Travelling for the fun of it
This Calgary couple are discovering that the RV lifestyle means they can keep all the best parts of travel
They used to pull a tent trailer behind their Honda Goldwing. Now Mary Weiss and Wade Murrin have traded in their bike for a smaller Harley-Davidson and are travelling with a much bigger and comfier unit. They've found that transitioning to RVing—albeit with a toy hauler—has meant they can have the best of both worlds. RVwest caught up with the couple at Scottie's RV Park in Creston, B.C., where they were on a two-week holiday. Weiss took some time to answer questions for RVwest.
How long have you been RVing?
This is our second time out; the first time was to Kananaskis Country (in southwestern Alberta). The first trip was a bit traumatic. We had a lot of snow and we had no idea how to use a lot of the things that were in the RV, so we had no hot water. Good thing we knew how to work the furnace, because we had a lot of snow that weekend.
Can you tell me about your unit?
It’s a toy hauler. We went from a motorcycle tent trailer—a little tiny tent trailer that you pull behind a motorcycle—to this. It’s got an actual little garage in the back. I don't know if I'd change anything about it, actually. Nothing major.
What do you enjoy about the RV lifestyle as opposed to other types of travel?
I don't know yet (laughs). We went to Alaska a few years ago on the motorcycle, and by the time we got to the campsite we were too tired to go and do any sightseeing. This way, we can park and then we can jump on the bike and go riding and see things. I think that’s kind of the advantage for us with this unit. Also, when we’re just on the motorbike we can never ever do stuff like go into a restaurant, because we have no place to put the dogs in just a little tent trailer. This way, we can turn on the air conditioning and go across the street and do a brewery tour—which we're going to do this afternoon—and the dogs will be fine. We took them out, got them tired this morning, so they'll just sleep all afternoon.
Is the bike a big part of the reason you travel?
It is, yeah, because every time that we’ve ever gone anywhere, it's been on the bike—so it’s a big part of our lives. Wade just traded in a bigger bike for this (Harley-Davidson). This one isn’t one that you would get on and go for a three-week holiday; this one is more for day trips, so it all fits.
Having just purchased a unit, is there anything you would recommend when people are looking into it?
Don’t always listen to the salesman (laughs). They don’t always know what they’re talking about. You have to do the research—that’s what I would say to people. Find out what you want and then look for units with those features. They’re all pretty when they’re in a showroom. You walk in and think, “Wow, this is cool.” I can see that if you didn’t know what you wanted, you could end up spending way more than what you thought you were going to spend.
