An Overwhelmed Beginner's Journey
Hello there!
After reading tons of great threads and info on this site for a few weeks now, this will be my first post. :) And while the topic of my first post is (as I’m sure has been the case for many others before) asking for some advice, a quick disclaimer: I have read through much of the “Beginning RVing” topic threads (amazingly helpful info!), specifically the FAQ’s thread and most of its links. I’m not here to ask you to “just tell me what to do” and not trying to bother everyone with the same questions that have already been covered a thousand times. Point is, I’ve made a real effort to do plenty of research on my own before making this first post.
All that said, I’m gonna be honest: As a newbie, all of the details needed to cover in order to enter the world of RVing is frankly a bit overwhelming. I mean, I like to consider myself a semi-intelligent guy (no matter what my wife will tell you). But when you’ve never driven anything bigger than a Honda CRV, never towed anything, haven’t been camping since you were a kid – and despite all of this, you somehow get bitten by the RV bug – there’s a lot of anxiety over getting this stuff right. Let’s face it – it’s not cheap, and can be pretty unsafe if you don’t take the time to learn. And since we're not yet at the point of making any mistakes, I want to keep it that way. ;)
Before I get into my main couple of questions and since this is my first post of hopefully many, a little introduction and reason why I’m here: We’re a family of 3 (wife & I in our late-30’s + almost-4-year-old son). My wife grew up occasionally camping in a pop-up with her family, and I sometimes tent-camped with mine. We want the ability to do some road-tripping and basic camping with our son as he grows – quality time, good memories, etc. We’re not into going into the primitive / dry territory – we want our water and electric hook-ups, and AC is a must since we live in Florida. The past few years, we have made a tradition of staying at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground for the week of Halloween. We have only stayed in their “cabins”, but absolutely fell in love with the RV camper culture we met while there. Every year we’ve been, we vow to cross over from the “cabin-people” to the campsite culture, and we’re ready now to take the first steps to get there. Since we’re just starting out and are in the discovery phase before purchasing anything at all, what I’m looking for from fine, experienced folks like you at this stage is some suggestions on good tow vehicle / RV combos for us to consider, keeping in mind our specific profile and limitations.
We do NOT currently own a tow vehicle, so that will be first on our plate. Our Honda CRV’s lease will be up in early 2017, and at that time we’ll be looking to upgrade to something with basic towing capability. A couple of important notes that keep our needs specific: 1) We are not in the category of “unlimited budget”, and affordability is going to be key. Our tow vehicle is going to be a daily commuter / grocery-getter with a kid’s car seat in the back for 99% of the time. For this reason, we do need a TV that is relatively economical on gas and a family car first. And the vehicle’s safety rating is also of top-concern. 2) We live in a typical Florida HOA neighborhood. This means that our RV must be stored inside a standard 2-car garage. (We are not allowed to keep in the driveway, street, or yard). As you can imagine, this pretty much limits us to pop-ups only since even the smallest travel trailers are too tall for garage keeping (correct me if I’m wrong on this!). I do know that paying monthly for parking / storage is an option, but from what I have gathered it's not a cheap or feasible option for us.
With those two points in mind, my two part question:
1) We’re looking for recommendations of options to put on the table when shopping for our family / tow vehicle. Safety + Economy + Basic Towing Capability (enough to handle #2 below with some room-to-breathe for safe towing built in). Would a 3500 to 5000 lb towing capacity range cover our needs? (I do know about all the caveats of listed tow-limits).
2) Next, we’re looking for options to put on the table for the RV. Like I said, I’m assuming at this point that only a pop-up will fit the garage, but if you know differently let me know. I’ve read plenty on the advantages of a TT over a pop-up, and likely would lean that direction if I had the choice. But that said, we’re also not afraid of the pop-up lifestyle and understand the cons it comes along with. So if it’s to be a pop-up, so be it. What’s a good suggestion for a family of 3 with what I’m guessing is going to be a 3500 or 5000 lb towing-capacity vehicle?
For an example of what I’m thinking would work: a Honda Pilot + a Jayco Jay Sport 10SD. BUT, I’m open to all suggestions, ideas or input!
Lastly, if you’ve read my rambling post for this long I truly thank you. This site seems to represent what my wife and I love so much when we observe the community of campers at Fort Wilderness: a group of just truly friendly, helpful neighbors. It’s for this reason we want our son exposed to the RV culture and community – we can’t think of more fun nor better example for him as he grows.
