RV Shopping Part 1
The wife and I have been toying with the idea of changing our RV. We have a travel trailer that we are very happy with but are starting to consider that a Class C might be a better way to go for the type of RV lifestyle we eventually want.
For those that aren't familiar with what all the class designations mean, a Class C is essentially a camper built onto a truck or van chassis. I suggest really doing your homework if you decide to go shopping for an RV. I talk to plenty of sales folks and other RVers who relate stories of people buying too little or too much RV in the beginning.
There are plenty of full time RVers on YouTube that have changed their RV over the years, and they usually do a video explaining why they changed giving the pros and cons and encouraging you to make your own decisions. There are plenty of decisions to make too.
When we first wanted a camper I wanted a travel trailer. I was going to be shopping for a new vehicle and I had decided on a full sized truck for a variety of reasons. This was one factor in getting the camper, I was going to have a tow vehicle. There were weight and hitch type variables which made me decide to go with a travel trailer as well. Price was another factor that went into the decision. Then we just had to find one.
We decided on used to bring the price down and make the bite less painful if we decided that camping wasn't going to be for us. It's just the two of us so we didn't need a lot of sleeping space. I wanted something short but not too short, since I wasn't terribly experienced with towing a trailer over long distances. There had to be a bathroom. I don't like using public restrooms under the best circumstances, so I wasn't keen on not having a bathroom in the camper. Research told us that a wet bath wasn't for us (It's a bathroom that is essentially a toilet in a shower instead of a dedicated shower space).
With all these things in mind we went about going to dealerships and visiting private sellers in search of our future tiny house as we call it. Even with those specific things in mind, the list of requirements/deal killers grew as we shopped. I saw a gorgeous unit that was very well kept at a really good price, but it had a slide out bed like you see in pop-up campers. These 'hybrid' campers sometimes have the main sleeping unit slide out in a soft sided enclosure, but some of them have a bed on each end. I worked the slide out, which is manual on this one, and realized that I didn't want to have to deal with it when I was tired, or ever really. I am terribly lazy. So any form of hybrid was out.
We began to realize that all things being equal, or close to equal, it was going to boil down to the floor plan. How things are laid out in a camper will make a big difference in your enjoyment of the space especially if you get stuck inside due to poor weather. There are only so many Sharknado movies to help pass the time.
Flash forward to now and our search for a Class C. There are a few more details that needed to be decided, since this RV is one you drive around in, but once those were made we came back to floor plan. I'm scrolling through listings on RVTrader.com learning what makes and models suit our needs. I'll keep you all posted on any progress.
What about you? What factors went into your decision to get your RV. I'd love to hear about your shopping process in the comments.
Until next time, keep RVing.
For those that aren't familiar with what all the class designations mean, a Class C is essentially a camper built onto a truck or van chassis. I suggest really doing your homework if you decide to go shopping for an RV. I talk to plenty of sales folks and other RVers who relate stories of people buying too little or too much RV in the beginning.
There are plenty of full time RVers on YouTube that have changed their RV over the years, and they usually do a video explaining why they changed giving the pros and cons and encouraging you to make your own decisions. There are plenty of decisions to make too.
When we first wanted a camper I wanted a travel trailer. I was going to be shopping for a new vehicle and I had decided on a full sized truck for a variety of reasons. This was one factor in getting the camper, I was going to have a tow vehicle. There were weight and hitch type variables which made me decide to go with a travel trailer as well. Price was another factor that went into the decision. Then we just had to find one.
We decided on used to bring the price down and make the bite less painful if we decided that camping wasn't going to be for us. It's just the two of us so we didn't need a lot of sleeping space. I wanted something short but not too short, since I wasn't terribly experienced with towing a trailer over long distances. There had to be a bathroom. I don't like using public restrooms under the best circumstances, so I wasn't keen on not having a bathroom in the camper. Research told us that a wet bath wasn't for us (It's a bathroom that is essentially a toilet in a shower instead of a dedicated shower space).
With all these things in mind we went about going to dealerships and visiting private sellers in search of our future tiny house as we call it. Even with those specific things in mind, the list of requirements/deal killers grew as we shopped. I saw a gorgeous unit that was very well kept at a really good price, but it had a slide out bed like you see in pop-up campers. These 'hybrid' campers sometimes have the main sleeping unit slide out in a soft sided enclosure, but some of them have a bed on each end. I worked the slide out, which is manual on this one, and realized that I didn't want to have to deal with it when I was tired, or ever really. I am terribly lazy. So any form of hybrid was out.
We began to realize that all things being equal, or close to equal, it was going to boil down to the floor plan. How things are laid out in a camper will make a big difference in your enjoyment of the space especially if you get stuck inside due to poor weather. There are only so many Sharknado movies to help pass the time.
Flash forward to now and our search for a Class C. There are a few more details that needed to be decided, since this RV is one you drive around in, but once those were made we came back to floor plan. I'm scrolling through listings on RVTrader.com learning what makes and models suit our needs. I'll keep you all posted on any progress.
What about you? What factors went into your decision to get your RV. I'd love to hear about your shopping process in the comments.
Until next time, keep RVing.
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