Need Full-Time Solution

[Mark91178]

Hello to everyone.

I have been pouring over a full time RV solution for some time now, and am turning to forums for advice.

My situation is this:
My wife and I will be selling out house in the near future and purchasing an RV to travel the country for 6 months to a year, maybe more. We're looking for our "forever home" and figure what better way to do it than to view all of our options first hand.

The issue:
We'll be traveling full time, myself, my wife, two small children and three large dogs and need a solution that can accommodate all of us.

I'm looking for input.

I don't really like a motorhome as we would need to tow a vehicle, as the floor plans don't really work space-wise. Also, we would need to tow a car, which would minimize gas mileage and make high-mountain passes such as through the Rockies more difficult.

A 5th wheel was the leading contender until we figured out there's just no place for the dogs. We'd be towing with a RAM 3500 super cab, which will have just enough room for car seats. The dogs would have to ride in the 5th wheel, which may be illegal and I'm just not ok with it anyway.

At this point, we're looking at a travel trailer on a 2500-3500 vehicle, with a modified, covered bed for the dogs. We've checked out and like the Keystone Outback 312bh, but I've heard mixed reviews on a travel trailers ability to weather serious 4 season living. We're going to be going up into Canada and likely Alaska, so I need something I can depend on to keep tanks warm and insulation that will keep us warm at night. Lack of generator is an issue as we may be hitting some areas without hookups up north, but I plan on purchasing a generator separately if we go TT.

Can anyone play devils advocate or offer any advice if you've lived similarly?

[Sprig]

Mark91178 wrote:
...I have been pouring over a full time RV solution for some time now, and am turning to forums for advice.

My situation is this:...

No Pics?

[sowego]

I agree with what many folks are saying here.

The higher end rigs and some brands are better for fulltime and all season travel. I'd go with a Motorhome, preferably diesel for the power, ability to get Aqua Heat and size. A toad that will hold the family and dogs for outings can easily be towed by a big diesel.

I'd not travel with pets in a crate in the back of a truck or in a TT..not safe for them for many reasons.

Campground dog/pet # limit...it is hard to say. Nearly all we've been to have a 2 pet limit no matter what they are. If they are indeed in the "banned breed" category, larger than they permit, or more of them it is the the CGs opinion as to whether they will allow it or not. We've been to campgrounds that only allowed dogs smaller than 50#s. I would be honest with the CG manager at check in and not try to lie because you will have to walk them on a leash, cannot leave them outside alone and could be asked to leave if they bark a lot. They will know if you tried to hide that fact. Even if you will be fulltime for a short time you may still end up staying in a park for a couple of weeks or more so indeed you will have to just work it out with each individual CG. We traveled with a dog and 2 cats for 10 years and never had an issue but that is a lot different than 3 large dogs.

We lived in our MH fulltime in our home locations (shown in siggy) for 3 winters, had tons of snow and temps to -25 with the wicked winds our region is notorious for. We managed but we had to fill fresh water and drain tanks then stow all hoses somewhere warm...which will take up space in your heated bays. We used two residential size propane tankfuls each winter! A heated floor is the best way to go so you can refill the diesel from containers and ehat the floor better. Even with basement heated by the gas furnace when the temp drop below 10 and stay there for quite a while the floor will be very cold for humans and dogs to walk on whether carpeted or not. We put weather station sensors in the utility bay to know when we needed to add a 60W bulb...which was when the temp dropped below 10. In extreme cold an absorption refrigerator may stop working and not come back on until the weather warms up so I'd opt for an AC run residential unit.

I'm going to assume you will be going north in the summer and south in the winter so the previous info is "just in case you don't".

Some of the bunkhouse type coaches would be great with kids so you aren't constantly making your couches into beds. With a family of 4 and 3 dogs you will find when the weather is not great those 4 walls and tight quarters may get a bit hard to handle.

Having so many on board...you should learn to live in a "bare necessity of life" mode with only a few "extras", ditch all the electric kitchen appliances, keep clothing to a strict minimum (just do laundry more often), don't overstock food and keep cabinets packed loose enough you don't have to dig to get things out and repeat the process to put stuff away--been there done that and it was a complete miserable experience. Most rigs today have a lot of storage and you can indeed pack literaly a ton of stuff in them but that is just a waste and you'll find at some point you will regret it.

It sounds like quite an adventure. You will find out what will work for your family and what won't. Just be prepared to alter things as you learn. Enjoy!

