Wondering how the heck you can choose among the types of recreational vehicles?
• The pop Up or tent trailer is a huge step up from a tent. It is easy to pull and for the money has quite a bit of space. A Hi-Low works like the Pop Up. It has a flat profile while pulling it but when it's raised you have a hard sided home rather than canvas. These have two and sometimes three pull-outs which house the beds. Add a screen house and you are all set for days and day. Prices: $3,545 and $12,425
• The truck camper. The camper goes into the bed of a pickup truck. There are pros to the truck camper especially if you go small. You are essentially driving a truck with a small home on your back. You can tow because the camper fits into, onto and over the truck. The smallest may not have a bathroom or shower but you won't have to go up much in price to find those essentials. Price: around $7,000 for a small eight- foot truck camper.
• A class B motor home is a compact unit that looks very much like a regular van but bigger and with all the amenities of home. They cost the most money for their size and what you get. You might spend $50,000 and up on what looks like a conversion van i.e. a van that has been made fancy inside. The big plus to these is that you can drive them as a vehicle so you don't have to have a large truck and you can fit into parking spaces.
• Class A motor homes are those beautiful monsters you routinely see on the roads. People are selling their homes and traveling the country in a Class A. You might want to pull a car behind a Class A. One benefit to a self-contained unit is that the passenger can get up while the driver is driving and make lunch, go to the bathroom or take a nap! These are constructed on a specially designed motor vehicle chassis. If you are RVing full time this is what you will be looking at. There are two negatives. One is the size. If you want, what I call a monster RV, I think that you may want to have been a bus driver in this life or a past one. The other negative is maintenance. If something goes wrong you won't be able to drive into your local car dealer or automotive shop to have it fixed. The other is the price (and the cost of gas). Some have gas fireplaces, giant TVs, a washer/dryer unit and dishwasher. These start at over $300,000 and go up to $1 million. For about $80,000 you can get a basic gas class A with slide outs in the 25' range. You will get a beautiful unit and a lot of luxury. A tip: Don't look at the ones above first! Slide outs are available on most models but you will pay for them. A slide out is a section of the unit, usually the couch, sometimes the dinette, that slides out anywhere from anywhere from 18" to 3'. They close in at the push of a button when you are ready to move still giving you plenty of room to move around. I've seen units with 4 slide outs. I've seen units with 1 or none.
• The firth wheel offers the most room for the money. The unit is all living space and they are very high inside. One negative to the fifth wheel versus the Class B, C and A is that it is not self contained so you can't get your partner a sandwich while you are underway. Fifth wheel trailers range from about 8,000 pounds to more than 18,000 pounds thus the need for a huge truck. If you are looking for the maximum living space for your money and don't mind carrying it in the bed of your truck a 26' to 40' unit is what you will want. Most come with slide outs and like Class A you can get a washer/dryer, dishwasher, entertainment center. You'll spend anywhere from $13,000 to $100,000 for a fifth-wheel
• The class C is easier to drive than the class A. If you can spend at the top end of these units you will be able to find 30' units with floor plans that look more like a Class A with full size beds plus the cab-over the bed. The cost of this unit starts at about $45,000 for perhaps a 24-foot motor home.
• The travel trailer is very popular because it is a house on wheels without the mechanism of an engine. You will pull it with an SUV or truck depending on the size of the unit. The travel trailer is easy to buy used because there is no engine so you do not have to worry about breaking down. When you unhook from a travel trailer you have your vehicle to drive. They range in price from about $7,000 to $30,000 for a medium sized trailer (around 25 feet) and large trailers (9,000 pounds and up) from about $13,000 to $60,000.
This was written a few years ago. All the info is the same but be aware of the cost of living!!
• The truck camper. The camper goes into the bed of a pickup truck. There are pros to the truck camper especially if you go small. You are essentially driving a truck with a small home on your back. You can tow because the camper fits into, onto and over the truck. The smallest may not have a bathroom or shower but you won't have to go up much in price to find those essentials. Price: around $7,000 for a small eight- foot truck camper.
• A class B motor home is a compact unit that looks very much like a regular van but bigger and with all the amenities of home. They cost the most money for their size and what you get. You might spend $50,000 and up on what looks like a conversion van i.e. a van that has been made fancy inside. The big plus to these is that you can drive them as a vehicle so you don't have to have a large truck and you can fit into parking spaces.
• Class A motor homes are those beautiful monsters you routinely see on the roads. People are selling their homes and traveling the country in a Class A. You might want to pull a car behind a Class A. One benefit to a self-contained unit is that the passenger can get up while the driver is driving and make lunch, go to the bathroom or take a nap! These are constructed on a specially designed motor vehicle chassis. If you are RVing full time this is what you will be looking at. There are two negatives. One is the size. If you want, what I call a monster RV, I think that you may want to have been a bus driver in this life or a past one. The other negative is maintenance. If something goes wrong you won't be able to drive into your local car dealer or automotive shop to have it fixed. The other is the price (and the cost of gas). Some have gas fireplaces, giant TVs, a washer/dryer unit and dishwasher. These start at over $300,000 and go up to $1 million. For about $80,000 you can get a basic gas class A with slide outs in the 25' range. You will get a beautiful unit and a lot of luxury. A tip: Don't look at the ones above first! Slide outs are available on most models but you will pay for them. A slide out is a section of the unit, usually the couch, sometimes the dinette, that slides out anywhere from anywhere from 18" to 3'. They close in at the push of a button when you are ready to move still giving you plenty of room to move around. I've seen units with 4 slide outs. I've seen units with 1 or none.
• The firth wheel offers the most room for the money. The unit is all living space and they are very high inside. One negative to the fifth wheel versus the Class B, C and A is that it is not self contained so you can't get your partner a sandwich while you are underway. Fifth wheel trailers range from about 8,000 pounds to more than 18,000 pounds thus the need for a huge truck. If you are looking for the maximum living space for your money and don't mind carrying it in the bed of your truck a 26' to 40' unit is what you will want. Most come with slide outs and like Class A you can get a washer/dryer, dishwasher, entertainment center. You'll spend anywhere from $13,000 to $100,000 for a fifth-wheel
• The class C is easier to drive than the class A. If you can spend at the top end of these units you will be able to find 30' units with floor plans that look more like a Class A with full size beds plus the cab-over the bed. The cost of this unit starts at about $45,000 for perhaps a 24-foot motor home.
• The travel trailer is very popular because it is a house on wheels without the mechanism of an engine. You will pull it with an SUV or truck depending on the size of the unit. The travel trailer is easy to buy used because there is no engine so you do not have to worry about breaking down. When you unhook from a travel trailer you have your vehicle to drive. They range in price from about $7,000 to $30,000 for a medium sized trailer (around 25 feet) and large trailers (9,000 pounds and up) from about $13,000 to $60,000.
This was written a few years ago. All the info is the same but be aware of the cost of living!!
