RV Fantasy

[87maniac]

“He who would travel happily must travel light.”

I have owned five VW Westfalia campers over the years.
Recently, I considered upgrading to a Class C Sprinter RV,
I thought I wanted a toilet and a shower, but a recent 2300-mile trip to Jasper&Banff Canada,
we realized showers/ toilets were clean and accessable in most campgrounds.
A small portable camping toilet serves well for emergencies and late-night needs.

The Westfalia is a joy to drive on everyday errands, as well as long camping treks.
(My Brother has many white-knuckle 'wind gust' stories about driving his 34-foot Class A RV)
Inner-city driving/parking with a Giganto RV is no fun! Towing a car is no fun!
I can park in downtown parking garages (anywhere a car can) and see the city.

Nice accommodations; two twin beds, refrig, stove, sink, tables.
AND, they are appreciating in value every year, unlike the other RVs.
https://www.outsideonline.com/1920121/ultimate-family-adventure-van

[911boost]

I drive by Earth Roamer almost every day and dream....

I have always had travel trailers. The current one is a toy hauler.

[911boost]

Oh yeah, have this as well....

[87maniac]

Shocked by Earthroamer prices.
Looked at one in Yosemite this summer, nice rig.
now I know why the owners were acting like overprivledged douches.

USED PRICE


NEW PRICE, BASE MODEL

[Scott R]

I have a 30ft Class C on a Ford 450 chassis. I'll never get another "C" as driving it is quite miserable at times. The V10 roars through the front cab to the point it drowns out the radio. And every little thing that's not nailed down rattles when you go down the highway. I got the "C" so I could tow my boat, which it does easily, but try getting a 30ft RV down the boat ramp!

My next RV will be a fifth wheel with a really nice pickup pulling it so I can travel in comfort and still enjoy the RV lifestyle. Also I would rent next tome too, and we use it about 20 times a year.

[wdfifteen]

I've owned and I've rented. Renting is better. In the years I was into that lifestyle I probably spend less money per hour of use renting than owning. I've had 30 foot Cs and a 19 foot Roadtrek B. The Roadtrek was the best. For my use I needed a bed, bathroom, someplace to warm up food, and transportation. The "little" class B fit the bill, but it was expensive.

[legion]

Huh. I didn't know what a class B was. Those look even better to me.

[Cajundaddy]

I owned a 22' Lazy Daze class C for 10 years. My brother has a 36' diesel pusher that we use often for track events and some camping. No matter how big it is, they generally drink 6, feed 4, and sleep 2 inside comfortably. At the track we sometimes sleep 4 but it gets very "busy" with everyones stuff all over the place. A small rig with a spare dome tent for guest quarters offers a lot more private space for everyone. This weekend we will sleep 3, and probably feed/drink 20 with cooking, ice chest, and party outdoors.

A lotta benefits to going small and light if you plan to own, and you appreciate time in the outdoors. You can get them in to national park campgrounds anywhere and even just park in town overnight while on the road. I will seriously consider a Westy or Sprinter conversion in a few years for more extended travel if I can get it for a reasonable price. For now we rent a class C for a weekend here and there and it works out great with zero maintenance or storage issues. We averaged $100/night on a trip to Death Valley last year and had a great time.

[dlockhart]

Originally Posted by Cajundaddy

. My brother has a 36' diesel pusher that we use often for track events and some camping. No matter how big it is, they generally drink 6, feed 4, and sleep 2 inside comfortably. At the track we sometimes sleep 4 but it gets very "busy" with everyones stuff all over the place. A small rig with a spare dome tent for guest quarters offers a lot more private space for everyone. This weekend we will sleep 3, and probably feed/drink 20 with cooking, ice chest, and party outdoors.

I wish we would have bought our toter 10 yrs sooner. It makes track life much more enjoyable. I think we have slept 4 in ours, and it does get crowded and that one guy either snoozes like a chainsaw or has a flatulence episode of epic proportion. Ahh , track life.. So far we have never used the rig just as a RV.

[DanielDudley]

Originally Posted by Scott R

My next RV will be a fifth wheel with a really nice pickup pulling it so I can travel in comfort and still enjoy the RV lifestyle.
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Trailers have always seemed to make more sense to me.

[ckelly78z]

I've often thought that when I retire, it would be neat to buy a slide in camper for my F-250, and pull a small 6x10 enclosed trailer with an attached awning for my enduro bike/kayaks/grill. I am far more about the experience of being out in nature, so a hotel room/flight/rental car is out for me.

It's not so much the destination, it's the trip.

[billybek]

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

I've often thought that when I retire, it would be neat to buy a slide in camper for my F-250, and pull a small 6x10 enclosed trailer with an attached awning for my enduro bike/kayaks/grill. I am far more about the experience of being out in nature, so a hotel room/flight/rental car is out for me.

