You're towing WHAT?

Captured from my door as they pulled in.
  I told my wife, "I have GOT to get a picture of this..."

The word 'befuddled' comes to mind when I think of our stop in Grant's Pass.  One afternoon early in our stopover there I looked outside to see a very nice Rig pull in, which is standard fare at many of the parks we stay at, but behind it... is that?... No, it can't be.... It IS!  The guy was toading a nearly-new 3500 Chevy.

I've seen some interesting toads - I love some of the little ones - and I tend to notice when they are 'different'. I'll have pictures of one in a later post where they guy was toading a half-ton commercial truck with a rack for his boat on its trailer (pretty cool idea). But towing a 3500 here seemed like an interesting choice, and again, something I'd never seen. Now, granted he has his bright yellow Harley-Davidson in there, which is why he needed the 3500 - for the payload - right?

They were in for a group meeting of some club and I saw them, and several other guys and their toys, around town the next few days wearing their yellow shirts for the club and driving their perfectly detailed 60's muscle cars or their over-the-top motorcycles.  Clearly, these folks were in town to have fun and they have the cash to do it up right.  The truck did have a set of street slicks and 24-inch chrome rims to complete the look, and did therefore qualify as a "toy".

Here is the Rig after getting set up.  They sure ran all over town.

The Cool: I mean, how cool is that? I'm not sure if its a good solution to a plaguing problem (too many things, not enough space) or if it's just Go BIG or Go Home, because he can, but you have to admit, it is cool.

The Interesting: I wonder what kind of milage he gets with the entire outfit, and if that bus even notices the difference between towing that, or a Smart Car...

A deck on an RV?

Here in the park (Portland, OR) this week I ran into something that isn't usually seen, except on a sticks and bricks house. Open Range RV has created a fiver with a patio/deck (patent pending) and it's really a pretty amazing idea.  The Rig we saw was in their 'Rolling Thunder' line, which is a Toy Hauler, but from their promotional photos it looks to me like they are offering the deck kit on their smaller trailers as well.

From what I can tell in a quick glance, the patio is a kit that breaks down into smaller pieces, and is stored in the belly of the trailer.  When attached to the sides of the trailer so there is a sturdy railing all the way around.  It also looks like they have some adjustability under the decking for an uneven site.  And, from the promo photo (below), it looks like the (electric?) awning will cover the entire patio.

I think that to use the deck, they would want to be somewhere for awhile as I can't see taking that down and putting it up four-times-a-week being any fun.  Also, when the deck isn't attached I'd think there would be a little bit of a danger since someone could forget it wasn't attached and in the dark attempt to walk out the sliding door.

Promotional Photo (c) OpenRangeRV.com

Some people, I'm sure, won't understand the need for something like a deck since you could just walk out your RV, but for travelers with small children it would be great because you could let the kids out on the deck and not have to worry about them wandering, or traffic.  I also think that it would have great use for hadicapped RVers, and would allow them to get outside more easily and help those with mobility problems not have to go down and up steps to be outside.  I'd think this setup to be used by more of a 'seasonal' type camper, or maybe a sand rail/dirt bike hauler where campsites aren't traditional in setup.  There are some parks we've been in where there is no way this would fit, but I suppose if you had this type of Rig, you just wouldn't stay in those parks.

The Cool: A patio/deck on your RV?  How cool would that be?  The only one cooler that I've seen was the Veranda Motorhome in which you pushed a button and the entire slide out of the RV drops down into a deck.  If I find pictures of that, then I'll post it here in the future.

The Interesting: I like that someone is doing this, but if they patent it will it make them the only company that can offer it?  If their trailer designs don't fit your needs, then it is an option that is off the table, unless they license it (which I hope they will).  It could be a huge selling point for them, or just a really great idea that becomes a novelty for the RVing community because they sit on it.  I'm interested to see where it goes from here.

You can see the one of the doors for the toy hauler section to the left of the patio.

Never had that happen before...

I've read a lot of blogs.  I like to look around and see various viewpoints on this type of lifestyle.  To me it is an interesting way to get perspective on a variety of matters in a short amount of time.  While we were traveling through Eugene, I wondered if we might have time for a factory tour.  Our tours in Elkhart did not go well (one factory was unexpectedly closed on our last day and before that we were left waiting for an hour in the lobby for a "stop by anytime" tour--so we left) and I thought it'd be a great place to see some RV's being built.  So, knowing that Oregon is home to a few well-respected builders, I did a search, and while there are several options for tours in the area - none fit our schedule, so we didn't go...  But that's not the important part of this story.

While rooting around the Internet looking for tours I happened to run across the blog of someone who had built a Country Coach (their second) in 2008 and it was quite an interesting read.  I enjoyed seeing their pics, and watching the RV go through the various stages from frame to final paint and the fit-and-finish.  Well documented, and even through the shutdown at the factory over the factory's bankruptcy, you could feel their sheer enthusiasm for what they were creating.  They call it Magna Peregrinus, or "Great Wanderer".  The blog was, and is, a fun read.

Link to the build of the Rig: http://www.rvgoddess.com/POSTCARDS/MAGNA/Magna_Peregrinus_Construction.aspx
Link to the finished product: http://www.rvgoddess.com/POSTCARDS/MAGNA/Magna_Peregrinus.aspx

Imagine my surprise when, as I'm driving through an RV park "to check out the chain it belongs to" and I run into that very same RV!  They weren't home, and I would have felt a little awkward stopping the car and running over to knock on the door.

However, it was a very cool experience to have seen something like that first-hand.  I can tell you this - MP is a really nice Rig.

The Cool: Seeing something you've read about. It's kind of a little celebrity-star-struck in a way, but interesting nonetheless. I've never had it where I read about a Rig and then saw it. I've seen rigs and THEN checked out the website, but never the other way.

The Interesting: The Rig is quite lovely and the paintjob is clearly first-rate.  Reading the information about the construction of the Rig amazed me at what goes into those top-of-the-line units.

Welcome...

I came up with an idea this week that we've seen some pretty cool stuff on the road this last year, and while it doesn't fit on our blog (rvfor5.com), I wanted to archive it somewhere.

I think it really got put into my head when I saw a little Scamp 5th Wheel (no pics) in Eugene, OR, because it was just not anything I'd seen before, and we've been to a lot of parks. I read a lot of blogs, wander the web a lot and have found some really amazing RV finds, but I wanted to catalog the things that have stopped me in my tracks and have either made me take notice, or have (even better) made me grab a camera. I truly believe there are some cool and interesting RVs out there. Posts may not be about one RV, but about some aspect/creation/modification that I think is cool in some way.

In the next few days I'm going to begin posting about some of my finds. Some posts will just be pictures, some will have information, some may have complete backstories... regardless of how much info is out there, I'm hoping it will be fun.

I look forward to your comments and criticisms. However - it's my blog, they are my pics, and this is my journey - so let's just have fun here, ok?