There are many options for enjoying the RV lifestyle. From tiny teardrop trailers, to fifth wheels, to giant land yachts. No one RV is right for everyone. My wife and I started our RV adventure as part-timers over 20 years ago. Our first trailer was just 23 feet, a Jayco Kiwi hybrid trailer. We could take that trailer almost anywhere, and we did!
This week were camping at Mojave River Forks regional park in Hesperia, California. We saw a camper arrive as we were taking our dog out for a walk. It was a large pick up with a brand new 5th wheel. I noticed the paper license plate as they made their first pass by our site, they looked lost. It turns out they were newbies, very new.
It was a couple in their 30’s with two young girls and their grandma. They were in the process of unhitching and as we walked by grandma shouted out that this was their first time camping so we stopped to talk. I saw them making a mistake putting their front legs down and offered to help so that they would be able to get level.
We learned that they had just bought it and literally driven it here from the dealer. The guy said he wasn’t going to plug in to shore power because they were only here one day. And that it was ok because they had a solar panel on the roof. But that one panel and only 100 amp hours of battery wasn’t going to get them far. I didn’t tell him that I had seen him try to plug in only to discover that the power here is 30 amp and he didn’t have an adapter, and then put his cord away.
We said goodbye and continued on our walk leaving them to the rest of their set up. What struck me most about them wasn’t their eagerness to take their new RV out for a spin, or their utter inexperience. We all start somewhere. But for me the thing that stood out the most was the size of their RV. For newbies, having never camped before, and never having owned an RV or towed a trailer, their new trailer was a whopping 38 feet!
With great size comes great problems
My wife and I have gone to many RV shows over the years, mostly just browsing. Seeing what was available and planning for the day when we would go full-time. We would pick up brochures, take photos, and make notes of brands and features we both liked and didn’t like. But the big question was the size.
It goes without saying that we equate ‘bigger’ as being ‘better’ but that isn’t always the case. Over the last couple of decades RV’s have gotten bigger. Almost to the point of ridiculousness. Actually, some of them are ridiculous! As consumers have demanded more comforts in their RV’s the sizes have increased. They come with nearly every feature imaginable. You can have an onboard laundry, giant television, wet bar, office, extra bedroom, even a second bathroom.
Unlike that family in Hesperia who were weekend warriors, this next trailer would be our home. It had to have room for the two of us and our dog. So it needed to be comfortable inside. At the same time, with great size comes great problems. The weight would affect our fuel economy. The length would exclude us from some campgrounds. Even the height could cause issues with choosing the route to drive. I’m sure most RV owners have seen videos of air conditioners being ripped off the roof when someone drove an RV under a low bridge.
And don’t forget road handling and maneuverability. You’ve got to get in and out of campgrounds, shopping centers and gas stations. Everything in this lifestyle is a trade off. You can have it all in your trailer, but at what cost? After a lot of consideration, we chose a 30ft fifth-wheel.
The choice that is right for us
There are many readers right now whose mouths are agape. How can you live full-time in just 290 sqft? Just like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, this trailer is the one that is ‘just right,’ for us. Nothing is perfect. We had to give some to get some. It came with both pro’s and con’s.
- Con’s – Even though we are on the smaller side for fifth-wheels, we are just a little too long for most national parks so we have to stay outside the gate. The refrigerator is only 10 cubic feet so you have to learn to stack and arrange things to fit. Storage space is limited so we can’t shop at Costco any more. Unless we put the slides out we can only use the bedroom and bathroom. So we can’t just pull over and make lunch easily. We can’t do laundry onboard. And only one person can be in the kitchen at one time so making dinner requires a little coordination.
- Pro’s – Because the trailer weighs only 11,000lbs our Ram 2500 can tow it with ease. Our 1,000 watts of solar panels and 400 amp hours of battery storage means that we don’t need electrical hookups most of the time. This has allowed us to save money by Boondocking or reserving a dry site at a lower cost than FHU. We can use the microwave, tv and satellite internet without hookups. The 30ft length is relatively easy to operate in most parking lots and gas stations. At 6’4” I can stand up in our shower. And the best feature of all, we don’t have to set up the bed every time we camp! Our bedroom is up over the bed of the truck, no more folding up a mattress.
Everything in the RV lifestyle is a trade off. And no one RV is right for everyone. But this one was right for us.