Does buying that 45' rig do it for you?

There seems to be a new trend, at least among the people I know is to go smaller. I went from a 34 footer down to a 30 footer.

Probably all of the above and other reasons added in. When we were looking to trade up from a 36' to a longer coach with a tag axle, we also noted many used 45' rigs on the market. Our set limit was 42-43' and we ended up with a 42'.

When I asked the salesman why they had so many nice, used 45' rigs on the lot, he said they get a lot of folks trading for a newer big coach. He did acknowledge some were from folks trading down to something smaller, but that was rare.

Now this particular dealer sells a lot of high end coaches and NASCAR fans, drivers and teams are big customers due to their location (Charlotte, NC).

I also think the younger buyers are more likely to go with smaller RV's. On a recent 4 month cross country trip, we saw many younger couples and families in new but shorter motorhomes.

They are all expensive to keep, no matter how long they are. We've had a 32', a 36' and now a 42' and they are all rolling money pits.

You either love the lifestyle and are willing to accept some things that often make you think you are just crazy, or stay away from any motorized RV. JMHO.

First time RV buyers are always taking a gamble, no matter what size they buy. RVing is NOT for everyone and once they get out on the road, many find they made a mistake.
From a dealer standpoint, selling the largest, most expensive, RV puts more money in their pocket so it is natural that they will use every tactic possible to upgrade you. The salesman will tell you about all of the people that made a mistake buying too small of an RV, etc, etc.
Perhaps the reason why you see so many large RV's out there is because some people bought the sales pitch and then found out the coach was too much for them, or the RV lifestyle was NOT for them, so they took the huge loss and moved on.
There is no correct answer as to what is the best size for a newcomer to the RV world. It all depends on how they adapt to the driving and relaxing part of travel. Many are perfectly happy with a shorter coach and some are still not happy in the longest coach possible with the maximum amount of slides.
I remember one new comer to the RV family that bought a brand new coach from the factory. By the time they drove it from Indiana to Florida, they were sick of RVing. It immediately went up for sale with 2000 or so miles. Nothing wrong with the coach at all, but the couple found out that RV travel was just not for them. They ended up selling it and took a $25,000 loss.

I look at it this way.... It depends on your lifestyle.

If you want to be a RV Traveler and hit the roads and go all over the country using the best campgrounds and resorts then bringing along ALL your home comfort items is a must do thing. You want the biggest thing you can afford and you will suffer all of the high dollar maintenance upkeep and cost of getting your hugh RV unit from Point A to Point B. This is not going to be a low cost situation for you. Dealing with all of headaches of driving down the roads with a hugh RV surely can't be much fun. Family Folks I meet up with driving the hugh RV UNITS are wore down to a frazzle when we get together both doing around 1500 mile trips.

If you want to do camping mostly off the power grid and in the Natl Forest and Parks even dispersed style camping then a much smaller RV is only needed. This is my style of RV camping. I have a 12-foot POPUP camper box with a 5x8 front deck and a full truck bed to bring along all of our camping needs. Our camper loads out at around 4200lbs and is OFF-ROAD style and will go anywhere my 4WD truck will take it. We have the comforts of home with modern appliances just abit short on inside trailer move around room. Being avid tent campers in the past this suits us just fine and we enjoy the outside life more than depending on a hugh shelter being the RV Camper. Our trip costs is almost the same as just driving our truck with or without the attached camper. We use less fuel which results in less stops along the way, and driving the roadways is not a nightmare by any means.

My comparison is with the other side of the family and their hugh RV unit compared to my smaller RV unit. We get the same great comfortable sleep in our beds, cook up the same meals, watch the same amount of high quality HDTV, play the same games around the camp site, have the same dogs along with us, sit around the same outside firepit, go visit all the same attractions where we are staying. My trip cost is about 1/4th of what my brother-in-law pays... My RV maintenance is two new tires about every four years. My other cost is State Farm Insurance and Yearly Inspections.

I drive a F150 truck pulling my Starcraft 14RT OFF-ROAD POPUP Trailer and he drives a 3500 Chevy truck pulling his 40-foot plus Montana Trailer.

When we visit he is always asking about my OFF-ROAD trips and of course I am always asking about the high society place they go to. Both of us usually do the our own same RV trips each year and usually in SEP/OCT time frame we both end up at LAKEWOOD RESORTS in Myrtle Beach each year for a mini family reunion for us still living kids of the family.

