Using the RV on short stops

[AnneM]

Hey everyone, haven't been here in ages. Since I last visited we road tripped across the US and Canada (46 states and counting! Including a road trip from LA to Alaska and back!) but only in a car/SUV.

We're still planning on getting into RV'ing at some point though, so I'm learning whatever I can about the topic (and blogging about it too).

In an effort to weigh the pros and cons of a trailer/5th wheeler vs. motorhome, I came across the question of how accessible the unit is while on the road.

With a motorhome it's easy, I guess. Assuming everyone is seated and belted during movement, once you pull over even for a short stop, you can get up and move around your RV.

What about a TT or 5th wheeler though? I'm sure it gets hot in there while on the road. Do people actually use it and go inside on short stops? Does it make sense to cool down the unit and go in to use the bathroom/shower/kitchen or just take a nap?

Also, when stopping overnight during a long trip, either in a campground or just a Walmart or whatever, do you have to go through the entire process of disengaging your trailer or fifth wheel? Or do people sometimes just pull over, hook up (or not) and keep the trailer fully hitched to their truck so they can just get behind the wheel in the morning and start driving.

[mr__ed]

No need to unhook the trailer at Walmart. I've done it many times. I've also unhooked if I wanted to leave my fifth wheel and go somewhere in my truck. I always informed management about my overnight stay. They are usually quite accepting of RVers using the parking lot as long as they don't abuse the privilege. Of course, they also appreciate if you do some shopping while there. If you temporarily leave the trailer unhooked you may wish to find a way to secure it so that it can't be towed away by someone else.

[Trekkar]

pnichols wrote:
I refuse to tow a box to live in (but we sometimes tow a small fishing boat), so we chose a small completely self-contained Class C motorhome:

- There's just the two of us and one small dog in our RV on trips.
- We want everything with us (cold drinks, toilet, bed, medicines, clothing, stove, etc.) at all times, so this means a motorhome.
- We wanted a small motorhome so we could run around in it as well as camp in it.
- We have two queen size beds and one full size bed ... with one of the queen beds available at all times for quick rests at any time.
- Since our motorhome is small, the cab powerful OEM dash heating and air conditioning can keep the entire motorhome comfortable at all times when traveling.
- We sometimes leave our small dog in the motorhome when inside grocery stores or short-term sightseeing, so we can merely run the built-in generator for A/C or the furnace for heat for her comfort while we're out and about.
- The DW sometimes needs a quick potty break while we're underway on a straight and safe road while I remain at full attention at the wheel.
- We have a full dry bath, even in a small motorhome.
- Except in one special situation, we never leave vents open when traveling so as to keep the coach interior free of dust.
- We don't have or want slides for various reasons, but our coach body is a "widebody" design at 101.5 inches ... which for two people and one small dog compensates pretty well.
- At 24 feet length, we can fit in just about any campsite or any boondocking spot - evening tenting spots.
- At 24 feet length, we can sightsee most places where regular vehicles are and still have everything with us.
- With a motorhome and it's built-in generator fed by the main 55 gallon chassis fuel tank, we can either run the generator or idle the main engine as required for hours to supply electricity, heat, and cooling should any of the coach systems fail unexpectedly.
- When out in remote locations doing whatever, we can stay right where we are at the end of the day instead of having to drive back to where we left our RV.

I agree with pnichols. For the two of us, our 19' class B works well, and gives us flexibility that's hard to match on larger units.

[sgfrye]

everything has pretty much been covered but from our experience wife and i

33ft tt
1 living room slide (with slide in bathroom is open, fridge is not but only takes seconds to open slide enough to open fridge)

i put about 10 gallons of water in fresh tank to use bathroom and wash hands on fuel stops or rest stop lunch. love being able to use our own restroom and not public restroom and makes for quick lunch

does heat up inside on hot days but we dont dry camp or boondock. shore power and ac cools TT down fairly quickly


at cg, if we are not going out site seeing or other things usually leave truck hooked up unless site is too short, normally not a problem with backins or pull thrus. doesn't take long to unhook or hookup wdh after you have done it a few times.

[pnichols]

I refuse to tow a box to live in (but we sometimes tow a small fishing boat), so we chose a small completely self-contained Class C motorhome:

- There's just the two of us and one small dog in our RV on trips.
- We want everything with us (cold drinks, toilet, bed, medicines, clothing, stove, etc.) at all times, so this means a motorhome.
- We wanted a small motorhome so we could run around in it as well as camp in it.
- We have two queen size beds and one full size bed ... with one of the queen beds available at all times for quick rests at any time.
- Since our motorhome is small, the powerful cab OEM dash heating and air conditioning can keep the entire motorhome comfortable at all times when traveling.
- We sometimes leave our small dog in the motorhome when inside grocery stores or short-term sightseeing, so we can merely run the built-in generator for A/C or the furnace for heat for her comfort while we're out and about.
- The DW sometimes needs a quick potty break while we're underway on a straight and safe road while I remain at full attention at the wheel.
- We have a full dry bath, even in a small motorhome.
- Except in one special situation, we never leave vents open when traveling so as to keep the coach interior free of dust.
- We don't have or want slides for various reasons, but our coach body is a "widebody" design at 101.5 inches ... which for two people and one small dog compensates pretty well.
- At 24 feet length, we can fit in just about any campsite or any boondocking spot - even tenting spots.
- At 24 feet length, we can sightsee most places where regular vehicles are and still have everything with us.
- With a motorhome and it's built-in generator fed by the main 55 gallon chassis fuel tank, we can either run the generator or idle the main engine as required for hours to supply electricity, heat, and cooling should any of the coach systems fail unexpectedly.
- When out in remote locations doing whatever, we can stay right where we are at the end of the day instead of having to drive back to where we left our RV.

