Finding the Perfect RV

Purchasing an RV(Recreational Vehicle) is a major decision. The newer models can cost more than a new car, and if you decide to purchase a used RV, the repairs could cost you even more! There are many things that you need to consider when making your decision. You need to decide which type of RV is right for you and your family. It’s equally important to know your budget and how much you are willing to pay for your new RV. Will you pay cash or purchase on credit with monthly payments? You will find that each dealership has access to its own financing so interest rates can vary. There is a wide range of sizes, styles, and prices to choose from.

Here are some questions you need to ask yourself;

• How much do you want to pay?
• How do you intend to use it?
• Used or New?
• Length?
• Weight?
• Slide outs or no slide outs?
• How many people will it sleep?
• Bathroom with shower or tub, or not at all?
• Full kitchen?
• Separate bedroom?

Comparing 3 types of RVs

Travel Trailer, Fifth Wheel, or Motorhome

Our first RV was over 20 years old. We were not sure if camping was right for us, so we didn’t want to spend too much money on a travel trailer. These are the things we were looking for; shelter, a bed, stove, toilet, and a working air conditioner. We found this RV through an ad on craigslist, locally. After camping for a few years, we decided that we really enjoyed it! We decided to upgrade our RV to a newer model with more bells and whistles! I will tell you more about our new RV later in this post.

Travel Trailer

A Travel Trailer is towed behind your vehicle. You need a vehicle that can tow it and know how much weight your vehicle can tow.

PROS: Many sizes and options to choose from, the least expensive RV, can be easily towed with a pick-up or SUV. While at the campground you can detach it from your vehicle.

CONS: Requires a vehicle capable of towing it, you will use more gas while towing, it can be challenging to tow.

Fifth Wheel

A Fifth Wheel camper is attached to the bed of your Truck. You need a truck that can hold the added weight. Some of these are quite large and are set up more like a house.

PROS: you will have more room inside than a Travel Trailer, can be easier to tow, have less pull on your vehicle, can be detached from your vehicle at the campground.

CONS: Requires a vehicle that can hold the additional weight, a more expensive option

Motorhome

A Motorhome is a great option for some people. It allows you to take your home with you as you head down the road. You may need to tow a car behind the camper. We had a used motorhome for a short time. It didn’t have air conditioning or heat, but the main reason we didn’t keep it was because gas prices were over $3/gal at that time. Motorhomes don’t get good gas mileage!

PROS: You can just start heading down the road, your vehicle and home are both in one.

CONS: This is the most expensive option, can not detach the camper part of the vehicle, and you may need to tow a vehicle behind.

How do you intend to use your new RV?

Ask yourself how you intend to use your new RV? Will you be camping locally on weekends or will you be hauling it cross country? Are you going to retire and live in it full-time, or maybe you’ll be working from your RV? Will it be your only vacation option?

If you like to go on road trips and will be towing your RV long distances, you may want to get a smaller and lighter-weight travel trailer. It’s easier to pull and doesn’t raise your gas costs as much.

If you find a campground that you love, you may want to rent a seasonal site. This way you can go there often, and your camper is set up and waiting for you. You could purchase a larger camper since you will not be towing it. Gas costs will not be an issue.

A Fifth wheel is a good choice if you need a larger camper, maybe you have a large family. It’s easier to haul since it’s attached to the bed of your truck.

A motorhome is a great idea if you intend on doing a lot of traveling. They can be costly, but they are self-contained. Your vehicle and your home are both in one! You can easily stop at a park or by a lake and relax for a while. Once you get the hang of driving one, it can be easier than towing a travel trailer.

