This entry picks up where RVing: Is it for me? (Part One) left off. It was now time I go visit some local RV dealerships in search for answers and to figure out if the RV lifestyle is for me and which RV best suits my needs.
Having driven by a number of RV dealerships off of I-4 in Tampa, Florida on my way to Orlando and Disney, I knew that would be a great place to start my search. Looking them up using Google Maps, I found that there was a number in close proximity to each other and headed out to the 1st one to see what they had to offer and what I could learn about RV’s in general. My 1st stop was RV One Superstores Tampa and they primarily deal in Jayco RV’s at that location. I went into the main building and was paired up with a salesman who took me out to look at some Class C motorhomes. What I learned very quickly was that RV companies make a particular model and then pair it down further by an additional number and letter combination that helps to differentiate the different lengths and interior floorplans. While it really didn’t make any sense to me at the time what those combinations meant, it is a little more helpful now (though there is no standard, so it’s still a bit complicated). The reason to note these number and letter combinations is so you don’t enter the same floorplan over and over again, which is something I did because it didn’t hit me at first to look for that information on the outside.
As I began looking in the different Jayco motorhomes, three things stood out right away to me. The interior design was really nice and bright and shiny giving it a more elegant feel, the bunk over the cab was awesome because it could hold 750 lbs, and there was also a really big window up in the bunk that lets in a lot of natural light and my cat Isabelle would love to have to look outside while being perched up high within the RV. But now on to the important things. How did these Jayco’s do in terms of my four required criteria? (If you don’t know or forget what those are, I encourage you to go back and read Part One) For both the Greyhawk, Greyhawk Prestige and Redhawk, Redhawk SE models they all passed my 4 part test. I was able to sit comfortably in the driver’s seat, I would be able to work at the dinnete, I could see myself sleeping well in the bed and I was able to sit comfortably on the toilet. The issues I had were that it had a much higher end look to it than I felt suited me and the cost was also quite a bit higher than I was hoping to spend.
New information in hand, I headed to a 2nd dealership just down the road called Lazydays RV of Tampa to see if they had other RV’s from other manufacturers for me to look at. Being that they are the largest dealer we have in the area, they did indeed have many other manufacturers represented giving me lots more RV’s to look at….well sort of. You see, I found out some very very important information at this dealership. After signing in and being assigned a salesman, I asked him how business was going and he informed me that the week previous they had sold over 200 RV’s! HOLY SH*T! Well, obviously business was going quite well for them, but that caused there to be a few issues for me. What do I mean by that? Well, with so many RV’s being sold, that meant inventory was lower than normal and desirable units were selling out really really fast. I was basically told, if you find one that meets your needs and is in your price range, you should likely buy it because if you wait a few days, sometimes even a few hours, it’ll be gone. This scared me and I was now processing that the concept of moving to RV travel may need to stop being a concept and become a reality if I could find one that fit me and my budget otherwise, I might not have a chance to do this. So we went out to the lot and I was shown were everything was and was let loose to go explore. I appreciated that, because I’m not your typical buyer and the salesman could see that I knew exactly what I wanted and I would let him know if/when I found it. It saved him time to go help someone else and allowed me to more quickly move around the lot viewing as many RV’s as possible. I walked around for about 35 minutes before I came upon a Winnebago (a brand I had known existed for a long time and had a good rep). This unit was an Outlook 31N. I got lucky that there was a brochure for it within the unit so I was able to glean some additional information about it, but I quickly found myself falling in love with it. Both the interior and exterior were simple in design, but was laid out in a way that I found very functional. It passed all of my tests and best of all, it was within my price range! WOHOO!
