Choosing a rig

I would not include a park model on your list at all. They are not really 'movable'. Full-timers do move around - some stay a week in one place or a month or a summer, but we do move.

Tim

Just an FYI - there are many places around the west where one can RV comfortably during the winter and ski. For example, one can live in or around Phoenix and ski in Flagstaff. You might consider warm places a couple of hours from ski areas rather than cold weather places that would be rough to live in in an RV.

The type of RV doesn't determine the quality as much as the price and manufacturer. You can buy a low end Class A or a high end trailer. Look at some older used RVs of the make and model that you're considering buying to see how well they have held up. Even though most RVs are not designed for fulltime living, as long as you keep up with maintenance, you'll get many years out of any type.

I'm going through the same process (and I'm planning to visit an RV show here in September). One angle on this question that interests me is:

Are some types of RVs better for full-timing living in terms of durability? I've read some threads with comments that most RVs are not designed or warranted for full-time use. They are often built with materials that favor light weight over heavy duty. From what I've read I sense that Class A and Class C are sturdier and would hold up better to full-time use, but I don't know if that's true. Can someone address this idea? I would think the general ranking from best to worst full-time RV would be like this (which pretty much follows price):

Class A
Class C
Park model trailers
Fifth-wheel
Bumper-pull
Hybrid trailer

I call it full timing, although I'm still a year from my military retirement, then I plan on work camping off and on, but I still have kids with me and will for several more years. We looked at the RV shows and here were some of my thoughts, and trying to throw a couple of concerns about doing this as a single.
IF, you are by yourself (I know your daughter is there temporarily), it is very difficult to back any type of trailer into a spot or even hitch up without an extra set of eyes, although hitching a 5er isn't too hard by yourself. A motorhome may be easier for this as most come with backup camera's installed and you don't have a completely blind side when backing around a corner. A search on this forum will yield some results of people installing back-up cameras on the backs of the trailers with some success though. Hooking up a toad vehicle though with the new style tow bars with bars that can be adjustable during hookup can be a breeze as they lock into place once pulling forward.
My Father fulltimed for 15 years, and now claims that he would still be doing it if he had a motorhome just for the ease of setup and takedown.
When most people look to full time without keeping a sticks and bricks home base, they usually look at 5th wheels and Class A motorhomes due to the much larger storage capacities. Being single you probably could look at a class C, but be sure to watch your weights and tow ratings when you are looking at these as they are usually a little more easily overloaded, although as you read on this board overloading is still possible even on the big DP's. Tow ratings for some but not all class C's tend to be 3500lbs, which is a small car. The larger class C's and most class a gas motorhomes tend to have a 5000lb tow rating which is most cars and smaller to some mid sized suv's. On a class C you do lose some usable floor space to the cockpit but gain a bedroom area. On a class A you can turn the front seats around to add to the living area so loss there is minimal too.
My wife can drive our Class A quite well, and can even hook up our toad and pull it without any problem. She says she would probably be able to drive a truck and trailer but couldn't back it into a spot to save her life.
Most anything can be set up in the dirt, the jacks, even on trailers just need to be set on some type of pad like some wood blocks (I use 2x12's cut to squares, sometimes even under my tires to give them a bigger footprint and keep them cleaner). Motorhomes do require more maintenance too.
Lots of people chimed in about cold weather and gave advice of some things to look for like covered underbellies and heated compartments, these come pretty standard on most of the larger RV's but more of an add on in the smaller ones. Space heaters can help tremendously to lower your propane use but this winter we didn't even run the Propane heaters and had 3 space heaters going (1 to the bays) but had to keep them on separate circuits. We still used lots of propane cause the electric side of the water heater could barely keep up with the extra cold water coming in, verses the warmer summer water.

Some questions that you may want to ask yourself are...
What size of space are you thinking about having? Smallish like 25', medium like 30', or large like 35'?
Do you mind driving a larger truck every day?
Do you like the car you have now, and can it be towed easily (four down)?
Do you need lots of storage, or are you satisfied being more minimalist?
And obviously what's in your Budget.

Well, we know single full-timer females who travel constantly in every type of RV there is. So I guess there is no 'right' one. It just depends on you and your budget.

As far as ease, a Class C or small Class A strikes me as being good. A Class B is too small but some do it. If you go over 30' towing a car would be convenient.

Between a trailer or 5th wheel, a 5th wheel is easier to hook up and more stable on the highway. For either, you need a big truck.

Okay, so other than everyone agreeing that winter in an rv is not a good idea,LOL, any other opinions on type of RV for a possibly single female to set up and drive on a regular basis? I'm just so conflicted. I go back and forth with my thoughts about which one is best.

Yes, there is a reason that people get in their RVs and head south for the winter.

After you live in a snow state for years, winter somehow loses it's allure. I can remember having frost on the INSIDE walls of my home when it got down into the -25 or -30 ranges at night (Iowa). I could guesstimate how cold it was at night by how often the furnace cycled on and off. When the gap was 15 minutes or less I knew it was really, really, bad.

There's just no way I would want to stay in any kind of RV in a northern winter.

Tim

If you have actually lived in Florida your whole adult life, then RVing, or even living through some of our winters in the "north" will be an experience for you.

One issue is heating in any type of RV. Most of the most recent winters have been so brutal that you just can't run a couple ceramic heaters, it takes tons of propane in an RV to survive.

A CG we use for part of the summer in Illinois keeps a few sites open through the winter. The ones that stay there have one or two 100 gallon propane tanks placed outside their units.

I can assure you it is not pleasant driving on ice and snow every day for months on end. It may sound "cozy" but it is depressing and oftentimes dangerous.