Used or New

Whether you buy a used or new RV depends mainly on your budget. If you are like us, you may not be sure you will enjoy camping. In this case, you may want to purchase a used RV or rent an RV before you purchase one. These days, finding an RV online through Craigslist or eBay can be a little scary. You have to take precautions if you go to someone’s house to see the RV. Please don’t go alone, and take lots of photos so you can review them later. There are other sites besides what I mentioned above, such as; RV trader, Gander Outdoors, carsforsale.com, and many more. You can also look up RV dealerships. I recommend the Campers Inn or Camping World. They both have many locations Nationwide. Would you consider traveling to another state for the perfect RV? We did!

It’s important to do some research online when looking for an RV. Once you locate a few you are interested in, I recommend going to the dealership in person. It’s fun to walk around the dealership lot and look inside the campers! This is the best way to check out features, options, sizes, and prices. It’s hard to know what you are looking for until you check out some RVs. RV Shows are also a great way to see a wide variety of campers and they often have good deals.

Options

Length & Weight

Travel Trailers come in many lengths and weights; from 18 ft long to over 35 ft long, and weighing from 2500 lbs to 8000+ lbs. The manufacturers are always trying to come out with lighter models, which make them easier to tow. A used Travel Trailer on the other hand can weigh over 10,000 lbs. It’s critical to know how much your truck or SUV can tow. Our Travel Trailer weighs about 5600 lbs and our RAM truck can tow about 6000 lbs.

Slide-outs

It’s important to know what size you want, but you may also want to consider if you want an RV with slide-outs. A slide-out will extend your living area out to the side of the RV. Some have one slide out, while others have many. Once you are in an RV with a slide-out, it’s hard live without them!

How Many does it Sleep?

This is an important question. How big is your family? Will you be taking friends along on your trips? Or is it just 2 of you, like my husband and myself?

Usually, the RV will have a queen-size bed, some also have bunk beds for the kids. The dinette makes into a bed and so does the couch(if it has one).

Kitchen, Bedroom, and Bathroom

Most RVs come with at least a small kitchen; stovetop and sink. Others come with a full kitchen; stovetop, oven, sink, full-size refrigerator, and microwave.

The bathrooms can vary as well. It could be small; with just a toilet, or a toilet and a sink. Others are larger; with a toilet, sink, and shower. Some even come with a bathtub! You have to decide what you are looking for and what you need.

The bedroom can be a completely separate room with a door, or it could just be a bed with a curtain to close. I have even seen some campers with a murphy bed that folds down from the wall.

Finding our Camper

We purchased our new camper at Camping World in Saukville, Wisconsin. It’s a 2010 Gulfstream Conquest, 28′ long with one slide out. We live in North Carolina, Saukville Wisconsin is about 900 miles from our home. Why did we go all the way to Wisconsin? because it was a great deal! We had been looking in North Carolina for months but could not get a good price or the interest rate we needed. We decided to look online at Camping World locations in neighboring states. We found our travel trailer on the Camping World website, and the salesman was kind enough to take a video with his phone and send it to us. We loved the layout and the price!

In March 2019, we went to Wisconsin for a visit, this gave us a chance to take a look at the camper that we had found online at Camping World. We loved it instantly! After seeing it in person, we decided it was a great deal, better than any camper we had looked at in our state of North Carolina. The financing was amazing! We decided to purchase the camper and leave it there until we could get back. They agreed to store it for us until we could get back to pick it up.

We were able to head back to Wisconsin about 6 weeks later. My husband and I usually love road trips but this one was a little more difficult. We had never hauled an RV this far before, about 900 miles. It was definitely a challenge! The first part of our trip was through some Midwest states that tend to be very windy. We had to drive quite slowly and our gas mileage was about 6 miles per gallon. When we got closer to home, we had to go over the mountains which was another challenge! We even ran into a thunderstorm! Eventually, about 19 hours later, we made it home!

In Conclusion..

As you can see, it takes a little time and research to find your perfect RV. If you are like us, it might take a few tries before you find the perfect one.

I have great memories of camping with my children when they were young and now, I am making great camping memories with my husband!

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Let me know which one you decide on! Please leave me a comment and share this post with your family and friends!

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