After deciding we were ready for a three-month motorhome excursion, our next step was to talk with other people to see if they had any experience with undertaking a journey like ours. Many told us while they had not done this, and it is a dream of theirs. What we learned from these discussions is that driving across the country in a motorhome is a romanticized idea, and they nor we had any real idea what this kind of adventure entails.
Being the planner that he is, Dennis suggested we rent a motorhome for a week and take it on a trial run. VERY GOOD IDEA! He researched motorhome rental agencies and found one not too far from us. On a Saturday, we trekked out there and learned all about class C and A motorhomes in one afternoon. The class C motorhome is the “Winnebago” style body with one of the beds positioned over the cab. Class A is more of a bus style body with a flat front. No distinctive license is required to drive the class A motorhome. As most of you know, Dennis is six feet tall, with the majority of his height in his legs. After sitting behind the steering wheel of both types of motorhomes, he ultimately chose the class A because he fit comfortably in the driver’s seat. There is a downside to the decision. The class A is much bigger, the smallest one we could rent was a thirty-footer. The average sedan is 14.5 feet long and five feet high; the Class A we rented was 30 feet long and 13 feet tall.
Ready for the trial run! 
Sitting comfortably, excited to start the trip!
The week of Christmas, we packed up the motorhome out and headed out for our first stop in Santa Margarita for three nights and the rest of the time at Pacific Dunes near Pismo Beach. Our intentions were to leave early in the morning and arrive at the campsite before nightfall. We had several starts and stops (buying towels I forgot to pack, gassing up the motorhome, stopping to eat), putting us far behind schedule. Also, a 30-foot motorhome does not go very fast!
Despite our best efforts, we arrived at the campsite after dark. Once parked, we hooked up the water and sewage lines and pulled the lever as Margo, the motorhome agency contact person, had instructed. Waste from a motorhome is divided into two tanks; gray water from the shower and sinks and black water from the toilet. The black and gray water tanks then empty to the sewage hook-up. It was difficult connecting all the hosepipes in the dark, but we did it and felt like real “motorhomers.”
The next morning we awoke and peeked outside to see what we couldn’t in the dark. We saw a typical campground and an emu named Kevin. Kevin is a camp attraction during the busy camping season. After breakfast we explored the campground and met Katie Ann grounds monitor, and learned we were the only people camping there (cue the horror movie music!) Katie Ann was very sweet, gave us a complimentary bundle of firewood, and inquired about how our sewage hook-up went. After explaining what we did, she advised to keep the black hose lever closed and to open it every three days to create pressure and help push all the waste out. Back at the motorhome we followed her advice.
One of the fun features of the motorhome is a smart pad where we could check the status of the many amenities on board including the gray and black water tanks. On Christmas eve Dennis noticed the black water tank filling up much faster than it should have, registering at 50% full. One hundred percent means you are in deep… We called Margo and got no response from her. She finally responded the day after Christmas, about 36 hours after our initial call. By this time the tank monitor read 99% full! She told us we must have forgot to pull the lever needed to empty the tanks. We insisted the lever had indeed been pulled correctly. She then asked if we had pulled the lever on the other side of the motorhome. “What lever?” we asked. Margo had forgotten to tell us about an additional lever to pull when hooking up the hoses. Once the lever was pulled the black water tank went from 99% to 0%. Disaster averted!
While we agreed the experiment was a success, there were pros and cons to consider before renting a home on wheels.
Pros:
1. Traveling in comfort (there is tons of space in a 30’ motorhome with just two people).
2. The convenience of always having a bathroom.
3. The ability to stop and pull over any time to eat, rest, or camp when the mood struck us.
4. The emotional closeness the experience of a motorhome created for us.
Cons:
1. The motorhome is cumbersome and driving would be at a slower pace.
2. Dennis would have to do all of the driving.
3. We would lose some mobility. There are places you cannot get to with a motorhome.
4. Hooking and unhooking to sewage lines is a pain.
5. The supposed “Queen-sized” bed was too short even for me.
After considering the pros and cons, we cast secret ballots (okay, it is corny with only two voters) and by unanimous decision, nixed the motorhome in favor of renting an SUV and staying at hotels along the way. We enjoyed our motorhome trial run and plan on doing another motorhome trip to a national park in the future. Next post: “On the Road.”
The Unexpected Gap Year 