5 things you love most and 5 things you love the least.

[holstein13]

What are the 5 things you love the most about your RV and the 5 things you love the least? I'm sure everyone will want to list travel with their loved ones as something they enjoy the most, but I'm really interested in your RV at the moment. But go ahead and add what you love about the lifestyle if you wish as a 6th item.

For me, the 5 things I love about my RV are:

1. The ride down the highway when moving from one stop to another. My coach drives very smooth and quiet.
2. Bath and a half and bunk beds. I've got kids and both make life wonderful.
3. Washer, dryer and dishwasher. I know they are luxuries, but living full-time in the MH makes these items oh so appreciated.
4. My bed. I've always slept like a baby in my MH and this one is no exception. Love the sleep number bed.
5. All electric coach. I used to run out of propane a lot with my last coach. I'm glad I no longer need it.

The 5 things I love the least are:

1. The awnings. I used to love my simple pull out and stake down awnings. My new awnings are ever more sophisticated but they are so sensitive and fragile that any decent breeze sends them back in. I rarely use them now.
2. The lack of storage. It's hard to believe that my 45 foot MH has less basement storage than my old 31 footer, but the Dometic freezer / fridge, Oasis hot water, wide screen TV, 16 batteries, 200 gallon fuel tank, huge waste tanks, tag axle and engine take up all the extra outside space and then some.
3. The weight of this new coach. I'm 49,000 pounds plus I tow a 6,200 pound Ford F-150. My 0 to 60 times are measured with a calendar and not a stop watch. I get that I'm driving a MH and not a sports car, but it would be nice to be able to get up to highway speeds before entering the highway.
4. My length and height. I'm 45 feet long plus toad and 13' 4" tall. I can't camp in many public campgrounds and am restricted in many private campgrounds as well.
5. The complexity of all the systems. This new coach has electric shades, back lit panel lights, two satellite dishes, etc. They are all wonderful, but prone to failure and a bit complicated.

[Kittykath]

Love:
Fits in the driveway
Gel memory foam mattress topper
I can reach the whole ceiling
Storage galore
Outdoor kitchen!!!

Not so love:
Jack knife bed (will this make anyone's like list?)
DH is tight fit in the shower
Countertop space
Non-adjustable antenna
No spot for garbage can

[Naio]

Love:

1. It's tiny. Easy to drive and park. 25mpg.

2. It feels cosy and homey.

3. High ground clearence, LT/TA tires, and other rugged features suitable for unpaved roads.

4. Car-quality instead of RV-quality construction.

5. It holds all my stuff. I can live in it indefinitely and have everything i need and most that I want. And, unlike my S&B, I know where everything is and can lay hands on it instantly :).

Not so much:

1. It's tiny. Now, with the addition of a size large cat, I am even more shoehorned in.

2. The color. I shopped for 6 months to find a van of this model, in great mechanical shape, with the options I wanted. This was the one. But they made them in better colors!

3. No solar. Yet. But I love my new system that charges the house battery off the alternator!

4. I wish I had more cargo capacity. Not only for the solar panels.

5. Being a car, the whole interior has nary a straight line or a flat surface. This is hard for mods.

--

Like some others here, I had a hard time coming up with 5 dislikes, and I have many more 'loves' :B

[northmeck0255]

Loves;
1). Inside space and storage
2). Onboard Generator-electricity at the push of a button
3). Fireplace (saves $$$)
4). BIG tanks
5). Commercial LT truck tires. No China bombs!

Bad;
1). 3 step entry step
2). Height and Length restrict state park choices
3). Electric awning
4). Slides. HATE them. If you've ever had one stuck in the "Out" position, you understand.
5). Carpet. Hasn't held up well.

[kellertx5er]

Most loved:

1. Overall floor plan (rear living)
2. Nearly endless storage space (inside and out)
3. Dresser and closet in bedroom
4. Generous holding tank capacity
5. Relative light weight

Least loved:

1. Only one air conditioner (35' 5-er), no provision for 2nd a/c
2. Recliners do not face ent. center
3. Decals peeling (typical for Keystone)
4. 6 gal water heater
5. Placement of toilet in bathroom

[DrewE]

Hmmm...this is off the top of my head:

Likes:
- Overall layout—I have plenty of room where it's needed, even a little actual countertop in the kitchen.
- Lots of storage (well, comparatively speaking).
- Decent handling; traveling is pleasurable and not a chore.
- Good ground clearance (something I didn't know to look for when I was shopping, but am very glad I have).
- Paid for!
- Bonus item: Coachmen provided pretty decent access to most things, though it can be a bit of an adventure finding out how to get there at times. Wiring etc. seem to be done in a workmanlike manner.

