Any RV'ers out there?

Does a sailboat count? We travel in the boat and I just pack and bring along whatever I need in my bag.

BeSharp said:

Does a sailboat count? We travel in the boat and I just pack and bring along whatever I need in my bag.

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Ah yes, boats most certainly too! So there's one vote for bringing along...

Been into it for quite a while. I've even helped run a group/club for like minded owners of the same small RV

This is the first one I bought way back in time: 1981 Toyota Diesel 17' class C



This is my current one: 1991 Toyota V-6 18' class C

That would be a nice size. We're not able to get into the back-road areas like that with the longer trailer.

Now the small RV's cost 100k.

Jeesh! I'll have to camp in the bed of my truck with a tent.

but your question is still a good one. I have a small case/bag I use for my toiletries when traveling. The shave kit varies according to the situation/my current whims.

Last summer, we took off on a month long road trip that featured 12 nights camping in Yosemite NP, a week's rental in Berkeley CA for a family wedding/reunion and a return trip through NV, UT & CO to take in more of the NP system. I hadn't taken the plunge into DE razors yet, but was using a brush and shave sticks by that time. My shaving kit consisted of the following:

Gillette Mach 3 handle & cartridges
Simpson Special S1 pure badger brush
La Toja shave stick
Ogallala Bay Rum and Sandalwood shave stick

With this bare bones kit and a coffee mug to soak the brush during prep, I got good shaves the entire trip. I was particularly impressed at how little water one can use to get a decent cold water shave while camping in Yosemite, where there was no hot water in the restrooms in our campground and water was scarce in any event. Not too long after we were there, they closed the campground because of the water shortage (and forest fires outside the park).

I'm currently trying to reconfigure my camping shave kit to include more items, especially a DE razor/blades. It's a work in progress. I suppose I could just use the Mach 3, which packs up very compactly, and declare that I'm "roughing it", but I now have higher standards to uphold.

I keep most things in my camper all the time...However, a shaving kit is not one of them.

flyz51 said:

but your question is still a good one. I have a small case/bag I use for my toiletries when traveling. The shave kit varies according to the situation/my current whims.

Last summer, we took off on a month long road trip that featured 12 nights camping in Yosemite NP, a week's rental in Berkeley CA for a family wedding/reunion and a return trip through NV, UT & CO to take in more of the NP system. I hadn't taken the plunge into DE razors yet, but was using a brush and shave sticks by that time. My shaving kit consisted of the following:

Gillette Mach 3 handle & cartridges
Simpson Special S1 pure badger brush
La Toja shave stick
Ogallala Bay Rum and Sandalwood shave stick

With this bare bones kit and a coffee mug to soak the brush during prep, I got good shaves the entire trip. I was particularly impressed at how little water one can use to get a decent cold water shave while camping in Yosemite, where there was no hot water in the restrooms in our campground and water was scarce in any event. Not too long after we were there, they closed the campground because of the water shortage (and forest fires outside the park).

I'm currently trying to reconfigure my camping shave kit to include more items, especially a DE razor/blades. It's a work in progress. I suppose I could just use the Mach 3, which packs up very compactly, and declare that I'm "roughing it", but I now have higher standards to uphold.

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Wow, what a great trip!

I had thought like you at first too, that for camping I would just use a disposable or cartridge, but now I think I don't want to go without a REAL razor!

I guess my main reason for leaning toward just keeping another set-up in the trailer is simplicity (okay, laziness). We have tried to get the trailer outfitted with enough supplies/equipment that we can just get in and go basically with just taking clothes and food.

Your water usage made me think of something good to take when camping for shaving too. These little "tablets" take up hardly any room, and just take a tiny bit of water and give you a great towel to use for cleaning up. They would be great to have along for pet clean-up too if they get muddy and wet too:

http://www.canawipe.com/about.html

Mick,

Not purchasing an RV anytime soon but what does a rig of that size and class usually cost?

turtle said:

Been into it for quite a while. I've even helped run a group/club for like minded owners of the same small RV

This is the first one I bought way back in time: 1981 Toyota Diesel 17' class C

This is my current one: 1991 Toyota V-6 18' class C

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Long time RVer, I have a whole seperate kit in my trailer.

Dirk-Lerxst-Pratt said:

Mick,

Not purchasing an RV anytime soon but what does a rig of that size and class usually cost?

