# Park Models



## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

I was just wondering about them. Do you stay warm? Are they quiet, like when it rains.

I haul these things all over and most of them tow very nice, but ride just horrible. I may as well be bronc riding when Im pulling these dudes.

Been thinking of moving to the west coast and becoming a full timer.

We would like to have a 2 bedroom trailer and they mostly are available in large 38-42 foot bumper pulls. Our son Nick would like a change too, so he is coming along. Been looking at some with a king in the master with a slide and a queen in the second bedroom. They have a living slide too, and some have opposing living slides.

We dont want to go rent nothing and would like to be somewhat mobile till we find a city we like on the west coast. I may pull the trailer back to colorado for a month or 2 in the summer so we can see family. My wife really likes the idea of being mobile and if we like this will prolly get a super large 40-45 foot 5 slide fiver if we decide to stick with full timing.

These things have just as much room or are even better than the big 40 foot 5ers.

They are much harder to tow, but they arent that bad being I deliver them all over anyway and Im a trucker.

We have pretty much decided to go for it, so we are gonna start selling and trashing everything we have owned and just go for it. We have pretty much decided to try Coos Bay, Oregon first and see what happens. Dune dirtbiking might be fun to do for a while.

The market is in the gutter for park models right now. I have been seeing 1-5 year old repos going for some just stupid prices. I will prolly get one of those to try and see what we think. I could always sell it for what I paid. And I think we may try several styles of trailers till we decide what we like. Then we can go buy something new like a 44 foot Franklin 5 slide 5er, a big London Aire or something like that.. Travel Supreme, Excell, are just a few of the brands that come to mind. I know we have lost several true full time brands, so we will wait till this all sifts out and try all of the models till we decide if its for us or not. There are going to be some new upcoming full time brands soon. I have seen 100k travel supreme 5ers going for 30-40k lately. Its gonna be a while till we get out of the gutter. So why not take advantage and try em all out? Like my wife says, what do we have to lose? I say nothing but some new experiences!

I think we are gonna see some of the real old brands like Franklin, Hi Line, and Skyline/Layton emerge from this with some high quality full time 5ers. I think they will take off where Travel Supreme and King of the Road left off.. Just some rumors Ive been a hearing, lol. These brands have mostly been stick and tin models, but I hear some are playing with shells for 5ers like what is used in motorhomes and will include fiberglass roofs, just like the big full time motor coaches. Should be fun to watch!

In the end we may end up with a better full time 5er coach after all..

Carey


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## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

We just wanted to tell you good luck! We wish you guys the best and as always when you are around here continue to drop by! Tell Crystal hello for us. Let us know how you like full timing it. Those are our retirement plans as of right now









-Micah


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

Thanks Curtis! We dont know what we are about to get into, but we're going for it. Been weighing what trailer to try first. We decided to spend about 10k on our first trailer. We aint doing the payment thing no more. I have been finding 2-5 year old park models or 4-10 year old 33-40 foot 2-3 slide 5ers for 10k. I found a 40 foot Travel Supreme in Cali for 8k. Its a 1998 and has been towed 106 miles in its entire life. It has all new hubs, brakes and tires. It has been lived in 3 months a year for 10 years. It was profesionally maintaind in a park where it set.

I have been thinking hard about going out there and getting it. It has shiney sides and it looks brand new. It has all solid oak hardwoods and most of the seating is all leather and several of the chairs are new. A huge quad door fridge, and it has 3 axles. It weighs prolly 13500 empty. It is a very nice trailer.

There are so many used trailers for sale right now its almost overwhelming to sift thru all the ads i have found.

I have found some really sweet Hitch hikers 5ers too. All of the 38 foot and up TT models are stick and tin. I bet a 5er would be warmer.

lol I found an 03 Titainium for 8500 that had been hit in the rear. It had a clean title and its an easy fix. They have R11 walls, R14 roofs and R19 floors, and include thermo windows and heated tanks. They say they are great full time units. They are the warmest rv that can be bought and made by the cold weather pros in Ontario, Canada. I love to tinker and I wouldnt lose a nickel on that trailer.

So who knows what we will try 1st. We arent gonna spend much on the first one and plan to trade after about 6 months to something newer and nicer if we like this lifestyle. We arent gonna go back into debt till we see if this is for us.

No retirement yet for us.. Just wanting to give our son a new start and try something new.

Carey


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## wolfwood (Sep 19, 2005)

WOW, Carey! WHAT AN ADVENTURE!!! I look forward to reading about this as it develops


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

It may be several months till we get all this done. We have lots of stuff to sell and several trips that will need to be made to the dump. Its amazing how much junk one collects after living 10 years in the same house.

If anyone is a Barber we have a Barber shop biz we will sell cheap. Her shop is beautiful and has many vintage metal ad signs that gives it an old time feel. Its all yours for less than 10k, not including rent and thats cheap. I promise, if you work 8 hours a day, one could support there whole family from this shop. My wife works 3 hours a day and makes an easy 2 bills everyday. Its the oldest shop in our city.

I'll post a pic in a min.

