Introduce Yourself

[markopolo]

What type of Van do you have? Where are you from? Are you looking into getting a Class B RV? How long have you been RVing?

You can Introduce Yourself here.

[Bruce Campbell]

Hi! I own a 2005 Gulfstream Vista Cruiser (since October) and have done some Van Camping for the past 6 years. My family and I travelled cross county for five weeks (from Cazenovia, NY to California). I will be retiring from teaching in June and plan to travel to California this summer (taking our daughter to college) then return to NY by way of Route 66 to Oklahoma then home. I have driven the VC MB on several short trips this fall and did get 22-23 mpg. I have alot to learn about all the equipment in the Van and want to thank you and all your forum members for all the helpful information. RV.net, Gulfstream and Classbforum have suppied many answers for my many questions. Thanks again and Merry Christmas to all!

Bruce Campbell (brucec315@gmail.com)

[markopolo]

Thanks for getting this thread going Bruce.

My wife and I were out for a walk one day and saw a Roadtrek parked at the curb. I thought it was great looking van. I remembered the name later and looked it up on the web. I was amazed to find out it had a shower etc. That started our interest in Class B RV's.

Like Bruce, I find forums to be a fantastic source of information. I spent hours searching and reading posts on the Roadtrek Yahoo Group and RV.net before purchasing my van.

I remember feeling overwhelmed by all of the equipment and processes involved in care and use of an RV although the first trip went well. It probably took me a year to really understand it all.

[Jardinier]

Hi guys,

I'm from Quebec City and have been driving a 1998 Roadtrek Versatile 200 for four years now. It only had 30 000 miles and an extended guaranty. I added an Onan 2800 generator and made a couple a changes you can see at http://www3.sympatico.ca/danielle_pa...k_pictures.htm. The latest mod was a rear video camera just to be safer.

I'm retired since last July (my wife is still working) and enjoy it. I've worked for the Government of Quebec for the past 35 years quite close to the political inner loops. At 58, I still feel in perfect shape and plan to travel more than I did in the past. We travel in our RT on the East coast of Canada and the USA.

Somewhere around the beginning of February 07, I'll be leaving for the south of the USA in my RT and our Lhassa Apso. I expect spending 2 months down there working on 2 book projects (one in English and the other in French). If I stay here, I'll only be working on the house.

After that, I'll be crossing the USA and catch up with my DW in Puerto Vallarte for a month (end of April). Our son works there and his wife is expecting a baby. We'll lend a hand. She will fly back to Quebec while I'll be again crossing the USA and head back home.

[wilburleft]

Hi folks,

I'm live in Miami, FL half time, and Prudhoe Bay, Alaska the other half. I work a two weeks on, two weeks off schedule in the oilfield. My dream is to sell the house, get a B van, and travel the country, especially out west, with my hang glider on my time off.

I don't have my moho yet. But like marcopolo did, I've been doing a lot of research, and the B is definately for me. I really like the RT 190P and the SS Agile, but leaning toward the Agile. I'll have my house on the market by the end of Feb. Once it sells, I'll get my van! Maybe before if I can get the loan.

Hope to meet you on the road.

Bill

[rv-n-agin]

Hi everybody,
I live in western Michigan and have been rv-n on and off since high school when I converted a 1949 Dodge school bus into my first rv. Since then I have owned a Class A, a class C, a truck camper and now a class B 92 Roadtrek Independent. Each rv I've owned served its purpose for the needs at that time but I've never enjoyed any rv as much as this Roadtrek. We have never been "campers" per se but mainly 'tourers' and now being empty nesters this "B" fits our lifestyle perfectly. Being self employed (builder, developer, Realtor) in my first career, it was hard to schedule vacations. (Being my own boss made me a bugger to work for) Now in my second part time career (Township building and zoning administrator) I have a little more time for this. This "B" is always ready to go on quick overnighters or 2-3 day weekends even when winterized. I love puttering in my shop and owning an older model rv makes me more likely to try renovations and improvements than with a new rv. Thank you Markopolo for starting this site.
Rv-n-agin

[julievojo]

Chino and Julie here, from Pine Island MN. We've had our B for 2 1/2 years. It's our first RV - although Chino travelled all over Mexico in an RV with a band back in the 80's. (Not sure that I believe ALL his stories however....)

