Advice needed. Band ready to hit the road and start touring.

I hate to burst you bubble and ruin your dream, but $4000 will buy you nothing but headaches, especially with a unit that you will be traveling in and living in extensively.

That's a pretty tight budget. How many people are planning to stay in the camper? Do you already have a vehicle that could tow a trailer?

Sounds like you're ready to create some memories - whatever they may be. Just go, hit your gigs, and have fun. Just too many things to discuss. If you really do, or even think about all the advice you will receive here, you won't go. Just go.

While $4,000 will be enough to purchase an older Class C, you'll more than likely need additional funds for repairs/fixes/getting maintenance items back on track.

If you spend less on a Class C, you'll still need more than what's left for repairs/fixes/getting maintenance items back on track.

Tires on an older Class C will run you $1000 to $1500 and you WILL have to get them before heading out. In addition, it could take months to be able to get the RV in running order.

If one of you has a vehicle that can tow and is in good shape, I agree with the idea of getting a smaller trailer. With a small trailer, you might be able to park it at the venue overnight saving on campground fees. The larger the RV, the less likely you'll be able to do that. Depending on how many of you there are, you might be able to use a large van and go "old school".

band, tour......road trip

GO enjoy the adventure while you don't have any responsibilities.

Advice......YMCA

With your budget, I think Motel 6 will be your best bet. Good luck!

NoVa RT wrote:
That's a pretty tight budget. How many people are planning to stay in the camper? Do you already have a vehicle that could tow a trailer?

We have 4 total people in our band. We have a trailer for our gear, and we're looking to really tour in something that we can fully live in.

What distances are you traveling? How much are you willing to rough it? How many band members are there?

Edit: I see four people and a trailer now. A travel trailer is probably not a good solution since you may not be able to double tow everywhere. (end edit)

If you're frequently going relatively long distances, an inexpensive motel room and a hatchback or minivan may end up being similar in cost to an RV (due mainly to getting much better gas milage), particularly if you plan on camping in nice campgrounds with full hookups. You can spend quite a few nights in a motel for $4000.

That said, if you have a tow vehicle, a smallish trailer as mentioned would be a reasonable option. If you don't have a suitable vehicle, perhaps look for a full-size passenger van in your budget. You could remove some of the seats and have room for a few air mattresses. Vans can make pretty good tow vehicles, too, so you could later get a travel trailer when your fortunes improve. (It would be worthwhile to keep that in mind when shopping, of course, and look for one with a hitch and a decent tow rating.)

toedtoes wrote:
While $4,000 will be enough to purchase an older Class C, you'll more than likely need additional funds for repairs/fixes/getting maintenance items back on track.

If you spend less on a Class C, you'll still need more than what's left for repairs/fixes/getting maintenance items back on track.

Tires on an older Class C will run you $1000 to $1500 and you WILL have to get them before heading out. In addition, it could take months to be able to get the RV in running order.

If one of you has a vehicle that can tow and is in good shape, I agree with the idea of getting a smaller trailer. With a small trailer, you might be able to park it at the venue overnight saving on campground fees. The larger the RV, the less likely you'll be able to do that. Depending on how many of you there are, you might be able to use a large van and go "old school".

I appreciate your feedback thank you very much. We have a trailer but that's for pulling gear.

DrewE wrote:
What distances are you traveling? How much are you willing to rough it? How many band members are there?

Edit: I see four people and a trailer now. A travel trailer is probably not a good solution since you may not be able to double tow everywhere. (end edit)

If you're frequently going relatively long distances, an inexpensive motel room and a hatchback or minivan may end up being similar in cost to an RV (due mainly to getting much better gas milage), particularly if you plan on camping in nice campgrounds with full hookups. You can spend quite a few nights in a motel for $4000.

That said, if you have a tow vehicle, a smallish trailer as mentioned would be a reasonable option. If you don't have a suitable vehicle, perhaps look for a full-size passenger van in your budget. You could remove some of the seats and have room for a few air mattresses. Vans can make pretty good tow vehicles, too, so you could later get a travel trailer when your fortunes improve. (It would be worthwhile to keep that in mind when shopping, of course, and look for one with a hitch and a decent tow rating.)

I've been battling the idea of a 15 passenger van vs an rv camper class c.

Hotel costs are something we are trying to avoid, but I'm just trying to learn as much as possible about rv's.

We're getting too old to sleep on floors of fans and friends, and we'd really really like something to guarantee a place to stay.

If you HAD to do this with my budget, let's go to up $5000, what would you do?