We're getting a new RV.
Two of them.
We go into lots of detail in Episode 390 of the RV Podcast, the video version of which appears below.
An audio version is available on your favorite podcast app – Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, etc. – or you can hear it right now in the audio player below.
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Why are we getting two new RVs?
As we explain in the podcast, these are unusual times. Higher fuel prices have us staying longer in various places. Campgrounds are increasingly more difficult to find openings. And inflation makes life on the road ever more expensive.
Those are some of the reasons we decided to buy our own land in Tennessee and to develop it into a private RV retreat for ourselves and our invited friends. We hope to do the same thing in Michigan later this year. And, yes, in our crazy dreams, we might even like another lot or RV land somewhere else so we can always be sure to have a spot where we can stay anytime and for as long as we want.
Those plans, which we are really excited about, are the driving force for our decision to purchase one of our new RVs!
Our Future RV Plans include the purchase of a 32-foot long Keystone Arcadia 5th Wheel!
In just a few weeks, we will purchase a Keystone Arcadia 3250RL 5th wheel. We first saw this beautiful unit at the Tampa RV Show in January. You can see how excited we were about it in the video we did touring the Arcadia 3250.
Honestly, a fifth wheel was the last thing on our mind when we went to the show.
In our many years of RVing, we've had a travel trailer, a pop-up camper, several Class B campervans, and two Class C motorhomes. We've loved every one of them. But we never even thought about a 5th wheel.
Until we saw the Arcadia 3250 RL. We were instantly smitten by the decor, the innovative way it was constructed, the massive solar and Dragonfly lithium batteries for off the grid capabilities, and the fact that one of the Arcadia models was named the RV of the Year for 2022 by RV Business out of hundreds of RVs they reviewed at the Hershey RV show last fall.
“Holy smokes,” said Jennifer's reaction to seeing the Arcadia 3250RL at Tampa. “Now I see why 5th wheels are so popular.”
We talked about it a lot. Pictured it on our property in Tennesee. In Michigan. On a cross-country trip we hope to take this summer.
So we ordered one.
On Monday of this week, it went into production at the Keystone factory in Goshen, IN. We hope to take possession by the end of this month.
We'll have lots more to show you when that happens.
But that takes us to RV number two.
Our future RV Plans also include a 2023 Leisure Travel Vans Unity FX
We can now report that a year and a half ago, we were penciled in to purchase a new Leisure Travel Vans Unity FX. Because of the Covid shutdowns and parts supplies, the lead time to get a new motorhome from Leisure Travel Vans is about two years.
We haven't publicly announced that because of all the uncertainty in the industry. We didn't want to announce it until we had a strong indication of when it would be built.
But we have now been told that we can expect to pick our unit up this fall. Pretty close to two years since we placed our order.
Right now, we own a 2020 Leisure Travel Fans Wonder RTB (for Rear Twin Bed) model. We like it a lot. We will sell it at the end of the summer, though, to go back to the Unity FX.
That's right. We said, “go back.”
That's because our first Class C motorhome was a 2019 Unity FX, on the Mercedes Benz Sprinter chassis.
Why did we sell and get the Wonder in the first place? We wrote a very long explanation of that at the time – CLICK HERE TO READ – but in general, we wanted to be familiar with the Ford Transit chassis, which the Wonder is built on and what has become a very popular motorhome chassis. Plus, we wanted to experience a gas engine. And to round it out, the rear bed model of the Wonder has a huge garage for lots and lots of storage.
The Wonder has been and still is a fabulous ride for us. But in the two years we've had it we have found we didn't need that extra storage as much as we thought. And that extra garage in the rear twin model comes at a cost: Towing capacity. The wonder can't tow another vehicle.
And over the 10 years of RVing, we've been doing on a half to 3/4 time basis, we've gotten tired of breaking camp every time we wanted to go exploring. The Sprinter chassis on the Unity FX will let us tow a car.
The season of RVing we are now in has us vowing to stay in one place longer.
For most of the past 10 years, we've rarely stayed anywhere more than a night or two. There was so much to see that we were always on the move from one attraction or national park to another. Now, we want to go back to many places we've visited and explore them in-depth.
