multiple purposes, what kind of RV?
I am new to this but had been working toward either a truck camper or travel trailer for mostly summer camping, up to 1 week at a time, with 2 adults and 2 kids. Now I also need to have a vehicle l...
Forum Discussion
My class C has roughly 7" of ground clearance over the lowest part of the axles/differential, and a good bit more under most of the rest of the undercarriage (generally ranging between 10" and 24"). The departure angle is also none too great at approximately 10 degrees due to the long back overhang (and quite a few class C and class A motorhomes are worse than mine in this regard).
I think the limiting factors for what sort of back roads I can go on, at least up here in Vermont, usually have more to do with the height (lots of overhanging tree branches around here), the width, and the overall maneuverability to turn around and get back out than with the ground clearance. If given a choice, I do prefer to avoid very rough roads simply because it's not much fun to have one's dishes and other belongings thoroughly shuffled and tossed about. The chassis itself, though, is certainly not limited to only paved roads...but equally well, it's certainly no Jeep Wrangler or 4x4 truck.
Muddy conditions are likely a different story altogether. I have no intention to find out how thoroughly I can get mired in a bog! But I do suspect the comparatively heavy weight and necessary fairly slow speeds would cause difficulties sooner rather than later.
For winter camping, I would suggest looking at least for an RV with enclosed tanks and pipes that are heated somehow, frequently with a little duct from the furnace in the tank area and/or by being inside the basic envelope of the RV. Having room for at least two batteries would also be good. With those, you should be able to fairly easily get through a subfreezing night without much drama and being able to use the RV normally. For more than a single overnight, a generator of some sort (portable or built-in) and a good converter that can reasonably quickly recharge the batteries would likely be necessary if you have no electric plug-in available. If you can do without the plumbing system, pretty much any RV can be made to work in the winter.
For a motorhome or a travel trailer, consider carefully whether you want to expose the undercarriage to road salt...if they do indeed salt the roads much around you. RV frames frequently are not as well protected against corrosion as most cars or trucks.
I think the limiting factors for what sort of back roads I can go on, at least up here in Vermont, usually have more to do with the height (lots of overhanging tree branches around here), the width, and the overall maneuverability to turn around and get back out than with the ground clearance. If given a choice, I do prefer to avoid very rough roads simply because it's not much fun to have one's dishes and other belongings thoroughly shuffled and tossed about. The chassis itself, though, is certainly not limited to only paved roads...but equally well, it's certainly no Jeep Wrangler or 4x4 truck.
Muddy conditions are likely a different story altogether. I have no intention to find out how thoroughly I can get mired in a bog! But I do suspect the comparatively heavy weight and necessary fairly slow speeds would cause difficulties sooner rather than later.
For winter camping, I would suggest looking at least for an RV with enclosed tanks and pipes that are heated somehow, frequently with a little duct from the furnace in the tank area and/or by being inside the basic envelope of the RV. Having room for at least two batteries would also be good. With those, you should be able to fairly easily get through a subfreezing night without much drama and being able to use the RV normally. For more than a single overnight, a generator of some sort (portable or built-in) and a good converter that can reasonably quickly recharge the batteries would likely be necessary if you have no electric plug-in available. If you can do without the plumbing system, pretty much any RV can be made to work in the winter.
For a motorhome or a travel trailer, consider carefully whether you want to expose the undercarriage to road salt...if they do indeed salt the roads much around you. RV frames frequently are not as well protected against corrosion as most cars or trucks.
