Choosing a Recreational Vehicle: Pop Ups to Class A Motorhomes Review

1. The Pop Up or Tent Trailer is the first one we bought. We had camped with tents for a summer but 4, 7 and 9 year olds it seemed too hard. This was before family style tents. Leaving my two young girls in a tent alone never felt right. We bought our Pop Up used and traveled with it for 6 years. We chose the Pop Up because it was the least expensive, easiest to pull trailer on the market and for the money had quite a bit of space.

A Hi-Low works like the Pop Up. It has a flat profile while pulling it but when it's raised you have a hard sided home am also going to put what is called the Hi-Lo in this category. One of the major differences is that the Hi-Low is hard sided. Pop Ups are made of canvas.

We pulled our Pop Up with a mini van. It is very likely that if you have a family you will have a vehicle that will pull this type of RV. Our Pop Up was not that unlike the ones we see today. Rather than the two sided that pulled out for beds as we had and a couch that convered to a bed (as did the table) the new models have slide outs (Perhaps another bed on one side) and more amenities inside.

The basic floor plan has two slide outs that are beds. These are quite large and more comfortable than you would think. The couch will convert into a bed and your dinette will also convert into sleeping room. You'll have a 3 burner propane stove, a sink and maybe if you want to spend just a bit more you'll get a small refrigerator.

We go to the camping shows each year. Pop Ups or Tent trailers can now accomodate up to ten people. You'll have . You can buy a tent trailer that is equipped with sleeping space to sleep 5 all the way up to 10. Some have refrigerators, showers, toilets, awnings and you'll have the option of attaching a screen room.

The units crank up, we all took our parts in pulling out the sides and locking the canvas down and we were all set. The biggest downfall is rain. Although unless you have a rip rain won't come in because you'll zipper all the sides inside, there is enourmous condensations so expect to reach up while in bed and feel moisture.

You won't have the moisture with a Hi-Low but it may be heavier. It raises easily - with a push of the button. Many people don't like them because if you want some luxury but still want to feel like you are in a tent, the Pop Up is the way to go.

2. When we bought our first trailer 4 years ago we were all over the place with what to buy. We considered the truck camper. The camper goes into the bed of a pick up truck. We have a Chevy S10 so the truck campers we were looking at were quite small. If you can go bigger because you have a bigger vehicle you'll be surprised that what looks like a small space can be comfortable.

There are pros to the truck camper especially if you go small. You are essentially driving a truck with a small home on your back. You can tow because the camper fits into, onto and over the truck.

The ones we were looking at were very small. The door will always be in the back. The ones we were looking at had the bed over the cab of the camper over the roof of your truck. In many ways it looks like a Class C which you read about in Part I. The smallest may not have a bathroom or shower but you won't have to go up much in price to find those essentials. We found a small refrigerator and a small dinette. This is my least favorite RV no matter what the size. I think even the largest can't compare with other RVs in the price range of about $7,000 for a small 8 foot truck camper.

4. Our dream is to have a self contained unit. What I mean by that is we will not be pulling our RV. We will be driving it. One benefit to a self-contained unit is that the passenger can get up while the driver is driving and make lunch, go to the bathroom or take a nap! The Class C is one contender. They are built on a cutaway chassis with a manufactured cab that has driver and passenger doors. One real plus to the Class C is the ability to have it serviced. The negative to them for me is that one of the beds is over the cab. I find this to be a waste of space and a great place to hit my head.

The Class C is easier to drive than the Class A. If you can spend at the top end of these units you will be able to find 30' units with floor plans that look more like a Class A with full size beds plus the cab-over bed. We rented Class Cs on two occasions and enjoyed them. They were both 24 feet. I see these less often than I used to unless they are rented. These are the most popular rental motorhome because they aren't difficult to drive and they are more affordable to rent than the class A. The cost of this unit starts at about $45,000 for perhaps a 24 foot motorhome. http://www.jumpingjacktrailers.com/tent-trailer.cfm

5. Our dream really is a Class A motor home. These are constructed on a specially designed motor vehicle chassis. If you are RVing full time this is what you will be looking at. There are two negatives. One is the size. If you want, what I call a monster RV, I think that you may want to have been a bus driver in this life or a past one. The other negative is maintenance. If something goes wrong you won't be able to drive into your local car dealer or automotive shop to have it fixed. I haven't even mentioned the price as a negative. Although I could mention the cost of gas. The most luxurious I have seen have 2 gas fireplaces, two bathrooms, giant Plasma TVs, a washer/dryer unit and dishwasher. These start at over $300,000 and go up to $1 million. The largest at this point is 40' but who knows they keep getting larger and larger and more and more popular.

For $80,000 you can get a basic Class A without slide outs in the 25' range. You will get a beautiful unit and a lot of luxury just don't look at the one above first.

Slide outs are available on most models but you will pay for them. A slide out is a section of the unit, usually the couch, sometimes the dinette, that slides out anywhere from anywhere from 18" to 3'. They close in at the push of a button when you are ready to move still giving you plenty of room to move around. I've seen units with 4 slide outs. I've seen units with 1 or none.