We think the freedom of towing a car with the Unity and then using the car to explore will make it easier for us to get out and maneuver our way around various locations as we continue to research for our series of RV travel guides. Plus it will be easier to take a car into town or go shopping.
How will we use two RVs?
With the Arcadia 5th Wheel, we do plan a couple of long cross-country trips this year. But we also want to use it as a sort of “cottage on wheels” on our Tennessee and Michigan land and perhaps another location or two that we plan to use for extended stays.
The Unity FX will be our main travel vehicle.
And we'll also use it as guest quarters next to the Arcadia 5th wheel for other family members who will be visiting our RV land.
There's one more big-ticket item we still need for our future RV plans
It's a truck to tow the 5er.
And these days, thanks to the profiteering and price gouging of truck dealers, believe me when I say it's a big-ticket item.
So big, in fact, I think it's a scandal. We'll dig into that, in detail, on next week's podcast.
But not to leave you hanging let me say that we got our truck. But as we explain the process next week I think you'll be surprised at what we discovered as we shopped for the truck.
Our Future RV Plans reflect our commitment to the RV Lifestyle
As you can see, we're deeply invested in this lifestyle. As we begin our 10th year, we're probably even more excited about what's to come.
We'll have lots more to say about our future RV plans and we'll take you with us as we pick up our new RVs, equip and accessorize them, and learn all the ins and outs of towing a 5th wheel with a truck and towing a car with a motorhome.
Stay tuned. We pick up the Arcadia in just a few short weeks!
Mike and Jennifer's Favorite Places in Florida – all 3 ebooks!
We RVers may wander far and wide but it’s true for most of us that we end up with some favorite “Go-To” places – places that draw us back again and again.
Florida is one of those places for us. And we know it is for many RVers looking to get away and explore during the winter.
That's why we've created three guides, covering Florida's Atlantic Coast, the Gulf Coast, and the Keys.
Each of these guides is a seven-day guided exploration of one of the coasts. And each stop is a curated view of the best things that we’ve enjoyed on this trip and want you to experience.
Altogether these guides are over 300 pages of content!
Mike and Jennifer's Official Summer T-Shirts for you to explore
18 Responses to “Big Announcement! Our Future RV Plans”
Comments are closed.
April 10, 2022at9:12 pm, Ron Marx said:
Hi Mike & Jen, My wife and I enjoy you channel. I just ordered a new F150 here in NJ. Dealer is not charging over MSRP. My price was $2,500 UNDER MSRP. If I can help let me know.
April 12, 2022at2:09 pm, Team RV Lifestyle said:
Wow! Mike and Jen sure have not had that experience – though they are trying to get a truck asap – vs placing an order and waiting a few months-plus. Thanks for sharing this. Team RV Lifestyle
April 07, 2022at6:03 pm, Greg Locke said:
Mike, I just upgraded my 2017FX with a 315 amp hour Lithionics lithium battery and a Xantrex 3000 watt pure sine inverter. We have dogs that travel with us and we will be able to turn then AC for a couple of hours on batteries while we eat or shop. We tow a 2004 all wheel drive Honda Element and it allows us to set up camp and use the Honda to check out the area. We average 15mpg towing the Honda.
April 06, 2022at10:55 pm, Margaret Schulz said:
Personal, not to be published if possible.
We are still using our 2007 Chevy Versatile 210 Roadtrek, but fear we will not be able to continue with its various “issues” much longer. We looked at the Leisure Wonder a couple of years ago, liked it alot, but felt we could not then commit to purchasing. Now that the 2020 model is “used” we would like to think it might be more affordable now. Your unit is the same as the one we viewed, I think, and we would like to learn whether your unit is now within our price range. Please respond to above email. Thank you
April 09, 2022at12:09 pm, Team RV Lifestyle said:
Hi Margaret – Mike and Jen have had a lot of people ask about their Wonder but they are not selling it yet and aren’t ready to do anything until they know for sure the Unity they ordered is in their possession. Thanks, Team RV Lifestyle
April 06, 2022at8:07 pm, Kyle Johnson said:
How much will you sell your 2020 wonder for? Are you taking offers from interested parties? How many miles on the RV?