His big worry points is not breaking down somewhere way off and my biggest fear is having enough battery bank to keep us going all night.

My brother-in-law is on their third big Montana trailer since 2008 and I am still pulling my 2008 14RT trailer. We both have traded trucks once during that that same period.

He is happy with his RV Traveling Life Style and we are happy with our RV OFF-ROAD Camping Life Style. That is all the counts in the long run...

Roy Ken

Do you think you REALLY NEED 45 feet? Going full time? Is this going to be your new house/home? East Coast" is kinda vague....but at least from the Jersey Shore, you will have difficulty using a 45er in far too many campgrounds. Now...on the interstates, (which KOA seems to have locked up, so to speak) you will not have, for the most part any problems getting in all all...even with your toad hooked up.
As far as I know..."maintainance" is about the same no matter how large or small a motorhome might be. Diesel is diesel...gas is gas. Fuel milage...I would say the difference between a 45 ft DP and a 35 DP is so marginal as to be academic. Maybe I'm wrong there...
Bigger is not necessarily better. Now...most important...how much weight can it carry? Some of the larger gassers with multiple slide outs...get the driver, passenger, fridge packed and the dog....some of them, believe it or not get just about to their maximum. Tha's why with a gasser, 30-35 feet is probably most sensible. DPs on the other hand can carry more (much more) but still, check the numbers.
Choosing which one to buy...ignore the salesman. Statistics? Numbers? You can make numbers say anything you want them to. Shop around. Look around.Go to RV shows. (Best prices, I'm told, are at these shows) Ask RVers who already have coaches their OPINIONS. Buy what you want....buy what you can afford and enjoy!

I went 34,36 now 42. I would say that the older buyer wants to go bigger. Then age hits and eyesight and health issues. I will take exception to worn to a frazzle. Love the big coach and if the trip is more then 200 miles the 42 is the way to go. I take 6-8k miles trips regularly in it and love it. If you want to be in the forest and back roads a small class c off road type unit is great. If you want to be anywhere else the bigger coach is the way to go.

At the balloon Fest this year the guy next to me was pumped out three times in 7 days. I dumped when I got to Amarillo 9 days later. I have 110 gallons of water and 110 grey and 80 black. I can go a long time. What type of camping will you be doing. My next will be 45 foot. I was at a rally and there were three 34 ten 36 the rest 40-45 foot coaches to make up the 90 coaches so you will see more of the larger coaches for sale.

Buy your last RV first is a clever saying, but it's got to be almost impossible to do. And OP is right in questioning if last RV is supposed to mean biggest RV. I'm seeing more and more articles about minimalism and people looking to simplify their lives.

When my non-RV friends ask me how to get started, I always suggest a low cost, low risk approach.

Snowman9000 wrote:
Buy your last RV first is a clever saying, but it's got to be almost impossible to do. And OP is right in questioning if last RV is supposed to mean biggest RV. I'm seeing more and more articles about minimalism and people looking to simplify their lives.

When my non-RV friends ask me how to get started, I always suggest a low cost, low risk approach.

Agreed. The size and type of rig that's best for you will differ based on how/where you want to travel and camp. When folks buy an RV, they are envisioning how they are going to use it. Typically, after they start using the RV they find out all the stuff that they "didn't know that they didn't know" and decide that a different size/type of RV would be better suited for their activities. We started with a popup, bought a 26' TT, then a 34' TT, now a 32' TT....and our next unit will either be a small C, a truck camper, or a lux 5er, still deciding....LOL....

What I am seeing based on conversations with RV'ers in the RV Resort we stay in throughout the summer (lots of weekend campers)and reading on the RV forums is the economy has hit hard. Folks are having a hard time justifying the big rig, fuel costs and the hit on their wallet. Many are trading down (for savings as well as all of the reasons above) and travelling closer to home. We've been staying in this same resort for over 15 years, in the past during the summer you saw a lot of plates from all over the country in the past few years the plates are primarily from CA, AZ, NV & OR. The resort is near major tourist destinations in San Diego, CA.

We traded a 31' Winnebago Sightseer for an '04 Country Coach Allure 33' (closer to 34') and love it. We full time in it with no problems. We can get into parks that larger rigs can't. The turning radius makes it easy to maneuver. Have no desire to purchase a large rig. 34-36' if a great floor plan and some slide outs is more than enough space if you don't take everything with you. We downsized greatly to be able to full time in our DP.