Life is full of compromise...
I've been reading a bit here and also made a post in the general area to see who I might chat up in the forums to get ideas. But as I ponder and google and skim I think my curiosity comes down to won...
Forum Discussion
Ahhhh.... decisions decisions. There are pros & cons to every option. We just switched to a C. I've owned multiple tag trailers & 1 5ver. My wife at various times (in a previous life) owned a big tag trailer & a Class C. It all boils down to what you want or think you may want to try at this point in your life. Nobody can tell you what you will like or not like but since you're soliciting inputs on others' experiences here ya go.....
The decision that drove us to a C now is kind of as follows:
- We have 2 dogs & traveling in a truck with them any appreciable distance is a PITA
- Many of our adventures take us 4-6hrs away from home & once or twice a yr, much farther than that. Sitting in the cab of a truck for that long had became a lot less fun than it used to be.
- Getting camp setup (unhooking/leveling etc) after a long drive in the cab of a truck & then the tear down/hookup to leave.... I'm tired of it.
- All owned RVs in our life were about a 50/50mix of genset equipped or not. Having a genset is a hard requirement for me so I had a portable generator ride with us on the trailers that didn't have a genset. Stopping on the road, boondocking, & keeping pets comfy in hot weather while stopped shopping/dining etc was/is requirement. Obviously portable setups can be made to work but are a PITA compared to having an on-board one.
- Class C vs A. Found a lot more choices of pre-owned late-ish model units in C form vs As. Also, I kind of wanted something a little less big in hopes of being able to get by 'free camping' when we want or need to do so. Having a small to med size C (with no slideouts) vs an A helps our odds at slipping under the radar / being more palatable while camped...errr 'parked' at non-campground places.
- Ford Chassis with the V10 has a proven history of working. Plenty of power in our 26' C. Fuel economy is relative. For us, when we ran the #s doing a cost comparison, the added cost of a diesel (higher up-front MSRP, higher per-Gal cost of the fuel, & added cost of maintenance), combined with the amt of projected miles we'll travel over the lifespan we'll likely have it = it didn't make $s & sense to go that route.
I do miss the space one has in trailers but we've learned to be more minimalist & efficient in how we travel. For us the pros of a motorhome at this point in our life outweigh the cons by a fair bit.
Hope you enjoy whatever setup you go with next!
*-Note: I have no ill-will towards the Merc diesel platform, I think they're super nice in many regards.
The decision that drove us to a C now is kind of as follows:
- We have 2 dogs & traveling in a truck with them any appreciable distance is a PITA
- Many of our adventures take us 4-6hrs away from home & once or twice a yr, much farther than that. Sitting in the cab of a truck for that long had became a lot less fun than it used to be.
- Getting camp setup (unhooking/leveling etc) after a long drive in the cab of a truck & then the tear down/hookup to leave.... I'm tired of it.
- All owned RVs in our life were about a 50/50mix of genset equipped or not. Having a genset is a hard requirement for me so I had a portable generator ride with us on the trailers that didn't have a genset. Stopping on the road, boondocking, & keeping pets comfy in hot weather while stopped shopping/dining etc was/is requirement. Obviously portable setups can be made to work but are a PITA compared to having an on-board one.
- Class C vs A. Found a lot more choices of pre-owned late-ish model units in C form vs As. Also, I kind of wanted something a little less big in hopes of being able to get by 'free camping' when we want or need to do so. Having a small to med size C (with no slideouts) vs an A helps our odds at slipping under the radar / being more palatable while camped...errr 'parked' at non-campground places.
- Ford Chassis with the V10 has a proven history of working. Plenty of power in our 26' C. Fuel economy is relative. For us, when we ran the #s doing a cost comparison, the added cost of a diesel (higher up-front MSRP, higher per-Gal cost of the fuel, & added cost of maintenance), combined with the amt of projected miles we'll travel over the lifespan we'll likely have it = it didn't make $s & sense to go that route.
I do miss the space one has in trailers but we've learned to be more minimalist & efficient in how we travel. For us the pros of a motorhome at this point in our life outweigh the cons by a fair bit.
Hope you enjoy whatever setup you go with next!
*-Note: I have no ill-will towards the Merc diesel platform, I think they're super nice in many regards.
