Lots of great advice so far. I've owned 5 different "campers" in the last 20+ years. We rented popups before buying our first camper in 2000, a small hybrid. I'll add a couple of things. While doing your "research", you'll discover a lot of similarities within the same price range. Look for the things that make one stand out from the others. Sometimes it is unique storage or creative places to sleep. Things like insulated/heated tanks and extra insulation in the walls (important if you intend to camp in cold weather), insulated double pane or frameless windows, or a residential refrigerator instead of an "RV" frige (12 volt/gas/electric). Residential friges cool much faster and will give you a lot more room, but require extra batteries and an inverter and don't allow boondocking for long without a generator. Look for the "nice to have" things you may not have thought about. Like USB ports in key locations to charge your devices or built in night stands on both sides of the bed. I added them to my last 5er for a drink holder and my CPAP machine. A "fireplace". My last 5th wheel had one and I thought it was silly, but it is actually an electric heater that was all I needed to warm a 42ft 5er down to about 50 degrees. Great on saving propane. My motorhome doesn't have one and I miss it. Check out the bedding. Generally the mattresses are terrible. Every camper I've had I added foam toppers until my current coach. It came with a Sleep Number bed. It is amazing. I bought one for the house.
Look at tank size. It will vary considerably between brands and price ranges. My first TT had 60 gallon of gray, 80 gallon black, but only 30 gallon fresh. I never ever filled the black tank, but ran out of fresh water often. I carried extra water jugs with that trailer. My next trailer had a 68 gallon fresh tank.
While doing your homework, take notes and pictures. You will look at so many, particularly at the huge shows (Hershey/Tampa) that they will all start to look the same and you'll forget which ones had the "really cool stuff".
As for the different options (popup, hybrid, tt, 5er, motorhome- I have owned or rented each). Popups are easiest to tow, but take quite a bit of setup and feel more like "camping" (think, step up from tents). Hybrids will tow like a small TT, but do require a little more setup and still have the canvas to deal with in extreme weather. Like ProudMom said, there are ways to address the canvas insulation and they are a good option if you have a smaller tow vehicle or like the popup camping feel with some solid walls around you. TTs are really nice now. They are nice with solid walls all around and come with a lot of high end options you used to only get in a 5er of MH. They are usually one level, unlike 5ers that will have steps up the the area above the hitch. TTs won't have as much storage as a 5er, but you can tow them with a SUV or have the whole pick up bed open for storage.
5ers are nice for overall interior size compared to most TTs and they generally have much more "basement" storage. They require a truck (obviously) and unless it is a small 5er, will require at least a 3/4 ton, likely a 1 ton truck. The bigger 5ers (my last was 42ft) really do best with a dually diesel. ($$).
Motorhomes take things to a different level on price and options and I won't go into all those unless that is what you are really thinking about. There are 2 general types; gasser and diesel. Gassers are much cheaper, smaller, noisier and don't come with the same level of ammenities you can get in a a diesel pusher, but a DP also starts at least $100,000 more than a gasser. Some are hundreds of thousands more.
Get an idea what price range you want to be in and keep track of the things you really want vs the nice to have or "could care less" things. That will help narrow it down. Then look at the overall fit and finish.
Lastly, consider buying used. Brand new RVs (regardless of price range) will have things that need to be corrected. Even a good dealer may take weeks or months to do the warranty things. A used 1-3 year old camper has likely had all those things address, will still look like new and be much less than a new one.
On price, a good rule of thumb on a brand new one is 30% off of the MSRP. This still gives the dealer a profit, but you don't feel like you were gouged. Covid and the surge in new RV'ers has messed with prices, but the recent increase in interest rates has cooled that some. Use
THIS web site to check dealer cost. I think it is still reliable. I used it when I bought my last 5er (new) in 2016. The prices listed here matched the MSRP and invoice on the trailer I bought. It gives you a good idea on a price to shoot for.
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to the DIS Camping Board
. And don't let's even start in on black tanks!
