Information Exchanges

Well, it's official. After much exchanging of information, Greg and I decided to make it official. We will deliver the deposit when we are over there on Wednesday.

He spoke to RVS about the unit and reviewed all the work that was done on it. He also spoke at length to the man who owns the unit (we'd been talking to his son and grandson).

We were pretty sure it was the right motorhome for us before but now we're really sure!

We're very excited. Greg sat last night looking at the pictures we took of it again. We can't wait to see it in the driveway!

Look what we did . . .

Kicking the tires
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

I can't believe it but we did it.

We came. We saw. We promised to buy.

Okay, we are waiting to give a deposit until they fax us the copies of the receipts for the work done at RVS.
But the plan is that we will give them the deposit early this week and then we'll pay the balance in a few weeks.

It's beautiful. I'm not feeling overwhelmed by it. I'm feeing happy and pleased that we did the right thing. That must be a good sign!

More pictures are available [click].

It is Unit #0708. It's in wonderful condition mechanically and the interior is looking good too. This is exactly the perfect unit for us to buy -- we are feeling really good about this. We know we'll make changes and customize it to suit our needs but it is something we can start using right away which thrills us completely. I guess I need to make a reservation for our first outing in about a month! Wow! What fun!

Today in our adventure

We are going to look at an FMC for sale in our area. We are feeling really good about this one but also are totally willing to walk away if it doesn't feel right. With gas prices the way they are, motorhome prices are going to go down, not up. We can wait.

This particular model needs almost nothing mechanical but looks to be untouched (except for a new fridge) on the interior. That's good for us. We know that we will have some pretty specific wants and desires and will probably change even a completely redone FMC to suit our needs. But, it would feel better fixing something old rather than tearing out something new.

We've spent our free time the last few days pouring over photographs and learning about these machines.

One of the things we learned is that there were only 1050 made and there is a database with all the numbers where they are trying to keep track of them. So, we're curious which number is the one we're looking at -- I think (based on my research) that it is 642. It will be interesting to see if I'm right.

Our Current Camping Rig

Truck & 5th Wheel
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

We currently have fun in our Terry Resort 5th Wheel trailer and our GMC 3500 4x4 truck. We always thought this would be the perfect traveling setup for our family because we love to park and then explore -- preferably on old dirt roads that lead to beautiful places.

Reality though is that for a family of four and a dog or two it doesn't work very well. A motorhome will be more comfortable for us.

But, we'll sure miss the old setup when it goes. Heavy Sigh!

Getting Serious -- Research Begins

RVS in Morgan Hill, CA
Originally uploaded by egret's nest.

On our way to Bonfante Gardens with the kids, we stopped in Morgan Hill, CA to chat with Jim at RVS. Jim used to work for FMC back in the day and is the acknowledged expert on them. Greg wanted to pick his brain.

We had the kids with us which made for an interesting visit. They were really good but once Greg and Jim got down to talking, I figured we'd better go do something else. The kids and I went back to the car and played there (and whined and complained and said, "Isn't Dad done YET?" over and over again) while Greg and Jim talked about FMCs.

Greg came back thrilled -- he'd gotten some good information (which he can relay or not as suits him!) and felt even more excited about our plan.

I was also pleased. I'd only seen these RVs from the outside and through pictures on the Internet. Standing in one, looking at the dimensions, layout, and just feeling it was so useful. I'm excited about our plan too.

So, now the real dream building begins . . . which one do we get, what will we do to it, what kind of tow vehicle, what colors, what fabrics, what . . .

An obsession begins

We have been traveling with our current rig -- a GMC 3500 4x4 pickup truck pulling a 1987 Terry Resort 5th Wheel trailer since the trailer was new (well, we've have a few trucks in that time). It has served us well and we never thought we'd change our minds about what we wanted. Buuuuuuut . . . .

• We have always talked about fixing up an old RV
• We have found that now that we have kids who travel with us the 5th Wheel truck thing is not as comfortable for us as we'd hoped
• We want a change and a project and love shopping and searching and planning so . . .
  

We're looking for something new.

Greg narrowed his focus very quickly. He was interested in either and old FMC or an old GMC motorhome. We looked at both on the Internet, talked about them, discussed them, and talked about them and looked them both up and it became clear that the one he was really interested in was the FMC. So, we narrowed our focus even further.

What we like about the FMC . . .

1. Extremely well-made motorhome with a great reputation
2. Made locally (Santa Clara, CA)
3. One of the original employees has an RV repair place nearby and he is simply an expert on these coaches and shares his expertise happily
4. Cool look to them -- great lines.
   

And so we started looking just as FMCs.

All this was just in a dream-maybe-someday phase until our last camping trip. We had a great time but all of us -- including the kids -- kept talking about how nice it would be to be traveling in a motorhome where bathroom stops don't have to be delayed or happen too often, where travel weary kids aren't stuck in their carseats without being able to stretch and move for four hours straight, where noisy kids aren't immediately behind parents who are trying to talk about wonderful grown-up things like what sort of vehicle they would like to tow behind the FMC that they are going to buy.

Well, after that trip, things starting moving and shaking and now we're getting serious.

Let the fun begin!