A few days ago we covered the reasons to consider upgrading your present RV rather than going into debt to buy a new (or newer) motorhome or fifth wheel trailer. But a few people have written to ask when you should consider the other option, of trading in your old rig for something new(er).

Terry and I were faced with that decision last year. For over eight years we lived and traveled in the 1976 MCI bus conversion that we had built ourselves, and we loved that old bus. It was built like a tank, we had unbelievable cargo carrying capacity, and we could carry anything that we could find room to cram into it. We built the bus for extended boondocking, with huge holding tanks, 540 watts of solar power, a large battery bank, and a top of the line pure sine wave inverter.

If we were snowbirds who only went out to Quartzsite to hang out in the winter, or if we were weekend warriors, the bus would have been our home on wheels forever. In fact, we expected it to be.

However, our needs and our traveling style changed over the years, and at the same time, the bus was beginning to need some major upgrades. We have done a lot of boondocking over the years; our longest stint was over seven months without being plugging into electrical power or water. We still don’t mind dry camping for a few days, but we have gotten to the point where we really enjoy being in a campground with full hookups.

We didn’t have slides in the bus, and as our two granddaughters have gotten older, it was getting really cramped when they visited us. We looked into having a living room slide installed, and the cost would have been over $10,000.

The 8V71 Detroit diesel was never a powerhouse, even new, and ours had a million miles on it, and it was getting older and slower every day. Climbing even moderate hills was presenting a real challenge, and the mountains out west were becoming impossible. We found ourselves not going places where we wanted go, because of the limitations of the bus. We were getting to the point where we were not enjoying traveling because we were always worried about a major breakdown.

Another problem was that it was getting harder and harder to find qualified diesel mechanics who knew enough about the old two stroke manually aspirated motors like we had. They are a dying breed. There are plenty of technicians who can plug an analyzer into a data port and tell you everything that is wrong with a modern diesel, but it takes an old school mechanic to understand the quirks of an old Detroit diesel.

We looked into replacing the motor, and the best quote we got for a factory rebuilt 8V92 turbo was $35,000 installed. However, the mechanic, someone who had done a lot of work on the bus for us in the past, and whom we trusted completely, said that our transmission would not hold up to the torque of the newer, more powerful engine. A used transmission would have set us back another $15,000. And then we’d still have cooling issues, so figure another $3,000 to $5,000 for two new radiators and the rest of a cooling system upgrade. Sam told us “You’ll still have a 35 year old bus with a non-electronic engine, that won’t be worth much more than half of what you’ll put into it.”

For us, it was time to step up to a newer coach. We found our 2002 Winnebago Ultimate Advantage, with 33,000 miles on it, for not much more than what we would have invested in upgrading the bus.

If we weren’t fulltimers, and if  I was a diesel mechanic, and if  I had the necessary tools and a place to do the work, I would have kept the bus and done the upgrades myself. But like my dad used to say, if a frog had wings, he wouldn’t bump his butt.

So when is it time to trade your old RV in? For us, it was when the basic design no longer fit our needs, and when the cost of upgrading was 3/4 of what it cost to buy a much newer, more powerful motorhome that had more room and more advantages for us than keeping the old bus did.

Now that we have been in the Winnebago for over a year, and put 10,000+ miles on it, we are convinced that we made the right decision for us. Only you can decide which choice is right for your needs, your lifestyle, and your budget.

Thought For The Day – I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn’t learn something from him.

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I was lazy pretty much all day yesterday. Actually, I’m lazy every day, but most of the time I make myself do something. Yesterday, I just indulged myself and didn’t do much of anything.

The Stamps.com website was down all day Friday and Saturday, so I couldn’t print the last of the labels for our final batch of mail that needed to go out. But it as back up by yesterday morning, and I wrapped them up so Miss Terry could stuff the last few envelopes, which we’ll drop off at the post office this morning.

Then I spent the rest of the day goofing around on the internet, loading up some of the tombstone pictures we took Saturday to Find A Grave, doing a little genealogy research, and watching old movies on TV.

At 4:30 we walked up to the clubhouse for the Sunday afternoon ice cream social. There is nothing like ice cream to bring a bunch of Escapees together, and we had a good time visiting with folks, talking about our RV travels, and sharing a few laughs.

Back at the motorhome, it was more of the same – just being lazy until I wrote the blog and got ready for bed. I really didn’t accomplish a darn thing all day long, and I didn’t even feel guilty about it!

I had some interesting responses to Saturday’s blog post Why Buy New When You Can Upgrade?, and most of the folks I’ve heard from seem to be in agreement that they would rather keep their present RVs and upgrade them than go into debt to buy a new rig.

One e-mail, from RVing friends who just purchased a new diesel pusher last year said that they are really regretting their purchase, and that they wish they had kept the coach they traded in and remodeled it instead. Another RVer wrote to say that they had crunched the numbers several times, and they decided that if they didn’t buy a new fifth wheel, they would save enough in interest over the next five years to cover the costs of remodeling the one they now have, and not have any payments to make.