It's not so much the destination, it's the trip.

I have been looking for another lightweight slide in too.

Some of those darn things are bloated heavyweights that would require a one ton dually to haul.

Thinking along the lines of the earlier Bigfoot and Northern Lite campers for my 3/4 truck.

[berettafan]

Originally Posted by 87maniac

Shocked by Earthroamer prices.
Looked at one in Yosemite this summer, nice rig.
now I know why the owners were acting like overprivledged douches.

USED PRICE


NEW PRICE, BASE MODEL

that is just idiotic.

take an f250, drop in some electric lockers and a slide in camper and you're up $350k.

My parents and grandparents had pull campers when I was little and my cousin had a Winnebago. Did Disney with those and it was neat. Also did weekends at some place called Circle M I think. kinda neat. as a very young kid. now, i'll take a Hampton Inn. used pull behinds are cheap. $5k gets you something that appears very serviceable. sure you won't be hot **** at the local trailer park but you also won't have a mortgage on something with pressboard cabinets, plastic toilet and a styrofoam couch.

[Crowbob]

Originally Posted by DanielDudley

Trailers have always seemed to make more sense to me.

Posted this before, I think. Small. But fun!

[VincentVega]

Thats cool!

I really like the idea of this one

[MT930]

I would rent one and try it. I bought a new 27 ft Jayco trailer in 2004. We used it as a family 5-6 times a season until the kids were in high school. it was trouble free with the exception of new battery's twice. The kids prefer true tent camping and remote backpacking now. The wife likes to travel light and stay in hotels.

The camper was worth it, I feel I have gotten my value out of it. Lots of good family times.
it will go on craigslist this spring for 65% of the original cost. It was $16 K new no financing charges. I would not have spent $100K for one or been willing to pay to store it. $6000 / 13 years = $462.00 Year + gas certainly worth it.

Most people use them less and less as time goes on. Fun if you use it enough. Effective way relieving your self of cash if you don't. I would dip your toe in first.

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by id10t

Considering insurance, maintenance, needing to tow a vehicle to get around once you arrive at your destination, etc. I'd look really hard at what it would cost to rent a nice RV for a few weeks.

This is based on info from my friends who lived in an RV for 12+ years, finally bought house last year, still are in their RV for 6+ months/year (they "work" at Ren Faires)

This, at the very least, rent before you buy. 5th wheel and a good diesel truck works well, very well.

Maybe you can buy a case or two of tasty wine or something to bribe Hugh's boss and get his turned into a time share. Go with the reasonable financial decision approach and you will be in like Flynn.

[legion]

I'm not really interested in a trailer. Part of what I'm looking for is a place the kids can nap and use the bathroom and move around a little while on the road. I thought a Class C was the smallest available, but a Class B is more inline with what I was thinking. (I thought a Class B was one of those RVs built on a semi chassis.)

Last year we were driving through Atlanta on the way to my sis-in-law's wedding in Orlando. I knew, based on living there, that we had a window of about 10:30-Noon on a Friday to make it through without getting stuck in traffic. Well, my older son had to pee, we ended up spending 45 minutes searching for a bathroom in southern Tennessee and hit Atlanta at 11:15. As we were travelling the south end of the Perimeter at noon, we got hit with massive traffic and ended spending two additional hours in traffic. By the time we were on the other side and could stop for lunch, I had two very hungry kids, and the baby had severe diaper rash from sitting in his filth for 3 hours. This trip is what got me started thinking that it would be nice to have an RV.

Our family is 7, 9, 10 and 17 hours away by car. The 7 and 10 hours away family isn't worth flying to (as the flight would require changing planes twice) and we can't fly to the family that is 9 hours away (closest we can get is 3 hours away). We can fly to the people 17 hours away, but I pretty much don't fly anymore. (Thank you TSA.) Also, flying four of us, because we are starting on a non-hub endpoint serviced by "partner" airlines, tends to cost around $1,000 just to get somewhere close. A flight to see the family 17 hours away could easily approach $2,000 for the four of us. And that's before a car rental. Driving to see them, while miserable, typically costs us less than $500.

So we travel by car, and sometimes it's miserable. And sometimes we hit traffic or snow and end up having to shell out obscene rates for last-minute hotels.

[Hugh R]

Six people in a Class B is pretty darn tight, especially for sleeping.

I've loaned mine to my brother and a friend I trust and just have them listed as additionally insured. Maybe you can find a friend who will loan or rent his to you cheap for a week.

[URY914]

Originally Posted by billybek

I have been looking for another lightweight slide in too.

Some of those darn things are bloated heavyweights that would require a one ton dually to haul.

Thinking along the lines of the earlier Bigfoot and Northern Lite campers for my 3/4 truck.

Look into A Livin' Lite. All aluminum slide-in. I want one myself.

https://www.livinlite.com/products/truck-campers.html