First published on February 3, 2013

To see all of my categories of posts go to the Home Page

I first drove this RV for work back in 2012, I believe. I’ve driven it off and on for a number of years but there were many times I didn’t want to unless I was going a good distance from home that required more comfort. Otherwise, I would not take it because the gas mileage is horrendous and even though I get compensated for some of the gas I don’t get compensated for all of it especially if I decide to take a detour when I get downtime and want to go and explore and hike. An RV isn’t conducive for a lot of driving and I don’t generally hitch a car. A few years ago I did and lucky for me when the transmission failed on the RV I was driving I had my car. If I hadn’t I would have had to buy something to drive to get home because I was a long way from home and it took the shop forever(over a year) to replace the transmission and the warranty company tried very hard to get out of repairing or replacing it. They claimed there was too much weight and tried to claim the car was too heavy. Because of all the problems I had with the warranty company my Uncle told me to unload everything I could because the warranty company demanded both the RV and my car be weighed to make sure it wasn’t over the weight limit which it wasn’t. I tried to be careful to make sure everything was good. I did carry a lot of stuff but I didn’t carry too much, mostly clothes and needed tools. I tried to carry only what would fit in my car. I ended up taking everything out of my car and the RV and putting in my motel room like my Uncle told me to do. I had to take all of the tools and everything extra that I couldn’t carry in my car and donate it or pawn it like I did with the tools but didn’t get near what they were worth but I had no way to carry them. 

I couldn’t believe a warranty company would do this but they did. I should have known, this wasn’t the first run in with a warranty company. A few years ago the engine on my second Ford Focus, which was a foolish buy, blew up and it stayed at the first shop for six months until Ken, my mechanic, had had enough and told me to get it off of his lot or he was hauling to the crusher. That nearly destroyed the good, working relationship I had with my mechanic. He was very good. He had replaced the valves(did a valve job) on another car I owned and that one too caused some friction with the warranty company and by the time I stopped going to his shop he was no longer accepting warranty repairs because they were too difficult and too stressful.

My Focus went to the Ford dealer where it sat for another year and went through four advisors before my husband went and talked to the owner of the dealership and something finally got done when he called the warranty company. The warranty company insisted on assigning a new inspector to my car even though they already knew what the problem was. After nearly two years they finally replaced the engine in my car. It was nightmare. The RV sat in the shop for over a year before they finally fixed the transmission. It was another nightmare.

While I liked the RV the debacle with the warranty really spoiled it for me. It had a full size bathroom and plenty of room but I always hated having to empty the tanks so I very rarely showered in it. I only showered in it if I had to. I only used the bathroom in it if it was the middle of the night at a Walmart that was closed or some other store that was closed but I tried to always park somewhere that was busy like a truck stop but I found out quickly that I couldn’t park a class A motor home in the car parking area and there was rarely parking in the truck parking lot and if there was it would make some trucker mad which I completely understood. This mostly left Walmart or Lowes which weren’t always the best places because there wasn’t anyone parked there to speak of. It depended on the area and how much of a tourist area it was. Walmart wasn’t always pleased with me parking in their lot because a big Class A takes up three or four parking spots compared to a camper van that will fit in one. A Class C will fit in more than two. So this meant I had to move around a lot compared to when I drove my car or a van my business gave me.

As for the bathroom I’m really glad I had one but I never did more than urinate in it except for once when I had upset stomach. When/if I get a van of my own it must have a toilet. Either a composting toilet or do it yourself. As for a shower, I can go to the gym or a truck stop.

Honestly, I preferred my car. My first one was a 2001 Ford Taurus and no matter how much people made fun of that car it actually was one of the toughest I owned. I did a fair amount of repairs but it never died on the side of the road. In fact, it never died at all. Whatever went wrong with it I was given time to take it to a repair shop. I’d just stay in one place for the week it took not driving it any more than I had to until I got it fixed. My last trip with that car was to Pennsylvania from NC and it had 232,000 miles on it. It’s kind of another story as to why I didn’t drive my other car but that was because my husband was drunk and took the keys to my other car and I had to drive the high mileage car. I wasn’t going to but I had to leave because things always got bad when he was drinking.

The best car I owned was my 2007 Ford Focus hatchback. It was totaled by a tractor trailer when it had 163,000 miles on it and I was planning on driving it for another several years. The semi hit me when the drive in front of me stopped in the middle of the interstate. The personal injury case still hasn’t been settled.

Overall, I liked this RV but it was far from my favorite one. And if I was told to drive it again I would refuse. I don’t often get the Class B van my Uncle and his business partners own. It has to be shared among the other employees.

The RV Camping Bible is a good resource out on the road.

References: RV Cooking Made Easy, RV Dump Stations: 2480 Dump Stations in the United States, RV’s and Campers For Dummies, RV Traveling Hacks and RV Hacks: 400+ Ways To Make Life on the Road Easier.

Latest posts: Abandoned South Carolina, Bears at Oswald’s Bear Ranch in Michigan, Mackinac Bridge Mackinaw City Michigan and Demon Dog Valle Crucis NC.

Visit my YouTube Channel Sassy After Sixty here: https://www.youtube.com/sassygrrl32 where I share my adventures on the road, https://instagram.com/sassygrrl32 where I talk about van life & road tripping, my business blog Rizzo REI Partners~Rachel Holbert Jones Page here: https://rachelholbertjones.wordpress.com/, Medium here: https://medium.com/@sassygrrl32a, articles at Hubpages here: https://hubpages.com/@sassygrrl32, Diverse & Wickedly Crazed Diary here: https://rachelholbertjonespage.com/, https://rachelholbertjones10.blogspot.com/ which is a collection of personal posts, haunted abandoned places, cemeteries, nature, photography, strange happenings, road tripping, camping, hiking and van life. Also https://xie-qi.blogspot.com formerly Haunted Abandoned Carolinas but that is primarily reserved for this blog.