Dislikes:
- Broken oven thermostat valve (that leaks gas from the valve body when turned on) that costs a couple hundred to replace.
- Typical appliance noises—the water pump, furnace, water heater, and A/C are not as quiet as I would have imagined/preferred, even though they're quite typical in that regard.
- Lacking technical documentation, like accurate wiring and plumbing diagrams.
- Shower usage is a bit tricky sometimes, between the small shower compartment size, the door to the compartment that doesn't always like to stay open, and the shower curtain that tends to get sucked inwards when the exhaust fan is used. Still, I'd rather have the smaller shower and larger areas that get more use.
- Continuous maintenance and upkeep needs, though that is to some extent universal among RVs.

[mgirardo]

5 things I love

-Drive-ability, I think our motorhome handles great. I can drive it 15 hours without a problem, just like I do the car.
-Good amount of space. With 2 slides, the motorhome doesn't feel small inside.
-Lots of cabinet space in the kitchen and dining room.
-Plenty of sleeping space. We can easily sleep 6 adults and 4 kids - 2 on the queen bed, 2 on the cabover bed and one on each bunk and the kids can have the sofa bed and the fold down dinette.
-Power awnings and steps. I wasn't too keen on the power awning when we first got it, but after a couple years, I have really grown to appreciate it.

5 things I don't

-Small gas tank, low mileage means stopping more than I'd like to, to refuel. It would be great if the motorhome came with a 100 gallon tank. I could easily drive 400 miles without stopping, but the 55 gallon tanks makes me stop about 100 miles sooner.
-Small awning. Our awning is only 11 feet long. About 2 feet is to the left of the door, leaving about 6.5 feet to the right of the door. Can't do much living in that small space. It would be nice if the awning went the full length of the motorhome.
-Fridge and Freezer is too small for full-time living. We started camping seasonally - 800 miles from home - and could definitely use a larger Fridge and Freezer.
-It's not really comfortable for full time living. Being stuck in the camper when it rains or for whatever reason is not so great. The sofa isn't that comfy and with 4 of us trying to use the dining/living room, it gets tight.
-The bunks on the bedroom slide are too narrow at 28". Both our kids stopped sleeping on the bunks. I ended making the bottom bunk wider, but can't really do that with the top bunk.

We love our motorhome, but it definitely isn't ideal for living in it for long periods of time.

-Michael

[Matt_Colie]

Wow,

This part is Easy, but I will stop at five:
1 - The community of owners and the support they provide.
2 - It is paid for so no payments other than maintenance.
3 - The memories made and the places we have seen.
4 - It is small enough to go almost anywhere we can drive a passcar.
5 - I get to sleep in my own bed every night on the road.
OK, I'll stop there. (There were 5 others that didn't make the list.)

1 - It only gets a little over 9 MPG.
2 - Storage is limited so we have to plan.
3 - It gets real hot in the sun.
4 - It could really use new paint, but tires matter more.
5 - My wife likes driving too much. (So, I don't get to.)

Matt

[mdcamping]

having my morning cup of coffee under my awning
no schedule to keep while camping
no worries getting into a camp site.
cheap overhead, if needed I could get out of camping as quick as I got into it.
campfires
cooking


Gas stations, entrance/exit dips, people cutting me off.
Interstate/city beltways, 4 lane heavy traffic typical of the northeast.
noise issues with our hybrid.
more up keep with our hybrid.

Mike

[RVcircus]

We blogged about the same topic a few months ago and the love list was easy. When we got to the things we don't love it was a little nit-picky, but it gave us ideas for improvements. Here's our list and we hope to shrink the "don't love" list before spring arrives.

FYI...the titles are links to our original blog posts, so don't click them unless you want to read more.

5 things we love about our RV

1. The bunk house: This room is amazing!!! It has 4 bunks and 4 wardrobe cabinets to go along with it. This has worked perfectly for our 4 kids and we wouldn’t change a thing about it.
2. The slide: Because of our driveway we’re limited to a 25-26? trailer. Without having our bed in this slide out I don’t think we’d be able to make a trailer of this length work for 6 people comfortably.
3. The awning: This is nothing unique to our trailer, but when repairing the trailer I considered leaving the awning off. I’m VERY glad I reinstalled the awning as it creates much more usable outdoor living space. I can’t imagine not having the awning at this point.
4. The height: When we first purchased the trailer I needed to drag it up the driveway on the bumper. I considered installing skid wheels, but then decided to lift the trailer. I installed the Dexter Axle Flip kit on both axles which have us an additional 6.5? of clearance. We now just clear the bumper by about an inch or so, but still need to remove the rear stabilizers and the tongue jack each time. I would like to install quick release adapters for both the stabilizers and tongue jack to speed up setup.
5. The memories: Everything from the experience repairing the trailer to all of the fun we have camping in it together. It’s all created great memories for the whole family and we’re just getting started.

