Being an owner of a new motorhome is very exciting, however it does come with some responsibilities that you can’t always foresee. That’s why it is usually best to do some research on several fronts before taking the financial plunge that can easily run into hundreds of thousands of hard earned dollars before you drive one mile.
Finding the right motorhome to fit your needs is key. For instance if you have a family of six, a small trailer may not be the best for your needs. It presents questions like, How big should the rig be? Do I want or need a Class A or a 5th Wheel? Or do I need a Class C? If I buy a larger 5th wheel, do I have the proper vehicle to tow it? Too often I see mismatched owners and rigs out on the road or in campgrounds in my travels. Having the right rig can make or break a camping trip or owner experience drastically. Not to mention livability, maneuverability and most of all, safety.
I personally have a Class A. I am a retired school teacher and football coach. We are now full time real estate investors and RVers. Our Road Crew is myself, my partner Pam, two small dogs and our Road Warrior Cat, Sammie. Previously, we were living in a 1500 square foot house with tons of furniture and generations of stuff. Purging football memorabilia and all my curios was hard. Pam struggled with what items from our home that needed to go away, because as we immediately discovered when we started looking at RV’s to purchase, we had way too much stuff to do it right. Having pets was also a key factor in choosing the right RV.
We looked at travel trailers first. In the area we were in at the time. Texas. In Texas Trailers are popular. There were several beautiful rigs available from 15 footers all the way up to a 40 footer that we saw. One problem for us. We had a VW Tiguan. Great car, but not for towing much more that a 15’ 5th wheel at best. We looked at new trucks to tow something with. New Truck was $45,000.00. We didn’t need a new truck, but we weighed the spectre of buying used, and passed. We wanted new. The trailer we found that would support our crew was about $65,000. $110, 000 before we even drove a mile. Remember? There are less expensive rigs for sure, but we wanted and needed a rig with low mileage, excellent quality and that most importantly felt right.
Fortunately we found a dealer in our area that let us, check out a 40’ trailer for a day. We tried it on so to speak. Unfortunately, it didn’t fit us. We just happened to be parked next to a 40’ Class A at the site. It was a model we had seen online and I had read the specs on it and had seen a price upwards of $250,000. It was gorgeous inside and out. It had two baths, 4 Tvs, an outdoor kitchen and just about every option thinkable. It was great. The dogs fit, the cat fit, they had room to play. We had plenty of storage space the bath and closet were huge. It was too much really. It even had a washer and dryer aboard. My favorite part was the shower. I am 6’4 about 340. I fill spaces up fast. Especially RV showers.
We went to look at more Class A’s after that experience. We had found our type. Fully contained, no extra vehicle needed, but, we could take our Tiguan too as a Toad. We finally settled on a 37’ Thor Class A Hurricane. For us, it’s perfect. The research paid off. The shower is big enough, the space is great and it was great accommodations for Sammie, Madge and Otis our dogs. The king sized bed and large bath are perfect. The amenities aboard are what we needed to get started on our next chapter. The road.