[mayo30]

Plan it well as it looks like 5 of you will be sharing 320 sq.ft. or something like that of floor space quite a bit during the cold weather,don't see much outside activity happening for very long then,unless you are the outdoor type to freeze the fingers BBQ'ing etc. and haul all the cold weather gear and cloths along too.Central Canada is getting cold now and the white stuff is showing up,it won't be fun this time of year.

[rockhillmanor]

Queens Carriage wrote:
Not to be negative but not many RV parks only allow 3 dogs,2 is usually the limit.

Not negative by any means it's a fact nowadays.

Breed type, large dogs and 3 of them will limit what CG's the OP will be able to use. If your dogs breed is on the banned breed list none of the CG's will allow the dogs.

My wife and I will be selling out house in the near future and purchasing an RV to travel the country for 6 months to a year,...

You say you are going to be be full timing for ONLY a year until you find a house to buy?

IMHO, JMHO I would NOT be dropping a ton of money into a brand new, big, RV of any type. Certainly not a wise financial decision. Not to mention depending on where you decide to buy, unless you are buying 5 ac plus, you will run smack into HOA's not allowing you to park the RV on the property you buy.

I would definitely go with a nice used Class A or Class C. That solves your dog traveling problem, room for the kids and DW comfortably.

There are 'plenty' of nice used ones out there, buy it right, use if for a year and sell it for what you bought it for.......that's a win win for your family.

If you find you still need a toad, find a small cheap used car. You will have to buy the tow bar, brakes, and base plate to tow it. BUT, when you find you house and go to sell the MH including the car should sweeten the deal to the buyer.

[Queens_Carriage]

Not to be negative but not many RV parks only allow 3 dogs,2 is usually the limit.

[nbargolf]

" Also, we would need to tow a car, which would minimize gas mileage and make high-mountain passes such as through the Rockies more difficult. "
Not true we have a 40 ft DP and the mileage is the same with or without the toad. Mountain passes are not a problem and most times the MH doesn't even shift down and the exhaust brake going downhill is a major plus. Our friends a have a large 5'er and we have twice the storage in our MH. Too each his own but we won't have anything but a MH.

[2gypsies1]

A towed vehicle behind a motorhome isn't going to hamper you in any way in mountains or mileage. With your family you're going to want to see the sights along the way and doing it in a vehicle would be a lot easier than doing it with a motorhome.

As far as your comment about going to Canada and Alaska - I hope you're not considering winter as the season for that. If so, you won't find any RV that will be suitable in -50 degrees. Plan that part of your trip for the summer and you won't need a '4-season RV'. Besides, there really is no such thing. For being comfortable in bitter winter months you would have to do a lot of precautions to your RV - even if the literature says '4-season'. That means four 'mild' seasons. Also, in those kinds of temperatures you won't even find RV parks open for you to stay. How would you get water and dump the tanks?

Plan your trip for north in the summer and south in the winter and you'll be just fine in any kind of RV. Good luck!

[Lantley]

I think you need to revisit the Motorhome idea and plan to tow a small car. A TT will not have enough storage or insulation to meet your needs.
All types of RV are not created equal. TT's are nice and provide the most bang for the buck. But they are generally built with weekenders in mind. They do not have adequate storage for a family of 4 for full time use. ESpecially if you are going to be in cold weather, which will be a huge challenge in itself.

There are fivers to meet your needs, But I agree 2 kids and 2 dogs present a travel challenge. I have 2 kids and 1 dog and we have zero extra space.
YOu can find a Class A to meet your needs. Travel is a breeze, storage is acceptable. They can be well insulated and are capable of towing a small car.
A class A will be your most expensive option,however it is the only option that truly meets are of your needs.

[DutchmenSport]

I never thought I'd be so passionate over a specific TT model or brand, but ever since I purchased my Outback (2 months ago), I just absolutely love this trailer. I've studied the Keystone web site, the Outback floor plans, every nook and crannie about them I can find. We've been on 5 week-end trips and 1- 5 day trip since we purchased it. It handles nice, it's an attractive model, people really notice it at the campgrounds, I get questions all the time. It's comfortable, warm, it has space and functionally works very well.

It has a heated underbelly, all the valves, everything is inside. (It's call Artic Barrier). So far, there is absolutely nothing I do not like about this camper.

The 312 Bunk House is actually the one we really contended about purchasing. When we explained what we were really looking for, the dealer pointed us to the one we finally got (a big difference than a bunk-house, but it really is perfect for us).

What I'm saying is ... I think you will like the Outback and I think it will serve your purposes. I strongly recommend the 2500 or 3500 with a shell over the bed of the truck for the dogs. You can carry your generator back there then too. I have a generator and this arrangement worked quite well.