Carey


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj224/HitchHog/IMG_1828.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj224/HitchHog/IMG_1833.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj224/HitchHog/IMG_1834.jpg

http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj224/HitchHog/IMG_1835.jpg

I renovated it in 2003 and it has 2 more work stations that could be renovated. So it could be 3 station shop. She works by herself so we never done the other two. Will make a deal to anyone who wants it. Pass it on please. Has a huge clientel base for about 75 miles to the west, 50 miles to the north and south, and she has many guys who make the hour trip from Colorado Springs or Pueblo to have her cut there hair. She once done 50 heads a day at 10 bucks a piece, but she decided to slow it down to save her wrists from carpel tunnel. Yes a good barber could make 100k a year out of this shop. Its closed weekends and is presently open from 9-12 am and has been that way for 2-3 years. When she arrives at 9am, the guys are lined up at the door.

It will be sold totally turn key, down to the clippers and many sets and sizes of clipper blades. She prolly has a good $1000-1500 in clipper blades and clippers alone.

And by the way, barbering is an all cash biz..









Carey


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

Carey, I've read a few stories about Park models being caught in between being a Mobile home and being an RV in some places and that they had to be moved like an RV. Just something to be aware of.

Not sure what type of work you are looking for, but the Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Pasco & Richland) in Eastern WA are still going and have weathered the recession pretty well, partially due to the Hanford Clean up, as well as other factors.


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

I'm gonna keep on hauling rv's. My wife has barbered for 10 years and her wrists feel it. She plans to do something easy like being a hostess at a resturant. Work maybe 4-6 hours a day. We are gonna keep things small and easy. I will go to working maybe 2 and 1/2 weeks a month out on the road. Of course if I get a new big 5er, Id have to work more.

My wife and I have worked our tails off as long as we have been together.(17 years) We want to slow down for a while. We only have one kid still with us, and he needs a change. He gets into trouble with his present friends and needs a new start.

I love, love love the pacific coast, and know all about the weather since I lived in Seattle for 3 years. Crystal also likes the pacific coast when we are on vacations so we are gonna try living on the coast first. We can always move to Medford or Eugene if we dont like it.

We may move around quite a bit till we find a place we like. We may even move down to the Texas coast in the winter. my mom and dad life around Corpus Christi. I know the winters can be rough on the coast, but my wife wants to try one and see for herself what its like.

There are so many people trying to sell there toys to stay aflost right now, that deals are everywhere. Those big 5ers are so sweet to both of us, that we prolly aint gonna be able to resist owning one. The prices are about 1/2 of what they used to be a couple years ago.

I can live in any city in the US since I haul rvs. its a great job for someone who would like to move all around thruout the year.

Thanks for the heads up yguy. I love your city! I have delivered a few to your dealers there in Pasco. I even slept at the walmart there on the north end of your metro area.

Now that I think about it, seems like I remember one of the dealers there with the name Chief in it. Chief something anyway.

Carey


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Carey,

This sounds like quite an adventure!

Now, please watch out for units near or over the 10 year mark. They may be in fine condition, but most seasonal type parks won't let you haul into them with a rig 10 years or older. Typically you are ok, once you are in, but they won't sign you up if it's that old. We have some nieghbors at our campground trying to unload an old Coachmen. It's in great shape, but it's 17 years old... the fiberglass is as shiny as new, and they've kept up on the interior as well (The only reason you know it's age is that the front cap is pretty square as opposed to the newer aerodynamic caps). Well, now they are selling and discovered that no campground in the area will let it in, and the current one says that if it changes hands it has to go.

This makes the 2-5 year old park models seem like a better deal. Just something to think about.


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

All the parks I spoke with its 15 years, but I bet there are parks that are 10 too.

I want to pay off all my bills to zero except for my dodge. If I do that I will have about 10k to buy a trailer, and in these times, one can find one pretty easy. I found a 2001 32 hitch hiker for 10k the other day, so I know I can get into this. Yep your right Nathan, I should be buying year over anything else. It would give me more freedom where it could be parked.

I think it will be between thanksgiving and xmas before we are ready to move, so I got plenty of time to find a deal.

I read craigslist about everyday, and just about every city is advertising and looking for seasonal renters. With this economy I would bet that many of them lower there requiremnets. They are needing money more now than ever.

Many of the early 90's and up trailers that are the 4 season type are still in great shape and eveything works just as well as it did when new.

I have found some old king of the road models that I would love to have, but they are tan fiberglass in color on the outside, so that kills em. I have found some early 90's models that are built like tanks and are just beautiful inside.

Ive thought about buying one of those and taking it to my buddies 100x80 shop and doing a custom curl paint job just like is whats on a new one. You'd sure get away with it then. Im an ex auto painter so thats something I sure may do. The bodies on those look the same as the new KR 5ers, so who would know. The world is all based on looks anyway.

In these times of money need, they sure wouldnt turn away a custom painted and beautiful 5er that looks just like a new one. The parks I spoke with said they dont look at registrations, they look at the trsiler and if it looks old, will then ask for a registration. They said everything is all based on looks as thats all the tenents care about. If a trailer looks up to date and modern they could care a less about model year for the most part.

Carey


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