We have the Pleasureway Plateau. We bought it new and have put about 55,000 miles on it. We are also "travelers", rarely staying more than one night at any location. This makes the B perfect for the 2 of us. Since the kids have grown up and moved out on their own, there are more tents or sleeping on the ground for us! We especially like to travel out toward the Pacific Northwest coastal areas, in addition to the 4Corners area.

We have met some great people through these RV forums!

We're both photography nuts, so photos of our travels are online. If anyone would like to have the link, please send me a PM and I'll send you the URL.

Happy New Year and Happy Travels to all!

[sschwartzos2bbs]

My name is Stu. I live with my wife and dog in Arlington, VA. We have a 1991 VW Westy which we love. MS MAGIC took us x-country and back in 2001 about 10000 miles. Great time However it is time to upgrade. We will be moving to Colorado in order to see more of the western U.S. We are currently looking at the Road Treks, primarily because that is all we've seen in person. We like the 190 popular...seems like the right size.

We both love Jimmy Buffett...I'm also a deadhead. Hope to meet you on the road soon.

--peace--
stu

[jerrygaylor]

I guess we never really introduced ourselves.

We are Jerry, Roberta, and Bandit(our dog), we live in Dewey Arizona, at 4700 feet.

We have been Rvers since 1964 and probably have had one or 2 of every kind of RV.

We really like our Pleasureway-TS, it came fullly loaded, and we have made a few modifications. They include an automatic Kingdome Satellite System, an Air Lift SureSet system for inflating the air bags, and maintaining pressure, a Hunter digital thermostat with remote control. We also installed 2 additional Interstate Group 24 AGM batteries with cutoff switch.

We did our maiden voyage at Quartzsite Arizona, in the desert, over new years with friends, the Pleasureway performed great.

We are planning a trip to Alaska this spring or early summer.

Our next two purchases will be a Steer-Safe from Campingworld this Saturday, and a Stowaway2 or Rola trunk.

[Barman]

Hi all
I retired for the last time almost two years ago, and my wife and I purchased a 2006 Roadtrek 190 Versatile. We have had a blast with it so far after our 1st year of ownership. In a few weeks now we are planning to begin our 2007 season with a trip to Florida. We live in Ohio, but our home is on the market, and we plan to become residents of Virginia when the house sells. My wife still works, but she plans to change that after the house sells also. We hope to have as much fun with the RT this year as we did last. It has been one of the best investments we ever made. We really enjoy having quality time together, and the RT makes it so much easier and better. Happy traveling to all, and who knows when we might run in to some of you out there some where. God Bless
Steve & Chris

[rinkman1]

Hi There,,,I'm Ron (rinkman1)and my common-law wife, Evie live in Saskatoon, Sask. Canada We got into RVing. This year (2007) we'll maidenship the 2006 PleasureWay Excel TS, Silver Annivesary paint, with a few options on the coach. Our first trip will WEST to Van. Isle, after west trip, then EAST to maritimes. We'll stay main hiways, until we'll backroads, if we have an ERS calling OUTTTT, IF NEEDED (SHUDDER )
A few weeks back, we put spacers (correctrack) for sticking on solid pavement, four (4) Munroe shocks, (thinking of Bilstins). Yesterday we put bug deflector on it. It might not work for the bugs but snazzy looking. I put a "spinner" on the wheel for disability and a block on the gass pedal, moved the gas on the left. I lost movement of right leg and right arm and should from a stroke.
My common-law wife (Evelyn), Princess (Dog,,,border collie/black shepard) and of course me,,,Ron or rinkman1

[Bobbi]

Hi everyone,
My name is Bobbi Bergstrom and my husband Harold and I are the EASTCOAST AMBASSADORS FOR PLEASURE-WAY. We are on our THIRD PLEASURE-WAY, and still loving it.
We have travelled through 48 US States and 6 Provinces of Canada. We have enjoyed the National Parks all over, and have also been back to visit several of them.
We just came back from a great 3 week trip to Florida and N.Carolina and are now looking forward to the PW Rally in Canada in June.
We have spent 6 weeks together in our PW- without "killing each other!" We had 2 Dodges and now own a Ford. The best thing about driving is that you get to meet such wondeful people, which you would never be able to do if you were to fly all over. We have made many new friends over the years. Harold is always asking me "Can't you make friends closer to where we live?" My response is, "No, because this is how we get to travel all over in our PW!"
Hope to see many of you Class B owners on the road!