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These were made from 1977 through 1991. The early ones were made on light duty 1/2 ton trucks. The later ones (1988 and beyond) were made on 1 ton C&C duties (Cab and Chassis fleet units). In 1990 the NTSB recalled all of the ones made prior to 1988 and order a refit of the rear differentials which were too light duty and there were several reported accidents of broken axle shafts. This was a recall of the RV manufacturers NOT a recall directed at Toyota as it was the RV manufactures that overloaded the light duty trucks. This recall bankrupted most of the RV manufactures who were making these vehicles as the cost to replace the rear diff was pretty high. Toyota supplied the parts but the actual replacement was the RV manufacture responsibility.

As a result of this recall Toyota stopped making 1 ton C&C units (they still don't make one) as it gave them a black eye even though it was not their responsibility or their fault what someone did to their product after the sale.

The newest one you will find will be 1991 which is getting pretty long in the tooth now.

Prices range from a few hundred dollars for an older unit with the the stock rear end still in it to upwards of $25k for a 1990-1991 with low mileage.

They came in 2 lengths.

Shorty 18' and a longer 21' and made in 4 or 5 different interior layouts.

I'll PM you info about the Toyota RV group I run if you want to know more about them.

They have a "cult following" just like the old Mini Coopers and MG TDs do. You have to really want one and be prepared to look high and low for one in good condition but when you find one they are DA BOMB. They are the size of a car with 2 queen size beds, full bath, kitchen, pressurized hot and cold, AC and force air heat (just like a 40' coach, just smaller). I flew to San Diego to buy the one i now have (1 owner, garage kept, with 28k miles when I bought it)

Fuel economy runs anywhere from 24 mpg all the way down to 18 mpg (depending on the speed you want to go etc). With my current V-6, running 55 mph gets me 21 mpg but running 75 gets me around 13 mpg, but I have dropped the rear end gearing to 4.56:1. This is not too bad for an RV but a lot lower than what most thing.

Linedog59 said:

Long time RVer, I have a whole seperate kit in my trailer.

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Hey Linedog,

Just saw your diving post too...

Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and get a trailer kit too. Just need to decide what to get. I'll probably end up using my Merkur in the trailer, and maybe "upgrading" for my day-to-day one... Not that there's anything wrong at all with my 38C, I love it so far. I've just seen some really nice other ones too. I'm really liking the Edwin Jagger Chatsworth in ivory right now.

Nice truck and trailer by the way!

WHOA... You're serious aren't you.

Nice rig...

My uncle used to drive long haul and when he retired he sold his house, bought a NICE 5th wheel and large truck, and spent 20 more years on the road.

seahunter said:

View attachment 470678

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turtle said:

WHOA... You're serious aren't you.

Nice rig...

My uncle used to drive log haul and when he retired he sold his house, bought a NICE 5th wheel and large truck, and spent 20 more years on the road.

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Thanks. We really enjoy it, and don't have to rough it too bad while camping. My old bones are getting too old to sleep on the ground, but I did quite a bit of tent camping when I was younger.

That's cool about your uncle full-timing. We've talked about it, and may end up doing that one of these days.

I would definitely go with getting shaving gear just for the trailer rather than having to take a kit every time. As a matter of fact, I would recommend having dedicated camper gear packed and ready to go for as much stuff as you possibly can.

When I was a kid we had a pop up tent trailer. The first couple of years it didn't get much use due in part to packing for each short trip being such a hassle. My parents eventually started to keep more and more stuff in the trailer or staged in the house ready to load. Once we could head out on a whim without leaving anything mission critical behind the camper got a lot more use.

Good plan Paul. Yeah, we're pretty much getting it down to just stocking food and grabbing clothes and last minute stuff. I want it to be as fully self-contained as possible for ease of use and for a back-up in case the power goes out or anything. I've got it set up with dual six-volts and a generator so we can dry camp too.

I have a pop up camper. I do get some odd looks going down the highway in an old F250 towing a pop up. I also have a boat with a cabin (if you want to call it that) it has a head, and a table and couch that turns into a small double bed. We go camping (mostly in fall-spring) and boating (mostly summer) quite often (once a month or so.) I do have a travel kit, but I only have 1 and keep it in the house. I keep my travel kit basic soap, toothbrush, and bic disposable single blade razor.

Aqua Velva man said:

I have a pop up camper. I do get some odd looks going down the highway in an old F250 towing a pop up. I also have a boat with a cabin (if you want to call it that) it has a head, and a table and couch that turns into a small double bed. We go camping (mostly in fall-spring) and boating (mostly summer) quite often (once a month or so.) I do have a travel kit, but I only have 1 and keep it in the house. I keep my travel kit basic soap, toothbrush, and bic disposable single blade razor.

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Hey Aqua Velva,

Sounds like you're set up for some great outdoor fun! I need to look at those Bic and Gillette disposables. I never thought of just a decent disposable single-blade until a few of you had mentioned it.