If you had to buy again today...

[Chowan]

would you buy bigger or smaller? We are on a 5 year plan before traveling long term. We have just begun to look at rvs. There are many really good sized rvs.I know there is such a thing as toooo small, is there such a thing as being too big. For those who are long term travelers would you buy, if you could buy something different today, a smaller size, the same size or larger vehicle. Please share what size you have now.

[Chowan]

WOW guys and gals THANK YOU for all your incites. You have enlightened me on many things to consider as we do our education part of our journey.

[D_E_Bishop]

Our current rig is a 27' model and a little over 25 years old. My wife would like to buy a 2013T Winnie Via(25' diesel) and spend the next two years or so revisiting the 49 continental states utilizing shorter stays and visiting more POIs. She would then sell and buy a 32' to 34'gasser with two slides for a more leisurely lifestyle, spending more time in fewer places. I specified 2013 as that was the time she fell for the little rig on the MB chassis.

I think that the money saved doing the more hurried traveling in a small diesel powered rig and the selling and buying a bigger rig would eat up any fuel saving as well as suffering the depreciation buying two rigs in a short time span.

Our Bounder has almost everything we want except a sofa and a street side sofa/dinette slide. I'd prefer starting off big and doing more leisurely trips from the beginning.

The structural things I would look for are fiberglass one piece roof and seamless side walls. We had too many leaks which have done some damage and cause many hours spent sealing seams that were covered up and replacing rivets and screws in poorly sealed areas instead of traveling.

[sailor_lou]

Our first RV was a 34' gasser and our current one is a 38'10" DP. When we built our RV garage we sized it to hold a 45'er so we'll probably be pretty close to that next time.

Lou
05 Travel Supreme Envoy

[dubdub07]

I think there are many variables that have led to our choice, and it was a GREAT choice. We had a 36ft FW with a big Ram 3500 pulling it. It was an awesome set up, but on long trips the 5 of us were cramped into the cab of a truck. The truck and FW were 53ft.

So we went looking for a family coach with bunks. The Discovery 40g, among others, runs in the 40ft range. Ours is 41.75 ft long and goes EVERYWHERE our FW did and we are actually shorter. Set up is a breeze and we have NO issues going anywhere we want to camp. There are always alternatives no matter where we go and with a MH you can camp at Wal-Mart and the scenery inside is the same. We now are IN the camper the whole trip, enjoying our investment.

So, I would NOT go smaller, ever. 40-45 is where we will stay as long as the good Lord blesses us to continue to afford such a nice luxury. Traveling in a 40ft pusher is really a blessed thing. Our family just loves it.

WW

[Mr_Mark1]

Our first coach was 42 ft, 4 slides....kept it 7.5 yrs. We upgraded to 45 ft. and now have a bath and a half (a life saver, LOL). We probably have less inside storage as we don't have upper cabinets over the sofa's or over the headboard, but double the basement storage. Our bays are very tall. Our interior windows are quite large giving a very open feel.

So, fast forward 15-20 yrs., we might have another Prevost built during that time but at the end, when I'm in my 70's, I'm thinking I'll go with a class B if I still want to camp/travel.

MM.

[JetAonly]

>40', >=3 slide, tag axel, ISM or larger. What we have will do everything we want to do. The upgrade would make it effortless.

[Gottahaveit]

40 ft. and love it. If I were to buy again it would definitely NOT be smaller. ALL Tile floors will be a must !!

[sdianel_-acct_c]

to each their own. We full time in a 33' Class A DP with 2 slides. Plenty of room. The trick is to get rid of everything and only take the necessities with you. We wouldn't want anything smaller for full timing and we have been full timing for 6 years and don't want anything larger. We can fit into campgrounds that larger RV's can't fit into. We tow a 2008 Chevy Colorado 4 wheel drive pickup.

[lj2654]

We have a 40' 2 slide DP. If we get another coach I have decided 40'to 42', but 4 slides with side radiator, front genset on a slide, aquahot, tile floors, and at least a 400hp Cummins. Also bath and 1/2. That would be about all.

[J-Rooster]

My Class A is 36' if I were to buy new again it would be a fiver 38' luxury coach.

[Grandpere]

If I had to do it over again I would go bigger, our current one is 30 feet bumper to bumper. I would go at least 41 and preferably 43.5 with a tag axle and a cummins diesel

[2gypsies1]

Once thing to consider is what kind of RVing do you plan on doing?

We love public parks - national parks, national forests, state parks, Corp of Engineers, county and city parks. They are always our first choice. We had no problem during our 16 years of full-timing getting into those parks with our 40' motorhome. However, we purposely chose one with only two slideouts. All of the public parks have trees and trying to fit the slides among the trees at the site could be a challenge, especially if you have slides on both sides of the RV. Ours were on the same side - driver's side, and it was easy to park placing the slides.

[Empty_Nest__Soo]

We find that 35.5’, and no slides, is fine for two of us (retired) and trips of weeks or a few months duration. DW has spoken of full-timing and no mention of a bigger rig. I like having a home base.

There are a few things I would change, but they are minor. Mostly, I wish I had more drawers in the kitchen for storing cookware. (I do the cooking.) A king bed instead of a queen would be nice. Overall, Safari did a great job in laying out the floor plan.

Apart from my complaint about kitchen drawers, storage capacity is excellent and we have everything we need. We bought a nice, older high-end coach in excellent condition a year ago and plan to make it last until I can no longer drive it. So far, so good.

Also, 35.5’ probably gives me some advantage over a longer coach in terms of accessing the Forest Service roads and campgrounds that we like to visit. I wouldn’t complain if it were a few feet longer, but for us the current size works very well. I don’t find the length a challenge when driving and a few more feet may not matter in that regard. On narrower 2-land roads, the 8’ 6” width demands concentration to keep it between the lines. 😉

Wayne

[WILDEBILL308]

I would stay in the 38-40 range but if a "deal" came by on a 45 I wouldn't turn it down. Some day I am going to add up all the different campgrounds I have ben in, 45 this year. I have never not found a place to stay. Yes some of the older campgrounds are tighter lots of old state parks to. You have plenty of options when looking for a campsite.
Bill

[JimM68]

We bought our Monaco 40SKQ layout 5 years ago, after considerable study.
This is a 40', 4 slide, front kitchen, side bath layout, kinda unusual.
We went full time this past July, and I certainly can't see a change in our future, she's as perfect for us now as she was on day one.