Long trips

We had a 36 ft DSDP for 18 years and went over the US except the northeast. See signature for particulars. Never found anything we liked better

We have never regretted any RV we've bought, including the "fixer uppers", because we knew what we were buying before we wrote the check.

We have a 32 ft Class A which I consider the ideal length for how I camp, NFS, NP, COE, and SP's in that order. I tow a Toyota Corolla that I can explore the surrounding areas in that get 40 mpgs. I have put over 100,000 miles on the MH, Alaska being the farthest trip. I have never had to made a reservation yet in 15 years. The only down side of a large Class A is finding a shop to work on it in the summer when it breaks down, most truck shops don't want to work on motorhomes and Chevy and Ford dealers don't have the facilities. In the summer everyone travels and less populated states away from cities don't have the infrastructure to support the excess travelers when they breakdown. As to what MH I would want next would be a 24 ft Class A, but can't find one so started looking at a 24 ft Class C's. The C is lower with less visibility and the Ford driver side is cramped compared to my A, but every thing is a tradeoff. The size would open up many more camping spots and for one or two nights per stop I would try a cross country trip without a tow car and just use an electric bike to explore the surrounding area.

RVing is all about concessions and preferences. We had Class A gassers before our FW and while they were nice for short trips, they completely wore me out on long drives. I don't care what you do to a F53 chassis, they are loud and have poor road manners. That said, we loved all the conveniences of a rolling apartment. The use of the bathroom, kitchen, bedroom TV, etc, all while underway. As far as passenger travel it simply doesn't get any better. A DP would have made it more enjoyable for the driver I am sure. But our new truck is way more comfy to drive towing the FW. It's a passenger vehicle and behaves like one and has all the modern safety features that motor homes lack. I could drive it all day. But we now have to stop to use the bathroom (although this doesn't change for the driver no matter what you have). We can pack food etc, and tablets for entertainment for passengers so it's not too bad. At a rest stop we still have access to the FW, just a matter of exiting one vehicle and entering the RV. A truck's comfort level and road manners can't be beat. You trade off some conveniences for that. A nice DP is probably the best of both worlds, but for us it didn't make sense financially since I needed a new truck anyway.

Not retired here, and generally heading to destinations 15-20 times annually, up to 1200 miles one-way. While I'm not the road warrior I once was, I'm still Ok doing 800 to even up to 1000 miles a day (example: Daytona to home in NJ - about 16 hours - leave at 5:30am and arrive home at 9:30pm).

We also like state and national park campgrounds, just about all that were originally constructed 60-80 years ago. Our 24' Class C does nothing exceptionally well, but isn't bad at anything either, and allows us to pretty much get into any place we choose.

It's a small house on a heavier E450 chassis, with shock and sway bar upgrades, so unless dealing with 30-40mph wind gusts, it drives reaally well. Those stiff springs do make it ride hard, but for me the trade-off is worth it. We have plenty of tank capacity to dry camp 5-6 days, and just enough living space along with plenty of storage.

We'll likely be replacing it in a few years, and are currently struggling with what to get. Likely might be almost the exact same thing, just with a slide, to fix that -just enough- interior room.

Whenever we are inside a pusher, the real estate is awesome, but there's no way one of them could get into the types of off-the-beaten path parks and forest service areas we enjoy.

We also have a class A, only rv we have ever owned as it was tents before this. We have been full-time 10 years and loved that we can pull over, have lunch, use the restroom etc any time we want. In these days of covid, it's very nice to have your own facilities available whenever you want. We have access to everything with the slides in, except our clothes closets.

We have a 33.5 foot Class A, and one of my rules is the "330" rule; no more than 330 miles per day, and get to where you are going by 3:30. No desire to drive 500-600 miles per day. But that is us...

Al

X2 on the ^^^^ by rgatijnet1...several months in the summer with no reservations and dry camping most of the time. Still do the 1500 miles to CO in 2 days and 2.5 days home from MT. Personal best is 4 miles from a Private CG to a USFS CG. Hard to beat the convenience of a class A.

Our 24 foot Class C drives like a van, so long trips in it are very restful and low stress. However from what I read in the forums, certain Class C motorhome setups don't handle well.

Our longest trip as been around 7000 miles. There is a video on YouTube of a couple who full-time in a 24 foot Class C.

We don't tow and can get around sightseeing and camping just about anywhere in it except for hardcore off-road travel ... but we do take if off-highway on gravel and dirt roads.

Blaster Man wrote:
One reason we switched to a Class A from a 5th wheel was that no how nice the truck and 5th wheel, you're still riding in a truck. You can't do anything but ride. In the class A you can get to the refrig, bathroom, bedroom, closet, pantry and any where else you want. Plus the weather is irrelevant....if it's pouring rain you can still get what you want without getting out of the MH.

Same with us. If it's hot, it's already cooled down before we get to our destination. Same with cold and heat. Sitting up high in a class A also makes for good views. Seeing what's way up ahead makes for a more relaxed driving also. JMO.