5 things we don’t love about our RV

1. No slide: This isn’t something we can change, but it would be REALLY nice to have a side slideout. We really discovered this when camping for Thanksgiving and squeezed 6 people into the dinette and sofa to eat. We’d like to have some extra space to move around in the kitchen and dinette area for sure.
2. Master bed position: It’s great that we can have a bunkhouse and queen bed in a 25? trailer, but because the queen sits in the slide sideways I need to climb over my wife in the middle of the night for any trips to the bathroom. It would be nice to have the bed situated long ways, but this it another limitation we can’t change.
3. Rear bumper: This is a small one, but the rear bumper is stamped and cannot hold a sewer hose. We also don’t have a receiver to mount bike racks, etc. The bumper is mounted on the frame of the slide, so I’m not sure I want to put extra weight on there. I’m considering a 4×4 bumper and a hitch, but I really need to decide if I want the extra weight back there. This isn’t a show stopper and we’ll get around to this eventually.
4. Lack of insulation: When we purchased the trailer the water leaking through the roof was retained in the underbelly by the waterproof membrane. When we completed the repairs all the insulation was removed and left off for the time being to air out. When we went out for Thanksgiving you could really feel how cold the floors were and we used throw rugs as a temporary barrier. New insulation is on our list of fixes for this season.
5. Worn decals: The 14 year old vinyl graphics have seen better days. We own a large vinyl cutter and this is on our list of things to do, but it’s not a priority. We’ll have new graphics at some point when I decide I feel like peeling the old ones off and I think we’ll be sticking with the circus theme.

[Halmfamily]

Love:
Time spent with family
Fold down rear deck
Store
Washer and dryer
Large shower

Dislike:
Need larger grey water tank
Not enough time to travel
42' length, can be hassle at times
Outside steps, currently being replaced
No roof ladder

[xaugievike]

Good post


Likes:
- toy hauler/garage space versatility
- storage space
- mor/ryde pin box
- electric awning
- sleeping loft for the little one

Gripes:
- would like another foot or two of garage space
- small/bi-fold ramp means no patio option
- smallish tank space
- I've grown jealous of rigs with leveling systems
- poor outlet placement for 120v

[qtla9111]

Love the most:

1) my own bed
2) 24 ft w/2 slideouts
3) walk-around bed
4) solar energy
5) freedom

Love the least:
1) zero outside storage
2) mediocre construction
3) peeling decals
4) small bathroom
5) typical rv quality

[CavemanCharlie]

I have a Travel Trailer and I'm just a weekend camper.

Love:
1- It's 22 foot long, very easy to tow, and back in
2- Although older, it's a nice style and color scheme and I love the rear bath with curb side dinette.
3- My 2 6-volt batteries and my propane Nor Cold fridge mean I can easily go on a weekend camping trip without plugging in anywhere.
4- It's nice to have a decent bathroom and place to wash up.
5- Having this TT allows me to get outdoors and set up in a short period of time. I can be hooked up and on the road in 15 minutes. Once at the park I can be set up and camping in 15 minutes or less!!

Hate:
1- It's 22 years old. It's getting worn out, I can't afford a new one, and ones of this size and style with the rear bath are hard to find used. The outside is getting a little rough. Stone bruises on the front etc.
2- In a very heavy rain it leaks. The roof is basically shot and one of the outside compartment doors leaks. I'm OK in light rain but, a 6 inch downpour and I find a new leak every time.
3- A bigger and slightly more comfortable bed would be nice but, it's not a big deal.
4- The curtains are shot.
5- A little more counter space would be nice but, it's not a big deal.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

We're down to a stripped-down pop-up truck camper now:

Love:
The ability to go where few other RVs could go (narrow roads with low overhead)
Parks anywhere a normal-sized pickup can park
Four-wheel drive for rustic camping
Great mpg
Tiny footprint for storage indoors
Not worrying about winterization when cold weather pops up

Miss:
Having a couch and lounge chairs
Air conditioning
Bathroom (especially the ease of a Class A/C bathroom while traveling)