[dcmac214]

5er. One of our absolute must-haves was full bath and bed access when stopping on the road, whether for a quick potty break or rest stop nap. FWIW, DW won't use the commercial facilities when we stop for fuel or whatever.

[CincyGus]

I'll throw out there that Vent covers helped greatly in keeping the camper cool on trips when we would run in to grab something from the fridge or use the bathroom. I have two vents, both covered and both open at all times when traveling. Never had rain issues blowing in and the inside temp is generally pretty close to outside air temps. We stop, I turn the fans on crank one window open and it cools down additionally pretty quick, especially if we can park partly shaded or if it's cloudy.

[MOshorthair]

I really can't add anything that the others haven't already covered. I am a newbie and we have a smaller travel trailer 24ft ultra lite and with 2 kids under the age of 8 we use ours all the time. Recently we stopped at Bass Pro spent the morning looking around the store when we were ready to leave we made sandwiches and ate at the table in the camper. It was easy, fast and cheaper than stopping again. We open the door and windows and it cools down pretty quick. We are getting ready to take the camper from MO to Wisconsin and on the way home plan to stop somewhere 1/2 way to break up the drive. Found some towns that have city parks with campsites and I plan on possibly utilizing that as an option. No problem setting up, it's much better than when I owned a pop up.

[ppine]

Sure you can access a MH or a TT for short stops. Pay attention to the slides, some are a little awkward when they are in. I rarely travel anywhere that needs AC. In the winter we go low and in the summer we go high.

[StirCrazy]

I went from a bumper pull to a 5th wheel, both i did frequent overnight stops. with the trailer it was fully accessible while closed up so we would frequently pull over in a pull out to use the bathroom, or a rest area for lunch etc. if stopping for the night (we go to several places that are a 1.5 day drive so I will stop for the night in truck stops, Walmart, etc) I would just crank down a couple jacks to take the bounce out if the area was fairly level, other wise I would have to unhook. that was a bit of an event with manual jacks and an equalizer hitch.

the fifth wheel is similar, if stopping for the bathroom it is fully accessible, if it is just me and the wife we can get to our bed no issues and we can use the kitchen with the big slides in. if the kids are with us we need to put out slides for there beds. the big difference is with the 5th wheel hitch and the auto leveling jacks if I have to unhook for the night and putout slides its a 5 min job and i only pull a couple feet ahead so i have room to level.

having said that if I have the wife and kids I plan for shorter days and overnight in a campground, its only when I am going on road trips by myself that I drive all day and then pull over somewhere for a sleep then on the road again.

my parents have a 42 foot class A and they have room to do what ever with out putting out slides. but I guess like what was mentioned already thing about how you can use your space when you are pulled over for a quick lunch or nap when you are looking at trailers. fridge, and staples, bathroom and beds should be accessible if you plan on doing this.

Steve

[AnneM]

Thank you so much for the wonderful detailed replies everyone! Much appreciated! I have a steep learning curve ahead of me and we won't have a lot of time to learn once we start since we'll be coming from overseas.

I realize some things we'll just have to figure out for ourselves (and that's part of the fun!) but I am trying to learn as much as I can before we come and insights from experienced RV'ers are invaluable for me!

(Don't worry, I still have a few years of learning time ahead of me 😞 - we're waiting for our sons to finish their military duties here first).

[valhalla360]

Access with slides in is a layout issue. It's not a MH vs Trailer issue. Yes, getting one where you can access fridge, bathroom and possibly bed is a great advantage.

Driving down the road the heat/cool isn't that big of an issue. None are sealed that well and the wind blowing by will tend to keep it fairly close to outside temps (with the hatch covers you can leave them open really helping).

The dash Air/Heat won't handle your typical motorhome space. If you are running the generator the whole time, you could do the same with a trailer (they can be had with built in generators also)...but really not a big issue.

If you are just making a quick stop and will be off in the morning, as long as the site is reasonably level, yeah, you can leave it hooked up, so you can head out quickly in the morning.

Really unless you can live without a TOAD (which brings it's own challenges), there is very little difference traveling with either option.

[richclover]

DutchmenSport wrote:

“...About using the bathroom when traveling. Yes! We do it all the time. We NEVER use fuel station bathrooms! Never any more when the trailer is with us. That's the one advantage of having your own bathroom with you, and why it's so important in your selection of camper to make sure EVERYTHING is accessible when the slides are in...”

Exactly. The major consideration for our recent TT purchase was full accessibility with the slide room “In”.

Thanks for a very informative post. Lots of great tips!

[PhilipB]

We can get to frig/bathroom/bed with slides in, but not stove. We use ours all the time for bathroom breaks/lunch/etc. We have built in generator so no problems overnights if needed. Stay hooked up, but might put down landing gear to help level and stabilize.

[downtheroad]

Lots of good answers already from lots of experienced RV'ers...

Just remember, there is no perfect RV. Anything you finally settle on will be a compromise. You get some things and you give up others...
Good luck with you search and decision..