My wife and I are considering downsizing from a 40' 5th wheel to a camper van 21'-24' long. Looking at Roadtrek and Airstreams right now. Difficulty with 5th wheel range from 2 blown tires and $9,000 in damages, lack of flexibility on road, necessity to map out every road, lack of fuel availability with a 60' rv and tow vehicle.Have any of you downsized, for what reasons and are you satisfied with your new campers???Any recommendations would be appreciated.TAME

Going smaller opens up many more campsites.

Not to be argumentative, but other than length, you can have the same problems with any rig. We have a 40' DP with a toad and have no problems finding fuel and we don't use the high priced truck stops. This last ear we went from AZ to FL and MN to LA.Bill

If you already have a tow vehicle and want to keep it, a small trailer would be a far better deal. You can get decent tank capacity and reasonable storage in a 21-24 foot trailer.Spend some time in a B TOGETHER before you buy. They are pretty cramped. It might be too much of a downsize to manage.

We downsized from 32' fiver to a 10.0 Camplite TC. Yup, learning curve and transition but glad we have our dually and truck camper. There are advantages and disadvantages to every unit. It's only 2 of us so that helps. It's so easy to park, fuel, get a site, and clean. We have had tt, fiver, class C, and a smaller TC. To each is own. Good luck!

We made the switch you are considering: 38' DP to RoadTrek.We couldn't be happier. The RT drives like a high end car, fits in a regular space in most places, and has everything we need. Perhaps the RT is somewhat over-engineered -- it is a complex rig. But in mine everything has worked just as advertised. It's a different RV life style. Things are definitely tighter onboard!

Downsizing | Good Sam Community

25 Replies

obgraham
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
We made the switch you are considering: 38' DP to RoadTrek.

We couldn't be happier. The RT drives like a high end car, fits in a regular space in most places, and has everything we need. Perhaps the RT is somewhat over-engineered -- it is a complex rig. But in mine everything has worked just as advertised.

It's a different RV life style. Things are definitely tighter onboard!
lap527
Explorer
Dec 09, 2017
We downsized from 32' fiver to a 10.0 Camplite TC. Yup, learning curve and transition but glad we have our dually and truck camper. There are advantages and disadvantages to every unit. It's only 2 of us so that helps. It's so easy to park, fuel, get a site, and clean. We have had tt, fiver, class C, and a smaller TC. To each is own. Good luck!
coolmom42
Explorer II
Dec 09, 2017
If you already have a tow vehicle and want to keep it, a small trailer would be a far better deal. You can get decent tank capacity and reasonable storage in a 21-24 foot trailer.

Spend some time in a B TOGETHER before you buy. They are pretty cramped. It might be too much of a downsize to manage.
Trackrig
Explorer II
Dec 09, 2017
Not to be argumentative, but other than length, you can have the same problems with any rig.

We have a 40' DP with a toad and have no problems finding fuel and we don't use the high priced truck stops. This last ear we went from AZ to FL and MN to LA.

Bill
Lwiddis
Explorer II
Dec 09, 2017
Going smaller opens up many more campsites.

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Downsizing

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