Expectations of a Newbie

We have a 25 foot Class C and we have never needed or even wanted a tow. We can drive it anywhere, park it anywhere and most times it can be backed in over a grassy area which only takes one parking space.

At a RV park we only hookup electric and water. It takes 5 minutes to unhook and go somewhere. We have went 5 days traveling without filling up water or dumping tanks. We do take Navy showers and use paper plates.

We are more travelers than campers. We use our MH more like a large car. We take it to medical appointments, since we live 130 miles from anything.

For us a good thing is the permanent bed and we don't have to crawl over one other either.

We have had everything, Truck Camper, Travel Trailer, 5th Wheel and even a Class B and this is the best for us.

We could never RV without a vehicle for siteseeing. Renting is out for the places we like to explore.

If you plan to go to a tourist area and basically stay in the RV park for most of your stay then, yes, you can do it without a vehicle and probably rent.

If you want to explore an area thoroughly, especially mountain areas and backroads, a vehicle is the way to go.

We have a Class A but were looking into purchasing a 26 foot class C. We feel that a toad is a necessity. When we go somewhere, we like to stay and see the sights. We have been on many roads where a 26 foot Class C would not be able to go. We would not want to restrict our exploring when we get somewhere by not having a toad. We love seeing new places which is why we RV, and is also why we want the toad. As you can see, each person has different needs.

We also currently have a B and am looking for a B+/C like the Phoenix Cruiser 2100. Age and ailments are a large part of the choice. The slide makes all the difference and the size is much larger than our B. No toad for us as we move about and tour to much. And that's another reason for the shorter length. But that's us.

From a year into retirement 2005, until she died early 2012, my wife and I used a 30-foot C as you describe.

Getting around, parking, there is not much difference 22 to 32 feet in length, because the greater problem parking is the width, 8 to 8 1/2 feet vs maximum standard vehicle width of 80 inches. Beyond 19-20 feet you are already spilling into a second space with respect to length, or sticking out into an aisle. One thing that sometimes works with a C, because of long rear overhangs, is backing into a space at the edge of a parking lot, to put the overhang off the edge.

Getting around, and parking, also depends on how crowded a place is. Small towns, rural areas, even some suburbs are not too bad. Getting into the center of large cities is a different issue, there are places like Houston and Chicago where even my standard length van is a problem because parking spaces are tighter, other drivers more aggressive about taking position in traffic, tightly filled traffic lanes make wide swings more difficult, open parking lots tend to be full and have narrow aisles, and much of the parking is in ramps with low clearance.

But most of our RV travel was in places where a 30 foot RV fit fine, we did our shopping and sightseeing enroute, seldom had to leave a campsite once hooked up. Most of the time if I plan to leave for a while I can hook up only power (needed for air conditioning 6-8 months here in the middle of the country) so the only problem left getting in and out was putting interior stuff away (including grandchildren) so slideouts could be pulled in and the C safely moved. I didn't want slides, wife wanted the space, so we dealt with the extra trouble. If I buy another motorhome, it will not have slides, I prefer greater mobility over a little extra interior space.

I have 42 gallon fresh water capacity, 25 gallon black waste, 31 gallon gray waste, 18 gallons (~ 60 pounds) LPG, two Group 24 house batteries. Wife and I could go 3-4 days between having to dump waste tanks or refill fresh water. With wife, daughter, two granddaughters aboard, they could fill the black tank in less than two days (thus the experience with quick trips out of the campsite) and could probably do the same to the gray if they didn't go to the bathhouse to wash their hair.

Furnace could go through 30-40 pounds LPG in a week in winters with 40 F days and 20 F nights, otherwise a 20-30 pound fill might last a year or two heating water, cooking, and running the refrigerator when not hooked up. Furnace needed power, though, and could drain the two batteries overnight if we didn't have an electrical hookup.

