RV newbies: Hitting the road Spring 2017

Since you are from Seattle, you understand big city traffic and all that it involves so what would you be comfortable driving at 4 pm on a Friday afternoon in Seattle.
What I would suggest is that you pick out what is comfortable for you guys. (They are having an RV show in Tacoma this weekend and I suggest you go and check them all out.) Think about what you both would be comfortable driving. If you decide on a Class A, you will need a tow to explore the cities you want to visit. If you chose a TT or 5th Wheel, the truck will have to accommodate you and the kids.
If you haven't RVed before, I second the suggestion that you rent for a week and go over to the Olympics or up to Birch Bay SP and check it out and see how you like it and the things that you will need to think about when you go on your great adventure.

My approach, past ten years, has been Class C without a towed vehicle. This has worked quite well for up to six occupants, trips of 3000 to 5000 miles, for which stops have been overnight or just a couple of nights. You will be surprised how well a C (particularly under 30 feet) can get around.

But I do not go RVing into big cities (if you mean places like Boston, DC, NYC Metro Area, Chicago that have extensive high-density cores from before the mid-20th century). You don't even want to drive a towed vehicle into a city like than and try to get around, particularly try to find places to park. These are places when you use public transportation, whether it means parking on the fringes or flying in. The RV approach requires either a RV park with access to public transportation, or moving the RV to commuter parking for the transit system.

There is another class of "sort of big" cities that are really huge areas of sprawl (my experience includes Houston, Kansas City, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, Las Vegas, Detroit) where you are dealing mostly with moderate population density even in the core, and streets and parking are sized on the assumption almost everyone drives a car everywhere, almost all the travel is from suburb to suburb, and most of the interesting places are in one suburb or another, not the city center. Most of these cities don't have a transit system beyond putting buses on the streets. You can usually move a C around without a towed vehicle (any towed combination starts to be a problem), and find parking in big lots outside the CBD, and especially at the tourist destinations which will have RV and bus parking (which might be back-in).

I do tow a vehicle for other uses, such as going someplace to stay a week or more. Then the C doesn't move, and if I am anywhere near a city, the place the C is parked is usually outside the city.

Larger motorhomes, and any towed combinations, will usually mean going from RV park to RV park, then separating the combination to go see anything. This works too, and often you can find suitable parking at rural attractions enroute. My experience with this was a small TT towed by a station wagon, 6000 mile one-month trip. Sort of like you Pilot and what it might tow today.

You are not likely to do very well trying to live six months on any TT that will pull well behind a Pilot. Not only does the TT have to be built as a lightweight, you will find that it also has to be small, as there are frontal area limits as well as weight limits for mid-size SUV towing.

What you should probably do now it try some RVs by rental, trips of a week or more, find out what life is like in a fairly small C (which is similar to a small TT with respect to space), and a larger C or TT (something big enough to have permanent beds for everybody). My 29 foot C is really nice for long term one or two people, but as soon as we get more it becomes sort of crowded, when we have to start converting living areas to sleeping areas, getting people to bed at night and getting going in the morning becomes quite complicated. I think you might find that for six months you need something in the "bunkhouse" category, which shows up in Class C around 32-34 feet, travel trailers at 28-30 feet, and not easy to find in fifth wheels even at 30-feet plus because that is a different market.

Get a large fifth wheel and a crew cab dually. The large fiver with a bunk room will give each kidlet their own bed and privacy from mom and dad. There are a few floor plans that will even give them a private half bath. While not ideal, and space will always be at a premium larger is going to be better for your sanity after a week cooped up in 300 SQFT.

I'm not entirely unbiased, but I think a class C would work out best for you of the options you list.

It seems you'll be spending a lot of time on the road actually traveling from place to place. The extra elbow room inside and the easier access to stuff and amenities (i.e. the potty) are very real advantages. Having a table to play cards or whatever at is very nice.

Driving a class C through suburbia is not really problematic. Driving it in the heart of a big city is indeed hard, but so is towing a travel trailer or (at least for me) driving any vehicle. I generally prefer to take public transportation if that's feasible.

As for where to park your RV while in the city, most would leave it at the campground where they're staying. If you're staying in a motel, it can stay parked there. In many cities, probably most, there are "campgrounds" that are within fairly easy reach of the city, or at least of public transit to the city. Not infrequently these are basically parking lots with water and electricity and sewer connections, so not really destinations in their own right, but they do serve well as places to stay when touring the city.

Depending on your itinerary and needs, a toad may not be necessary. Certainly things like grocery shopping and laundromat duty can be accomplished en route between destinations with a tiny bit of forethought. In my opinion a toad becomes much more valuable if you're staying in one place for several days at a time, rather than moving every couple of days.

Class Cs are great for kids that age, they can occupy and keep all their stuff in the upper bunk. Most have belted positions on couch or dinette for traveling. Then Mom/Dad get the back BR suite!

They do rent class C motor homes and since your a young family that makes lots of sense doing it "For so many reasons"! That way you could tow your vehicle behind you to drive into the cities, and camp outside them in safe zones like KOA parks, with full hookup. Kids are an issue I know I raised 3 sets of them. And camping with them the campgrounds need to have things for them to do, and KOA camp grounds usually do. I'm not pushing KOA cause there are many other good camp grounds, but do your research way ahead of time. Also don't rely on a GPS to find you a good camp site or to find the route for your size vehicle. Research your routes ahead of time " Big Time".

A pull behind camper with one room is about 4000 to 5000 lbs. So it's a weekend camper or short stay situation. As my wife and I tried it and we were bumping into each other all the time we had the 2015 Flagstaff 21DS. It was an amazing camper, well built "big time" and very well thought out at about 4500 lbs. But not a 6 month stay situation even for my wife and I, LOL. I mean if we had to it would be but you need space when it is more than just you. I did fine by myself in a small camper but with family you need space 1st. Like a bunkhouse type camper might work fine for you. Don't buy a Coleman, look into how the slides are built in what ever you buy. Read read read reviews on the net first. I should have talked to Coleman owners first but I did not! Well enough sorry LOL...

Have fun what ever you do. And your great I can tell. We have our children to be with them and I love that your all about them.
Best regards!
Jimmy, wx9dx
Coleman 3015BH owner

Whatever you decide to get, I would strongly recommend getting it sooner rather than later so you can get a few camping trips under your belts before heading out on the road for six months with three kids. I also second Korbe's thoughts about camping outside the city and using a toad or tow vehicle to go into the cities.

I won't touch on all your questions, but one aspect of your plan has got me thinking. The part about visiting the big cities. IMHO, big cities and RV's don't mix real well. If I was to consider an RV trip to visit the big cities, I would find parks outside the metro area and use a toad or pull vehicle to enter the cities. Might even get a motel once in awhile to limit the travel time coming and going. Enjoy you're trip.