|  | | Author | Messages | |
Steve Zibilich
Posts:46
 | | 08/11/2007 9:43 AM |
| My Chevy is a 1500HD. (Basically it is a 3/4 ton truck, but the genius marketing folks at Chevrolet Motor Division thought "1500HD" was more desirable than plain 2500. This truck pulls my 36 foot fifth wheel with no problem (other than lousy gas mileage), using a 6.0 liter gasoline engine. I have pulled the rig from New Orleans down to Miami, up to North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and through Texas, Missippi, Alabama and Georgia with no power or braking concerns. The floor plan I posted earlier is accurate except for the location of the Queen Bed at the front. My rig's bed is in a third slide out the left front side, which allows for the front cap to be a full-sized closet. The rear office section is able to be closed off by two sliding doors which truly separates Work space from Home space. I have shown this rig to about sixty adjusters, and most agree that this floor plan is perfect for an adjuster on the road. As everyone else who has done the RV adjusting gig has stated, sleeping, cooking, showering and living in your own place beats a dirty motel room any day. I know adjusters who rent condominiums and apartments, and end up spending a lot of money on furniture, microwaves, etc just to live. My monthly note on the rig is only $250.00, and that was brand new. If I had thought about it sooner, I would have bought a used rig, and just replaced all the mattresses and had it professionally cleaned, and probably saved myself a bunch of money. | | | |
| Steve Zibilich
Posts:46
| | 08/11/2007 9:49 AM |
| One more thought... I don't only use this rig for adjusting. My family and I use if for camping vacations, weekend getaways, and I store it at my fextended amily's waterfront fishing camp, so we have a comfortable place to stay on weekends. As stated by someone earlier, unless you get to work enough each year to cover the cost, or unless you like to camp/vacation in an RV, maybe it is not "your thing". MOTEL: $69.00 / night RESTAURANT MEALS: $50.00/day ADDS UP. RV: $250.00/ MONTH Cooking Meals: $15.00/day SLEEPING IN OWN BED EVERY NIGHT..... P R I C E L E S S | | | |
| Mike Carli
Downingtown, PA
Posts:12
| | 08/12/2007 11:33 PM |
| If you like living out of a hotel and breathing the moldy air conditioning air, sleeping on a bumpy mattress, then RV adjusting is not for you.
However, if you like to sleep on the same bed at night, work at your comfortable desk and basically have the creature comforts of home, then RV adjusting is for you.
In 2005, I went to adjust Hurricane Dennis claims in Florida and stayed in a motel that had "black mold" on the A/C filter. I stayed one night of a supposably five night stay. Actually felt sick sleeping in that room for that one night.
Came home after adjusting about a dozen claims and purchased a used 30' travel trailer and diesel truck. Have'nt looked back since. The best decision I made and have talked other adjusters into doing the same.
One recommendation I would post here is that if you have a disel truck, purchase a fuel trasfer tank and place it in the trucks bed. It sure beats waiting in long gas lines to get fuel while in the heart of a catstrophe site. | | | |
| Virginia Topley
Posts:12
| | 08/13/2007 5:51 PM |
| Absolutely it's worth it! In 2005, hubby and I looked at all the options and purchased an Exiss 3 horse trailer with living quarters. It works like a charm. This is an all aluminum horse trailer, called the "Sport" horse model- 307 which had everything except an oven. David pulled the aluminum stalls and saddle rack out of the back and set that up as an office. He insulated it with marlite panelling in the back, installed an air conditioner back there as well and it's all set up as an office. He can walk from the front area, which has a queen size bed, 5' long sofa w/table, frig w/freezer, sink, range top and microwave, go through the roomy bathroom with separate shower (and actually enough room for him to stand up in as there's a skylight) through to the back and work in his office. It already had antenna hook- ups and he added a flat screen TV that folds back against the wall. It comes with a stereo system as well. He has plenty of room in the back for a 6' table, all the electrical "gizmos" for satellite hook-up, file storage, etc. This trailer is just under 29' and 7' wide. It can be cozy with 2 people (preferably married or very friendly!) but works great for this purpose, and you can't beat $250. per month payments. Monthly rates in RV parks have been around $600. which sure beats a motel room! A 1500HD pick up hauls it just fine. We love to RV anyway and have used it to also haul a Goldwing motorcycle to the Blue Ridge Parkway for a week as well as scuba gear to the lake for a week-end of scuba diving. And it can even be used to haul horses if that's your thing (don't have any at the moment). | | | |
| d swink
Posts:48
| | 08/13/2007 6:53 PM |
| It can be worth it.
But I am not committed to using it for all assignments. We use a 36 foot fifthwheel that allows us to set up two seperate offices, as both my wife and I work our own claims. Its nice to sleep in our own home, but its much easier on a smaller storm or in the winter time to just drive out and stay in a Suites.