I’ve had a couple of people ask me if Byron Hibshman from Traveling CCW will be at our Arizona Gypsy Gathering rally in Yuma, presenting his evening class to get a Utah concealed weapons permit. Yes, Byron will be there doing a seminar on Transporting Firearms In Your RV, and teaching the evening class to get your permit. You don’t have to be a Utah resident,  nor do you have to go to Utah to get the permit. Once you take Byron’s class and he signs off on it, you send your paperwork to Utah with the appropriate fees, and the permit is mailed to you. There is a separate fee for the class, which you will pay directly to Byron at the rally. You can contact him ahead of time at contactus@travelingccw.com if you have any questions.

There were a couple of places we wanted to visit in this area for stories in a future issue of the Gypsy Journal, but we have thunderstorms predicted for most of this week, so we’ll see how it goes. Who knows, I may just stay home and practice being lazy some more!

Thought For The Day – I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.

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Yesterday was a graveyard rabbit day for us.

No, we weren’t out chasing Bug Bunny through a cemetery with shotguns, but we did visit a couple of graveyards doing some hunting.

If you’re not familiar with the term “graveyard rabbit,” they are people who are interested in the historical importance of cemeteries, grave markers, and the family history to be learned from burying grounds, and tombstones. I guess that description fits us very well.

Even before I began researching my family tree a couple of years ago, Terry and I had always enjoyed exploring old cemeteries that we find in our travels. Some people think cemeteries are sad, morbid places, but we find them very interesting. If you think that your life is not so great, walk through a cemetery and read the gravestones of families who lost two, three, or four children due to infant mortality, a hundred years ago. But we also find things to smile about, such as the tombstone of a local hypochondriac in Key West, Florida that declares “I told you I was sick!”

One very useful website I have found in my genealogy research is Find A Grave, a user supported website that lists the final resting places of people dating back to the earliest days of our country. If you know that you have an ancestor who is buried in a particular cemetery, you can post a photo request, and another reader in that area will take a picture and post it online, and often e-mail you a copy as well.

I noticed that there were some photo requests for two cemeteries near the Raccoon Valley Escapes park, so we went off in search of them, to fulfill the requests. While we were out, we also photographed a lot of other older tombstones to post to the website, as a way to pay it forward to those who have helped me in my own genealogy research.

Back at the campground, we walked up to the clubhouse for the daily social hour, and had a good time visiting with the crowd there. On our way back, we noticed that one of our neighbors, Roger Post, was sitting outside doing something, so I walked over to see what he was up to. Roger told me that the was carving “wooden hillbillies.” Huh?

As it turns out, Roger is an accomplished woodcarver, and he showed us some of his creations. I was really impressed. This guy is a true artist!

There was even a shotgun wedding!

Now, I know we shouldn’t say hillbilly, the politically correct term is Appalachian Americans, but Roger told me he’s from West Virginia, and if he wants to say hillbilly, who am I to object? I’ve seen what he can do with a knife, and with Halloween coming up fast, I don’t want him mistaking me for a pumpkin and turning me into a living jack o’lantern!

Thought For The Day – How come you never see a newspaper headline saying ‘Psychic Wins Lottery’?

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I exchanged e-mails yesterday with a couple who said that they have a very nice 1999 Newmar Mountain Aire that they absolutely love, but the coach is beginning to show its age and they were thinking about buying a new diesel pusher to replace it.

They said that after months of shopping, they have not found anything that they like as much as their Newmar. It has 85,000 miles on it, which is not much for a diesel motorhome, it runs fine, and they have maintained it very well. But the paint is faded, the interior is dated, and the carpet and furniture are getting threadbare. They asked me what I would do in their place.

I told them that if I had a rig I liked, and that I knew and trusted, I’d think very hard about investing some money and time upgrading it, instead of buying something new. If your present RV runs strong and you like it, and it just needs cosmetic improvements, you might be well advised to keep what you have and invest spending some money to make it nicer, instead of spending a lot of money for a new one.

New isn’t always better. I know several people with top of the line new or newer motorhomes who spend a good part of their time dealing with problems and trying to get repairs made, instead of enjoying traveling.  

Our dear friends Ron and Brenda Speidel present an excellent seminar at RV rallies with the title Don’t Replace, Refurnish that is always a hit with attendees. Ron and Brenda are very happy with their Winnebago Journey, so instead of buying something knew, in the last couple of years they had a full body paint job done, upgraded their window treatments, installed flat screen TVs, replaced the carpeting with wood flooring, replaced the shower, and several other upgrades. For a lot less than they would have spent on a new motorhome, they have transformed their very nice coach into a palace on wheels.

Jack and Julee Meltzer, authors of the RV Makeover Bible, have now brought their excellent reference out in e-book format, and anybody who is even thinking about trading in a good but older RV for a newer model really should read it before they go shopping. If you have an RV that needs some spiffing up, Jack and Julee have also started a new blog on RV upgrades that I’m sure will be helpful.

