Overwhelmed Choosing a Tow Vehicle
We're hoping to hit the road full-time this November. We don't have an RV or a vehicle to tow it with yet, but we need a new car soon, so we'd like to buy the tow vehicle now. We're just overwhelmed...
Forum Discussion
I got really lucky and found a shuttle bus that had spent 2002-2015 in a retirement center, and with only 52,000 miles on it, it should be reliable for years to come. It is a E-450 dually, with room for 12 passengers, driver and 2 wheelchairs! Because it only weighs around 8,000 pounds with a GVWR of 14,050 pounds, I can tow anything, and the GCVW with the V10 is 22,000 pounds.
I plan on changing out the 12 seats for a couch and a couple of captains chairs. It basically is a 8' wide X 16 foot long flat floor, you can do anything with it.
Still if I was in your situation, I would be looking at a 29' long class C, and tow a car. I think the Ford Flex can be towed 4 wheels down, depending on the model year, and can seat up to 7. I tow my Edge, and it can seat 5, with a little room in the back for a dog. Still you would need to leave behind someone while out sightseeing.
I saw a sign on a class C once that said "Sleeps 10" - I did not even bother going inside to see how. I bought a class A RV with only 1 queen bed in the back, and a couch that converts to another almost queen size bed. Class C can sleep more people.
I think that a class C would work well, and IMHO would be safer than a vehicle towing a long travel trailer. Certainly faster to park and set up. I would pull into a neighborhood, hit the leveling jacks, and go to bed for the night, and transition from driving on the Interstate to parked and in bed in as little as 5 minutes.
The over the cab storage works great to store stuff while driving, or sleeps 2-3 kids at night. The table normally converts to sleep 2 more. Many times there is a rear 3/4 queen bed on the passenger side, with drivers side bathroom. Or my class C had a split bath just ahead of twin beds, that I converted to a king sized bed in the back by moving around a couple of cabinets.
Car booster seats can be set up at the dining table, giving little ones something to draw on while on the road. Or they can sit at the couch. You can play a DVD and run the TV with a small 300 watt inverter. It will keep them occupied for hours.. .
The inverter can run the laptop. As long as dad has internet access via phone tower, he can do his work even while at a National Park.
Out west, many camp for free on BLM land.
Best of all, you can pick up a 10 year old class C for a reasonable price, with 40,000 - 65,000 miles on it. The van part will hardly be worn in. Sure you will need to coat the roof, but that is a weekend project that will only take about $400 in materials, and last for another 6 years.
Good luck deciding!
Fred.
I plan on changing out the 12 seats for a couch and a couple of captains chairs. It basically is a 8' wide X 16 foot long flat floor, you can do anything with it.
Still if I was in your situation, I would be looking at a 29' long class C, and tow a car. I think the Ford Flex can be towed 4 wheels down, depending on the model year, and can seat up to 7. I tow my Edge, and it can seat 5, with a little room in the back for a dog. Still you would need to leave behind someone while out sightseeing.
I saw a sign on a class C once that said "Sleeps 10" - I did not even bother going inside to see how. I bought a class A RV with only 1 queen bed in the back, and a couch that converts to another almost queen size bed. Class C can sleep more people.
I think that a class C would work well, and IMHO would be safer than a vehicle towing a long travel trailer. Certainly faster to park and set up. I would pull into a neighborhood, hit the leveling jacks, and go to bed for the night, and transition from driving on the Interstate to parked and in bed in as little as 5 minutes.
The over the cab storage works great to store stuff while driving, or sleeps 2-3 kids at night. The table normally converts to sleep 2 more. Many times there is a rear 3/4 queen bed on the passenger side, with drivers side bathroom. Or my class C had a split bath just ahead of twin beds, that I converted to a king sized bed in the back by moving around a couple of cabinets.
Car booster seats can be set up at the dining table, giving little ones something to draw on while on the road. Or they can sit at the couch. You can play a DVD and run the TV with a small 300 watt inverter. It will keep them occupied for hours.. .
The inverter can run the laptop. As long as dad has internet access via phone tower, he can do his work even while at a National Park.
Out west, many camp for free on BLM land.
Best of all, you can pick up a 10 year old class C for a reasonable price, with 40,000 - 65,000 miles on it. The van part will hardly be worn in. Sure you will need to coat the roof, but that is a weekend project that will only take about $400 in materials, and last for another 6 years.
Good luck deciding!
Fred.
