New to the Game

[dneighbo]

So.. Growing up every summer we would rent an RV and go on a 3 week vacation, but we never owned one. Now that I have three kids of my own who love the outdoors and desperately want to "camp". I began to look at a "pop-up" trailer. After seeing what was out there, I decided that a used RV would be a better idea..

I am looking to spend $20,000 to $25,000. I am finding several class C 29' to 31' models with under 60k miles out there to choose from. Anyone have any suggestions on what to look for?

Also, any good suggestions for vacations originating out of the southwest (Phoenix, AZ). Currently I am leaning towards a 12 day jog up to Yellowstone park.

The whole family is completely estatic to venture into the RV world, but I am mildly timid. It all seems a bit over whelming.

 

[Poppa]

New to the Game

When we first started looking we thought we wanted a Class C but in our quest we settled with a used class A. The kids are nit on top of us and they have more than enough room to roam and have their own little spots. Just my thoughts

 

[janicenlarry]

New to the Game

If you are just going to vacation in it, I would recommend the Class C. No matter what the mfg says, Class A units are really only comfortable for 2. You would have to set the beds up at nite and tear them down in the AM. With the C you can keep the overcab bed as is without all the daily disruption

 

[Kirk]

New to the Game

For a family who wants to go "camping," I feel strongly that the best choice is still the pop-up. We have owned several different types of RV over the years and presently are fulltime in a class A. But the fact is that to travel in a modern RV is anything but a camping experience. A pop-up will give a very good compromise between a modern RV and true camping with a tent. A pop-up can be towed by most vehicles, it stores easily and it tows easily. The cost is far less than any solid side RV and yet it can have nearly all of the ammenaties of any other RV. A great deal of what will serve best is also determined by what you plan to do with it. If you seek to spend your time visiting water parks, amusment parks and things of that nature, then perhaps a solid side RV might be better. But if you plan to spend your time in the state and national parks, the national forest campgrounds and truely get out into the countryside, the pop-up will serve best. The more modern and the larger you get in RV, the more you will stay on the paved roads and in commercial campgrounds. If you must have more facilities, consider one of the hybred trailers as the next best choice. But a pop-up can be set up in minutes once you learn how. Our sons all love the memories of our adventures with our pop-up when we went into the forests and spent time away from the large crowds. Yet we did visit the city a few times just to see what was there. Each boy had a job to do when we parked, as did the wife and I. All told, it usually took us about 10 min. to be inside the pop-up and starting to use it.

Before you give up on the pop-up market, be sure of just what kind of experience you really want to give your children. If you want them to learn to travel with the TV and to live indoors, just in different locations and to be entertained by commercial parks, perhaps the class C might be best. But if you want to experience the real outdoors, get the pop-up and travel the "roads less traveled" for a whole new experience.

 

[dneighbo]

New to the Game

All great advice. We ended up getting a 30' Class C. After our first trip I think it is a great fit for our family. There is just no way we could afford a Class A and as janlarmil stated since we aren't living in it and have younger kids who want to travel with friends we actually get more sleeping space in a Class C and don't feel cramped as the time periods are relatively short.

Kirk your wisdom is very valuable. The two things I am finding that I don't like about the RV are 1. no vehicle to go exploring in and 2. the number of places that require 22' and under are generally great places to camp in the "outdoors". However, traveling with three kids in the car makes me not want to go anywhere more than 3 hours away. Traveling in the RV was pure bliss. The RV is setup to tow so as I get mroe comfortable I am sure we will start towing a vehicle to solve issue #1. Thanks for the advice.