LJ and DJ's Big Adventure... Retired and Loving it!: April 2018

It's been pretty interesting, this lifestyle change. I haven't written in awhile because we've just been so busy...

We made some major decisions over the last couple of months, the most important of which is the purchase of a new fifth wheel. Yes we did. I know it's crazy but it makes sense for us. After a lot..and I mean a lot...of soul searching and research we decided we needed a toy hauler. But which one? And are we sure?

First I guess would be why? The Montana is beautiful with loads of storage, a bath and a half, and all the comforts of a small apartment. But what is it lacking? Nothing much, but what it doesn't have is very important to our lifestyle and our sanity lol.

First and foremost, there was no where to go in inclement weather to have some privacy. If I wanted to read but he wanted to watch tv one of us had to give up. The bedroom just wasn't comfortable to read or watch tv. Outside was out of the question in extreme heat, cold or wind. Even though we enjoy spending time together, there is such a thing as too much togetherness.

If I needed to work on taxes or anything, the only place was the dining table. Which meant I had to put everything away for meals. Pain in the butt. I needed to use the sewing machine to fix something. Oh wait... it's in storage because there is no where to put it.

Another issue was whenever I did laundry, the washer drained into the black tank meaning we had to dump it every time. That, too, was a pain in the butt and costly. Every time you dump it you have to add chemicals. So I didn't do laundry but one day a week. And while I love having my own washer/dryer, that meant all day sitting and waiting since each load takes about an hour and a half.

LJ hated the on demand water heater. It took several minutes to get the water hot. Again, pain in the butt. I hated the water never got hot enough to actually use the bathtub.

Don't get me wrong. The Montana was a great trailer in so many ways. We learned a lot about our personal wants and needs. And when we added the final negative of having to pull an extra trailer to get his atv places, the decision was made. I think it was him realizing that we would have to maintain a storage unit for the atv that wasn't used but 4 months out of the year...that we would have to travel back to Reno if we wanted to venture outside our selected states to store the atv, blah blah blah. So we set off to find the right toy hauler

We had numerous conversations about what we wanted and agonized over whether or not this was the right move. After all, we had only had the Montana a year. But off we went to look at every freakin' toy hauler on the market.

We looked at low end, high end, custom. We must have walked through hundreds of toy haulers, all brands and makes. We decided low end wasn't the kind we wanted to live in. Super high end really was just money, not necessarily better. So we finally settled on "luxury" toy haulers, if there is such a thing. After all, nothing was going to be as nice as the Montana as far as the living area goes.

We finally decided on one Road Warrior floor plan, two Fuzion floor plans, one Raptor floor plan and two Momentum floor plans. They all looked good on paper and in photos. Fortunately we were I Arizona where there are a million RV dealers and all could be seen in person.

After physically walking through the Road Warrior and the Raptor, neither of us was impressed with the fit and finish. Neither "felt" good. They were lacking in so many things that you don't realize until you are in it. We were surprised and just how "not nice" they were.

After eliminating them, we settled on sticking to the Fuzion or Momentum. We had been very close to buying a Momentum before we bought the Montana. I absolutely loved the kitchen and living area in one of the Fuzions. The counter space and kitchen storage was incredible. I thought I had found the one. But then we went and spent about two hours just sitting in it. The bedroom was claustrophobic. Only one of us could be in there at a time. Plus every time you walked to the closet, you almost knocked the tv off the wall. The longer I was in it, the more I hated it. It had a large garage, but required the washer dryer be in the center against the living area wall, so in essence made the garage two feet shorter. It didn't allow for a vented dryer with out drilling through the floor. The underbelly storage was horrible. So.. scratch that one off the list. That's the beauty of not impulse buying. We didn't make a mistake. For virtually the same reasons we eliminated all the Fuzions.

So..back and forth through two Momentum plans. Oh wait...did we see this one. Make it three floor plans. But wait, there's more. Make it four. Finally, after weeks of research and looking, we settled on the Grand Design Momentum 397. It checked off all the what we want boxes and really didn't have any of the negatives we had been finding. It was one of the few where the washer/dryer was in the bedroom closet so I could keep my vented unit.

LJs fav billboard on the way to Las Vegas from AZ lol

Now it was finding one at the right price. So I sent out inquiries to local (AZ) dealers and dealers across the western US. We were ready to buy from whoever came up with the best price for the Montana and the best price for the new unit. After A LOT of back and forth, pitting dealer against dealer, the best all around offer came from Blue Dog RV in Las Vegas. So, off we went to see their unit in person. Just a short 5 hour drive from Goodyear AZ. Did it in a day. Saw the unit. A couple things needed to be fixed which is not unusual. Made a list...did the paperwork and we were the new owners of a 2018 GD Momentum. We really didn't get hurt too bad on the Montana trade in. Still an expensive mistake, but I've already been able to put the money back in the bank so it's all good.

