Hi everyone, i need your help - My mother-in-law really really wants to buy an RV when she retires next year and hit the road. BUT (lol) she cant see real well at night so my wife (her daughter) are trying to find other alternatives for her like buying an RV and living at a location in the mountains. Can anyone suggest a really good website to research this - we are looking at the Pocono Mts in PA.
At 72, I'm sure my night vision isn't quite what it used to be either, so I pretty much avoid driving then if possible. There's plenty to see while traveling around this great country in an RV, and all of it can be reached in small enough steps that night driving is not necessary. If she's otherwise capable, don't take away her retirement dreams! Off hand, I can't even recall the last time I drove our coach at night. If it wasn't for the annual safety inspections in NY State, I probably wouldn't know if the headlights still work.
Sorry, Brian, I'm with your mother-in-law. I am 72 and have been full-timing with my wife and dog for three years. Why sit in the mountains when there is the sea shore, the desert, and all the people and places in between. I think research first! Don't think of big motorhomes, that would be intimidating for any one. Do some web surfing for conversion vans that in RV jargon are known as "B"'s or Super B's. They are amazing and I have encountered women driving these alone at RV Parks. Then check a couple of Organizations like Good Sam for support info. I would suggest Escapees. Escapees is for Full-time RV'ers and offers many services. One is their clubs within the organization like, SOLOS, which is for single traveling RV'ers. We use Good Sam's Road Service and Escapees Mail Service. I have never traveled at night; never turned my headlights on. I use RVPR to plan my trips in four hour increments, five tops, and am usually parked by 3:00PM. With a "B" she would have a vehicle that could go to town for groceries, then return to the campground and "hook-up". I have to tow a pickup truck behind us, so that we'll have transportation on arrival. The RV'ing community is so close and so supportive, she'll never really find herself alone, but I would suggest a small dog. My dog, in my profile picture, always listens to me and always understands, and with the kids grown gives me someone to fuss over. And if I do hear her low growl at night, I get up and check. It is always deer or a raccoon but I know she has my back.
RVing was on my bucket list when I retired. I'm glad I pulled that one out first. The bucket is so much fuller now that I did. The only trouble with that, unlike the 9-5 routine, is that I never get a day off. I have no visions issues, but like many RVers, I don't have any need to drive when the sun is not up. Before night, I'm already at the place I was going well before that. I sleep past daybreak. It's a retirement perk. Living in a stationary RV is not the same as hitting the road in one. Otherwise, they wouldn't have wheels. I can't help with a website for finding a place for a stationary RV, but Google something like RVing for Singles may help better understand your mother-in-law's bucket list item.
Many parks allow long term/permanent parking. Doing that is no different that living in a small apartment. We lived in our RV for years and would leave out in the morning and drive at least 2 hrs and start looking for an interesting place to stop. We were in no hurry to get anywhere. Some days it would end up being mid to late afternoon and some days we would stop about lunchtime. If it was raining we might just decide to stay somewhere for another night. Your M-I-L might even find a place she would like to stay for a while and could possibly get a job doing some work camping for a few months. Don't try to talk her out of it because of your concerns. If she is willing to try it she should do it and if she finds she isn't happy RV'ing she can always come back home.
I fulltimed for 11 years and NEVER pulled the 5th wheel at night. I was always off the road by 4pm. Takes a while to set up and get dinner cooked and so on. Let her go for it. We also saw a caravan of older single women traveling together and I think it was aclub or group that does that.
Brian, If your M-I-L is 65, then I am guessing you and your wife are probably in your 30's or early 40's. At that age you feel like being in your 60's is ancient. As your parents get older, you feel like they can't do as much and you want to be sure they are safe and not put them in a position where something might happen to them. But there is no reason your M-I-L will need to drive at night. Many people who travel have a limited amount of time to get somewhere, see everything, and get back home to be back at work on a specific day. As a result they cram as many miles into the day that they can. They leave at the crack of dawn, stop for 30 min at every possible attraction along the way, drive till they drop, and do it all over again the next day. If they are going to cover all the places they want to go, in the limited time period they have, they will have to drive some at night. When you are our age and/or retired, you will learn that there is a better way. We began RVing in our early 50's and even then we did not drive the motorhome at night. We always plan our travel days so that we are off the road by 3-4pm, and if we get delayed for some reason and realize that we will not make it before dark to the park we have picked, we just stop somewhere else. If we don't see everything we planned to in one day, we just do it the next day. It is a great way to travel. I do agree that a smaller vehicle would probably work best for a single lady and it might be good to enroll her in an RV driving course for her safety and those around her. There are lots of single women RVers and they do just fine. By the way, I know of a single lady RVer on this site. She is not as old as your M-I-L but I'm sure she will have a lot of good advice about single RVing in general. Maybe she will see this thread and reply. Also do a search on "single RVing" and you will get lots of hits. I looked at several websites, and liked this one http://www.rvtravel.com/blog/womenrvers/index.shtml. The information is a bit older and more anecdotal rather than a "how to" site, but the incidents that the writer talks about give a good idea of what life on the road is like. Just help your M-I-L do some planning, get lots of advice, start slow, and be careful, and things will be fine.
I am not as old as your mom but rarely drive at night. I can cover 5-600 miles in daylight hours. Get the super b and go see the country or even a small class c.
Hello BrianAmato. If your mother-in-law is comfortable driving a pick-up, she will thrive in an RV. Does she drive herself around now? Comfortable with gassing up at different stations, comfortable with navigating different towns and cities than her home base? RV'ing is a blast and she'll be glad she tried this adventure. Does she have a dog or cat for company? Best advise I (slightly younger than your MIL) can pass on: 1. Test drive several different types, styles and lengths of rigs before you plunk your $'s down. 2. Do oodles of test runs locally. 3. Invite all her kids (and grandkids?) for a break in period, so you ALL get comfy with the idea. 4. Take some basic technology along as it makes researching both the RV parks and the history of the area you are traveling come alive. 5. Park it and enjoy a glass of (your choice here) and toast the blessings of the day, before the sun sets. Cheers!
I'd encourage her to go on the road, as she knows her comfort level. I'm not sure her driving comfort level, but I see many ladies driving a school bus or other rig much bigger than an RV. I'm only 64, but can't think of anything I can't do now that I could do at 34. I suppose if I were a football quarterback it might differ. She should stick to daylight driving, not only because of eye site but for other safety reasons as well. It's hard enough to stop a big rig in the daytime, let alone at night. In the Western states it's not uncommon for deer to cross the road without warning for example. She should limit the type of driving she is not comfortable with. In my case I don't mind mountain driving but hate driving through huge metro areas, so tend to plan to go through on a Sunday or a weekday nowhere near rush hour. However we all differ. She will meet a lot of other women her age along the way that will share experiences and friendship.
