My DW thought camping was slow room service until she saw my sisters 5th wheel. That was in 2004. We did use my FIL's small van conversion (picture a RoadTrek in the early development stages). We are now on our 3rd 5th wheel and love it.
Like has been said, there is no wrong way. Just do what makes you want to keep going. You will learn/find what works best for your when it comes to towing a small car or not but after having to unplug from the campsite to sightsee a couple times I though towing something was a great idea. Maybe bicycles? See a lot of those on RVs. Don't be afraid to think out of the box when looking at making the RV yours. That will be a very rewarding aspect of RVing.