Choosing an RV..?!

Well I guess looking back, this should have been the first posting to this site, however it is here now.

So you have decided that you want to start camping or taking trips in your own unit.  Well some questions you need to ask yourself would be: How much can we afford? How often are we going to use it? Where are we taking it? Do I need to change or upgrade vehicles to pull it? Where am I going to store or park it? And lastly how big do we need it to be?

So lets take a quick look at each one, I am going to try and hit the highlights as I have owned all but one style of the units but I have also done some RVing in all of them!

Campers - Campers are small units hauled in the back of your truck.  They are limited to the size or your truck's box and truck's GVW = the bigger the truck the bigger the camper you can haul.  They can be a pain to load and unload especially if by yourself, however once you have arrived at your destination you can drop the unit and have your truck free for??  Hauling a camper also means you are able to tow something be it a boat or trailer of some sorts.  No special license is required, just the comfort of the driver to haul the unit.

Trailers - Trailers are units that hook up to a receiver hitch on your vehicle.  Once again the trailer is limited to the size by what your vehicle can haul, IE: a big full size truck can pull a larger, heavier, longer trailer than say a Toyota SUV. A trailer once again, like campers, can be unhooked and left at the camp site again freeing the tow vehicle to be used for whatever.  Should you be using a truck, the box is also empty for other items. A trailer or ( T.T. = travel trailer ) can be a long unit to pull, my suggestion would be to make sure you are comfortable driving as you can run into tight turning areas or areas that require backing out of.  I have seen many a fight from my parents with regards to this.

Motor Homes or Buses - These can range from short ones of 14 feet to 40 feet long and longer!  These units if properly equipped can also tow a trailer.  Once again the longer the unit the more comfortable the driver needs to be.  Long units do not turn on a dime and backing them up should you have a trailer can be a nightmare.  My only complaint with a MH is that before you can go anywhere, everything needs to be stored or stowed away, unless your pulling a car.

5th Wheels - Sometimes called 5ers can be short or long.  Once again the length or size of the 5th wheel is limited to the size and GVW of the truck.  5th wheels are pulled by mounting a 5th wheel hitch in the box of the truck, the hitch looks exactly like a big rig or 18 wheeler driving down the highway.  Once again like a trailer, 5th wheels can be dropped at the campsite and you have your truck free to do whatever.  Down side, the box of your truck has the hitch in it so, you have very little room when hauling in your box.  The hitch itself can be very heavy to remove but two men can usually handle it fine.  Should you be pulling a long unit your skills should be like that of a commercial truck driver.

5th wheels, buses and trailers can come with whats called a push out or slides.  A section on the side of the unit that with power or hydraulics moves out like an extension or accordion and gives more room inside.  Hell I have even seen a camper with a slide.  Units bought in British Columbia that weight over 5500 kg are now requiring a special license called a "Heavy Hauling Endorsement".  This or a class 3 license is needed to operate these units, I hate to see what the fines are if caught without it.  Much like having the boating course to operate a boat the HHE or class 3 is to make sure the driver is capable of operating the unit safely.  There is a fee for this new endorsement on your license and a road test as well, you will be driving the unit around town with the examiner.

So, there are some basics and the names.  At this point in time I can not think of any I have left out, sorry if I did.  Should you be considering a unit my BIGGEST suggestion is research!!  Once you have narrowed down what your looking for go look, touch, test driver, what ever.  Don't settle, don't make do.  Settling leads to two-foot-itice.....lol.  In our case we planned on living and travelling with our unit.  We plan on parking in one spot and exploring the surrounding area, then after some time, picking up and moving.  We wanted a large enough unit to have all the amenities of home as it is going to be our home. It took us 4 years almost in looking and talking, touching and driving to dealerships 6 hours away to decide.

I hope this helps you in your quest and remember........happy on peeps!

Puff