Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We are looking for something to travel in as we check out southern locales for retirement. We thought we'd had our locape picked, but want to investigate other warmer climes. So we thought an RV would be good. Live in it 3 or 4 months, take it with us to next locale or back home, until the next winter/ locale.
Looking for ideas for an excellent RV.
Needs to sleep at least 4, possibly 7 ( 4 adults , 3 kids), but only if we have visitors. Otherwise no visitors it will just be the two of us.
We'd like something "homey", with a queen bed as opposed to a food down table/bed. A queen bedroom would be nice.
If its a tow behind, what do you tow it with?
If its a drivable what car do you tow behind?
It also must be reasonably priced. We don't have an unlimited budget.
So what type do you have, and why is it best??
What was its cost?
How much to upkeep?
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
34,744 posts, read 58,102,528 times
Reputation: 46232
Of course this will vary (with each person), but... should I get rid of my 18mpg Rialta (unlikely, but I HATE Gas vehicles...) I will be finding me a Safari 'Trek' Diesel
$15k / 70k miles
I will tow a Samurai with a Diesel conversion and have my 250# vintage (FAST) motorcycle on the toad.
If I need more SPACE (hope not)... I will go get a Silver Eagle (vintage bus).
BTW: Tents are GREAT for kids! They love their own space. I have thousands of nights in tents (OK, but there are better places to sleep at a certain age)
disclaimer: Camping / RV is NOT my favorite way to venture, it is in the top 20. But... the other part of this family unit LOVES to camp, so I comply on occasion (if nothing better to do).
Capital outlay? Not for me.
There are PRISTINE used rigs... MANY. Now is a good time to find one! (Before taxes are due)
My Mom had (6) beautiful MH's and 5th wheel / bumper pull... She LOVED her Roadtrek and her Rialta.
Her first was a Toyota Hilux 'Chinook' popup, she should have kept it.
I've had 6 RVs so far. All trailers. We tried (renting) motor homes and decided they weren't for us. Others prefer them, but our lifestyle includes other things we must tow, so a truck/trailer combo was best. My best answer is that "best" is really dependent on the purpose and your stage of life.
For years, we double-towed so we could have all our toys at the campsites.
At first we used a boat/tent-camper combo. This was OK, but required additional sway control to make it stable in the road.
Link to pic: https://flic.kr/p/S2JWpE
We upgraded later to a 5th wheel combo with the boat behind. This was a great setup and 5th wheels are inherently more stable on the road. The trailer was much nicer inside too.
Link: https://flic.kr/p/2cLWnZx
As we got older, our boat got too big to tow doubles (it lives in a marina full time) and we got a much larger and more comfortable camper. We chose a travel trailer for several reasons, mainly cost and keeping the pickup bed empty for storage of other toys. We have a 35 foot Rockwood pulled by a crew cab, long bed, Ram Diesel (3/4 ton). This one is "best" for us now because there isn't much stair climbing, it has multiple air conditioners which allow a quick cool down, a walk thru bath which is OK for a couple, but not for families with teens (ours are grown). It also has much nicer interior which wouldn't have been a good idea back in our wet-bathing-suits-with-dogs-and-teens periods (if that makes any sense). Upkeep is zero since we bought the extended warranty. Storage is about 130/month and the camper cost (IIRC) about $35,000. Of course you would need to include the truck, but we already have it because we tow a 30 foot boat. My fuel mileage is 12 mpg in the flatlands, and 10 in the mountains. A lot of diesel owners on other forums will claim ridiculous stuff like getting 18-20 mpg pulling their rigs. Don't believe them. I've had two diesels and although they're much better for towing, they're not magic.
Link to camper/truck: https://flic.kr/p/2e6aXTQ
Having owned two of each, I will tell you the fifth wheel trailers are inherently more stable than travel (bumper pull) trailers. In our case we elected to install a fairly exotic Hensley Arrow hitch to ensure the travel trailer was stable in all winds/roads. This is an unusual design using a trapezoidal framework rather than the typical ball and socket. I won't bore you with the details, but stability is something to consider when choosing the trailer type, especially if you're newbies.
Hope some of this either helps, or gives you some ideas on what to do.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,243,006 times
Reputation: 57825
You will need something bigger than our 23’ Springdale, 4,000 lbs. dry but only sleeps 3-4. You will want to make sure to have walking space on both sides of the bed, and a “dry bath”.
What we also looked for was at least 6 cubic foot fridge, that runs on propane and electricity, a real oven, and 3 burner stove. We wanted a trailer rather than 5th wheel because the truck still holds a lot of stuff, and can be used as a truck when not towing. The drivable are cool but then you need to tow a smaller car if you ever want to go anywhere when it’s parked to camp. Ours was on sale at about $16k and tows easily with an F-150 5.0 (385hp). You will probably end up at at least 30’ to sleep that many, with a lot more weight, and need a bigger truck (F250, Silverado or Ram 2500). If you want decent gas mileage, look for a diesel.
You don't actually have to put everyone inside the RV. Lots of RVers put up a tent for the kids and they're happy.
That said, many RVs out there feature queen bedrooms and queen/double/twin drop down beds, sofa beds, and dinette beds that can accommodate 7 people. It's tight, though -- seriously tight.