DISCLAIMER: As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I may earn a commission from various affiliate programs listed on my website/blog.

Until next time……..My story……..UPDATE: I’m moving to a marina on Lake Keowee in Oconee County, only in a smaller boat, a 1981 Yukon Delta 28 that needs a ton of work…………….I’m Rachel Xie Qi Holbert-Jones Page and this is my story: living in Iva, South Carolina (Anderson County), part time in Hartwell, Georgia on my boyfriend’s boat, a 1986 Chris-Craft Catalina 381. I was at the Hartwell Marina which doesn’t allow liveaboards so I left. He purchased a 1996 Holiday Mansion 39 Barracuda, 1977 CHB Trawler 34 (I’m remodeling), 1986 Marine Trader 54 Sunliner that I’m updating, 2018 Sunseeker Manhattan 52, 2001 Nordic Tug 37 and a 1983 Fishcraft 28 (similar to the AdventureCraft 28 I lived on and still call home). I’m also camping at various places, mostly lake campgrounds.****************I still care for my aunt in West Virginia sometimes and hoping not to have to return to Memphis, Tennessee. We are scheduled to move my aunt to Dead Women Crossing, Oklahoma but first it’s to Georgia for the winter & Michigan in the summer. I’m still traveling for work and have been to my Uncle’s ranch in Alpine, Texas to oversee it and the cattle he retitled in both of our names, Texas Longhorns, Scottish Highlands, Brangus and show horses. He’s also added Bison and Beefalo to his ranch. **************************** For my work travels my uncle purchased a 1995 Ford E-150 Econoline GT Starquest Campervan. I wasn’t sure about an older van like this but the man that owned it had completely converted it with solar power and electrical, it was a good deal. It only has 112k miles. It only has a sealed portable toilet but it is okay because I prefer a public toilet and only use a camper toilet if I’m dispersed camping, at a Walmart or Cracker Barrel. I prefer rest areas and truck stops. For short trips, I drive a car or SUV. *************************** I have an avid love for photography and capturing the essence of old, abandoned houses, allegedly haunted places, classic, antique vehicles, lakes, rivers, nature, museums, art galleries, antique shops, car shows and historical places. I’m not a ghosthunter or paranormal investigator although I’ve had people request me to lead their groups, I’m a legend hunter. I love scary podcasts and spend more time on YouTube or Audible than Peacock or Tubi. I used to watch TV or movies when I stopped for the night but now I usually go right to sleep when I stop and prefer the podcasts of Darkness Prevails, What Lurks Beneath, Swamp Dweller or Red Owl. I like to listen to scary trucker stories too, occasionally grizzly/polar bear attacks, audiobooks & Dateline Podcasts. I like google scholar, casetext, medium, wordpress, livejournal, blogger, unsplash, pexels, pixabay, pinterest, instagram, facebook, X, tumblr, amazon, eBay, shadowlands (for places that are haunted), reading, greek mythology, animal shows, National Geographic, the metaphysical, food, camping, fitness, weightlifting, nutrition, health, gua sha, face rollers, beauty, fashion, tai chi, yoga, YouTube (listening to van lifers and people living in their vehicles), road tripping, computers, internet and creating videos. I also like long drives & deserted back roads. Work consists of scouting for investment properties and rehabbing/remodeling those properties for my employer. We also remodel old boats and restore classic cars. ******Visit my blogs at https://rachelholbertjonespage.com (Diverse & Wickedly Crazed Diary) that I’m changing to revolve around mostly haunted, abandoned places and occasionally focus on personal posts having to do with my homeless situation; https://xie-qi.blogspot.com (Rachel X’s Secret Diary) focused on my homeless situation; https://sassygrrl32x.blogspot.com is social media type posts in a blog format; https://medium.com/@sassygrrl32a is mostly reviews; https://sassygrrl32.livejournal.com is a social media type blog; https://rachelholbertjones10.blogspot.com has some links to YT videos and personal posts; https://rachelholbertjones.wordpress.com is my business blog and https://youtube.com/sassygrrl32 ……………..By Rachel Xie Qi Holbert-Jones Page AKA sassygrrl32 & Haunted Legendhunter & Bourbon Street Blogger **********************************************Alot of people have asked me the story of my homeless situation and I’ve removed it for now and will discuss it in my blog posts. ***********************************#rachelxieqiholbertjonespage #sassygrrl32 #Iva #Keowee #SouthCarolina #Hartwell #Georgia #andersoncounty #Michigan #livinginacar #vanlife #nomadlifestyle #carcamping #roadtripping #boondocking #carlife #livingoffgrid #vandwelling #vanliving #legendhunter #haunted #abandoned #xieqi #sassyaftersixty #deadwomencrossing #oklahoma #westvirginia #memphis #tennessee #bourbonstreetblogger #bepositive #prayer #GodBless #rebranding #westernzhoudynasty #daxie #nanyang #mandarin #xiemei #lowbow #vitallifeforce #flowingvitalenergy #unseenenergy #taichi #davisislandersllc #rizzoreipartners #blackheart By Rachel Xie Qi Holbert-Jones BlackHeart Page