one exception that I was particularly interested in. It was a 1998 Class C 21' rental unit that was to go for about $28,000 by the time the "N" th. "tenant" returned it at the end of the month. Normally the rental companies lease them out for as much as $1,400 plus per week and then sell their older models at cut rates before the winter so as to reduce their unused inventory. As expected, RV dealers cautioned us, saying that with so many different drivers and such high mileage there was a good chance we would end up with a tired lemon.

Then we met a character in the Laurentians who was the sidekick of a RV dealer. Like many professional drivers, his job consisted of buying used RVs in Florida and driving them back to Quebec to be sold at a hefty profit. While his boss was out for lunch he offered to find us a "good" RV on the "side" if we would agree to pay him $2,000 cash and not breathe a word.

By early July we had seen more than enough metal and fiberglass" clunkers" to fill a book. I was also much more familiar with Class B models and began to realize that some of them had ample living space. Slowly but surely I became convinced that certain models were well suited for couples like ourselves who like to come and go on a whim and occasionally make an overnight driveway visit or, during longer trips, boondock at the odd Wal-Mart, truck stop or rest place. Surprisingly, despite their powerful V-8 engines they can get between 15 to 18 mpg, which is not much lower than a fully loaded Eurovan camper. Two weeks ago, after returning home from one of our many futile "inspection " trips, Madeleine saw an ad describing a 2000 Pleasure Way Exel, Dodge 350 " all equipped" in "excellent condition", "stored inside " etc. When the owner informed me that it was still for sale, we agreed to meet him at his home in Marieville. He turned out to be in his mid 60s and extremely knowledgeable on the subject of RVs, having once owned a huge trucking company. Like many other RV veterans, he had moved "down" to a Class B because of its easy maneuverability. Due to his health and other priorities he decided to sell his "newer than new" rig. As soon as we saw his pride and joy, we knew we were hooked. Everything was meticulous and cared for with the interior reminding us of a compact modern sailboat.

Last Friday, we proceeded with the official transfer at the Cowansville license bureau and after exchanging a certified check for the keys, our two year-old search was finally over. Oh yes, don't forget to honk if you see our big white elephant. Oops, I mean ambulance, in Mexico, Maine, Florida or Alaska!

Next week: Rationale behind cabinet secrecy