Potential new RVer
Well, we got our kids(mid 30s) to go to the Cove and they fell in like be with it. Now they are talking about going in with us to buy an RV. Looking for opinions on what type would make the most sense we are wanting something that would sleep at least 6. Class A? Class C? Budget is probably going to be around $50k. All opinions are welcome. Thanks in advance.
Oh, and please give the reason for your opinion. Thanks again.
We have a 30 ft class A with one big slide out. We pull a Honda CR-V behind it!! There are options out there for sleeping 6 or even 8 in class As ! Ours is a gas engine with standard hydraulic brakes so its fairly cheap to have work done on it !!My parents had travel trailers when I was a kid and they were great!!It all depends on what youre comfortable with!!One thing to consider is the length of your tow vehicle and trailer or class A . Here in Canada they limit the size of RV s to 30 feet when camping in provincial parks!!Steady78
Steady makes another good point ... length and limitations as to what parks you'll be able to get into. Our close friends have a 36 ft 5th wheel and have had to eliminate many parks from the their list of places to stay because of size or lack of pull throughs.
Depending on your towing capacity of the Caddy ... they make some pretty nice Ultra Lite travel trailers. I've seen some mid size and full size SUV's pull some travel trailers, but that Caddy only has a 2500 to 3500 towing capacity. Maybe a nice tent trailer could be towed with that car!
We owned two tent trailers and towed them with mid size SUV's and for nudists, the tent trailer at the club or resort worked out great ... as long as we were close to the restrooms and showers! :D
we are brand new RVers. bought a used 23 ft "lite weight" travel trailer in Dec. we bought it off craigslist.
We leased a lot at our C/O club/park, where it will live. that will facilitate many more weekends, and added convenience.
after looking at a couple of dealers and craigslist, and facebook.
we came to several conclusions.
1. make sure the main bed is not up against a wall. too hard to make bed or change sheets.
we liked the idea that there was a little mini wall, with 2 pocket doors at the foot of the bed. creates privacy, and maybe even keep warmth in.
they also hung the tv on that wall, facing the main cabin.
but, if you need it, it provides leverage to push off of for love making :)
but, I am 6 ft tall. and I feel my feet bumping up against that wall and wish my feet felt freer, as if there were only a curtain divider.
and because of the shape of the front of the trailer, our heads are in a cubby hole. so we can't sit up in bed. have scoot down first so not to bump our heads when getting out of bed.
the hype docs, says it is queen- size. I have not measured it but it doesn't feel like it.
2. there are two 18" wide closets, one on each side of the bed and that is it for hanging clothes - totally inadequate. I will have to keep most of our cloths in boxes , in my ford 250 van, used for pulling. overall, there is very little useful storage in our trailer.
3. the other beds; visualize how tall they are make sure they can comfortable sleep in those beds. if not, you need a bigger model, or plan on pitching tents.
4. the shower: make sure everyone can comfortably stand up while showering.
5. cabin layout - we have two sliders in the middle. dinette on one side and kitchen one the other. the island sink is in the middle. when closed, the sliders but up against the sink. we like that. but we can't get to the bedroom without opening 1 slider at least part way. but we don't see that as a problem.]
but the good news is that the 1 entry door, the refrigerator and the bathroom are at the back of the cabin. they are easily accessed when the sliders are closed. which means, when traveling and at rest stops, you can get to the most used features.
6. with the sliders open, 1 person cooks the other stays at the dinette. just too small to do anything but stay out of the cooks way.
7. there are only 2 of us and it just feels too small for moving around in at night. therefore, we plan to spend as much time as possible outside and under the awning. folding chairs, folding tables, sun tents, portable gazebos will eliminate that cramped feeling (except when it rains). those items will go in the van during the road trips.
8. strongly recommend at least 1 wireless back up camera pointed down at the ball and hitch, if you have a tow-behind trailer.