You need to look at travel trailers, fifth wheels and motorhomes to determine what appeals to you. No one but you can decide that. The rest of us can only give you a glimpse from our personal perspectives, and frankly, that's not enough to help you decide.
OK, that said, here goes our story:
I grew up camping in tents and a truck camper -- six of us. Mom and Dad got the bed in the camper; the kids slept in tents. As long as we had the trenches properly dug around the tents to drain rain water away, it was great.
When Spousal Unit and I decided to come ashore from yachting, we rented a Class C and traveled Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway for three weeks. Having determined we would do fine in a motorhome, we looked for a Class A motorhome, because we liked the look of them, was very impressed with my uncle's Class A, and because it was similar to our former sailing sloop in size. We drove that 2004 Itasca Sunrise until April 2018, all over the USA, pulling a Jeep Liberty behind her.
In 2016, Spousal Unit got the notion that we should get a travel trailer, thinking it would be less trouble and expense than maintaining a Class A. The trailer we chose, a 2016 Rockwood 2906WS, could be pulled by my 2015 Ford F-150 with Ecoboost engine and trailer towing package. We made a number of trips with it, then realized it would be much easier to refuel the tow vehicle if we could just drive through the truck lanes. So Spousal Unit traded the Jeep Liberty for a Ford F-350 diesel. Now we could really fly down the road like that trailer wasn't even back there.
Problem was the cost of the trailer and the F-350 put this system up in the vicinity of a Class A motorhome. It also took twice the time to set up and break down. The cats had to ride in the truck with us, rather than be able to lay in their favorite spots and go potty when they needed, so kitty potty stops added more time to the travel. The trailer had far less of the sort of storage we require than our Itasca, a number of things we'd come to rely on simply did not exist in a travel trailer, blah blah blah -- we wound up using the old Class A over the new travel trailer.
We finally traded in both trailer and Itasca for a 2018 Winnebago Forza diesel pusher. Its road test was a 10,000+ mile trip up the Alaska Highway and back. We are definitely Class A people.
Bottom line:
Look at your budget. If you decide a travel trailer or Fifth Wheel is what you want, be sure the one you decide on can be towed by your extant vehicle. If not, that budget must include the tow vehicle, too.
If you decide a motorhome is what you want, look for a good quality used one within your budget. If your extant vehicle is towable and that motorhome can tow it, great. If not, figure on a towable vehicle in the budget, too.
Now go rent an RV in the class you're looking at, to be sure that's the kind you'll be comfortable in. It's a big purchase, and you don't want to find yourselves having to use an RV you don't actually like.
1) “just the two of us” traveling for several months to check out retirement places, and
2) “7” people for a camping trip
#1 can be well satisfied at nominal cost with a Class B (a little tight on space for 2 if you’re traveling for more than a week or two at a time), or a Class C motor home. While my Roadtrek 19’ is satisfactory for a couple weeks on the road with just two of us, it’s short on travel space/storage/refrigerator & freezer/cooktop when needed for more people. I’d suggest a Class C ... but then you’re not going to meet your larger group requirement.
#2. Best met with a Class A motor coach, IMO. Room for extended travels for 2 and space for a group for shorter travels/camping trips. But much pricier to buy and operate than the smaller rigs. Unfortunately, a GN trailer large enough to accommodate your group would need to be pulled by a crew cab pick up truck ... which doesn’t have the passenger capacity you’d need. So a trailer is pretty much ruled out. I know several large families of 8 people that travel with 2 adults, several teenagers, and a few toddlers in a Class A coach. It seems to work out well for their 3-4 day extended weekend trips.
1) “just the two of us” traveling for several months to check out retirement places, and
2) “7” people for a camping trip
#1 can be well satisfied at nominal cost with a Class B (a little tight on space for 2 if you’re traveling for more than a week or two at a time), or a Class C motor home. While my Roadtrek 19’ is satisfactory for a couple weeks on the road with just two of us, it’s short on travel space/storage/refrigerator & freezer/cooktop when needed for more people. I’d suggest a Class C ... but then you’re not going to meet your larger group requirement.
Kind of figured OP was angling for Case #1. Last time I went camping in a party of 7, the other five were in their own yurts.
Similarly, I "might" buy a five year old (or so) Class B, perhaps an Airstream Interstate, spend a summer going here and there solo (I'd sooner be dipped in hot grease than spend that time with anyone else cooped up), probably with a motorcycle on one of those hitches, do some real exploring of various places before making some decisions. That could be sold at similar money, end of the year, or kept as an RV. There is a per mile cost to running around, in diesel and wear-and-tear. I sure wouldn't buy one new, at $160K.
I wouldn't bring the whole Clampett family on a mission to find places to live, that makes little sense for a myriad of reasons. OP is talking about "affordable" which to me means keeping it around $100K. Including the truck to haul a fifth wheel, I'm sure it's possible, but a great way to lose tons of money.
To answer some quest questions, the 7 people would only be camping trips.
Just thectwo of us would ne longer "living " in ot, but the other 5 might want to come visit.
The kids are currently 9, 4,3 id consider a little young to be left alone in a tent outside. But by the time this comes to fruition, they wull be a little older, but the younger ones still not alone in a tent.
I was thinking a queen in the one side, a dinette for the parent's amd a double bunk set up in back for the kids.
But that definitely is a large trailer or rv for us alone.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Not for me. 
