Our first RV-have no clue!

[ftwildernessrick]

First, realize that for almost all people will not keep their first camper. I started out with a tent, pop-up, two travel trailers, and I am on my sixth motorhome.

Every type of RV has its advantages & disadvantages. Liveability, interior design, storage!!! , drivability/towabilty & amenities. Go to a few RV shows and look around. See what you believe is something you'd like to have, then go find it USED. You will save a lot of money on a used one. Many people, who wait until they have retired to begin the RVing life, go out and buy a new one, then find out within a year that it is not for them, then they dump their RV at a substantial loss, which could be a gain for you. Some of these could still be under warranty.

After you have tried one or two used RV's and feel now you know what you want, then you will be more confident in buying that new one.

OK, now the pros & cons:

Pop-up - very afforadable, easily towed and functional; but you are limited on storage and not very tolerate with high temperature or low temperature. Depending on how many people use it, it can get very crowded quick.

Travel trailer - way more living and storage space, a good functioning bathroom, but, depending on its weight as to what you will need as a vehicle to tow it with. If you dry dock, you will also need to consider getting a generator and how to bring it along with you.

Fith wheel - very nice, some are like bringing your house with you and many full timers prefer them. However, that big truck you will have to buy to tow it (and how big the fith wheel is, maybe a large diesel dully) can get expensive.

Motorhome - OK, I'm a little prejudiced towards them. Yes, can be expensive and will suck the gas. You will need to consider a tow vehicle for it. Many vehicles are towable or can be converted to towable with driveshaft disconnects or transmission lube pumps. Figure about an extra $2,000 to rig a tow vehicle. Cost aside, there is nothing like driving into a rest area, pull the curtain closed & take a nap or eat a bite without ever leaving your vehicle. Or, drive down the road while the kids or grandkids take a nap, watch TV etc.. When you pull into that RV park at night or at your destination, you drop your tow vehicle, pull into the site, hit your automatic levelers, run your slideouts out, and plug up. I can do it in 5 to 10 minutes. If I am staying more than overnight, I will spend another 5 to 10 minutes rolling out the awning, putting up the awning lights, laying out the patio carpet, & pull out a few chairs.

Whatever you decide to get, relax and enjoy the rving life.

 

[caveat lector]

Opinions are like ______, everyone has 'em. In my opinion, the 3 most important things to consider when buying are:
1) Slideout
2) Slideout
3) Slideout
If you can get someone to show you what the inside looks like with a slide retracted v. extended, you will be amazed. 3 or 4 feet doesn't seem like much until you don't have it.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Is there plenty of room for your tackle box,,how bout several fish'n poles ? And you may need space for a portable cleaning station,,
theres a lot to think about.

 

[Jaylens Papa]

Also with the size issue, think about where you might be going. One of my favorite places is SeaCliff State Beach in Ca and they won't allow more than 36 ft. So big can be better but it may be a problem.
As said before, don't pay the invoice price, but do check yourself the true invoice. I've heard that some dealers will show you an inflated invoice.

 

[NLPRacing]

Don't discount Super C's. The space above our cab is the entertainment center and cabinets. I can't imagine we'd have that much more room in a Class A. We have two slides, which nearly doubles our living space when parked.

The biggest reason we chose Class A over Class C (even a Super C) was the fact that the driver & passenger seats are used when parked in the Class A versus the the cab seats in the Class C & Super C. A friend of mine has a real nice Gulf Stream 40' Supernova Super C with a full wall slide on side & a bedroom slide on the other. It's really nice, but has actually less usable seating than my 35' class C. But, he can sleep up to 10 people comfortable where mine barely sleeps the 5 of us comfortably (which we had bunks). I do wish we had the extra bed that the class C's have over the cab, but I wouldn't give up the extra living area & usable seating for it.

Back to the OP's original question, check out everything and get what fits you best. The Class A with a toad works for best us because we wanted something we could use during a long road trip. I couldn't imagine driving across country with 3 kids in anything else. Now if we didn't travel long distances as much as we do, we probably would of got a travel trailer to pull behind the Expedition. We've had our Class A for over 5 years now and we have no regrets.

 

[Disney Bunny]

Opinions are like ______, everyone has 'em. In my opinion, the 3 most important things to consider when buying are:
1) Slideout
2) Slideout
3) Slideout
If you can get someone to show you what the inside looks like with a slide retracted v. extended, you will be amazed. 3 or 4 feet doesn't seem like much until you don't have it.

Couldn't have said it better myself. First TT we were considering buying had no slideout. We have a very dear friend (who had already bought several campers before us) insist that we not buy anything that didn't have a least one slideout. So we listened to him and were very glad we did. We now have a 5th wheel with single slideout and the difference with slide in vs slide out is incredible.

 

[KimIce]

Couldn't have said it better myself. First TT we were considering buying had no slideout. We have a very dear friend (who had already bought several campers before us) insist that we not buy anything that didn't have a least one slideout. So we listened to him and were very glad we did. We now have a 5th wheel with single slideout and the difference with slide in vs slide out is incredible.

I agree, we have had campers without a slide and you do not have near the amount of room. Our 5th wheel has 1 slide and I would not do without it (our next one will have 2 slides). We like the 5th wheel, because we don't have to tow a vehicle behind when we go anywhere, we can just unhook from the camper and go. It tows good also.
There are so many different styles out there, it is whatever your preference is. We did a lot of shopping before we bought our 5th wheel, we actually were planning on buying another TT, but my husband is 6' 4 and he was to tall for them, that is why we bought the 5th wheel.