Welcome John!

I agree the "group" areas aren't used very much.

Hope you enjoy your travels! After retiring, I settled down in Chandler, AZ. But that only lasted 6 years. We sold everything and have been traveling fulltime for the past 8 years. Life is MUCH better now!

Hi Mark. Welcome - and thank you for the donation!

I also hope fuel prices start to go back down. Diesel is almost $4 a gallon in Las Vegas!

Welcome Tim and Sandra! Looking forward to reading your reviews of your military campground experiences.

Welcome Tim! My wife and I are just getting into the RV world, and Alaska is near the top of our list of places we want to go for an extended trip. I've been on the cruise ship tour but really felt we were missing a lot. Looking forward hearing about your trip.

Glad you like reading my "ramblings". Hope you can join us on the road soon!

We've been "on the road" for over 6 years now. You can't believe the freedom we feel. Although we're still working 7 months a year, we're enjoying life much more without being tied down.

7 months sure beats 12! Glad to hear your loving it. We'll be part timers for sure, but it'll be great to be able to head out when we want to. Thanks for this great web site Larry!

What do you do that you work 7 months out of the year?

We both work for a company that manages USFS campgrounds in the summer. It's a "fun" job, starting in early April and finishing in October. I've worked my way up to a "District Manager", which has nice perks. I hire about 20 camp hosts each year, but am already full for 2011.

Bob, I've seen your comments on the Earthbound Facebook page. Good to see you here too! I look forward to hearing more about your adventures in your Earthbound trailer as it's currently our first choice too. Well, my wife saw the Itasca Navion IQ 24G a couple of weeks ago at an RV show in Richmond, and fell pretty hard for that too. Gotta admit, it's a classy little RV. The Earthbound wins big time in terms of high-end and high-tech features. It just comes down to the classic trailer vs small class C decision. We've got some time though so at least it's not costing us anything at this point!

Hi Roger, the couch isn't very comfortable in the EB and the viewing angle for the TV kills our necks. We actually bought a 22" Vizio from Wallyworld to set on the table so we now have three TVs in the unit. The one in the BR is fine to lay in bed and watch. For such a big investment it's a shame you can't tow and live in one for a couple of weeks before buying. we love our EB and so accept the little things we don't like. With gas prices we feel it was a good move away from the 5th wheel diesel truck route. The construction was the selling point for me, no wood, not a scrap.

Hey Bob, interesting comment on the couch. We were concerned about that. Have you seen the EB Copper Mountain? They moved the TV down to window level. The sofa is a big wrap-around design. Not sure if it's any more comfortable though. Anyway, that's the one we're focusing on lately. I was considering getting that new F-150 with the V6 Ecoboost engine. It could easily pull it and gets good mileage for a full sized truck. Of course, the diesel Navion IQ 24G gets around 17mpg (not towing anything). It's construction is more old school, but it does have the advantage of being able to park most anywhere a large truck can. Nice for stopping along the way. It lets you turn the driver and passenger chairs around and use them as part of the living area too, so you get a very comfortable living area. Cost-wise, it works out about the same since my current truck won't pull the Copper Mountain.

I'm glad to hear your enjoying your Golden Ridge, and you're absolutely right, not having to worry about water problem, ever, is a tremendous benefit. I enjoy reading your updates. Have fun!

That's interesting about the Copper Mountain TV. It would be nice if they could lower our Jensen some. It looks like there is room and the wires are on the outside of the wall anyway. I think the U shaped dinette seating is more comfortable than the couch so maybe the CM couch is more comfy.
When diesel went up to over $4+ gal, I'd fill it until it clicked off at $75 I think it was and then have to add another $60 worth. I'm beginning to think a tear drop trailer and a Ford Focus might be the way to go, or tent camping... LOL. If you buy a Class C that you drive I would think it would require more planning if you don't tow another vehicle. Once you get set up you won't want to tear down to run to the store. If you tow a "dingy" then you're taking two engines and drive trains. to me that's the beauty of a trailer, you just have the one motor vehicle and it can be smaller, more economical, and in my case easier for the wife to drive. She never would drive the diesel truck.
Later, Bob

At 24', it's not likely we'd pull a dingy with the Navion. I've been reading the Yahoo View/Navion board. That's one of the thing most owners enjoy about them. Small enough to park most anywhere. Our focus, for the early years at least, will be on sightseeing vs long term camping. Lots of one or two night stays, so the planning for camp stays shouldn't be too hard. My wife's driven trucks, and was actually excited about the prospect of sharing the driving. Either way, class c or trailer, I'm counting on that! At this point, we could go either way and be happy with it.