We know of several excellent companies that can transform a dated motorhome or fifth wheel into a showpiece for a fraction of the cost of buying a new rig, including Focal Wood Products in Nappanee, Indiana. Owner Carlyle Lehman built the custom desk units, table, and bookcase for our motorhome, and we were delighted with the quality craftsmanship, and the price. Carlyle also does custom window treatments, flat screen TV upgrades, and just about anything else you can think of.

A few miles away, Michele Henry at Phoenix Commercial Paint in Elkhart has built up quite a reputation with her beautiful full body RV paint jobs. We know RVers who have paid two and three times as much money to have their rigs painted, and the results are not as good as what Michele turns out.

Another reliable shop for upgrades is Bradd and Hall, also in Elkhart. Besides selling RV furniture by such well known manufacturers as Flexsteel, the company also offers many upgrade services.

Out in Mesa, Arizona, RV Renovators can do anything, from adding a slide room to completely refurbishing your home on wheels. We saw some of their work this past spring, and were very impressed with the quality of their work, and their dedication to customer satisfaction.

I’d feel comfortable recommending any of these companies to folks who have an RV that they want to upgrade, whether than spending a king’s ransom for a new one that may not be nearly as good as what they already have.

Thought For The Day – A walk through a lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything.

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A few readers have asked lately about operating a business on the road, and more specifically, how we run our business as we travel. While there are some websites whose owners go into depth about their finances, how much they need to earn, and how they plan to earn it, I really don’t feel comfortable doing so to that extent. But I will share some thoughts on our business model and on mobile businesses in general.

Over the years, Terry and I have built a successful business on the road publishing the Gypsy Journal RV Travel Newspaper, our books and RV guides, web publishing, and speaking at RV rallies and shows. As with any small business, we had some very tight times over the years, but we hung in there, we improvised when necessary, we adapted to the changing marketplace, and we listened to what our customers told us they wanted and tried to supply it.

We operate as a sole proprietorship, which is the simplest form of business structure. Each business form, sole proprietorship, partnership, subchapter S corporation, or a full corporation has it’s advantages and disadvantages. There is no “one size fits all,” so I won’t even begin to suggest which might be right for you.

Our motorhome and van are not registered to the business. If you are financing an RV, you’ll be hard pressed to find a bank that will loan the money to purchase an RV or automobile to a new mobile business, nor will they usually allow you to register it in your business name.

We had signs on our pickup with the name of our business on them, but on the advice of a friend who is an insurance agent, when we got the van we didn’t put signs on it. If we were to do so, and then got into an accident, who knows what our insurance company would say about a claim? Might they say that we insured the vehicle for personal use, and are using it for a business, and deny a claim? My experiences with insurance companies makes me very wary of giving them any reason at all to try to weasel out of a claim. 

We use QuickBooks Pro to keep track of our income and expenses, and I have found it to be an excellent program that is easy to use and adaptable to most business structures.

Okay, that’s how we do things. It might or might not be right for you and your business.

What kind of business should you start? That depends on you, on your skills and talents, on your interests, and on how much money you have to invest to get it off the ground. We know RVers who have successful service and sales businesses, or operate online businesses as they travel. We have also seen a lot of people come and go over the years, who just couldn’t make it.

One mistake I see a lot of wannabe entrepreneurs make is to decide that since they see a lot of vendors selling waterless car wash, Chia pets, or solar lights, or XYZ widgets, they must all be making money, so they’ll sell them too. The market is saturated with a lot of products, which means that most of those vendors selling the same things are barely making a buck, if they are at all. Find new, unique, and useful products that shoppers can’t see at every other vending table and I believe you’ll have a much better chance of success.

The internet has become a big part of our income stream, and I think it offers many RVers the best opportunity to earn money with the least financial investment. Specialty blogs and websites serving a niche market can bring in revenue from display advertising, from ad networks such as Google AdSense, and through the sale of your own or affiliate products. We do all of them on our various blogs and websites and they all help our bottom line.

Recently we have seen a trend among some websites and blogs posting donation links and asking their readers to contribute. The feedback I have heard from the reading public makes me believe that this can do more harm to a website’s reputation and to the public’s perception of it, than the income they might receive. 

There is a misconception among many RVers that all you have to do is say you are in business, find a product and display it at a few RV rallies or swap meets, and you can write off all of your travels, the cost of your RV, campground fees, and anything else you spend. Unfortunately, that’s just not true. The nice folks at the tax office expect you to operate as a business and make a profit, not just play around at it.

And even if you have a viable working business, there are limits on what you can declare as legitimate expenses. I’m not an accountant, but you need to speak to one to understand what you can and cannot write off. 

Customer service, hard work, dedication, and innovation are all important to making a business work. But if there is one secret to success in any business, be it in a fixed location, or on the road, I believe that it is to give it your all, 100% of the time, no matter what happens or what obstacles you encounter.  And tomorrow, you need to get up and do it all over again. Eventually you outlive or outlast the competition.

On another topic, Bad Nick has been busy posting a new Bad Nick Blog titled And Yet They Did Nothing. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – Every morning I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I’m not there, I go to work.

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