The driver's seat in a Class A unit usually sits high with the windshield stretching the full width of the motor home.

Most people tow a car behind their Class A.

6. If we could get used to the idea of having a massiv Ford 250 the fifth wheel offers the most room of any RV for the money. The negative to the fifth wheel versus the Class B, C and A is that it is not self contained so you can't get your partner a sandwich while you are underway.

Fifth-wheel trailers range from about 8,000 pounds to more than 18,000 pounds thus the need for a huge truck. One reason is the unit is all living space. None of the space is taken up with a steering wheel. Another though is the height. If you go into one the difference in height is amazing making the feeling of a huge living space. If you are looking for the maximum living space for your money and don't mind carrying it in the bed of your truck a 26' to 40' unit is what you will want. Most come with slide outs and like Class As you can get a washer/dryer, dishwasher, entertainment center.

The neck of the fifth wheel fits in a hitch in the bed of a truck. If you want to leave your RV at the campground you'll have your truck to drive.

You'll spend anywhere from $13,000 to $100,000 for a fifth-wheel.

7. Our last two RVs have been travel trailers. These are pulled by a car or truck and come in many lengths, weights and designs. These are the biggest selling RV. The reason we went with a travel trailer was cost and ease of use. If we went with a fifth wheel or truck camper we would have had to buy another vehicle. They require little maintenance since they have no engine.

Our first travel trailer was 20 feet and could be pulled with our Chevy S10.

Our current travel trailer is considered a medium-size travel trailer. These range in weight up to about 5,000 pounds. They range in price from about $7,000 to about $30,000.

The smaller trailers can usually accommodate 4 adults or a family with a couple of children. Our trailer has a very unusual floor plan and although it is 26' and not considered small can only accommodate 4 people. It is perfect for a couple. We don't have any slide outs because of the weight issue but slide outs are very popular on travel trailers.

Large travel trailers are considered those above 9,000 pounds and range from $13,000 to $60,000. Like the fifth wheel I can't get my husband a sandwich while we are under way.

So now that you know hopefully a lot about RVs how do you decide which one is for you?

I've told you a bit about how we decided but I will give you some tips I've learned over the years.

• Rent one.
• We go to the camping shows every single year. Even when we aren't in the market for a new RV we go. This is where you will learn as much as you want about RVs and about brands. If you are really in the market you might be able to get a better deal at a show than on the lot.
• Before we bought our newest trailer we drove around campgrounds. We had to be reassured that a Toyota 4 Runner (V8) could pull this trailer. We found many people pulling comparable units with comparable vehicles putting our minds at ease a bit.
• You have to decide how much you can spend. We sold our 21' trailer and knew we didn't want to spend more than about $12,000 ($10,000 would have been nice.) after our trade in. Sure we saw trailers we loved but most we couldn't tow and many were above our bottom line.
• You will need to assess your tow vehicle and/or your car situation. If you go with a Class A, B, or C will you sell your car? Are you ready for a large truck if you go with a fifth wheel? You might find a great used fifth wheel that is a terrific buy. Remember though you'll be buying a $40,000 truck to pull it.
• I had two requirements. My bed had to be a walk around bed not one up against a wall and the bathroom had to be large. The fact that it has a pantry is an extra plus. What are your requirements? Is storage a priority and you will give up an oven and microwave to have more storage space? Do you have more than one child? If so then you'll want a motorhome with bunk bedsThese are factors that you'll have to sit down and list.
• Unlike buying a car where you go to a Toyota dealer and most of the cars are Toyotas, RV dealers sell many different brands and have a variety of sizes and floor plans. If you go without doing any homework you will drive yourself crazy and I can promise you after an hour you will have no idea what unit you saw first. So look at floor plans on the Internet. Do some reading on various brands. Some are made better than others. Perhaps you will cut costs like we did on our first one by buying one that was not made as well.
• Always take brochures with you when you leave the various dealers. This will help you remember what you looked at. We always made some notes to help us remember as well. For that matter bring your camera!
• Although a dealer closer to your home will service your RV, it is always better to have the dealer from whom you bought it service it. That might be a consideration. Although there was a dealer 45 minutes a way, the unit we saw there was a new 2004. We wanted a 2006. The only place we could find it was 2 hours away. That's where we bought it and that's where it gets serviced.
• If you have a unit now but are thinking of trading it in talk with people at campgrounds. Ask them how they like their unit. Pick their brains. Campers are among the friendliest people I've met and are more than happy to talk about their unit. Most likely they will offer you a tour.
• Finally be willing to compromise. I saw a unit that had a laundry chute. I loved that. A laundry basket takes up a lot of room in a trailer so the chute was really a great feature. We didn't like the layout though as much as the unit we bought so we live with a little bit of crowding!

The pictures are from the following sites:

http://www.jumpingjacktrailers.com/tent-trailer.cfm

http://www.khulsey.com/rv_info/rv_mfg_class-c.html

www.roadtrek.com/

Our current trailer Sunline Solaris

Our first trailer Sun-Light