Co-Owning MERV

How one couple shared a motorhome for a decade, as well as an enduring friendship.

By Vicki Bissillion, F539100
January 2024

PROLOGUE

In 2001, British Columbia banker Bob Bissillion retired, and he and his wife began thinking about traveling. Coincidently, some good friends and neighbors who had also just retired were looking for a used motorhome. One day the foursome went shopping at an out-of-town dealership. Over lunch, the women started talking.

“I’m realizing that you two are looking for exactly the same coach layout and options that we are. What if we find the perfect rig and start fighting over it?” Vicki Bissillion said, jokingly.

“Wait a minute. Would it make any sense to just buy one rig and share it?” Carol Wilson asked.

And that’s how it started. The couples tossed the idea around independently overnight, compiled a calendar for their next two years’ travel wishes, and then got together over coffee. The dates that each had picked meshed perfectly with only one minor change.

Bob, the banker, drafted a short contract that highlighted responsibilities and how expenses would be handled, and they agreed to try it for two years. The men drove the best deal they could on a brand-new 35-foot Triple E motorhome and a used Chevrolet Tracker to tow, and they registered both vehicles jointly. The ladies took on the provisioning of the coach, seeking out bargains and contributing spare items from their homes.

In the end, each couple actually spent about $30,000 less than they had budgeted for a used RV and ended up with a fully equipped brand-new coach and a reliable towed car. The coach was dubbed “MERV,” an acronym for “Most Excellent Rec Vehicle.”

One January, I watched with envy as our partner, Bruce Wilson, negotiated the big coach out of his driveway and out of our Kelowna neighborhood. He and his wife, Carol, headed south to California and Arizona, leaving my husband, Bob, and me behind for our first winter at home in four years.

Bruce Wilson (shown here with the Bissillions’ current RV) enjoyed trips in MERV with his wife, Carol, for many years.

What would it be like, I wondered. I recalled an impenetrable gray umbrella above the entire city in past winters, visions that were distant memories. Bob and I usually took MERV south in December, leaving the Wilsons here to enjoy their favorite passion — skiing. But this year they’d opted to be warm down south, and we would realize a longtime dream trip to the Maritimes planned for that summer. So, I took our golf bags down to the storage room and ferreted out my own skis and curling shoes. “A winter in Kelowna would be fun,” I promised myself. Our lives had been an endless summer for four years; it was time to enjoy British Columbia’s unique four seasons.

I reflected on our co-owning agreement. At the end of the initial two-year contract, the four of us got together and discussed our options. We were all enjoying the motorhome and saw no reason to change anything. We spoke frankly about the time allotment we each had and agreed that neither couple desired more than six months of the year to travel in this manner – whether all at once or a few short trips annually. The men had researched trading up for a new motorhome, but it did not make financial sense. MERV was still meeting all our needs and wearing well. With two more years of RVing history behind us, I can proudly say that the experience has exceeded our expectations, even with a few bumps in the road.

Each owner has traveled in the motorhome for as long as six months at a time and as short as a getaway weekend. We have each parked MERV in our driveway for overflow guests during important family gatherings. We have shared one or two nights together in the rig on our turnover days, or the outgoing occupants would get a motel, thereby leaving clean linens and galley for the incoming couple.

On turnover days, we meet on the road (usually Arizona but once in Toronto) at a mutually agreeable park. The homebound couple transfers all their personal belongings from MERV to the vehicle brought by the incoming couple and vice versa. We have done this about twice a year since purchasing MERV. These are hectic and joyful occasions, like a co-ed pajama party with everyone talking at once (and no one actually listening). We get to catch up on each other’s lives and then the men put their heads together over “blue” problems, like inverters or tire pressure, while Carol and I inventory the contents of the fridge and discuss the best places to have your hair done locally — “pink work.”

Most of the fellow RVers we have met along the way are amazed to hear about our arrangement and can’t imagine how well it has worked. They all agree that it certainly makes economic sense for the part-time snowbird, but so far, we have never met anyone else during our travels with a similar arrangement. A big reason I think co-owning works for us is our low-maintenance, unique friendship with the Wilsons. We think a lot alike, and we want this to work. Maybe there’s someone in your circle of friends who might enjoy sharing the upkeep and costs of a recreational vehicle?

There are three categories of expense management:

Shared 50-50: Storage when not in use, items purchased for use in MERV, insurance.

Prorated based on mileage: Tires, maintenance items such as tune-ups.

Individual costs: Fuel, fines, insurance deductible or damage not insured.

THREE-YEAR UPDATE

On our very first outing, the towed car caught fire as we were driving along. The entire engine was roast-ed and had to be replaced. Insurance paid part of the cost, and Bob and I paid for the rest. The rebuilt engine ran for four years and then we traded it.

The following year, the Wilsons hit a deer and paid the deductible to have MERV repaired good as new.

The hardtop roof blew off the Tracker while Bob and I were traveling south, and we didn’t know where it went. We replaced it at our cost within a few days.

All of us are determined that we will always arrive at an equitable solution to the unexpected, and that money issues will not cause friction in our friendship.

After ending the partnership and selling MERV, Bob and Vicki purchased a newer Triple E coach to continue their travels.

EPILOGUE: 2023

Bob and I were shocked and saddened by the sudden death of our RV partner, Carol Wilson, in 2009 from an autoimmune disorder. We continued the partnership at Bruce’s request for the following few years, but it wasn’t the same. Finally, in 2014, we all agreed to sell MERV privately (with nearly 200,000 kilometers on the odometer), split the funds, and go on with a new phase of our lives.

Bruce ended up purchasing an Airstream trailer, and we upgraded to a newer Triple E motorhome — 5 years newer, 2 feet longer, and 150,000 fewer miles. Bob and I continue to travel in that one and still enjoy our winters in Palm Springs (where we joined FMCA’s Outdoor Resorts Palm Springs chapter this year).

Our partnership in co-owning MERV lasted over 10 years – our friendship, longer.

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Source: https://familyrvingmag.com/2024/01/01/co-owning-merv/