Complete Newbie Seeking Guidance
Hello everyone. I'm delighted to have found this forum and look forward to chatting with all of you. In a nutshell, here's my story (with a few questions at the end). I'm 35, married, live in Nort...
Forum Discussion
I think scbwr said it well. RV’s can be anything from a PU to a MH and they all have their pros and cons. And all are a bundle of compromises; you can’t have your cake and eat it too. I think you’re on the right track leaning toward tt’s per #1, but you need to do a lot of research and know how and where you want to camp, and look at a lot of units to decide what might work best for you.
For example, if you want a lot of space and amenities and will camp in FHU cg’s think big. The impact is a big TV, advance reservations in cg’s, planning for gas station and parking lot access, and so on. And restrictions on how far you can get from the pavement. On the other hand, if you want to get well back into national forests you’ll have to think a lot smaller. So you trade space for access.
I would write off any car entirely, and also mini-vans. A pickup or big SUV is likely the best option. But pay no attention to the mythical tow rating, it’s almost a sure bet you’ll run out of the vehicle payload before you get near it. And if you get close to the payload and want to do a lot of mountain driving it won’t be much of a fun tow. So as said, a lot of compromises and you need to educate yourself well before you commit to anything.
For someone new to RV’s it’s smart to buy a used one first because after you use one for awhile it begins to gell what you really want in an RV. And if bought new it’s an expensive exercise to change. Owning and operating a TT is a piece of cake that you’ll pick up fast. When I bought my F150 my thought was to get a small FW. Then as I got educated I realized the pin weight of a FW could be an issue and the deal breaker, it was too high to get down the forest roads I camp on. My suggestion would be to look at a lot of RV’s, read the “stickies” on the forum and ask a lot of questions as you go along and you’ll make a good selection.
For example, if you want a lot of space and amenities and will camp in FHU cg’s think big. The impact is a big TV, advance reservations in cg’s, planning for gas station and parking lot access, and so on. And restrictions on how far you can get from the pavement. On the other hand, if you want to get well back into national forests you’ll have to think a lot smaller. So you trade space for access.
I would write off any car entirely, and also mini-vans. A pickup or big SUV is likely the best option. But pay no attention to the mythical tow rating, it’s almost a sure bet you’ll run out of the vehicle payload before you get near it. And if you get close to the payload and want to do a lot of mountain driving it won’t be much of a fun tow. So as said, a lot of compromises and you need to educate yourself well before you commit to anything.
For someone new to RV’s it’s smart to buy a used one first because after you use one for awhile it begins to gell what you really want in an RV. And if bought new it’s an expensive exercise to change. Owning and operating a TT is a piece of cake that you’ll pick up fast. When I bought my F150 my thought was to get a small FW. Then as I got educated I realized the pin weight of a FW could be an issue and the deal breaker, it was too high to get down the forest roads I camp on. My suggestion would be to look at a lot of RV’s, read the “stickies” on the forum and ask a lot of questions as you go along and you’ll make a good selection.
