Like most "wonder-bread, white picket fence, suburban Middle-class" American families, we have two cars (usually only occupied by one person at a time), which we use on a daily basis to get back and forth from school/work/shopping/errands/etc. Could we combine efforts, plan ahead, and get by with one vehicle? Probably, but that would just be Un-American!
Making the transition to Full-time RV living complicates things. For the next year or two, while we are still remaining here on the California Central Coast, there is no problem keeping our two vehicles, and going about life as usual. But what about when we are on the road? Since we aren't independently wealthy trust-fund babies, at least one of us will always be working, or at school, even as we make our way around America. No one wants to drive a SECOND vehicle, across the country, so how does one of us maintain the ability to run errands while the other is away for up to 13 hours a day?
Since we are considering a toy-hauler RV, this opens up the realm of a few options. We will have the ability to carry up to 2,500 lbs, in a 12' x 8' garage. Our first thought was "lets just get a really small car!" We considered vehicles by Smart, Fiat, Mini and other similarly sized offerings, but after some searching, determined that these vehicles were a.) too expensive, b.) too close to the weight limit of our trailer (considering we also need to bring along all of our belongings), and c.) Just not convenient to try to squeeze in and out of an RV on a semi-regular basis. Also, lets be honest... We aren't tiny people, and these things are TIGHT!! Next...
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| The Smart Fortwo cabriolet |
NEV's, or Neighborhood Electric Vehicles, are basically Golf-Carts with mirrors, horns, and license plates. Their top speed is around 25 mph, and if your wallet is deep enough, they can be customized with fully enclosed cabins, sound systems, heat/AC, and most of the other amenities you would expect from a small commuter vehicle. GEM and E-Z-Go are the two manufacturers that we researched. This option, however, also seemed very limiting. The low top speed meant we could only drive this vehicle on docile, city/neighborhood streets, so county highways were out, which could pose a problem considering the rural location of many RV parks. We also realized that once we configured one of these vehicles to our liking, the price was nearly that of an actual car. Next...
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| The GEM e4, by Polaris. |
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| The E-Z-Go 2Five 2+2 |
Our third, and so-far most popular idea was embrace our Wild Side and take it to two wheels. No... Not a beefy Harley, or sleek Sport Cruiser. We are talking about 1 cylinder of putt-putt'ing Scooter Power! It's not the most glamorous option, but I'm not going to lie... These things are pretty cool! We decided to head to the local Yamaha/Suzuki/Polaris dealer and check one out for ourselves!
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| The Yamaha SMax |
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| The Suzuki Burgman 200 |
We had done a bit of research online before we went in, and fortunately this dealer had 3 of our favorite models on the floor. The Owner helped pulled our favorites out and let us sit on them, look them over, and of course press EVERY button (I will let you guess which one of us that was...). He also pointed out the Pros/Cons/Similarities/Differences between the models, and helped steer us in the direction he thought would best suit our needs.
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| I think this means they like it... |
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| They also make an undeniably adorable "Biker Gang" |
Turns out that the 200cc engine requires a motorcycle license in several states, California included, so we have some studying to do for our permit tests, but I think that we found an solution that will work out well for us. Check one more box in our plan book, and one step closer to hitting the road to live our dream. Stick around!
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| Aedan wanted us to get this one... I wanted him to get a job... Neither of us got what we wanted. |
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