Gas vs Diesel

gonesouth wrote:
.... my thought is that to enjoy being in the coach for months at a time you need to have a house that's nicer than the house you have at home, or else you'll want to get back home to your nice tv, bathroom, and kitchen. The Beaver Monterey you looked at is a mid-level diesel, and doesn't have things like Aquahot water and house heating and air levellers, but does have a rugged power train and running gear which will last better than any gasser unless you are a very gentle driver.

I disagree with your assessment that "to enjoy being in the coach for months at a time you need to have a house that's nicer than the house you have at home".

Not everyone needs the best.

Full-timers travel in any kind of RV out there...from small vans to the biggest buses. The van dwellers can be just as happy traveling; perhaps more so, than the big buses.

Long-term doesn't mean you need Aqua Hot. We parked next to one using it and it smelled awful into our RV and the noise was loud. We'd never have Aqua Hot or similar. We didn't use RV parks much and didn't have electric hookups most of the time. Everyone travels differently.

During our 16 years of full-timing we did 8 very satisfactory years in a 33' 5th wheel with two slides. The next 8 years were in a 40' motorhome and we purposely bought it with two slides because 90% of our time was spent in public parks - national parks, national forests, state parks, COE, county and city parks. In many public parks you're in a forest so we didn't want to deal with fitting multiple slides inbetween trees....and yes, our 40' fit in those kinds of parks.

Bottom line...everyone is different and not everyone needs all the frills. Even though ours was a Newmar Dutch Star it was very basic compared to what folks now think is necessary...like a washer/dryer or 1-1/2+ baths and 4 slides. None of that is necessary for full-time RVing.