Head over to The Kitchen Table and do a shout out to Ravencajun. She will be able to talk you through the ins and out of RV's.

If I had someone to drive it I would have considered something small. I regularly rented conversion vans when my son was young and we drove all over the US camping with it a week or 2 at a time. Slept in the van, cooked over grills and used the campground showers. I have a lot of good memories. He probably prefers the memories involving airplane flights and hotels.

I dream of doing this someday. My dad had an RV for many years and recently sold it. He is now converting a school bus to use as an RV. There is a great Youtube channel and website by a guy named Bob Wells who interviews RV owners and teaches you all the ins and outs. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAj7O3LCDbkIR54hAn6Zz7A

Good idea on the KT - I haven't been there in ages. I did a search for RV over there and got some interesting perspectives. It looks like ravencajun has a home-replacement size rig - quite luxurious. We'd be looking for something vacation size vs. living size. I did notice someone over there mentioned needing one big enough to have a space to hide the litter box. That is a consideration - at least having it out of the main walkway. We wouldn't do anything like this as long as our old cat is still with us - only after we're down to the two younger ones. We wouldn't have to be retired to manage two weeks away so could do a rental trip sometime after we're down to two cats.

There are a lot of used ones for sale which doesn't surprise me as I'm sure people think they want to do this and once they do it decide they don't really like it.

Well, I think for a lot of people it's the fact that gas is such an expense. I've been following for several years the blog of a guy who thought he wanted a camper back for his Tacoma, but he was in MA and the only companies that do these are out west and won't ship.

So the first year he bought a Class B and absolutely hated it because gas was such a consideration it wound up restricting where he went. For the four months he traveled, his gas cost was over $10K. He couldn't wait to sell it, because he found he was deciding where to go based on how much fuel it would use.

It's kind of a question of how much you want in your vehicle. There are people who convert minivans to RVs and manage nicely. Heck, for one person a Prius makes a great camper-van, but it's not very comfortable for two.

Also, the RV park is a definite lifestyle choice. If that is what appeals to you, a regular RV is the answer. But for other types of camping there are many other options.

ETA I've been tempted to buy a prius and go off prius-dwelling myself.

Good point on the ability to take the cats though I'm not sure they'd be real happy about it. DH goes through phases where he thinks we need an Airstream. They are cool. Neither of us has camped since we were in boy and girl scouts in middle school. We don't really have a vehicle to pull an airstream, and I don't think either of us has even driven an RV or even a trailer.

Someone in my neighborhood has this Shasta reissue in red. They call it the "canned ham" LOL.

Shasta Canned Ham

Yes, I suppose some people don't fully realize the operating costs and bail out because of that. The whole thought would not have crossed my mind but for thinking I might want to take a longer driving vacation and would never do it if I had to leave my cats home, crazy cat people that we are. We live in MN and I've never been to the Black Hills. That might be a good test drive for a shorter trip sans cats. We'd need a good roadside assistance plan as we are not handy around the cars or the home.

My cousin and her DH have a "5th wheel", a camper that goes over the pickup truck. When they stay at a campground, they undo the camper, and drive around in the pickup. They love it! And it's a bit more manageable than a big RV.

You could get a covered "kitty corral" for the cats to be outside safely sometimes. (You know they can slither out of a harness!)

We have had various sizes. We started with a bumper pull travel trailer. Very good size for beginners. We really enjoyed it. My husband decided we needed to go bigger and be more comfortable. We have a toy fox terrier that travels with us everywhere. She does not take up much room but we do set up a potty area for her with puppy pads inside so similar to a cat box. You definitely need to find a good spot for that. We moved up to a large 5th wheel which requires a larger truck, factor in price for truck and the 5th wheel hitch. We went diesel Ford f250. Fuel costs apply accordingly of course. Unfortunately we lost the new 5th wheel trailer and the truck along with my Hummer in the Harvey flood. We needed something to live in during the recovery from the flood. We were homeless since we lost everything. We decided to get a pre-owned motorhome. It is big. It is absolutely beautiful and we were able to live in it comfortably for many months. We really have not traveled much with it since we were dealing with the flood situation. We bought a vehicle for me that is towable behind the motorhome. Not all vehicles are.

