We thought about whether to get a trailer or an RV and decided on the former, our neighbors chose the latter.
Our rationale for the trailer:
much cheaper overall if you don’t need to replace your car, we picked a small teardrop (21ft) which can be towed with our regular SUV (Honda Pilot), insurance is also cheaper
we wanted to have a vehicle to drive around while leaving the trailer at the campsite, eg going out for dinner or touring around for the day
we didn’t need anything large (two of us plus the dogs on occasion), we did want a kitchen, toilet and shower, solar power plus propane is usually fine when there are no hookups, though that does mean no A/C: we go to the mountains in the summer and desert/south only in the fall/winter/spring
Our neighbors’ rationale for the RV:
wanted a slightly bigger cabin (seating 4-5) while still having maneuverability (24ft)
not worried about how much it cost (easily more than double our trailer)
didn’t have a suitable vehicle for towing
wanted a built in generator for A/C when there are no hookups
So there are pros and cons to each. But it does actually work well when we go together, then we can socialize in their RV but tour around in our car.
Campground pricing is hugely variable, anything from $20-$25 at national forest campsites, to $60-$100+ per night at private campgrounds with full hookups. KOA is very expensive and you are paying for the brand as it’s often no better than other campgrounds. We tend to do a lot of touring around, haven’t yet tried staying in one place for a week or more. We usually leave the dogs behind if we are focusing on national parks, but otherwise take them and sometimes seek out daycare if what we are doing is unsuitable.
Terminology
RV = Recreation Vehicle, general term which includes motorhomes (has an engine) and as well as trailers (tow behind the car/truck). In recent years though RV seems to often be used as a synonym for motorhome.
Even within each category there are choices to be made with pros and cons.
I’ve been in an exhibitor booth for multiple overland expos with my rig. I tell everyone the same thing…you have to define your non-negotiables, and from there be accepting of the remaining compromises. No rig is perfect 100% of the time. In the best of cases it’ll be right 90% of the time.
What might those be? You might want a small rig for agility and mileage, but it’ll feel small camping in the rain. You might want a big rig, but it’ll get poor mileage and be limited as to where you can take it. Want a conversion van so a passenger can get into the back while you’re driving? You’ll hear all the cabinetry squeaking. I could go on and on, but every single option, even within genres has compromises.
We ended up with a 8’ slide in truck camper on a custom bed replacement. So far it has served us well. I know people who have full timed in the same unit, but my wife wouldn’t. Feel free to PM me for details. There are several articles published about it as it got a lot of accolades the year we built it.
We have never been to an RV expo - covid hit- but there are expos all over the country- just google rv expo for one near you. It looks like January is popular time for them.
Just came back from a daytrip in the mountains and passed a small gas station. When I saw a truck towing a trailer, I remembered that gas stops can be a pain, trailer or motorhome. This guy had to do some tricky maneuvering.
We have a friend that clipped his 5th wheel trailer AC on a gas station canopy. He’s a careful driver, but the height warning sign had posted inaccurate height info.
We always try to plan out our gas stops prior to traveling. We look at the stations on google maps to see direction of the pumps, ease of pulling in and out, if there’s a canopy etc.
I’m going to dive into some more research once my trip to beautiful western state is finished.
Hub (like me) grew up camping and (unlike me) loves vehicles and fixing things, lol. We’d both like to see more of the country and bring a pup with us. So (at least preliminarily) RV seems like it might be a good fit.
Definitely going to check out the post-Labor day rental prices. Thanks again!
We have good friends whose daughter and her husband have been living in an RV for 2 years now (they are in their early 30’s and can both work remotely. They have a dog with them). They have primarily been in the PNW. The challenges they have had have been as follows:
Many of the campgrounds have a limit to how long they can stay, so after a certain number of days, they have to pack up and move to a new campground.
When something significant breaks in the camper that needs to be fixed at a shop, they have to find alternate housing and it can take time to get the necessary parts and sometimes there are long waits to get things repaired.
If they want to fly back to the east coast to visit family, they have to find a place to safely leave their camper as well as find someone skilled and reliable to watch their dog.
They wouldn’t trade their experience for the world, but my friend says they are thinking of settling down soon and finding a house somewhere in the PNW, with a place to store their camper.
For extended trips I would imagine other things to consider would be:
Wi-Fi and phone service (especially if you are still working).
frequent grocery shopping (if small fridge and/or storage)
doing laundry
lots of planning (for said grocery shopping & laundry, gas fill ups, reservations, etc.)
lack of privacy
I remember reading a “you think it is like this, but it is really like that” type of article. So it would show a picture of people camping all alone on a beautiful lake and the “really like that” pic was rows upon rows of trailers in a campground.
I guess a lot depends on the reason why you are doing it (it’s a cheap way to see the sights vs we love camping).
My in-laws had an RV that was an extra long, little extra wide conversion van. They loved it. My spouse and I would have killed each other…
A significant number of RVers now take a Starlink terminal with them which gets 100Mbps+ internet service almost anywhere (unless you are in a forest and can’t see the sky). The service costs about $150 per month plus $600 for the terminal.
We thought about getting it as we pay $79 at home for internet (monopoly area)- but we don’t work on the road and the new iPhone 14 has an emergency satellite signal. Honestly we don’t need it but I could see where it is very useful.
It seems to me that purchasing an RV is akin to buying a vacation place, except you can go to different places. I have relatives (semi-retired/empty nesters) who purchased a luxury RV (the thing is huge and, as they keep telling us, it cost them $$$$ ). They traveled mostly out West (hauled a car as well) when they first bought it. Eventually, they got tired trying to find places to park and stay in the RV. Last year, they found a spot in Naples, FL and spent most of the winter there. They ended up purchasing this space/spot? but still take the RV back North when they’re ready to leave. H and I were invited to visit them next winter. I’m happy to visit, but would freak out if I had to drive the RV.
I know some owners of motorhomes and trailers and have heard some stories secondhand. Some had hoped to use them for retirement living, but there is a whole extra layer of complications if you no longer have a “home base” home or apartment.
We have been thinking about this for awhile. My husband is very interested in an Airstream Bambi (or the other 20 ft Airstream, forgot the name, but it’s more rugged). We’re also thinking about something smaller that we can use our RAV4 to pull (max towing of 2500 lb). We can pull a lot more with our F150, but the RAV4 is so much nicer to drive.
I don’t know. Since we’ve never had an RV, we’re looking for something small (but must have a toilet), easy to tow, and you can stand up in it. It’s that balance between having something larger with more space, but making it easy and uncomplicated to drive. Anyone have any ideas?
I’d look at a fiberglass camper like a Casita, Escape, Oliver, Bigfoot or Happier Camper. They’re lighter, last forever, and don’t leak. If you have the budget, the Oliver is one of the nicest trailers in any category.
We used to like our pop up tent camper. But it works best for a shorter trip, one destination. It’s was a bit of a pain to get up/down, but it was easy to tow and had a wonderful amount of interior space. To be honest, not sure if the two of us could get it up/down ourselves these days.