[bobojay]

Hi, we're Bob & Sharon. Just saw this thread after being on this forum for about 4 months. Oh well, better late than never.
We are both retired. Me from General Motors, I built em. She from Southwestern Bell Telephone, now AT&T. Both retired about 2 years ago within 6 months of each other. We have 2 grown sons, one of which is in the US Army for 14 yrs, is a sergeant and a crew chief on a Kiowa helicopter. The other is a railroad engineer.
I, Bob, am also a volunteer firefighter and have been now for 14 yrs, almost 15. We live in eastern Kansas USA in the Kansas City area.
We have been RVers since about 1986 when we rented the first of 3 class c's over the years. We bought a Jayco 5th wheel in 2001, kept it for 2 years and used it twice in that time. Found it to be too much trouble and a pain to pull for us to enjoy it much, so we sold it and the truck we pulled it with. We had no intention of ever owning another RV at that time.
Well the bug hit us again after a 3000 mile car trip in 2005 that lasted 11 days during which we spent almost $1500.00 just on motel rooms. That got us to thinking, why are we spending all this money on somewhere we don't really want to be???? We can buy another RV and then we can decide that as we go.
On a trip to Ft. Carson in 2006 to Colorado to see our son & daughter in law, we took a trip up to Denver to look at some RV's and ended up looking at Roadtreks. We got in a 190P, and both of us said, "why didn't we buy one of these in the first place?" So we thought about it over the winter, went looking again and ended up with a Pleasure Way Lexor TS.

Now we're comfortable traveling and driving in a more manageable vehicle, for sure!

Thanks Marco for doing this forum and your tips and suggestions........

[terry]

My name is Terry Jones. I have been RVing since the 60's with various types of RV's. I live in Lincoln near Sacramento, Ca. The summer of 2006, we took a trip to Glacier NP and Banff & Jasper National Parks in Alberta, Canada. We then went down the Oregon coast. Our Chevy van with GTRV top got 20 mpg highway. I am very happy with milage. In September 2006, we went to Yosemite NP. Nice time of year for Yosemite.

Terry's Home Built Chevy with GTRV Top

I ordered a new 2006 Chevrolet 1500 Express Cargo Van and "T" Top from Mike Reed of GTRV in November 2005. (I selected the Chevy van because of the superior gas milage that I got with my 2005 Chevy truck with the same drive train)

I picked up the van in Vancouver, B.C. with the "T" Top installed, in mid March 2006. (I selected the GTRV top over Sportsmobile top, because it would be garageable)

I did the internal conversion of the van to an RV myself. (This was the fourth van that I have converted to an RV) .(My last conversion was a 2003 Dodge van using the Sportsmobile top (It was garageable) with similar floor plan to my Chevy conversion)

I orded the van with the following options from the Chevrolet factory:
5300 V8
Tilt & Cruise
Power Windows & door locks
Cloth high back bucket seats
CD radio
Side door & rear door windows
HD trailering equipment
Remote keyless entry
145 Amp alternator
Chrome bumpers

I ordered the following option installed in the "T" Top from GTRV:
prewire for solar
prewire for roof mounted Fantastic Vent
TV antenna embedded in "T" Top
added vinyl windows to side of "T" Top

I installed the following items:
Note - layout of my van is similar to Sportsmobile RB-12
Norcold DC0051 12 DCV refrigerator
Rear dinette/bed (72" x 48" x 4" bed/matress)
Penthouse bed (3 ea. - 24" x 37" 3/4" oak plywood panels)
Tri fold 2" x 37" x 72" Penthouse mattress
WFCO Converter, 3 stage battery charger, & AC/DC electrical center
4D AGM battery
110 ACV electrical inlet
sink, faucet, 12 DCV water pump, & fresh & grey water tanks
12 DCV outlets
110 ACV outlets
Sure Power battery separator 200 Amp
interior 12 DCV lights
Trimetric TM2020 battery monitor
Fantastic Vent
cable TV
TV Stand
Vinyl Flooring over plywood
two side windows
window curtains
privacy curtain
Porta Potti
110 ACV rear door Air Conditioner
Portable one burner stove
wall paneling
Oak cabinets
Suburban NT-12SE furnace
Manchester #6814 propane tank