My best advice is if you think you will enjoy it and want to do it often, do not get one too small. Go ahead and get one you can be comfortable in. If you aren't you won't look forward to your trips. If you are hesitant about driving or towing get educated! Take classes! Don't just wing it. If you buy, you need insurance, and we have several travel assistance plans all from Good Sam. Look into all of these. Safety is the most important factor. A safe unit and a safe driver.

We are retired now and had planned to do a good deal of traveling however after dealing with 2 major flooding event and losing everything we own our situation has changed dramatically. You never know what the future holds! Believe me! We still own the motorhome, currently it's at a storage facility because unfortunately the new house does not have a driveway large enough for it. We don't like not having it on our property.

You might want to try a rental agency for your first time and get a feeling for it. And for the most comfortable size.

Feel free to ask me any questions you may have. We absolutely had a great time on all our travels and never regret doing it. We shall see what happens next!

Good luck!

I know some people really enjoy it, but it would never work for me for a number of reasons.

They're great on the open highway, but trying to get around smaller older cities or narrow roads, or parking them in a lot? No thanks. And then there are so many that tow the get around car with them which only adds to the expense and difficulty in driving them.

And how many gallons to the mile they get I would think is a big issue, let alone the upfront cost.

But then there's the issue that you're bringing all your work with you...your laundry, your cooking, your cleaning, buying food and stowing leftovers while you're on the road, all the hookups at camp sites, making beds, dusting, etc. etc.

I'd rather spend the money on inns where they clean the rooms, wash the sheets and towels and make the beds, wash the toilets, have real plumbing and often throw in breakfast. And drive a car that is comfortable to ride in, easy to park and can take the country back roads without issue.

I remember in CO I took a pic of a huge RV the size of a greyhound bus and as he went by, I saw his get around car was a hummer. Didn't surprise me that the plates said TX -- I figure they own an oil well or two! :)

Ditto all that Annie said. We bought one (the tow behind the truck kind) and I despised it. It was SO MUCH work for me, before, during and after a trip. And I hated the feeling of it towing it ... narrow roads and mountain roads were the worst ... I couldn't relax! Then there were the RV parks. Inevitably we would get all set up and someone would pull in to the space next to us and crank their stereo way up ... party time! Ugh. In fact, this happened even if we parked in the middle of nowhere in the desert ... other campers tend to gather where they see another. Not my idea of a relaxing vacation.

We did not keep it long and sold it at a big loss. I didn't care; I couldn't wait to get rid of it. I would highly recommend renting one first for several trips and then decide if you like it.

My parents had a motorhome when we were young and in sports-- it was great for them at all-day or all-weekend tournaments... and then into college sports as well. They kept them for awhile and used it intermittently for events but then sold it.

My middle sister and her DH have one-- they started with a smaller class B and then upgraded a few times. They love it.. they don't really tour with it all that often. They have it setup on a semi-permanent site on a river.

I also have a number of friends who have them-- various sizes and various degrees of luxury. One friend is a teacher and travels in hers all summer-- another retired early and uses it to travel south and west every few months. The other two have those cute lil teardrop trailers -- one did a full year on the road, the other just left for a PNW trip with theirs.

I think for those who love the experience, the work is part of it. My parents and my sis all have their "rv travel kit".. the things that are smaller sized for the travel. Tvs, cooking/grilling/kitchen equipment, chairs, etc.

It's not for me-- I don't like the cramped quarters at all-- those that love them speak of the wide open space outside the rv but I just cant be comfortable inside. I am sure there are other deal breakers for me but the space is the big one. I think your plan to rent one and give it a try is a great idea. You'll know pretty quickly if it's something you can live with-- and enjoy.

DH is in your camp Annie - he'd rather just drive a nice vehicle and stay in a nice VRBO. When I mentioned my latest small RV idea he said we could just do that with a Suburban; i.e. have plenty of room for the cats. Much as he has driven big trucks and trailers (worked in the lumber yard business for awhile) there is absolutely no way he would do a tow behind and no way he'd have anything to do with a large RV. I'm sure the most we'll ever do is rent a smaller one - never purchase - and odds of that are probably slim. Though we did also say we'd never have a gas fireplace and that idea went out the window when we moved.

Maybe you should consider renting one for two weeks and seeing how you like going on a trip in it. It's money well spent if you don't or do like it. My son has a huge one and I've traveled with them to nearby states. The huge windows are wonderful and you're up so high. I loved it.

