Is there a right way to RV?

When it comes to choosing the perfect RV, there's a lot of emotion involved.

The old saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the holder" comes to mind. Even if you wanted to choose an RV based strictly on logic with no emotion involved, it would still be a difficult job.

The perfect RV depends on how you plan to travel and what you want to do

Here's an example. I had a couple of RVing friends come by for a visit this week. They have been RVing for about four years. They have had a Class A, a Class B, and a Class C RV. I don't think they have ever had a camper, but maybe they have.

Anyway, for the last six months, they have been traveling in a van. They have been from Texas to Alaska, across Canada, and recently have been working their way south from Vermont. They are on their way to south Texas to spend the winter. They have spent previous winters in Florida and New Mexico, but this year south Texas is calling them.

They said that of all the RVs they've owned, they like the van they have now the best. My friend said that he could be ready to pull out from a camping place in less time than it would take him to connect his Jeep to the back of the Class A to tow it.

They like to boondock. He said that during the last three months they have only paid for two nights in a campground. On top of that, the van gets 21 mpg. With great gas mileage and no camping fees, traveling in the van is a great way to see the country.

They bought a new van and spent two weeks adding insulation, building a bed, and a storage cabinet (you can see bed and storage cabinet in the picture below).

In this picture the back door of the van is open, so what you see is a friend's garage when he was parked in their driveway.

They said rather than adding all of the features that most RVers add to their vans, he wants to wait and only add thing as he finds he really needs them.

I have another friend who recently bought a new van and spend three months modifying it and adding all of the features he thought he might need. He had been living in a small camper before, so he probably had a good idea of what he wanted and what he didn't want.

Another example of someone moving to a smaller RV

Lidia has had a Class C, and a large trailer camper. Now she has a truck camper. She says that it's the perfect RV for the way she travels. By the way, she is also remodeling an old Airstream for her 18-year-old son to live in when he graduates from high school in the spring. Below is a link to a two-minute video where she describes the different RVs she has had and her thoughts about them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf1h9Ts5fh0

She posts interesting new videos on YouTube frequently describing her RVing lifestyle. You can follow her YouTube channel at SimplyRVing

Bottom line: In a nutshell, I think the more you're going to travel, the smaller RV you will end up wanting. If you're going to stay in one place for a month (or two or three) at a time, a Class A or a fifth-wheel might serve you better.