I have posted pictures of my construction progress on the GTRV Westy Owners Forum "Photos"| "Terry's Chevy RV Construction"
I have also posted pictures of the finished van on the GTRV Westy Owners Forum "Photos"| "Terry's Chevy with GTRV top"

[denman]

Hi All, ....I found this forum with Google while looking for manuals for my 88 ChevyVan30 with Escaper Van convertion. Reviewing the other intros revealed that mine is by far the oldest rig reported. But as someone said here I therefore feel fairly free to modify to suit my needs. I travel with my 4yr old lab Belle and usually a friend or relative sharing the considerable gas cost (10mi/gal imp). I also use a 35' 5th Wh tlr behind my old Diesel Dodge, and @ 15 mi/gal imp it's the cheaper mode of travel. I am on the lookout for a Duramax diesel for the Chevy if at all feasible(comments?). I'm from Alberta, currently in the Ottawa area but am gradually touring eastward and plan to spend a year in PEI in the none-too-distant. Meanwhile local grandchildren and friends are keeping me hereabouts. Good to be here in this forum, ....Dennis

[rivka]

My wife and I recently bought a 1999 Roadtrek 190 Versatile. Our previous camper was a 1978 VW Westfalia bus. We drove that thing everywhere. This is our first actual "RV", and we are very much 'do it yourselfers'.

We are empty nesters who live in Salt Lake City and most of our traveling in towards the Pacific NorthWest, principally the Oregon coast.

We are new to the class B scene, and are in need of a great deal of advise. With time and experience, we hope to be able to give help as well as we receive it.

[paulm]

Our previous camper was a 1978 VW

And I thought only VW RVs had popups. LOL. http://classbforum.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=1705#1705 (not sure if the pictures are working)

I'm becoming an empty nesters myself, except for grand children, who are at least part-time

Marko not only finds great ideas, but seems to be a master of detail, when it comes to implementation.

[Ferzyx]

Hi all, My wife and I are from Northern British Columbia. We are both retired, or is that, as they say, just tired! Over our whole life together, we have done extensive tent camping, covering just about all of B C and the Yukon. We owned a 30 foot sailboat and until medical problems prohibited it, sailed from Alaska down to the mid B C coast area for years. Not wanting to forgo the outdoors after I had a few problems, we bought a little used 1995 GWV and have been using it since August of 2007. In a nutshell we love it. It took a little while for our beloved old Husky to share our enthusiasm but she now loves it as well. This has ended a topic of some strain between the dog and I, as when we used to tent, she slept in the car on plush high density foam seats, protected from the wind, rain, and frost, whereas I had to huddle in our SMALL tent!! Now we both get to have some luxury. "Oh hush!," my wife would say as I shivered miserably," this is a charactor building experience for us!" I find that a very great deal of the surplus equipment left over from the sailboat is quite useful in the van. As well I find that the wiring, plumbing, etc etc is just about identical. It's our little yacht on land!! I find that the van is just about ideal for extended camping as well as truly easy and convenient travel though towns and cities. To make matters perfect, I can have a little snooze when the better half decides to spend some time in the many many Quilting stores that magically seem to appear where ever we go." Stop sniveling", my wife says, "it just proves that God is a woman" We both find the site to be of interest and look forward to reading your posts.

[Cornbread Red]

Hello all, My name's Chip. I'm 51 and have lived in Arizona all my life. I have a '86 Horizon Class B and a '86 Tioga Arrow Class C. I am into mostly boondock camping and I'm modifying the Horizon towards that end.

I travel by motorcycle mostly. logging thousands of miles here 'n there on a Moto Guzzi. The campervan is there to provide a base from which to go explore, mostly in New Mexico and Utah.

I got the handle "Cornbread Red" for my love of NM cuisine, especially anything with chile in it..

Cheers,
Chip

[dukiebluedoc]

I'm a newly-retired physician from Cave Creek AZ (just north of Phoenix).My SO (soon to be retired physician) and I are looking at motorhomes suitable for 2 people and several cats. So far we like everything about the class B's except the price of new ones
Roadtrek seems to be the most appealing,although used ones are hard to find ,it would seem.
We appreciate all the contributors to this site and will refer back often as we begin our search in earnest.

Caroline