~1 year from retirement

[dadwolf2]

Getting close to retirement and trying to decide what our next RV might be. We love our truck camper but wish we had a comfortable place to relax. The dining room booth just doesn't cut it for us on long trips. We aren't planning on full timing but we've found that our TC is best for the shorter trips, not the 1-3 months we think we'll be traveling after retirement.

So our dilemma: We love the TC maneuverability. We love the ability to get into any sites that are available. We just want a more comfortable place to relax. Do we have to go to a 30ft trailer or large motorhome to achieve this? We looked at the motorhome option and the model we both liked was 1/4 million (cough, cough)!! We then looked at a 30ft Arctic Fox travel trailer. Pretty nice but will we go crazy with the loss of maneuverability compared to our TC? Do you have any thoughts/suggestions?

[bobman]

Class C will pull a Jeep 4 down with no problem fwiw

[dadwolf2]

TxGearhead wrote:
Get the smallest Class C you can get on a Ford E450 chassis. You will have to compromise on something. Otherwise just get the biggest Class A DP you can afford. Truck campers aren't big enough for extended trips, and are too much trouble for a weekend. Putting $100,000+ into a truck and camper isn't good financial sense, unless you already have, or need, a truck.

Right, by the time I purchased a dually and new BIG TC with slides I'm spending $$$$. Although I disagree with truck campers being too much trouble for a weekend. My TC is right next to the house all ready to go.

[TxGearhead]

Get the smallest Class C you can get on a Ford E450 chassis. You will have to compromise on something. Otherwise just get the biggest Class A DP you can afford. Truck campers aren't big enough for extended trips, and are too much trouble for a weekend. Putting $100,000+ into a truck and camper isn't good financial sense, unless you already have, or need, a truck.

[Tom_Barb]

dadwolf2 wrote:

Tom/Barb wrote:

dadwolf2 wrote:

Does this belong to someone you know?

no

[work2much]

We retired a couple years ago and went through all these mental gymnastics. We have owned truck campers for many years but we wanted larger space and more comfort for long trips. We looked long and hard at shorter 5th wheels, class C and sprinter based class C type campers. None offers the flexibility of a TC

We now travel in a Host 3 slide camper. Until we are too old and decrepit to crawl into the bed this is it!

[dadwolf2]

Tom/Barb wrote:

dadwolf2 wrote:
Getting close to retirement and trying to decide what our next RV might be. We love our truck camper but wish we had a comfortable place to relax. The dining room booth just doesn't cut it for us on long trips. We aren't planning on full timing but we've found that our TC is best for the shorter trips, not the 1-3 months we think we'll be traveling after retirement.

So our dilemma: We love the TC maneuverability. We love the ability to get into any sites that are available. We just want a more comfortable place to relax. Do we have to go to a 30ft trailer or large motorhome to achieve this? We looked at the motorhome option and the model we both liked was 1/4 million (cough, cough)!! We then looked at a 30ft Arctic Fox travel trailer. Pretty nice but will we go crazy with the loss of maneuverability compared to our TC? Do you have any thoughts/suggestions?

Buy this, tow your truck and camper.

Class A 2002 Newmar Dutch Star

Does this belong to someone you know? Newmar would be a top choice. Preferred something under 40 ft. But this unit looks great.

[Merrykalia]

We don't full-time, but we summer-time and school vacation-time. We are in our RV from May 1 until September 1 (Labor Day) almost constantly.

We are both retired, but we still have kids in school, so we travel and host during the summer and stay at home and do the weekend gigs during the school year. We do camp during Thanksgiving week and also during the Christmas holiday/New Years.

There are 4 of us, so a truck camper is a no-go from the beginning. We started with a popup, then a hybrid, then a 35' TT, then a 38' fifth wheel and are now in a 43' fifth wheel. It came down to the fact that we wanted a comfortable lounging area where we would all have a seat and this was the way we had to go. We really wanted maneuverability, but that went out the window and we find a place to park the fifth wheel and just use the truck to get where we want to go.

It's a trade-off, but it is also very comfortable, so it was worth it for us.

[Tom_Barb]

dadwolf2 wrote:
Getting close to retirement and trying to decide what our next RV might be. We love our truck camper but wish we had a comfortable place to relax. The dining room booth just doesn't cut it for us on long trips. We aren't planning on full timing but we've found that our TC is best for the shorter trips, not the 1-3 months we think we'll be traveling after retirement.

So our dilemma: We love the TC maneuverability. We love the ability to get into any sites that are available. We just want a more comfortable place to relax. Do we have to go to a 30ft trailer or large motorhome to achieve this? We looked at the motorhome option and the model we both liked was 1/4 million (cough, cough)!! We then looked at a 30ft Arctic Fox travel trailer. Pretty nice but will we go crazy with the loss of maneuverability compared to our TC? Do you have any thoughts/suggestions?

Buy this, tow your truck and camper.

Class A 2002 Newmar Dutch Star

[dadwolf2]

donn0128 wrote:
You dont need to spend 250K in a depreciating asset. Look at something like a Monaco so similar around 2005 vintage. For around 50K that ahould get you a really nice older MH. Keep the camper for the times you want a weekend in the deep woods.

I agree that a 2005-2006 pre-DEF motorhome could be a great option. Thoughts that keep me up at night with this idea: will a 14 year old motorhome become a maintenance nightmare and a slow and steady financial drain with repairs? I'm fairly handy but diesel, electric and hydraulic repairs often need more advanced mechanics than what I can provide on these Class A's. But I've never owned a Class A so I really don't know.

[dadwolf2]

DutchmenSport wrote:
It doesn't matter what kind of trailer you get, if you get a trailer you'll never have the maneuverability or flexibility you have with a truck camper rig. It doesn't matter if the trailer is a tear drop or a 40 foot fifth wheel, parking and traveling will never be the same again.

So, I would suggest, look for a trailer, whatever that is, that you feel comfortable with inside, that provides the space you need inside, and has all the bells and whistles you need to be comfortable inside. And just get it. You cannot compare the flexibility of a truck camper to any trailer. Accept that fact and your adjustment will be much easier.

Hard to disagree with this!!

[dadwolf2]

jaycocreek wrote:
I would go Class C.. Larger and more roomy than a TC but gets around better than the longer trailers/fifth wheels and class A motorhomes. They have some roomy floor plans compared to truck campers.

Valid points however: if we go motorhome route, we want something that will adequately tow our Jeep Wrangler and that puts us in the Class A or Super C group. We need more than a 5,000lb towing capacity. The other thing with most Class C's are their tiny kitchens that my wife finds unacceptable. We accept the size limit of the kitchen in our TC, but not in something twice the size.

[dadwolf2]

hedgehopper wrote:

dadwolf2 wrote:
We looked at the motorhome option and the model we both liked was 1/4 million (cough, cough)!!

Have you looked at what that model would cost on the used market?

Unfortunately we were looking at Super C's and there aren't a lot of them on the used market.

[jaycocreek]

I would go Class C.. Larger and more roomy than a TC but gets around better than the longer trailers/fifth wheels and class A motorhomes. They have some roomy floor plans compared to truck campers.

[hedgehopper]

dadwolf2 wrote:
We looked at the motorhome option and the model we both liked was 1/4 million (cough, cough)!!

Have you looked at what that model would cost on the used market?

[jimh406]

You would need a different truck, but take a look at a Host. They are huge.

However, a class A has a lot more room. The problem is that you’d probably want to tow a vehicle. For full time, I’d probably either go Class A or Fifth Wheel. I agree that you can buy a very nice motorhome of a few years old for great prices. Certainly less than a big TC and truck.