Thank you!
-- Matt R.
After reading tons of great threads and info on this site for a few weeks now, this will be my first post. :) And while the topic of my first post is (as I’m sure has been the case for many others before) asking for some advice, a quick disclaimer: I have read through much of the “Beginning RVing” topic threads (amazingly helpful info!), specifically the FAQ’s thread and most of its links. I’m not here to ask you to “just tell me what to do” and not trying to bother everyone with the same questions that have already been covered a thousand times. Point is, I’ve made a real effort to do plenty of research on my own before making this first post.
All that said, I’m gonna be honest: As a newbie, all of the details needed to cover in order to enter the world of RVing is frankly a bit overwhelming. I mean, I like to consider myself a semi-intelligent guy (no matter what my wife will tell you). But when you’ve never driven anything bigger than a Honda CRV, never towed anything, haven’t been camping since you were a kid – and despite all of this, you somehow get bitten by the RV bug – there’s a lot of anxiety over getting this stuff right. Let’s face it – it’s not cheap, and can be pretty unsafe if you don’t take the time to learn. And since we're not yet at the point of making any mistakes, I want to keep it that way. ;)
Before I get into my main couple of questions and since this is my first post of hopefully many, a little introduction and reason why I’m here: We’re a family of 3 (wife & I in our late-30’s + almost-4-year-old son). My wife grew up occasionally camping in a pop-up with her family, and I sometimes tent-camped with mine. We want the ability to do some road-tripping and basic camping with our son as he grows – quality time, good memories, etc. We’re not into going into the primitive / dry territory – we want our water and electric hook-ups, and AC is a must since we live in Florida. The past few years, we have made a tradition of staying at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground for the week of Halloween. We have only stayed in their “cabins”, but absolutely fell in love with the RV camper culture we met while there. Every year we’ve been, we vow to cross over from the “cabin-people” to the campsite culture, and we’re ready now to take the first steps to get there. Since we’re just starting out and are in the discovery phase before purchasing anything at all, what I’m looking for from fine, experienced folks like you at this stage is some suggestions on good tow vehicle / RV combos for us to consider, keeping in mind our specific profile and limitations.
We do NOT currently own a tow vehicle, so that will be first on our plate. Our Honda CRV’s lease will be up in early 2017, and at that time we’ll be looking to upgrade to something with basic towing capability. A couple of important notes that keep our needs specific: 1) We are not in the category of “unlimited budget”, and affordability is going to be key. Our tow vehicle is going to be a daily commuter / grocery-getter with a kid’s car seat in the back for 99% of the time. For this reason, we do need a TV that is relatively economical on gas and a family car first. And the vehicle’s safety rating is also of top-concern. 2) We live in a typical Florida HOA neighborhood. This means that our RV must be stored inside a standard 2-car garage. (We are not allowed to keep in the driveway, street, or yard). As you can imagine, this pretty much limits us to pop-ups only since even the smallest travel trailers are too tall for garage keeping (correct me if I’m wrong on this!). I do know that paying monthly for parking / storage is an option, but from what I have gathered it's not a cheap or feasible option for us.
With those two points in mind, my two part question:
1) We’re looking for recommendations of options to put on the table when shopping for our family / tow vehicle. Safety + Economy + Basic Towing Capability (enough to handle #2 below with some room-to-breathe for safe towing built in). Would a 3500 to 5000 lb towing capacity range cover our needs? (I do know about all the caveats of listed tow-limits).
2) Next, we’re looking for options to put on the table for the RV. Like I said, I’m assuming at this point that only a pop-up will fit the garage, but if you know differently let me know. I’ve read plenty on the advantages of a TT over a pop-up, and likely would lean that direction if I had the choice. But that said, we’re also not afraid of the pop-up lifestyle and understand the cons it comes along with. So if it’s to be a pop-up, so be it. What’s a good suggestion for a family of 3 with what I’m guessing is going to be a 3500 or 5000 lb towing-capacity vehicle?
For an example of what I’m thinking would work: a Honda Pilot + a Jayco Jay Sport 10SD. BUT, I’m open to all suggestions, ideas or input!
Lastly, if you’ve read my rambling post for this long I truly thank you. This site seems to represent what my wife and I love so much when we observe the community of campers at Fort Wilderness: a group of just truly friendly, helpful neighbors. It’s for this reason we want our son exposed to the RV culture and community – we can’t think of more fun nor better example for him as he grows.
Thank you!
-- Matt R.