Oh darn, I read this thread last night and spent like a few hours looking into RVs. I really like to travel with DH but we have done 99% of our travel with 3 kids in tow. A 30-odd-foot trailer sounds like a lot less trouble, LOL. When we sell our CT house in a few years and move to our Maine house, an RV may be an interesting snowbird-esque option. Reminds me I don't think I ever did a d/l on our househunting trip to FL?

I started looking at a 5th wheel, but TBH I really dislike the finishes of most of RVs (i know you can retrofit them but seems like a pain when I don't like anything in them at all). I also dislike the loud exteriors with the big swishes of color. I think they are goofy.

In search of something with a nicer design aesthetic, I came across the Airstream, a classic. Their Globetrotter even comes in a very on-trend white and grey scheme with Corian counters (all 2 sq feet of them, LOL). It's also not too huge and comes with very large custom Sunbrella awnings. All for about what our Escalade costs.

Then I read what Jellytoast said about RV parks, and reality set in. They always show these things in the splendid isolation of nature. In reality you are often cheek by jowl with a rotating cast of total strangers. Hmm.

There are very few nice ones for rent in this area. Maybe one year we will fly to CA or the South, and rent one there for a vaca.

Airstream globetrotter:

For sure, mtn, it isn't just the RV to consider, but the RV lifestyle; they go hand in hand. I, too, had visions of being in blissful quiet isolation. Even in the vast California desert, that was not the reality.

You can always fly to your destination then rent a car to travel around the area for a week.

I’ve spent a grand total of three nights in an RV and that was three too many. Never again.

Donna

Personally, I’d feel very claustrophobic in one of those. In-laws had a souped up one. They summered in the Dakotas and wintered in tx gulf coast. They loved it. All I remember was trying to pee in that bathroom. Ended up using RV community restroom, which was the lesser of two evils. Also, DH and I share driving but I’d never be brave enough to get on the highway in one of those monsters.

in my area, there are lots upon lots upon lots filled with unused RVs.

Having expressed my view against, sometimes when I stay in a hotel, any price range, and I see some of the people coming in and out, I wonder just who spent the night prior to me, in my assigned room. If I dwelled on it, I’d probably never travel, ha.

These are so cute and would appear manageable on the road, but I’m still not convinced.

Yes, by all means rent first. I loved the idea of RVing. And the trip we took in a rental was fun. But I realized that when I visit an area, I want to be in the middle of where things are happening, not at an RV park 10 miles down the road. This was most obvious in Las Vegas, but I had the same sense of isolation at the Grand Canyon.

The RV parks we visited were nice, but I have to laugh at jellytoast's comment about noisy RVers. We pulled into our space at an RV park and we were not there 10 minutes when some guy came over and rather belligerently started asking us whether we planned to be making a lot of noise. We were two middle-aged people, quiet, nicely dressed, no music playing, giving no indication that we would be noisy. Sheez.

My in-laws have had a succession of "coaches", as they call them, now in a fairly large one. They routinely go off for several months at a time. They enjoy going to remote areas, national parks, forested areas, etc. They are self contained and are quite happy for a week at a time in a remote campground. They spend two months of the winter in Florida.

Pa is turning 80 this year, so every trip "could be the last time" for them. They are careful to make sure that rescue details are in place. Last year, they went to Nova Scotia and beyond. They made sure that our passports were current, in case something happened and we had to come and get them. DH can drive the coach home if necessary.

They are careful with the money, and tend to stay in one place for a while. They will be in one of their favorite campgrounds in our state for two weeks, at $8/night.

go here:

https://www.rv.net/forum/

Everything you need to know and more. You'd want to check the pet section. A motorhome would be better for kitties than, say, a trailer, because you do NOT want to put pets in a trailer under tow. And people in the pet sections of forums are always the nice ones somehow.

You can get into total seclusion with the right type of RV. If offroading into the empty parts of remote western BLM lands is your cup of tea, you'll want a slide-in popup truck camper on a 4wd, for example. You do not want to do that with a litter box. :)

Never owned one or wanted to. It’s not for us, but have colleagues who love the experience. It’s definitely a lifestyle choice.

I'm not the sort who could love that lifestyle either Nutsaboutplants. In order for it to work for me I would have to have a luxury RV. My luxury RV would need to be followed by my "staff" RV. The staff would do all the work including cleaning out the RV toilets. No way I'm cleaning porta poo.