April 06, 2022at4:46 pm, E. Black said:
Why don’t you show a floor plan of your 5th wheel and your new to you whatever . Everyone shows the out side I want to see the floor plan.
April 06, 2022at12:55 pm, Lisa Pool said:
I’m wondering where in Michigan?? I hope to move back in 2 years and I can’t wait to RV there!! I hope you will pick up north by Traverse City and on a lake! Gorgeous area near Frankfort, Traverse City and everywhere in between! Once you determine where in Michigan, please keep us updated!
Lisa
April 06, 2022at11:49 am, Margaret Lind said:
I would like to be in to purchase your RTB when you sell please been waiting 2 yrs for new.
April 06, 2022at11:06 am, Chris Williamson said:
Hey, Mike and Jen.
I had a couple of things to ask or comment on.
1) We have communicated in the past. My wife Susan and I have a lot at the Woodlands and are having it set up very similar to yours. Mike Phillipi hopes to have it done in May. We need an electrician in the area to hang the box. Who did you guys use?
2) Congratulations on the two exciting RV announcements. We hope to take delivery of our 2022 Renegade Vienna 25VRML in May. I know you bought a truck and it sounds like it may not have been a good experience. I am a Ford dealer in Alabaster, AL, have been in business over 39 years, and never charge over MSRP, regardless of how “hot” the vehicle is, This is true for Bronco, Mavericks, the retro TBird in the early 2000’s, GT40, Shelby Mustangs; no matter what. While we do ask for MSRP on hot vehicles, we absolutely will not go over MSRP, regardless of market conditions. Please do not let the rogue actions of some dealers paint a broad brush picture of all dealerships. The press has been focused on the bad business practices of dealerships but it is certainly not true of all.
Thanks for the info on the electrician.
Chris
April 06, 2022at11:31 am, Mike Wendland said:
Thanks Cgris… we dont have electricity yet.
I am glad to hear you are ethical.
But in two months of searching, we have found only about 5% of the dealers we called – Ford, Chrvrolet and Dodge Ram – charge just MSRP. All the others we contacted charged extra. The worst was Gary Smith Ford in Fort Walton Beach Florida that charged $22,000 over MSRP. I kkid you not. I went through three salesmen and they all held firm, charging $102,000 for a new truck with an MSRP 0of $80K. Others were $15,000 over. The cheapest, Elder Ford in Troy, MI, wanted $5K over. On principle, I refuse to pay over MSRP. on principle. Both Ford and Chevrolet have warned dealers about this but the practice is widespread. I even complained to Ford about the Florida dealership. They didn’t seem to really care.
April 06, 2022at10:31 am, Stan Griffith said:
Are you planning to build some sort of tornado shelter on the Tennessee property?
April 06, 2022at11:31 am, Mike Wendland said:
no
April 06, 2022at9:23 am, Kevin Schrecengost said:
Congratulations on these exciting acquisitions!
Looking forward to seeing you guys in TN sometime in 2022.
“Kev_n_Nette”
April 06, 2022at9:04 am, Kathy Dunn said:
Congratulations! We were so excited when we discovered the Leisure Travel Van. We ordered the Wonder RTB and were anxious to hit the road. It has been extremely disappointing that we have no idea when or if we will receive our Wonder. We have not found anything that matches Leisure and so we wait as the price increases and inflation is soaring. We ordered ours December 1, 2020. We have appreciated all your tips and pray one day soon we will be on the road.
April 06, 2022at9:16 am, Mike Wendland said:
You will! These are sure challenging times!
April 06, 2022at7:55 am, Susan Allred said:
We own a 5th wheel and later added our custom built Sprinter. We love the ability to have a 5th wheel for the long stays and the Sprinter for the road trips. Initially we considered selling our 5th wheel after our Sprinter purchase. But later we could see the advantage of having both. We love them both for the type of RV’ing they provide.
April 06, 2022at9:16 am, Mike Wendland said:
Thanks for sharing that. We think it makes sense, too.