A 29/30' RV as our only vehicle - mistake?

No matter how short a time we our camping my husband calls it home.

Do either a truck/trailer combo or just rent cars as you need them with the motorhome.

Personally, if you are only planning on having it 10 months, I would get a used truck and no more than about a 25' travel trailer. The 25' will give you more options on campsites. You won't lose your behind too much when you go to sell it.

We did it with a Toyota Sunrader. Had to take stuff out of cockpit and move it to overhead everytime we moved. And you can't acquire a lot of "stuff" on your trip, unless you mail it back as you acquire it. Also the daily hooking and unhooking of utilities when you want to go sight-seeing can be a pain. And they can be difficult finding parking spots when sight-seeing. But it can be done, cause there are many doing it!!! But it is also a test of love and togetherness!! You both really must love each other and want to be very together!!!

Tioga and George saw a lot of the west and Mexico without a toad, over the course of several (ten?) years.
So did Andy "Travels With Andy" Baird, although he finally bought a toad after several years without.
You do get into a routine as far as keeping things neat so you can break camp without too much trouble. I mean, you've got all day, so you can take 10 minutes once a day to put your stuff away and go into town. The return to camp doesn't take much at all. You already know where you are putting the wheels. Pull in, connect the electrical cord, and call it good. We use our fresh water tank so we don't have to connect and disconnect the hose. We only get the dump hose out when it's time to dump.

I think bikes would be a nice touch. If you don't have a toad, you can buy a RV receiver hitch for two bikes and stick the kid's bike on it too, or somewhere else in storage. Bikes are cheap at Wal-Mart, practically disposable.
Or, every town has a guy who gets old bikes and sells them cheap. Check Craigslist once you get a chance.

I will opt for a toad. Get yourself a 5 year old Jeep Liberty tow 4 down. Not a lot of money.

I agree setup and teardown would drive me up the wall - and to buy a second vehicle. Heck the price of fuel, and the poor mileage of a good TV already stop me from making more than one trip a day. We plan when we need to leave the CG, and do so only when necessary. It's very easy to add $40-80 dollars a day in fuel usage if not careful.

But as I said above - I'm seeing more and more people using only the one vehicle - which often gets better fuel mileage than my TV alone.

Those folks only do two hookups when arriving - W/E - maybe pull out a couple chairs.

They are gone in less than 10 minutes in the morning.

Whether or not the OP wants to do that type of traveling staying only one or two nights in a CG before moving on, I don't know.

However, it is a valid option.

Very different than what I would do, but an option.

My thoughts would be to purchase a nicely used SUV or truck. Something like a used Tahoe or Expedition. Also purchase a small RV 24-26 foot. This should be sufficient for your sized family. Look for one well taken care of that may be older that may not have a slide out. You will be out and about and less to worry about. You won't be keeping it except for your visit here. Both of these units would then be very saleable when your trip is complete. You would be able to do anything and everything you want and stay in any campground anywhere. Visit a few second hand or thrift stores to get some basic housewares and things for it. Visit a nice grocery store and get what you need and you will be fine. Don't forget to let us know how you are doing along the way.

PawPaw_n_Gram wrote:

Ivylog wrote:
I often chuckle at those worrying about a 30' Class C

Especially those driving a 22+ foot long - 178 inch wheel base dually.

Yes, I drive one almost that big.

The big inconvenience isn't the size, it is you have to disconnect everything, put everything away, both inside and outside every time you want to take even a 5 minute trip. You just have to get into your truck and drive.

Ivylog wrote:
I often chuckle at those worrying about a 30' Class C

Especially those driving a 22+ foot long - 178 inch wheel base dually.

Yes, I drive one almost that big.

Those of you that are suggesting bicycles or scooters obviously didn't read the first page of this thread. This family has a 6 year old child.

Can you do this trip with a 30' motorhome-certainly. Will you miss a lot by not having a toad-yes. Getting the motorhome ready to travel and setting it up again after a sight seeing trip will get really old quickly. The barrier between a trailer or fifth wheel and the tow vehicle is much more inconvenient than a motorhome. However you do it have a great trip!