Buying a recreational vehicle.
How am I going to use my RV?
Each kind of RV has its best use!
We on the TiogaRV Team have been asked many times for advice about choosing an RV. Our
readers planning to buy an RV want to know what RV will be best for them. In this story,
we are not going to answer every question about how to choose your RV. We only want to
present some ideas and information for you, based on our experience, OK?
Class "A"?
Class "B"?
Class "C"?
Fifth Wheel?
Trailer?
Camper?
How will RV be used?
How do you intend to use your RV? This question is the critical choice, when making
a selection of what type of RV is best for you.
Are you planning to stay out in the wilds, boondocking at every opportunity? Do you
plan to go up dirt roads, searching for adventure like the TiogaRV Team does?
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Lazy Daze Class "C"-Factory Direct
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Maybe you want to stay in RV campgrounds? Will you stay the night mostly in cities and towns?
Are you thinking about being a fulltimer? Is driving inside your RV important
to you while traveling down the road?
Do you want to be able to wash and dry your clothes inside your RV? Tons of questions and
answers determine what kind of RV is best for you.
Class "A"
The popular Class "A", such as this Fleetwood Southwind, allows you to be inside
your spacious RV home as you travel down the road.
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Fleetwood Southwind Class A
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Class "A" RVs are built on a truck chassis,
which gives the RVer plenty of room in the basement for storage. The Class "C" in comparison,
is built on a van chassis. Class "Cs" are much lower to the ground, and consequently have much
less storage space.
Class "C"
If you are going to travel into wild places, under trees, down dirt roads in order to Nite Camp
next to a river, a Class "C" might be a better choice than a Class "A". Class "C" RVs being not
so tall as Class "A", will be able to go under trees while traveling down a forest road.
Note: When touring the
Fleetwood Class-C plant in Riverside, California in 2007, it was noticed that the height
of the floor had risen to about the height of Class-As. This likely means that the roof
height has also risen giving less room to go under trees in the forest.
Campers
A Camper is an RV mounted onto a pickup truck. This pickup truck might have 4-wheel drive
which makes driving in wild places easier. You won't have the comfort of driving inside
your RV in a camper compared to Class "A" or Class "C" RVs. Campers are generally much
smaller inside than other RVs. For getting to wild places, however, Campers might be
the perfect choice.
Trailers
Trailers as the Airstream are another alternative for RVers who stay in RV campgrounds.
After setting up your Airstream RV home at an RV campground, you may easily travel around town
touring in your tow vehicle. Trailers give you much more RV for your dollar. Much cheaper to
maintain as well. When traveling in your trailer, you do not have the convenience of being
inside your RV when on the road.
Airstream Classic Trailer
Fifth Wheels
Fifth wheels RVs require a pickup truck tow vehicle with the coupling mechanism mounted on
the truck's bed. Because of this design, the length of a fifth wheel and its tow vehicle
is less than for a conventional trailer. The reason for this smaller length, is that the
the bedroom of a fifth wheel trailer is usually located over the truck bed.
A fifth wheel RV
as with the conventional trailer, does not offer the convenience of driving inside your
RV when traveling. Fifth wheels are a good choice for staying in RV campgrounds.
Note: Both trailers and fifth wheels may be difficult or impossible to U-turn on a
forest road. If you are going to be camping in wild places, a camper or Class-C might be
a better choice.
King of the Road LS Model Fifth Wheel
Class "B" Camper Vans
Class "B" Camper Vans are fantastic RVs in the space of a Van. Everything is included
and highly engineered to fit into the small space found in a Van. Headroom is tight, but a six
foot tall person should be able stand straight without touching the ceiling with their head.
You drive inside your RV home with a Class "B".
Toads
A "toad" is RV slang for a towed vehicle. The "toad" is pulled behind
Class "A" and Class "C" RVs. When the RVer camps in an RV campground, the toad may be used to
sightsee, leaving the RV behind. Perhaps 1/2 of the RVers pull a toad behind their RV.
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