Where and when we traveled, I didn't worry much about finding parks with hookups for overnights. When we had to be in a specific place, at a specific time, for a specific length of time, we did make reservations, unless the place did not allow reservations (e.g. our state parks). But we also avoided the difficult times and places: holiday weekends, weekends on recreational lakes, parks a short drive from major urban areas, family theme park or amusement park destinations, the sea shore, California, Florida, and the whole East Coast. My middle of the U.S. experience may not apply to the densely populated areas where 80% of our population is concentrated in 20% of the space.

If we didn't have a power hookup, we could run microwave and air conditioning from the generator. Coming into a campground with a full fuel tank, we could do that for 40-60 hours if we had to, but generally did not. Power hookups are relatively easy to find, power and water only a little less, mostly in dry parts of the country where a remote campground has no wells or city water service at all. Also, I will not run the generator while sleeping, so dry camping for us meant places or seasons where outside temperatures were comfortable.

Since my wife died, I use the RV differently, don't care much to road trip in it alone, it is too big for me. Since I still own it, I've taken it on a few RV club outings where I have friends around who take care of my transportation when we go do things together. A dozen or so times I've driven it out to local lakes for a week or so, to overnight in that environment. For this I've towed, first my small pickup, then I outfitted a Honda Fit for towing. This lets me take care of business in town, go out to the lake at night, where the motorhome is functioning as my cabin at the lake. For that, a small trailer would work just as well, maybe better. But for what you want to do, a motorhome works.

I travel with a 24' class C without a toad, occasionally with a motorcycle. I usually do my restaurants and sightseeing between campsites, not from a campsite. But certainly that is possible. Especially if you just hook up the power and get a site which is level enough and don't need to deal with that on every excursion.

Your idea sounds fine. What I'd do is look into two options: One is to find a campground within walking or biking distance to the attractions you are interested in. Second is to investigate Uber or one of the ride services available these days. Paying for a ride to these spots, in the overall scheme of things, is not a big cost. You could even consider a rental car if you're staying somewhere a while.

Thank you all - very helpful information

Having traveled many years in a large truck camper with exactly the same issues you are concerned with - yes with planning you can do it.
As others have said, don't hook up unless you need to. We also found that we tended to do groceries, sight seeing etc. before going to the campground. Also remember that if you are going out for some reason, why not just pull through the dumping station on your way out and forget the worries of having full tanks. We never use public showers - that is why we have an rv with a nice bathroom.

We have been doing exactly what you propose and see numerous others in that age group doing the same all over the US and CA. No toad, but we rent a car for unusual circumstances, rarely.

Ignore the horror stories.

We previously had a wonderful Class B, loved it, but needed more space with acquisition of a big dog.

Just look at lots of layouts and makers and imagine yourself living in it. We have an Itasca Navion, and find the rear slide out queen bed to be comfortable, the living area spacious enough, reasonable storage for two, and more refrigerator/freezer space than we use. We can easily go five days without a dump station.

You can investigate solar options. We usually find electrical hookups but some people like to spend a lot of time off the grid out in the boonies.

Don't worry about finding campsites. Just book ahead if it is peak season, prime destination, weekend, holiday. Even then, there are many more places than you might imagine where you can stay, and sometimes you'll discover your own gems.

My wife and I are in the same situation. Wanted an RV for the same reasons/purpose. We started with a small Class C with a pullout couch/bed which was comfortable but being older, one of us would always find we had to get up in the middle of the night. If you were sleeping in the front, you had to crawl over the one in the back. Corner bed models have the same issue. If we were younger I don't think we'd mind. Moved up to a larger class C. Then a used class A. Now our New Winnebago class A. Worried at first driving something big but you get good at it quick. Seen a lot of newbies get in trouble taking uphill ramps going into parking lots. I make it a point to pass by any place that's not a fairly level entrance. We don't have a toad. Makes getting the rig around much easier. Most places we camp are right where we want to be. If we are going to be in a spot for a while, we rent a car. Enterprise will pick you up. Big destinations like Zion and Glacier almost always have shuttles. We try to do shopping enroute to a destination so the rig can stay parked once we get there. Just my opinion.... Others may feel a toad is a necessity.