Journey of the Raptor

After a lot of debating (A LOT), Josh and I decided that we should buy our own fifth-wheel, camper, or RV. It's so much easier to deal with a mobile home when your job takes you on the road so much. We did a lot of research and found a Raptor Toy Hauler that we LOVED! It was huge, had a master bedroom, a bathroom with two entrances, a large kitchen/living room, washer/dryer hookups, a toy hauler which can be used as a second bedroom (queen bunk beds come down from the ceiling), and so much more! The big kicker was that it was on sale and marked down $30,000 from the original price! 

The problem was that it was still expensive and we needed a loan to make up for what we would put down.

We called the RV Center that had the Raptor and talked to them for a while about finances. They told us that we probably couldn't get a loan (Total BS BTW!) unless we have a cosigner. We called trusted people in the family but couldn't find anyone to cosign (something I was VERY upset about at the time but now understand). 

So, Josh and I decided to cut out the middle man and go straight to the bank. 

Josh and I arrived in Wisconsin Sunday (August 25th) afternoon. We headed straight to Shorty's to see how the RV was doing, move all of our things into his giant shed/barn, and then headed to the hotel to get things ready for our meeting with the banker.

We arrived at the bank early the next morning and explained our situation. The loan officer told us that it usually takes 3-5 days to get a loan approval. We didn't have that! We had to BE in Indiana in 3 days! So our loan officer got to work and really dedicated himself to our cause.

Because of my great credit, Josh's fine credit, and Josh's income, we were able to get the loan and got approved within the day! Take that RV Center!

We called the RV Center immediately and told them we would be there in the morning to sign the final paperwork and to take our new baby home!

[The Raptor on the lot]

We arrived the next morning, signed the necessary paper work, handed over the check from the bank, wrote a check for the remaining amount, and then were told to come back in a few hours to pick up the Raptor.

We came back a few hours later and took a tour of the Raptor with the mechanic, got Shorty's truck (he let us borrow it to pull the Raptor down to Indiana while he had Josh's little truck) all hooked up, had the sales representative take our picture, and then we headed out!

[Me in front of the Raptor and Shorty's truck]

[Proud owners (yes, the sun was DIRECTLY in our eyes)]

We pulled the Raptor to Shorty's were we hooked it up for the night and then went to A&W to celebrate!

The next day we spent HOURS unpacking and organizing our things. There is plenty of storage space but finding a good spot for everything was hard. We also took a lot of pictures so you can all see what she looks like:

[The toy hauler folds out and becomes a large patio. Those benches can also fold down and become a queen-sized bed]

[Me for scale] 

  

[Inside of the toy hauler when it is all folded up. The beds come down and become queen-sized bunk beds.]

[The rest of the toy hauler with a door to the outside (on the right), a door to the kitchen/living room, a TV, a hook up for the Dyson vacuum, AND washer/dryer hookups.]

[Me in the living room showing how high it is]

[Living room]

[Complete with an entertainment center. The door on the right goes to the bathroom and the door on the left goes to the master bedroom]

 

[And yes, it has a fire place]

[View of the living room/kitchen]

[I LOVE the large fridge too!]

[Bathroom]

[Door to the Master bedroom] 

[Master bedroom]

[Master bedroom with a door to the bathroom]

[Outside] 

We are so excited about our newest purchase! A lot of blood, sweat, and tears (all on my part) went into getting this and so far there has been no regret!