RV Recap

It started in 2009 when I bought an A-Frame travel trailer like the one below.  No bathroom, but otherwise surprisingly comfortable for 2 people.  The top triangular part folded down for road travel, could be expanded to full size in 2 minutes.  It was a trial balloon to see if I liked RVing.  I most definitely did - and still do.  Trish and I got together shortly after I got the rig.  She already had RV experience, having lived in a fifth wheel for several months.

Next up was a 21' EDGE travel trailer, purchased in 2010.  We towed that puppy all over, including Alaska and Nova Scotia.  It had all the basics but some irritating design flaws.  The bathroom door opened in, which was asinine, took up most of the floor space, had to sidle around it to get in and out.  It should have opened outward; or been a slider.  And, the light above the lavatory wasn't above the lavatory; it was in the middle of the ceiling.  I shave my face, not the back of my head.  Hold a flashlight in my teeth so I don't cut myself to ribbons?

We upgraded to a 30' Cougar fifth wheel in 2013.  Cougars are low-end rigs with all the basics but few amenities - so we added several: plumbing and lighting fixtures, light-filtering and blackout shades, several more.  We would have gladly kept the rig for many more years, had I not bought a new truck in 2017; it's side rails were too high to fit under the trailer overhang.  Oops!

  So, off we went to Vegas to buy a new 5W, the Reflection, which we still have.  It's a high-end rig, which doesn't mean much: quality control was definitely lacking.  We've had to replace numerous parts at numerous places around the country.  Pain in the butt.

Park Model

 A Park Model (PM) is a tiny home, no more than 400 SF, a tad larger than our RV with slides extended.  It's similar to a mobile home in that it comes with wheels, but once placed on a site, it's seldom if ever moved.  The one below is a stock photo; the decking and steps are add-ons, not part of the basic unit.

Here are 2 more stock photos, showing typical interiors.

And here is the floor plan of the unit we're buying to place on our RV Resort lot near Usk, WA. Website: http://skookumrendezvous.com/

PMs have several advantages over RVs.  Household appliances are a biggie: RV appliances take a lot of abuse on bumpy roads and there's no lack of bumpy roads.  Some RV appliances are also dual/triple-powered to run on AC, DC and/or propane, meaning many more things to go haywire. 

Furnishing a PM is like furnishing any house.  You select your own stuff and place it wherever you want.  You can - and I have - modified and upgraded our RVs over the years but only a few things can be modified.

RVs have holding tanks for fresh water, gray water and black water, with fill-level gauges that never work.  Both the gray and the black can stink to high heaven if not carefully treated and monitored.  PMs have no holding tanks: everything goes down the sewer, so no stink.