About to buy our first RV

Some of the things we did to our 19CB:

Front receiver hitch for bike rack or scooter rack. Also good for extra ice chest.
Ditched the useless dinette table. I made a mini-table/make-up table for the wife from one of the uprights and a large cutting board.
Get a cover for the range. I made one from, you guessed it, a cutting board! (Not much counter space...)
If it does not come with swivels for the seats, get some. When you get parked, the swivel seats really add seating space.
There is NO room for a trash can inside, except for a small one beside the commode. We use a pop-up type outside.
Added shelving inside the bed area cabinets.

Lots of other stuff too! We are getting better at it every time we go camping! My wife, the smartest person I know, keeps a pad/pen handy and writes down every idea we come across while out.

It looks perfect for the reasons you've given!

My motorhome is a bit longer at 24 feet, and when we take a couple of teenagers along, it feels rather cramped, but we spend most of our time outside, so we don't need a ton of inside space.

I second going through it after every trip and pulling anything that you discovered you don't need, and rearranging anything that was not working for you. I've devoted a corner in the garage for things that I only take sometimes, like the tent, portable BBQ, and EZ up awning.

You will find what works for you, and you will love every minute of it!

We have that exact model! WE LOVE our 19CB! We had very specific reasons for buying a 19. We wanted a small one, so we could use it for multiple purposes. The 138" wheelbase makes u-turns and cramped parking lots a breeze. The 21' overall length means we can park in ONE parking spot. (We live near Galveston, and go to the seawall a lot. We fit into one spot without overlapping.) When we go to a concert, or outdoor festival, we bring the 19CB. It gives us a spot to relax, cool off, and have our own restroom facilities. Also, cold bevs in the fridge, LOL!

We camp at least once a month. For us, it's perfect. Quick set up, and very comfortable.

The outside storage is epic. I am still finding ways to store and carry things there!

You will love your 19CB! There are a few minor issues you will find, but overall it is a unique and very useful little RV..

Jim in Texas

How exciting for you! Be sure to come back and here post pictures too along with feedback of your first trip out.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
We are just finishing up packing to leave early tomorrow to pick our RV up. We are beyond excited!
I will take all the tips in mind in regards of organization.
Toedtoes, I am with you. I had already decided to remove the table before driving.
I will start with sites offering electricity, but will for sure move to other sites as we become more confident. Later on, I will come back here for destination recommendations!

I think it is a great choice. Of course that is because we love our little RV. Yours is only 6" shorter than ours at 21'6" and ours is 22'. We don't have a bed in the back but a bit bigger dinette. We take our two grandkids now 7 and 5 camping in it and will be gone for over a week this time. When they are with us we camp at state parks that have electricity so we can use the air conditioner and microwave without the generator. They bring a kids suitcase full of toys each and we store them under the dinette. We have an overhead cabinet full of DVD's and a 12 volt tv with a portable DVD player for travel. They use the plastic drawers in our closet and we use duffle bags in the loft for clothes. We hang raincoats and jackets in the closet--pipe insulation over the bar will hold hangers while moving. I put an extra closet bar in our shower for wet clothes. We use the shower for toys sometimes too (sand toys this trip) and have an inexpensive Harbor Freight bike rack in back. Sometimes I use an aluminum cargo carrier also from Harbor Freight and an oversized plastic truck for extra outdoor storage space--for the little gas grill and firewood.
There are plenty of cubby spaces for stuff in a small RV and you will have some good storage area under that bed. Probably more area than you have weight capacity to carry. Don't worry about selling a smaller RV. I find the prices for older ones are similar to the larger ones because they are harder to find but do fit many people's needs. Camping is so easy with an RV and campgrounds are still very friendly spaces for kids. I predict you will love it.

One point... if you restrict yourselves to sites with electricity, you will be missing out on a lot of great campgrounds. National Forests have some of the most beautiful campgrounds around and very few of them have electricity.

You can stay somewhere a long time with just decent battery capacity, but not use electric cooking appliances (would require a generator & inverter.) So you might want to develop an alternate cooking plan based on using propane and campfires. Also if you have LED lighting in your RV you will greatly reduce your electric usage.

Good point about length that fits your driveway and not having to store your RV in a lot. Good to have a guest apartment in the driveway and access for loading and unloading, etc. Whatever you get, be aware of the pros and cons and compromises. Many of us change RV's as our camping/touring preferences change.

As you are coming from tent camping and are interested in CAMPING not RVing, I think your decision is a good one.

Storage - as Coolmom42 mentioned, packing cubes are indispensable. They come in many different colors and sizes. Get one color for each family member so they can easily identify their bag of clothing, etc. I also use them to store the electrical cords/adapters, electronic gadget cords, batteries (found a plastic battery holder that fits perfectly in a cube and keeps all my batteries organized and easy to access), the "junk drawer" items, water hose, etc. They take less room than plastic totes and can be "squished" to fit a space.

Get yourself a cloth hamper that hangs on a door knob (Amazon has them). Hang it in the shower and when dirty clothes come off, put them in the hamper. When you get home, just grab the hamper and dump it all in the wash. You can toss the actual hamper in also.

I agree with Dutchman Sport about electrical stuff - the less you have, the easier life will be. Things that heat will use more electricity. Since you plan on camping with electrical hookups, that isn't a huge issue, but don't box yourself into that - there are a lot of REALLY great dry camping spots out there.

In an RV, organization is the biggest help. It will take a while to get things in the right spot - after each trip, spend a day re-arranging your gear to better meet your needs. When you get it right, you'll know. Everything should have a dedicated space - you don't want to have to move a ton of stuff off the beds when you're exhausted and just want to lay down (think about the time spent pitching the tent). If it doesn't have a dedicated space, do you really need it? Teach the kids (and DH) right from the beginning that it gets put away as soon as they have finished using it. No leaving things out on the table, etc.

Once a year, go through everything in the RV - if it hasn't been used in the past year, get rid of it. This will help keep you minimalists (you will find it starts getting really easy to say "well, throw it in just in case" when you can just toss it in a cupboard and forget it).

I disagree with the suggestion to go with a bigger RV - for camping, it's just not necessary. As since your DH will be on weekend trips only for the most part, the corner bed is not going to be a big deal (especially since you're used to sleeping in a tent). The smaller RV will let you fit into more campgrounds and open up your opportunities for new places. Again, you're used to a tent - an RV isn't going to ruin your marriage because you are too sandwiched together.

One thing with the dinette that is my personal "thinking" - I always hate to sit someone in a moving vehicle behind a horizontal ledge (i.e., dinette table) that is at gut level. If an accident happens, or a sudden stop, it could potentially cause a lot of damage to the person (think kidneys,liver, appendix, stomach, and so on, all in the gut area). I would personally remove the table when driving so that risk is not there. Even with seatbelts, I just don't like the idea of that table edge in someone's gut.

I love the actual bed in the back since I am not into the bunk bed. My kids can sleep up there. My husband and I are 35, the RV is my 35th birthday present!, our kids our little 5 and 6. I am intimidated by the big ones, and I also would not be able to store a bigger one in my driveway. I do not have to pay to store the 19CB.
Does anyone own one of this models_