It always sounds so romantic traveling that way though. Like I said above my sister and husband truly enjoy their lifestyle. However, my sister even likes real camping. The kind of camping with tents and weeks of work preparing .All this to sleep with bugs and not being able to wash properly.

I guess one thing in our favor is that we have chartered sailboats and lived on them for a week at a time - getting off in various ports but sleeping on the boat and making meals there. So we know we can live at least a week in relatively cramped quarters. And that was with six people - would have been luxurious with just two of us. DH loves sailing though, not RVing, though I think he might like the social part of it (assuming it's not the "shitters full" guy from Vacation).

We ‘almost’ got hooked a couple of years ago when my girlfriend (she is single) started looking at the Mercedes Class B RVs. She showed us one when were passing by an RV place somewhere and we both were really impressed. There are several companies that do the basic chassis conversions (Airstream is one) so you have to be sure you get what really meets your needs, but for a couple it wouldn’t be too bad. I would want to try it out first by maybe leasing for a couple of weeks for a trip.

The thing is, a lot of decent places to stop and camp these days can cost almost as much as a fairly nice hotel room (especially in highly trafficked areas). So if you are looking to save $$ there, think again. I’m also thinking I would tire of the work involved in upkeep. I’m just not sure I want to have $150k or thereabouts parked somewhere on our property. Then we’d have to build it a garage. If you give a mouse a cookie....

I would definitely rent first. Dh and I rented a tiny one many years ago for a trip in Alaska. Never again. I will tent camp, but no RVs.

Old friend bought a smallish one. His colleague told him that he would have two good days with it - the day he bought it and the day he sold it! Nevertheless, he and his wife enjoyed it for four or five years.

I was sharing a lunch table with someone at one of my conferences, and she was telling me she had just moved to Michigan from Texas. In Texas, RV's are so popular for HS and college football that there are literally dedicated storage parking facilities like what you would have for your extra junk, but just for RV's. So, when she was interviewing in MI, she was asking where is the RV storage located, and everyone was giving her a WTH look. Also at the conference, I met someone who traveled there in an RV to avoid high hotel costs and was able to take public transit and bike to come in to the conference each day. this was in Denver, so I imagine they have better connectivity than other places.

Although the new Airstreams look very modern, the coolest ones I see are the vintage ones that are restored. There also seems to be a giant pre-owned market, and maybe that's for RV's overall.

Please, please rent first to make sure it's the right lifestyle for you. I had some friends who got caught up in the idea of RV'ing and bought (financed) a 100K RV. They used it all gangbusters for about six months, then it sat. Parked. In a covered space at a storage place. DH said to me once "Ken says he wishes Marjorie had never talked him into getting that RV." And then I told him Marjorie had said the same thing about Ken. They put it up for sale, but no takers for the next two years that I was aware of the situation. And they made that payment every month.

Also, as someone who worked for several years for an insurer of auto dealers (including RV dealers), let me offer the following truism about an RV: As a vehicle, it's a pretty shabby house. As a house, its a pretty shabby vehicle. There is a LOT that can go wrong. Maintenance can drive you crazy, even if it's under warranty. You WILL be dealing with repairs, major or minor, when you'd rather be traveling or generally enjoying life.

I know many older couples who ended up RVing because of pets. You can't comfortably travel by air, rental car, and hotel with cats.

Diet is another one: you can watch your diet when you have your own kitchen with your own stuff.

Of course most that I know are also fishermen/women or painters.

Yes, as I mentioned the most we would likely ever do is rent one. At most we might go on a couple trips a year - certainly not enough to own one. If we ever sold our second home it's possible we'd use an RV more but I don't think that's likely to happen. If we live long enough to decide we want to sell it, we'll be too old to be safely driving around the country.

Well in any event you have sent me off on a wild tangent, 3katz. I am very wild-tangent prone, LOL.

Though I like the look of Airstream, I would not buy a restored one because I would want warranties for something I am traveling in on highways at 60 mph, and I would want all the mechanical bells and whistles, not just aesthetics.

DH says that we would have to drive a pick up truck to safely pull the ones I like, and he does not relish driving one and thinks I'd hate riding in one. He is prob right.

