Hi friends!
I’m excited to help you with choosing the right RV for your lifestyle, especially if you’re considering full-time life on the road. Whether you’re thinking about a motorhome, fifth wheel, or camper, there are so many options and models to choose from, which can feel overwhelming. In this blog post, I’ll break down the pros and cons of each type, helping you decide which one is the best fit for your unique needs. By the end, you’ll be ready to confidently take the next step in choosing the right RV for your lifestyle and start exploring your options!
First, let’s chat about the differences between each kind of RV. When I was first looking into RV life, I heard a lot of terms used interchangeably, and was confused about the different kinds of RVs out there. Now that I’ve had 3 years of experience, I’m here to set the record straight!
Motorhomes
A Motorhome is typically divided into 3 classes depending on the size of the vehicle – Class A, B, and C. We own a Class A Motorhome, which is the biggest vehicle of the 3. Meaning that we feel like we’re driving a bus down the road whenever we take it anywhere!
Here’s a photo of each kind of motorhome:
Campers
A Camper can be divided into several different categories including toy haulers, travel trailers, and pop ups. I’ll mostly be talking about travel trailers, since those are the most popular for full time RV living. Travel trailers hitch directly to your vehicle, and require at least an SUV to tow them. They range from compact and lightweight (easier and cheaper to tow, but more expensive usually), to bigger with slide outs (harder to tow and harder on your gas mileage, but better than a Fifth wheel or motorhome).
Here are some great examples of a few campers:
Fifth Wheels
A Fifth Wheel is similar to a camper in that it hitches to your vehicle. However, it’s unique in that it requires a special towing hitch and an extra powerful truck. With that being said, Fifth wheels generally provide the most living space for the cost. You can typically get a bigger Fifth Wheel for cheaper than you would buy a small camper. Because in a small camper, everything has to be extra compact, so it’s more expensive to manufacture. Some Fifth Wheels even have an extra bedroom and a full size fridge! Here’s a photo of a Fifth wheel:
Okay, so which one is right for me?
Great question! The answer to that question will depend on your situation of course!
Here are some things to consider:
Will you be living off the grid frequently?
If you’re wanting to do a lot of camping off the grid in national forests and on public land, you’ll want something that will be easy to maneuver on rough terrain. I would consider getting a travel trailer!
Do you already own an adequate towing vehicle?
Then you might do well with a travel trailer or fifth wheel! If we had had a truck at the time we were looking for an RV, we would most likely have gone with one of those.
Do you need to be able to cook and use the bathroom while on the road (when you’re stopped of course)?
Some RV’s have slide outs that come in so far that you can’t get back to the bathroom or kitchen while on the road. Definitely something to consider if you’re wanting to use the amenities in your RV while traveling from place to place!
How much and how far are you wanting to travel?
This is something I really wish we had considered more when choosing our RV. Ours only gets 6 mpg and is a beast to drive, so we don’t take it out as much as we’d like. I would’ve loved to have taken a trip out west with it, but it just would’ve been too expensive! Remember that the bigger the RV, the more of a pain it is to drive/travel with. If you’re wanting to travel a lot, I would suggest you look into getting a travel trailer!
How many people will be living in the RV?
If it’s just you, or you and your significant other, you could purchase a travel trailer or small Class C Motorhome and do really well! But if you have kids or pets, I would highly recommend looking into bigger options!
Just Start Looking!
Each individual model of RV will be different! If you’re still not exactly sure what kind you’d like to get, I would suggest looking on Facebook marketplace and seeing what you like! The most important thing to me was the layout of our RV. We went to look at a Class A that had no slide outs and it felt SO cramped. I wanted ours to feel open and spacious, so I knew it needed to have slide outs! So if you’re open to different options, figure out what your non negotiables are, and go from there!
I hope this blog post was helpful! If you have any specific questions, I’m always more than happy to help! Please comment below or send me a message here!
Megan
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