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Our return to southern Arizona began with a quick stop at my Grandma’s house near Portal. She lives in a beautiful part of the state and the weather was lovely for our overnight stay, warm with a slight breeze. We were also able to visit with my Aunt Paula and her boyfriend Harry. It was a treat to get a tour of their property and see all the work they’ve done. As with any complete remodel project, there is still so much to do but we were amazed at all they have managed so far. We reluctantly left them and drove into Tucson on Sunday afternoon arriving at our “home” for our time in Tucson, Tra-Tel RV Park.

We laid low for our first week, not contacting many of our friends and family since we had doctor appointments and some serious shopping to do. Actually, I was in charge of the shopping while Lance pounded away on the computer keys making money for me to spend. We were in the market for not only a used car but a newer and larger used RV.

It may sound sudden to you but our research and pricing efforts actually began about four months ago. This past July we celebrated our one year anniversary of living on the road in our 21’ Class C Tioga Arrow motorhome. At that point, it became clear that we weren’t ready to stop traveling any time soon but we knew we couldn’t continue in such cramped quarters. It was truly amazing that Lance and I and our two cats had survived that long in our little old RV! After further discussion we realized that we couldn’t very well buy a larger RV and expect to continue to get around without a car.

So, first thing Monday morning I hit the pavement in a rental car and scouted out a couple decent deals. Fate and time were on our side: we signed the paperwork on the RV on Tuesday and bought the car on Wednesday. Within two days of our arrival in Tucson we had accomplished our two huge goals, and crossed them of the list! The only downside to working two deals at the same time is that the RV dealer made a bit more money off us than he should have. We did well on the car though and we’ll consider the tiny bit extra for the RV a convenience fee since we saved so much time shopping.

One of the things I most appreciated about the place where we purchased our RV is that they ensure that all the systems in the coach are operational. Though the RV only had a few things wrong with it by the time they were added up the full bill for parts and labor was over $4,000 and the dealer paid for all of it. As excited as we were to move in, our delivery date was delayed by a non-functioning A/C. It was promptly fixed, however, and we had the keys in our hands by the following Wednesday afternoon.

The second thing I liked about the dealer was their transition lot. Both RVs, our old one and our new one, were hooked up and parked side-by-side, which made moving in a breeze. By Thursday evening we were back in our RV park near Prince and I-10. Friday we were kept busy by errands and the weekend was consumed with ripping out the dinette and installing a desk for Lance and I. Why is it that the destruction is always so much easier than the construction? After two long days and several trips to the store, the desk was ready for the beginning of the work week on Monday.

So we are happy to announce that we are the proud new owners of a blue 2004 Honda CR-V and a 2000 Class A Fleetwood Southwind Storm 34D. We decided on a CR-V after researching which vehicles could be towed with all four wheels on the ground and, here’s the important part, without modifying the engine. We ended up with a CR-V not only because a manual one tows well, but because we’ve been keeping an eye out at the various RV parks we’ve stayed in, and one in every four tow vehicles is a CR-V. Safety in numbers, eh? Oh, and just to let you in on a little lingo from the world of full-time RVers, a towed car or dingy is commonly called a “toad”. Who says we don’t have a sense of humor?

Other than the additional 12’ in length we gained, we also gained extra width as the living room/dining room/kitchen has a full-length slide. This means that when parked, part of the RV slides out three feet for extra elbow room. The biggest appreciable differences are that it has a smoother and quieter ride, we can stretch out without touching both side walls at once, Lance hits his head much less frequently, and we are all sleeping better (including the cats).

Oddly enough some things are actually smaller in Sol Seeker II than they were in Sol Seeker, like the sinks, bathroom and fridge. The difference in the sinks is minimal, the bathroom has always been a one person affair but the fridge—yikes! Good darn thing we have a car now because my old stock up once a week and forget it system won’t work with this tiny thing.

Another unanticipated result of our new home is that Lance can’t hear me talking from the far end of the RV. At least that is what he says—I’ll be testing that assertion. It could be a case of selective hearing…

As one might expect all these changes in mode of travel will affect our manner of travel. Our system of travel that we have fine tuned over the past year will change. Instead of always taking our home with us, our RV will stay in one place for longer periods of time while we use the CR-V for day trips and to run errands. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean we are going to stop traveling—we have gained far too much in our year and a half of traveling to stop now. Look for us at an RV park near you soon!

We had originally planned to be in Tucson for four weeks but we arrived a week ahead of schedule which worked out well since the first two weeks were eaten up by appointments and shopping. For the rest of our stay we will be working during the day and spending as much time with family and friends as possible. We’re in a small, quiet, convenient location near the Santa Cruz River and Sweetwater Wetlands on the west side of town. We should have some fun with the local wildlife but more about that later.

Photos: View our photographs of our new RV, Sol Seeker II.