He likes the smaller motorhomes, the Class B, on the Benz chassis. I have to admit this one is pretty nice, and I like that the bed (tho not a Murphy) tucks away when not is use; makes the whole space much more pleasant. With satellite and solar panels and etc etc is is over $150k

We might rent one for kicks to do a little trip somewhere. Last time we did something like that was houseboat on Lake Powell, which was fab. Tho an entirely different deal.

And hey: no bedbugs!

Oh ya, that's nice! I bet they don't rent those out especially to people with cats....

3katz, It may be diff in other areas of the country, but the things i see avail for rent where we are, I would not go in.

But, you can rent one exactly like I pictured just above, a Serenity, if you are in Calif!

https://luxervrental.com/accommodation/leisure-serenity-rv-rental/

Same here - I couldn't find anything like that to rent, not that I'd want to spend $375 a night plus gas plus the additional mileage I'd put on over 100 miles a day.

The problem with small motor homes is that you still have the same set ups where you camp. So if you want to explore an area you have to unhook everything to go.

So, if you are not taking a trailer that you can leave at a site, you may want to investigate towing a small car to run around in.

Yeah, DH's mo was we would tow a small car; the Serenity (sounds like a feminine hygiene product) can tow 5000 pound, so that is a good size car if wanted.

Yeah, 3Katz, it is overpriced esp when you consider all the other costs and that, even tho it sleeps 4, I would never do it w more than 2.

Okay, I’m starting to think DH is right. Maybe we’ll just stick with shorter trips - fly there, rent a car, drive around, fly home. I still think I might rent one for a week and go to the Black Hills, sans cats, if I can talk DH into it.

I wouldn't consider a motorhome not just because they are decidedly uncool, but because they don't have what I'd consider safe seating for more than two people and I travel with kids.

Mostly they are uncool. :)

Airstreams are cool, esp old ones. The behemoth RVs with big swishing graphics, however, are the Alfred Dunners of vehicular transport.

Alas, the Airstream Ranch is gone... :( When I was a kid I loved seeing it beside I-4 when we went to Tampa.

Donna

Old trailers can definitely be cool!!!!

Motorhomes can't be, unless they are the old Winnebagos with the angry fronts (or some of the other old classics). But old motorhomes have old car parts and I'm past the point in my life where I'm willing to pop the hood whenever I want to start the vehicle...

Here is a local story I saw today about a couple's nightmare of problems with their luxury motorhome.

Motorhome nightmare

Here's a good comment from a reader:

"If they had done some basic research they would have learned to avoid Thor and most other new motorhome manufacturers. This dream is definitely doable with the right coach. It is a bad idea to buy a new one. Almost all new coaches come with a long punch list of repairs and outrageous depreciation. It’s best to buy a quality used, well maintained coach that already has the bugs worked out. Foretravel, Newmar, Country Coach and Newall and Prevost are known to be the best used coaches on the market. Country Coach is out of business but they are still supported with parts and service. Look for family owned companies, avoid publicly traded manufacturers if you want quality and support."

OMG - what a nightmare! I think my wild idea has run its course. The cats will have to stay home with a sitter for a week. I don't really like being gone all that long anyway...

Same with DH. It is very hard for him to take extended time from work. I am a little more flexible in the summer. But even with land or a weekend home, taking hours to get there is not something I want to be doing. And the cats would likely not be happy with travel.

The longest trip I've had recently was 10 days in China, but that was through work, not with him. We just did a weekend in Vegas last month, and although we had fun, we miss them so much even though MIL comes to spend time with them and feed them.

We had a 27' class C, it was very comfortable, but the roof had a water leak, we sold it and done with class C. Now we have a small Toy Hauler, my family are riders, when we go camping we bring motorcycles and scooter. We tow it with a Toyota Tundra. When we camped at one SC beach a long time ago, there were a few retired couples traveling in their RVs with pets, they were visiting all the east coast beaches one by one, and stayed at each place 2-3 nights. What a fun RV group! You might like Toy Haulers, it's much easier to move things in and out.

My parents had a succession of motorhomes, each larger than the last, for nearly 2 decades. They traveled around the country visiting their 5 children in far-flung places. After Hurricane Katrina, they spent half the year down in the New Orleans area volunteering with cleanup, outreach, and rebuilding. They lived in their motorhome during that work (which they did for several years). They finally sold their last one–my father really couldn't handle it after a certain point. But they had the time of their lives traveling around the country in that thing!

KKAY, that sounds super. Good for them, esp. the Katrina part.