One thing I would recommend about your floor plan on this model: see if the dealer would swap out that bench style dinette for a free standing table and 4 chairs. A real table and chairs is sooo much nicer, unless you really need the dinette for extra bed space. Then keep the dinette. But if not ... see if they'll swap it out.

I really understand how you feel about the MH and the 5er, towing a car, and space in the MH. We struggled with these same issues and we no longer have kids at home. Our kids are grown and no longer camp with us, and the grand kids are too far from us now too. The dealer really pointed out ... why do you need bunks when no one will be using them.... he was right too. We've been so acclimated having kids, we never considered what floor plan would actually work and is really comfortable for only 2 people 99.999% of the time! So we went with the 298RE model and it really was the right decision. Sounds like you've made up your mind too ..... my blessings on the Outback! You won't be disappointed.

Very nice floor plan there:

[JW_of_Opechee_S]

Sounds to me like you need a toy hauler where you can put a small car in back with the dogs and have the truck to haul it lots of used for sale.

[dahkota]

For tts, check out the Open Range Roamer and Open Range Mesa Ridge lines. they are pretty well insulated. I think you will find that most rvs will not stand up to Alaska winters without help.

We have survived temps below freezing in our Jayco (insulated but not heated underbelly) and our Sprinter (heated and insulated underbelly, cousin to the Outback) though not in either for extended periods of time (more than four days). Neither sustained damage but the Sprinter was better on propane use.

[Mandalay_Parr]

My choice would be a large 40' plus, diesel pusher and tow a car.

It will be a bit crowded with either of your options.

Mine has a nice bathroom, shower, washer/dryer, central vacuum, 12' side by side refer/ ice maker, 2 tv, 2 furnaces, and 2 air conditioners, large heated tanks and 8 KW generator plus 3 burner gas stove. Made for all seasons.

I've seen some nice 40' plus 5th wheels as well.

[Trackrig]

Here are my suggestions or input:

As for traveling in colder weather, I would go north when it's warm and go south when it's cold. People do camp and live in cold weather with an RV, but make it easier on yourself, the wife, the dogs, the three small kids and don't do it. You get into heated water lines, skirting the RV so your sewage lines don't freeze and your furnaces are going to use a ton (several tons) of propane. Even four season RV aren't really designed to live in full time during a cold winter. They're good for a skiing or snowmachining vacation. You really aren't going to do much sightseeing or touristy things (they'll all be closed) at below zero temps.

As for towing a toad behind a MH, there's been a lot of discussion on the forum about that. Most people don't notice it back there and it makes less than a 1/2 MPG differance if that much. Don't let the fuel milage be a deciding factor on towing a toad. Unless you're talking a small MH and a large toad, the mountains aren't going to make it difficult to tow a toad. If you buy a 5th wheel or TT and tow it with a truck, you're going to burn more fuel driving it as a daily driver than you'll use towing a toad behind a MH.

You'll need a generator whether it's built in or carried seperatly. If you buy a truck to pull TT without a generator, then the generator (and extra gas cans) will be in the back of the truck with the dogs.
Maybe you can get a two part shell custom built, but that's going to be expensive. Don't forget to build a heater and air conditioning into the canapy somehow to keep the dogs warm /cool if they're not riding in a nice warm (cooler) MH.

With the kids and dogs, I think you'll be much better off with a MH and toad. If there's a floorplan in a TT or 5th wheel that works, then there has be be one in a MH. Make life easier on yourself. Go with a MH and the weather.

***And get something with a washer and dryer or else you're going to spend a lot of time sitting in a laundramat.
Bill

[rockhillmanor]

Ditto X2 on the MH. Been there done that and MH is the way to go.
Take off RV'ing without towing a car.

I full timed for 2 years without a toad. There really is not that many places site seeing that you can't take a MH to. Most have parking for RV's. Going into town? I haven't seen a MH yet that didn't fit in a grocery store parking lot.

Later on find an inexpensive used lightweight car to tow. IMHO too many people think you have to go out and buy a brand spanking pricey new toad to go RV'ing. I bought mine with full intentions of it being just a used car to tow around if I needed it and selling it when I was done full timing.

RE: your idea on a truck with bed cover for the dogs.
Dogs in a covered truck bed will heat stroke dead in seconds in summer and freeze to death in winter. RV'ing this way with dogs will be your biggest problem and ruin your RV'ing time with the family.
Just saying. Good luck finding just the right RV for you and your family.