I have never really thought of the RV as cost saver as much as it is a tool to get a job done more efficiently in most cases but not all . Heres a Pix of 2005 in Florida |
| | |
| Gale Hawkins
PowerClaim.com
Posts:335
| | 08/14/2007 2:59 AM |
|
Well with the price of gas being what it is any RV with an engine and a little age can be fairly “cheap” to purchase. After some strong encouragement from CADO regulars to balance my work and family time last month we picked up a 1993 Geogie Boy model Pursuit 3200 (32 foot) Class A motor home. They had the same basic external look from 1993-1999. While it is 14 years old with 90K miles and has sit outside most of its life the $7995 price tag was attention getting and it seems to be very solid and drives and handle wonderfully even at 70 MPH on a smooth highway. One big plus for me was that 16K miles ago it got new tires, a 4L80-E GM remanufactured/with updates transmission, all new shocks and the suspension air bags plus it has been serviced regularly and driven yearly so it has stayed fresh in a mechanical sense. As with most any 14 year old vehicle or mobile home there are some things that needs to be done so that is enabling me the chance at training the kids who are turning 10 next month in both home and vehicle repair. We are doing a deep cleaning of the inside now and just reinstalled the sofa/sleeper Sunday evening and then went to town in it to eat and top of the tank with 50+ gallons of gas at $2.54 a gallon. When it cools up we will start on the outside detailing it. I see the RV trailer as being very attractive for adjusters in long term storms. The A and C class motor homes require you tow your working vehicle unless two of you are going and both drive. There are cheaper ways of housing oneself or traveling the country so RV’s are more of a personal choice than a requirement. From what I can read after a couple years of debugging/customizing new ones they can be very dependable. Unlike with an RV trailer if they will not start and run you can’t move it by borrowing a friend’s truck. While I am do not adjust I have been working from the RV some days since it is close enough to the house to get a fair internet connection and just use the cell phone for making calls but in my case I do a lot by email anyway. The one thing I can already see is that if you do not know basic home and vehicle repair skills it could get very frustrating trying to work 16 hours a day and keep up a motor home. Ours has the older 30 AMP electrical service so load balancing is not an option plus you have to understand both AC and DC. Ours is built on a 1992 P37 Chevy chassis with the 454 engine so parts and service for chassis issues are available at most any shop. The P30 series is basically a 3500 series Chevy one ton truck without a cab and the controls are all moved forward. I do like the 19.5 wheels. They take the “bump” out of the Wal-Mart speed bumps. In our case having a road worthy self contained unit gives us a back up power source and mobile office should disaster strike our home base. The real reason is for the RV is to hit the road with the family but there is the need to apply logic after making an emotional decision they tell us. We are planning on doing the Grand Canyon and Rocky Mountains next summer after some short trips this fall. We are trying to get out now at least once a week to go eat, shop and visit someone that lives at the dead end of a small road to build driving skills. It is much easier to drive than an old farm grain truck loaded but with the long tail you can smack a building or the gas pumps if you pull way like you are in the SUV. Unless it is rush hour parking at McDonald’s or most other restaurants parking is not an issue. I would say driving ours is similar to driving a long school bus. While you can drive them most places things will go better if you pick your parking spots in advance. The second owner had it 10 years and put 60K miles on it which included two trips to AK and never towed a car but I am sure they keep their side trips down to a minimum. Some can’t back a RV trailer, some can’t handle an overloaded truck (as is the case with most all RV motor homes) and others can do both can just choose not to do so and look elsewhere to sleep. From years of observation most new adjusters should punt for hotels and show up with some basic transportation unless RV’ing is already part of your life style. Drop a transmission on the road and unless you just spent $100K on a new RV you better have $3K in cash or on a credit card or you are not going home with your belongings. My point is the stress level is high for any adjuster especially a new adjuster so the more things you can control the better things may go for you. | | | |
| April Gricks
Posts:1
| | 08/14/2007 3:22 PM |
| Hey, I am Rob. I am using my wifes screen name. I bought an RV right after Wilma, which was my first storm. The RV does have advantages. First need to decide what kind, trailer, 5th wheel or class A or C. I have a travel trailer. I did find it difficult to find an RV park after Wilma in Jan 06. Snow birds bring their RVs here and live throughout the winter. Sometime, like when I bought mine, the dealership offers a membership to an RV club. I paid $300 or so. But I get into parks for as little as $8 a night. There are restrictions on when you can go and for how long. Some parks have wireless, either free or a minimal fee. I do not take mine everytime I go out. Sometimes (I live in Tampa) I can get everything coordinated in Miami where I am there only a day or two. A lot of times, I use it for a work / vacation. Went to the Keys last December. Picked up 10-12 claims, basically paid for the vacation. Storage... (I live in a HOA as well) in FL it will run 40-60 a month. Dean comes up, I will probably take it, being that the Snow birds won't be here until late Sept. Other than that, we look at it as home if storms do not come up frequently and we lose the house. Rob | | | |
| Tim Johnson
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Posts:83
| | 08/15/2007 11:26 AM |
| | Seven thousand Nine Hundred Ninety Five Dollars!!!? That Gale Hawkins dude sure is not an adjuster being able to throw that kind of money around! I betcha he is a wealthy software developer or something like that! | |
Tim Johnson | |
| Gale Hawkins
PowerClaim.com
Posts:335
| | 08/15/2007 11:36 AM |
| Tim I knew I should have limited my purchase price to Nine Hundred and Ninety Five Dollars so I did not stick out like a sore thumb.  Hey with all of the TD's working the busy time may be about to roll. | | | |
| Steve Zibilich
Posts:46
| | 08/15/2007 10:57 PM |
| I guess it all boils down to personal preferences, that's all... I understand the point about shelling out a bunch of money on something that you will only use to adjust in, but, for those of us who also vacation in our RV, it just makes good sense. I drove to Houston this week for a three day claims seminar, and stayed in the vendor's sponsor hotel... total of about $420.00 for three nights including tax... HECK, that's two month's RV Note on my 36' fifth wheel.
Shame on ME... | | | |
|
| | You are not authorized to post a reply. |
|
| |
ActiveForums 3.7 |
| |
| |
| |
|
| | Adjuster Chat Room Activity | |
| |
| | |
|
|
| |
|