CHOOSING A NEW RV - New Beginnings Part I

Well, it has been a tough year for us, but we are finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. As many of you know, a year ago Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer and after a year of chemo, radiation and finally surgery, she is now well on her way to recovery. Linda lost her father last year and my mother and father have both gone through a period of critical illness and while some serious challenges remain they are at least back on the road to recovery. We are both looking forward to putting this all behind us as we start to re-equip ourselves to get back on the road again.

Motorhomes, 5th Wheels, Travel Trailers – How Do You Choose

Last summer we sold our venerable 28′ 1988 Class ‘C’ motor home. She served us well over 5 years with 4 major road trips. She was never intended to be with us that long as we bought it as an inexpensive way to test whether it was the style of RV that we wanted to travel in. We didn’t want anything too large as we like moving around, exploring a lot and we love getting into smaller back country spots, and to be quite honest we really don’t mind living together in smaller spaces. We liked the idea of a motor home as you could pull off the road and just walk into the back to use the washroom or grab a quick lunch…particularly nice during foul weather. We flat towed our Honda CRV so we had easy, economical transportation for exploring the areas we were visiting. This arrangement has worked well for us, but we felt it was time to rethink our choices.

Our 1988, 28′ Class C motor home on the Alaska Highway in the Yukon towing our Honda CRV. We could carry our kayaks on the RV or the car.

First of all, motor homes are not only expensive to buy, they are also expensive to run and maintain. They are not easy on gas and they represent a complete mechanical drive train, over and above the other vehicles we own, that needs to be serviced and maintained. As our website name says, ourhomehas6 wheels, this rig had 6 expensive tires that need to be replaced periodically, and just when you thought you’re done with that, there was the much more expensive auto insurance renewal.

We were also faced with the added dilemma that my personal vehicle, which I also use for my part-time work when were back in town, was getting on in years and was due for replacement. This led us to start considering a truck and travel trailer arrangement. The primary advantage is that we could replace two drive trains with one, and we would have a more fuel efficient combination overall. We wanted a reasonable size travel trailer without getting carried away. Years ago when we bought our 40′ fifth wheel we decided it was really too darn big for the type of RVing we wanted to do, so we now use that as our home base when back in Victoria. If we had planned to spend all our time at just a couple of locations without a lot of moving around, that may have been different. However, having RVed now for a number of years we knew that what we wanted was fairly simple; a unit big enough to be comfortable but small enough to get into smaller backroad campsites, a walk around bed (at our age we don’t want to be crawling over each other to get in and out of bed), and lots of counter space for cooking, as both of us share in the task. Beyond that everything else in an RV is a compromise that we could either live with or without, or add on and modify as we needed.

Our 5th Wheels at Oceanside RV Park & Resort on Vancouver Island, BC, where we spend a good part of our time. This rig gives us great livability and storage while at home in Victoria.

When you are trying to decide on a RV, you have many decisions to make. Do you like real camping, perhaps off the grid, or would you rather ‘glamp’, ie staying in RV resorts or parks with hookups and good facilities? If the former you are going to want something smaller, as most backroads campsites aren’t going to handle big rig motorhomes or huge 5th wheels. Many provincial, state and national parks also have size restrictions on the rigs that can stay there, generally less than 30′.

We debated a smaller 5th wheel vs travel trailer choice again as well, but for our needs, the travel trailer made more sense but for others trying to make the same choice, no choice is right or wrong, it truly comes down to what your needs are and what works for you. For example, there is probably no question that for all around towability and maneuverability a fifth wheel is probably the better choice They also have great storage. The downside for us is we are kayakers with 16′ long touring boats so we need to be able to carry our boats on our truck, with and without the trailer. Sure, you can get fancy custom racks that come up off the front bumper that would allow the boats to be carried forward, but we really didn’t want anything like that, plus, since we live on an island requiring ferry travel to get on and off, we didn’t want any extra length hanging out the front or rear of our rig as it adds extra cost every time you travel. The big downside of a 5th wheel is that the hitch takes up most of the back of your truck, so you lose this storage area. When I’m at home I need to carry ladders and tools for work so I prefer to have a canopy on the truck and this makes up for any loss of storage in the trailer. Of course if you have the space and the inclination, hitches and canopies can be removed and reinstalled as you need them.

The reality is your first RV will most likely not be your last. You will discover what you like and dislike about various types of RVs and their respective designs and floor plans and you will most likely want to change at some point. Renting can be expensive but it can allow you to try some different types of units. If you are planning to be out for longer periods or want to try something for a year two as we did, consider buying a used rig, because if you decide that you do want something different or something better, you can upgrade with much less loss.

Our first and only Class A. A 30 footer that we purchased pre-owned at a great price when we first decided to go full time RVing. It was a great rig while on the road traveling but our mistake was, that for year round living it was just too small and it had horrible counter space. Because we bought it used we were fortunate to be able to sell this rig for what we paid for it when we decided it needed to go.