So, did I go and buy it? Well, remember, this was just supposed to be a trip to see what RV’s looked and felt like and if the concept was something I could truly see myself making a reality. So, no, I didn’t buy it. I continued to search the lot, but ended up returning twice more to make sure it felt right before leaving and heading home. I needed to talk this over with my parents and my friends. I got back to my parents house where I was currently living and discussed with them what I had learned and how I felt strongly about this one unit, but the only trepidation I had was the 31’ 11” length and would prefer to be around 27’. I went online that night and found there was a used 2019 Winnebago Outlook in the 27’ length for sale at my closest Camping World, so I went and asked my mom if she would come look at it with me to give her opinion as well as to try and help ease her worries about me being comfortable living in an RV. We went the next morning to take a look, and while I liked the layout for the most part, I still felt the 2020 31N model better suited me and my needs. Plus this used model was already in for a broken slide, which did not give me the confidence in it being a good purchase. Back online that afternoon, I found there was other 2019 & 2020 31N’s for sale up at the Ocala General RV location and one seemed to be mispriced at the same price as the 2019 models. Hmmm, could this be true? I had to go the next day to find out, I mean who wouldn’t want to save a bunch of money if they could because of this mistake? Not me!
So the next day I went out with the plans to check out General RV of Ocala and two other local dealerships, just in case there was something else that struck me as a good option. Pairing up with Cassidy at General RV, we went to look at the 2019 & 2020 models and I brought up the pricing. She agreed the price had been put in wrong, but since I noticed it and had proof showing it was advertised at that price, they would likely had to honor it. YAY! We walked through the unit and she answered all the questions I had about it and in returning to her office, we both knew I was going to buy it, but she was kind enough to let me have two hours to go see the other dealerships just to make absolutely sure. She also confirmed with management that they would honor the listed price even though it was a big mistake on their part. I quickly checked out the two other locations, one another Jayco dealer which I politely let know was out of my price range, and the other had lots of other options for me, but none that could pass my 4 questions. Returning to General RV less than two hours later, and after a phone call to my mom, I was signing the paperwork stating I would purchase the vehicle officially at the end of the week and put down a $5,000 deposit for it! Yes, RV life would be for me!
Now throughout this searching process, as I did before I traveled internationally, I sought out input from my closest friends because they know me and have my back and will make sure I’ve thought of everything before I make a final decision. My buddy John, a fellow photographer, is great at questions regarding to space, organization, ability to work, and keeping my camera and gear safe. My friend, Natalia, is great for bouncing around ideas and questions regarding to my health, physical, emotional, and mental, as she is not just one of my closest friends, but also one of the best body work specialists I’ve had the pleasure to work with. Another long time friend of mine, Kindal, who also cuts & styles my hair and was a fellow Tampa Bay Rays season ticket holder (that’s how we met) is great at making sure I am not rushing into things as I have sometimes done in the past and is also really good at calling me out when I’m not telling her the whole truth about something or if I’m purposely overlooking something because I want it to work out a certain way. In other words, she isn’t afraid to call out my b.s. or put me in my place when I need the tough love only a close friend who truly wants the best for you can do. Lastly there’s my best friend Deonna, who simply responded with saying that is sounded like something I would find not only fun, but rewarding and encouraged me to move forward. With people like this in my life, I knew I was making the best decision for me with where I am currently at with things in my life and also provide motivation to do my best with everything I want to achieve.
So as the week was ending, I returned to General RV on Saturday to pick up my brand new home on wheels, excited to travel the U.S. and see so many new sites, experience new things, overcome new challenges, meet new people and try new food, and best of all, learn more about myself along the way. So now, here we are, fast forward several months and I am now begging to blog about my RV Travels to share with you my experiences and help to motivate you to get out yourself. I’ll help provide information about where I have traveled, where I stayed, good or bad the experiences I’ve had and when I can in depth reviews on it all. I’ll try giving tips, tricks, and other helpful information as well as let you know what I found as easy and difficult about adjusting to full time RV life having never been an RVer before. Stay tunes and keep checking this blog for more stories and photo’s of my adventures.
Take care and remember to Travel Tall and Small!
~Aaron
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