About to start Long-Timing :)

[MrYesterday]

I've been pipelining for almost a decade. I started out traveling around in a Bonneville, staying in hotels. Then I got a Jeep and a 20' Terry Taurus (which was totaled within an hour of being on the road the first time after we remodeled it). After that I stayed back in hotels for a while, and only worked half the year (that's really all I needed to work, because my wife worked full time, and I made as much in a few months). When my wife had our son, we decided that she would prefer to stay at home with him, and I'd like to get back out on the road full-time (well, at least most of the year). I got a 30' Gulfstream with no slides, and thought that would be fine for the 3 of us. Needless to say it wasn't. My son was learning to walk, we were all tripping over each other, and the bathroom was making me claustrophobic. When I got laid off for the winter I sold the GS, and set about looking for a "long timing" rig. First I dropped my Dodge Ram 1500 QC with the tiny 4.7, and picked up a Silverado 3500 DRW with an 8.1l and an Allison transmission. Confident that we now had a vehicle with enough rear end to pull whatever rig we could possibly find, we made a checklist of requirements:
#1. King sized bed (very important, because I'm a big guy, and my tiny wife needs space)
#2. A large living area (we spend our evenings watching movies, and playing with our son on the floor, and don't want to feel cramped)
#3. Large shower/leg room at the commode (Refer back to the "I'm a big guy" comment)
#4. Washer/Dryer (My wife hates trips to the laundry mat)
#5. Free standing dinette (I personally hate booths... being a big guy and all)
#6. Large amounts of storage space (Long timing requires we carry multiple seasons of clothes, and the ability to store even seldom used tools, and appliances)
#7. Floor space (I simply hate feeling cramped)
#8. Sealed underbelly (5ers in the winter... well, you all know)

I had been drooling over a Mobile Suites front living model that was on CL for sale for nearly $90k, which was 3 times what I wanted to spend. I just happened to have refreshed CraigsList at the moment a local business owner posted a barely used 2010 3750FL for sale. I was the first to write him, and the only one to look at it. My wife and I set a maximum we would offer, but when we walked in, we knew we had to have it. He insisted he couldn't/wouldn't budge from his $38k price tag, and despite us saying $32 was as low as we could go we bought it anyway. Best of all, the floor plan was almost exactly the same as the MS, at less than half the price.

We've spent my winter off time loading the 3750FL for the road, and now it's just sitting at the back of our neighborhood in the storage lot waiting to go. I love being home, but I really can't wait to get out and live in our new 5er. Dare I say, I think I'll prefer it to home, because it's just as nice as our home... Plus I'll be making money while I'm living in it.

I have a small list of upgrades to get it exactly how I want it, but it's perfect for now, for what we need. I just want to get skirting made for winter, get wifi for my wife, a stabilizer system (I had planned on a tripod, but have heard that the strongarm system is better), a second AC, slide awnings, and a second spare tire.