The Beginning

On March 8 I retired. I purchased a 36 foot motorhome in January in Quartzsite AZ. This is my first experience living in a motorhome. I grew up in a family that camped regularly, first in tents then in trailers. I had been planning this chance to travel for the last three years. The unexpected death of my husband in 2005 did not deter my plans. I did decide to spend most of my travel time with my sister and brother-in-law who have been full-time RVers for years.

Since I bought my motorhome in January, I was able to spend a few weekends "testing things out" in Quartzsite with my sister and brother-in-law close by to help me out.

I was totally freaked out about the prospects of driving this large a rig -- at least turning it. I wanted to be able to tow my PT cruiser as well. Because I am an Oregon resident, I was able to avoid paying any sales tax when I purchased my motorhome in AZ. Unfortunately this meant the motorhome needed to be delivered out-of-state. The dealer, who was new to selling in AZ, first "delivered" the motorhome in Ca so I had an opportunity to drive about 20 miles on my first "trip."

Later the dealer called me to tell me the CA delivery was not acceptable to the state of AZ so we held another delivery in NV. This gave me a chance to drive my second "trip" of 120 miles. Both times I was accompanied by a professional RV driver who gave me driving tips.

Although OR does not require any special license for a motorhome driver, after three months and three thousand miles of RV driving. I certainly support a special RV drivers license.