I can’t thank you all enough for all of the great information and advice!
I was leaning toward a van/suv with travel trailer combo, but I am now reconsidering the class c as a possibility, for two main reasons... One is that I am used to driving ambulance sized vehicles (well, because they are ambulances :D) so the idea is much less overwhelming to me and seems like it would be easier to maneuver in general. Two is that when I was trying to plan out where to keep the pets in each place and to move them back and forth between tow vehicle and trailer... it got really messy and I think that might be more stressful for the small pets being transferred into travel cages for the day and then back... versus just setting them up nicely in one spot in a motor home and letting them settle in. I could even potentially keep most of them in their current enclosures, depending on space available, rather than having to downsize everybody.
I’ve been thinking hard about the break down scenario, as that was the biggest reason for my tending toward a travel trailer... and I think I can work it out. I will still have tiny travel enclosures that will fit into backpacks and/or duffel bags for everybody in the event of needing to take everybody with me somewhere. Instead of being an everyday transition thing though this would just be in case of a break down. I’ve found ways to stay in hotels before with pets (I did that every night on the trip from WA to VA) or if push comes to shove I can maybe stay a few nights in the small car I plan to tow behind (I think I could trade my Rogue in for something small that is flat towable).
My original concerns about reliability of older class c’s remain though as most in my price range are 1980s/90s/early 2000s. Are there any makes/models that just have great reputations? Or ones I should avoid?
I am still thinking this through and am very much in the planning stage, so I continue to welcome any advice!!!
