Okay, so Doug and I had decided we wanted to live on the road. But in what?
We started looking at RVs whenever we were traveling. Driving down the highway? Obsessively catalog what's being driven and towed! (We really could have used one of those car bingo cards...) Dropping our daughter and her friend at an amusement park for the day? Visit an RV lot! Enjoying a free weekend? Drive a couple of hours to an RV expo! Staying with my mom in Texas? Drive through a few RV parks! A spare hour at home? Browse rvtrader.com!
Our first thought was a large motor coach - "Class A", we learned. They're big, they're beautiful, you can feel like a rock star! (We had fun looking at videos of the million dollar Class A's, with an in-coach garage for your sports car.) Once you're settled, you can move around an area nimbly using a car that you tow (your "toad"), a bicycle, or an Uber. We loved the big front window, and having everything accessible even while driving.
However, as we thought about engine repair, and the benefits of an engine in a separate truck rather than in our home, we started looking at fifth wheels. Still, I was intimidated by the idea of unhooking and setting up at each site - until a dealer pointed out that with modern automation, it was much easier and faster than the tow trailers of my youth.
We began narrowing our search to types of trucks and fifth wheels. Looking at the specs for the big three American pick-up trucks (Chevy, Dodge, Ford), we learned about payload, towing capacity, and torque. Long bed or short bed? Regular or crew cab? Diesel or gasoline? I devoured the YouTube channel Big Truck Big RV, and other RV travelers' YouTube channels. We decided to go big, and Doug joked we should go with a Ford F-750 (which, it turns out, actually exists, but is not what we'll get!)
Even narrowed down to a fifth wheel, we found that RV choices were bewilderingly numerous. While three companies (Thor Industries, Forest River/Berkshire Hathaway, and Winnebago Industries) have a great deal of market share, there are over 100 manufacturers of RVs, and even the big three have a large number of brands. (See interesting industry statistics at The Wandering RV and Freedonia Focus Reports.)
We decided the biggest factors for us were:
Quality - As with houses, RVs are hand-built, and quality varies within brands and models. We learned that, as with houses, there would likely be a punch-list of items to be completed even after taking delivery, but the length and severity of that punch-list can vary widely. We visited Indiana, where over 80% of RVs are manufactured, and toured two RV manufacturers' plants - which I highly recommend doing. It was both interesting and informative.
Price - Since this RV will be our full-time residence, we plan to spend more on durability and features than we might for an RV being used on weekends or summer trips only. But we still have a budget!
Length - There is a lot of discussion on internet RV forums about the best length, with strong opinions regarding maneuverability while driving, flexibility of route, and availability of park sites. We have been concentrating our search in the 35'-and-over (probably not too much over) length. Shorter than 35' might open up more park sites to us, but our tours of shorter RVs have left us feeling cramped. That said, there are certainly plenty of examples of full-time families successfully living in shorter lengths!
Floor Plan - The first thing we had to learn about was slides (not "pop-outs", as a dealer was quick to inform us!) These increase living space dramatically, but require us to think about outside dimensions when they're extended and inside access when they're closed. (Can you get to your refrigerator at a road stop?) Looking at floor plans, the biggest difference is what goes up front, over the fifth wheel hitch in the truck bed, because the height will necessarily be less. With Doug being 6', that has been a concern for us. The front bedroom/bathroom layouts have tended to feel a little claustrophobic, with lower ceilings and fewer windows. The front living rooms seem more spacious, perhaps because sitting provides more head space. In one front kitchen layout, I loved the large window over the sink, imagining myself fixing dinner with a view! Since we won't be traveling with children, we don't need a bunkhouse area; and since Doug and I enjoy each other's company, an open flow of living space will work for us. Speaking of work, we'll need to keep doing some - so a desk area is also a benefit. We have seen several YouTube videos of RV full-timers putting in their own desks, but we have also seen more recent floor plans that come with a desk built in.
All this research has brought us closer to knowing exactly what we want. Now it's on to dealers, expos, and RV Trader to help us find it!
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