Summer story -- A home away from home

Mathis Winkler

These days, Bob Pruter’s not quite sure what to say when asked where

he’s from.

He and his wife, Jackie, recently sold their home in the high desert

and their new residence in Camarillo still isn’t quite ready.

“We’re from here,” Pruter said last week, standing outside his motor

home at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort. “We’ve been here since the

middle of March.”

The Pruters, who own a landscaping company, actually left the RV world

several years ago, only to be dragged back into it by their own children.

“It’s kind of a getaway for us,” he said. “If we don’t like it, we

leave.”

While the resort’s future is uncertain after its owners announced

plans to sell it Friday, Pruter and other guests at the Dunes’ 406-space

RV park said they’d not found a better place to follow their passion.

“This is a great place,” Pruter said, adding that his children and

grandchildren frequently come for visits.

Although the Pruters aren’t quite ready yet to bid farewell to more

conventional ways of living, Pruter said the couple will use their new

motor home to do some serious traveling.

“That’s why we got this diesel,” he said, adding that the bus-sized

vehicle set the family back about $180,000. “It’s got plenty of power. It

can pull a car and we’ve got all the amenities we need.”

Pruter’s not joking. Inside their meticulously clean abode, the

Pruter’s relax on cream-colored leather sofas, answer calls on a land

line and watch cable TV.

Outside, they’ve set up a little patio area with colorful lamps,

flower pots and comfortable chairs. A second television for outdoor

viewing sits in a luggage compartment. An ice machine that’s installed in

another compartment saves money they’d otherwise spend on ice bags,

Pruter said.

“The only thing we don’t have is a dishwasher,” he said and laughed.

COMBINING BUSINESS AND PLEASURE

Pruter’s stay at the Dunes isn’t all pleasure, however. He spends some

time working on estimates for landscaping contracts and has set up a mini

office that includes a laptop and a fax machine.

A few RVs down the block, Debbie Fullerton has taken things a little

further. The Chino Hills resident quit her office job a few years ago and

started renting out motor homes to production companies.

Her clients include national magazines or TV shows such as “America’s

Most Wanted” that use the vehicles as makeup rooms.

Her husband, Rick, a firefighter by trade, helps to run the business.

Whenever possible, Fullerton grabs a motor home for her family and

heads down to the Dunes.

“We never go anywhere else,” she said. “I would love to spend the

whole summer here. We actually thought of trying something new and drove

to other resorts, but I said, ‘No, we’re staying at the Dunes.”’

During the summer, family and friends join the Fullertons at the

resort.

“It’s kind of like home,” she said. “But definitely much more

relaxed.”

While an Orange County Health Care Agency warning about high bacteria

levels kept Fullerton’s children out of the water and inside the RV on

Thursday, they said RV life still beat their regular one.

“It’s boring at home,” said Chad, 9, relaxing in the vehicle’s cockpit

area with his sister, Shawna, 8, his friend, Brad, 9, and Bandit, the

family dog. “There’s nothing to do.”

For Fullerton, her parking spot right next to the lagoon let her rest

at ease when the kids played outside.

“As the kids were smaller, we kept them right here,” she said. “Now I

let them ride over the bridge [at the other end of the lagoon] and can

still keep an eye on them. I can always see them no matter where they

go.”

GOING HOME? WHAT FOR?

Children’s safety isn’t a big concern for the Hansons -- Sue and

Jerry.

After all, their 16-year-old daughter, Jennifer, isn’t around much

since she works at Disneyland during the day.

But over 27 years of yearly visits, the Dunes have become a part of

their lives.

“We have a [Fourth of July] parade in our neighborhood and we’ve never

seen it,” Sue said, adding that she likes the casual atmosphere of the

park.

“You just meet people,” she said. “Maybe you don’t even know their

names. But you have coffee with them.”

Jerry agreed that a shared love for motor homes bounds Dunes visitors

together.

“You’re around people that have a common interest,” Jerry said, adding

that he’d learned more about diesel engines from fellow RV owners than

reading through his manual.

Folks help each other out, as well.

Just the other day, Jerry realized his neighbor’s tire was low on air

and went over to fix the problem.

“He’s a financial consultant and doesn’t know anything about it,” he

said.

Asked why they didn’t just take the $172,000 they spent on their motor

home and stay at hotels around the country, the Hansons were quick to

respond.

“You don’t have to worry about bed bugs,” Sue said. “I like to be

surrounded with my things.”

And soon, the Hacienda Heights residents, who worked for the city of

Los Angeles before they retired, hope to give up their home for good.

“When Jennifer goes to college, we’ll be on the road,” Sue said.

Asked whether she’d been back home since June, when the family arrived

at the Dunes, Sue just laughed.

“What for?” she said, adding that she can remote access her answering

machine. “We’re looking forward to [getting] rid off [the house] and just

live in the RV.”

* Mathis Winkler covers Newport Beach. He may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 mathis.winkler@latimes.comf7 .