9. of course 1 up-side for a trailer, is that you can drop and go. don't need a car & trailer to tow behind a class a or c.
that's all I can think of for now. I hope it provides useful grist for the mill.
The first question I would ask myself before I made any decision on what I was going to get is, how will I use my rig? Will I leave it at the resort, or will I/we pull it on a regular basis? My late wife and I have pulled trailers all over the USA. Starting with a small pop up tent trailer to a 35 ft 5th wheel with 3 slides. My first suggestion is that all of you spend some time at RV shows just looking at the various layouts. Some of the newer ones have two bedrooms and two baths, but cost a small fortune. Again, how are you going to use it? If you aren't going to live in it for several months of the year maybe this isn't necessary. Again though, before I did anything I would look at an RV show and at several dealers lots to get a feeling for the different layouts. You don't have to purchase from a dealer, but they have the inventory that you can compare side by side. If I can help in any way just message me. Lee
Thanks for the input Andy. The kids have a big GMC Tahoe, so it could tow almost anything. We drive a Cadillac SRX so the options are more limited but we can always change vehicles if we aren't going together. Great input.
When you reach a decision and if the Tahoe will be coming into play research the truck rating vs what camper it would be pulling. Tongue weight is very critical and some campers can be hundreds of lbs heavier tongue weight. We pulled a 30' Cruiser ultra light loaded down 8000 lbs it was all that Tahoe wanted. It would do it but it worked it hard and we live in s flat area. I knew I was pushing the limits of the Tahoe but we had just bought it.
We went back to pulling our campers after that with the wife's Navigator, more power/ torque and better suspension which was a world better.
7. there are only 2 of us and it just feels too small for moving around in at night. therefore, we plan to spend as much time as possible outside and under the awning. folding chairs, folding tables, sun tents, portable gazebos will eliminate that cramped feeling (except when it rains). those items will go in the van during the road trips.8. strongly recommend at least 1 wireless back up camera pointed down at the ball and hitch, if you have a tow-behind trailer.
These points drew my attn. There are just 2 of us but often have friends over playing cards at the club. We have a 30' and I think it's just right for 2 people to live comfortably. I found with a 35' camper and the length of the pull vehicle you about had to have pull thru site for 55 feet of rig.
Backup camera would be helpful if your in my position that wifey has never been able to master lining me up to hitch or you are using a tow vehicle.
Thank you daytonacpl for asking the question and everyone for your suggestions.
A year ago after leaving a hot springs resort that allowed camping we thought that it would be nice if we had a camper and on the trip home we started looking at all the campers on the road trying to decide what kind we would want. We have been to RV shows in the past but just for something for the kids to do and not really looking because my wifes idea of roughing it is the Motel 6. She camped with me once Before we got married but has not wanted to since.
After reading this post we rented a camper at one of the hot springs to see how well we fit. It was a 25ft 5th wheel from the 70s but was very tight inside. We now know that we will need slide outs if we are going to spend any time inside other than sleeping and that we want a solar electrical system for overnight power.
The best part of the experience was living nude for a couple of days and hope to do more of it.
We rented two travel trailers and two motorhomes for long weekends to see what we liked and what we didn't like before we bought our 32 foot Class-C. We have a dedicated master bedroom with a short queen size bed. A set of twin size bunk beds, a jackknife couch that converts to a full size bed, the dinette coverts into a full size bed and the loft over the cab that is a queen size bed. It will sleep ten. With little grandkids we have had four kids over the cab. The couch and stove are on one slide and the bunk beds and master bedroom furniture are on the other slide. With the slides in we have room to get through the rig, especially to the bathroom. For us the motorhome works. While on the drive to and from my parent's place we only need to make bathroom stops for the driver. This has shortened the trip from 8 hours to 6 hours.
We have not been towing a car. If needed we will rent a car. Our V-10 has been getting about 10 MPG.
There is another web site that can help you with questions and war stories, www.RVillage.com. I'm there as TheClearyClan.
Bob
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