We had a week before we switched trailers. LJ went to Home Depot and bought 11 crates. We emptied out 90% of the Montana and put the crates at Bruce's house. That took about three days. It's amazing how much crap you collect in nine months. If there was a space in a cabinet, I put something in it, lol. Then we were off to LV to get the new one.

They were going to transfer our satellite and our washer/dryer from the Montana to the Momentum. That was going to take at least a day and a half. So we spent the night in the Montana at the Sam's Town KOA in Las Vegas. We spent two nights at the Rio, Las Vegas, because they are one of the few dog friendly hotels in town. While there we hooked up with some Reno friends who were staying at another RV park. That was nice!

Once the trailer was ready, we spent two hours moving the remainder of stuff from the Montana to the Momentum. Nice thing about a garage is you can just throw everything into it lol. Put it away later. Funny thing is, not once, have we regretted making the change. I know we regretted not buying it in the first place because we always talked about it. Like I said, lesson learned. We did not apply enough weight to the separation of space, usefulness of the garage and other things when we bought the Montana. Been in the Momentum now 6 weeks and I love it...so does LJ.

Rain sucks Mom
I look stupid.

Traveling from Arizona back to Reno was a breeze. ATV inside...no extra trailer. We had to stop at the RV dealer in Las Vegas on the way. Had a water leak they needed to fix, and they did. But we had to leave it over night, so one more night at the Rio. Damn dogs, lol. But it was good and we made it to Reno just in time for rain, cold and wind. I'm thinking we left AZ a bit too soon lol.

I have discovered this trailer has every bit of the storage the Montana had, just different. While the Master Bath is not as big, the shower is. I don't live in the bathroom, so in retrospect, while nice, the large bathroom in the Montana...well it was wasted space. The Montana had a lot of closet space but it was spread out into several closets. The Momentum has one very large closet with, and we measured, the exact same amount of hanging space. PLUS it has all kinds of cubby hole storage for shoes, Levis, crap, behind the hanging clothes.

There is hanging space over the washer.. something I didn't have before. Perfect for hanging things straight out of the dryer. There's actually more counter space in the kitchen in the new trailer. I like the pantry better. The other one was deep, this one wide so things aren't hiding behind things lol. The secondary bath is smaller, but functional. It is actually a full bath, but I think the shower is only big enough for a munchkin. The underbelly storage is just a large as the Montana had. The garage has two queen beds that lift to the ceiling when not in use, or turn into opposing couches. The ramp is already designed to be a patio, with sliding screen doors, when parked in a spot that will accommodate it.

This 2018 has a lot of feature the 2017 did not have (that we almost bought). So, I guess you can say the silver lining in all of this is by waiting we got the right one. Neither of us, has once said we are sorry we made the change. Change is good. Like now.. here I am in the garage writing and watching my tv show. He's ten feet away watching his Nascar race. I can see him through the glass door but don't have to listen lol. The other day I had our taxes spread out on the tables in the garage. Didn't have to pick anything up until I was done.

And best of all... should one of the kids decide to come visit us on our travels, we have a bed for them! And a private toilet, lol. When we go to Idaho this July, we don't have to come back to Reno to drop off the ATV. We can just keep going! Scooter loves it. I love it. Happy and content once again.

And change of subject:

The Rio Las Vegas has a floor that is all dogs. They give you little dog dishes and treats and poop bags to keep. Dog can't be on the casino floor so no gambling for him lol. Expensive, but at least we can stay with Scooter! He apparently had never stayed in a hotel before. Wasn't quite sure what to do. Smelled everything, then spent most of his time on the couch in his little bed. LJ didn't mind taking him out to pee because, as he put it, the little guy is quite the chick magnet. He was constantly stopped so women could "pet the dog". Whatever....lol. The second time we stayed at the Rio, Scooter wasn't nearly as nervous or curious. He was an experienced hotel stayer now.

The KOA at Sam's Town is ok. The sites are buddy sites, but with a divider in between...weird. But
they are long and it's next to the casino where there is food, gambling, a bowling alley and movie theater. Wally World is across the street. I'd stay there again.

We have decided to maybe go three years instead of two. After all, we are already almost one year done and still have a lot to do. We rather like being able to move from one place to another, even if we do stay put for months. It's nice having the option. Especially now, with this new trailer. Not only has it made our travels easier, but more enjoyable. Can't say I'm in any kind of hurry to settle down.

Now..I must get ready for my three day excursion to the Atlantis Resort in Reno...sans LJ and the dog. Oh damn....😁

This is the floor plan of the new one... we have the super sofa...