Is féidir leis a bheith ina dhúshlán an RV ceart a roghnú. Tá go leor roghanna ann! Is é an chéad phíosa comhairle a thugaimid do dhaoine atá ag siopadóireacht le haghaidh RV ná sin níl RV foirfe ann for you. You will have to make some sacrifices…of course unless you plan to spend a million dollars for custom options. But if that’s the case, you probably aren’t reading this post anyway.

Le bheith macánta, is dóichí go raibh ar a laghad 2 nó 3 RV éagsúla ag go leor RVers lánaimseartha a iarrann tú. Before you’ve lived in an RV, it’s hard to truly know what you want and need. So don’t be surprised if you change your mind, too.

Is féidir leat a léamh go léir an leideanna chun an RV ceart a roghnú (cosúil leis an bpost a scríobh muid, DON’T Buy an RV Until You’ve Read These 5 Tips!), do tons of research, and drive yourself crazy. But, ultimately, until you’ve hit the open road and discovered your travel style, your parking preference, etc….it’s hard to know which RV is the best for your lifestyle.

Maidir linne, ní raibh RV i seilbh againn riamh agus ar éigean go raibh campáil againn i gceann amháin. Roghnaigh muid an cúigiú roth go huathoibríoch don spás. We loved it, too! In fact, we wrote this post – 10 Cúiseanna le Cúigiú Roth a Roghnú le haghaidh RVing Lánaimseartha. Ba iad na cúiseanna sin go díreach an fáth ar shocraigh muid ar an gcúigiú roth, agus tá siad fós buntáistí ollmhóra maidir le cúigiú roth a roghnú.

Mar sin féin, 8 mí ina dhiaidh sin nuair a bhí sé in am RV níos nuaí a cheannach, chuir sé iontas iomlán orainn féin nuair a roghnaigh muid aistriú chuig teach mótair rang c in ionad an cúigiú roth eile. We purchased our fifth wheel knowing it was a “starter unit” to simply allow us to try out RV life and determine if it was for us or not. It wasn’t designed for full-time living…it was much more of a weekend warrior RV. So we originally went into the purchasing process with the plans to buy another fifth wheel.

Seo iad na cúiseanna, áfach, gur roghnaigh muid teach mótair rang c ina ionad.

We didn’t need as much “stuff” as we thought we did

Nuair a bhogadh ár giuirléidí amach as an cúigiú roth, tharraing muid amach an oiread sin rudaí nár úsáid muid riamh and actually forgot we had in there. Again, we didn’t know anything about the lifestyle and how it would be. Now, we know what we like to do in the places we visit, we know we don’t need as many clothes as we thought, and we ditched the duplicates of things.

It’s a huge adjustment to downsize from a house to an RV. Mar sin, roghnóidh go leor daoine RV níos mó go dtí go dtuigeann siad cé chomh beag is atá siad i ndáiríre. It’s extremely common for full-time RVers to downsize their RV during or after their first year on the road. Ar bhealach, tá dul tríd na céimeanna, mar chuid den phróiseas chun do shaol a shimpliú.

Inaistritheacht > spás maireachtála

Chaill muid rud éigin timpeall 50 troigh cearnach nuair a chuaigh muid síos ón gcúigiú roth go dtí ár rang c. An chailleann muid é? Ar ndóigh! Ach is mó an tairbhe a bhaineamar as ná an spás a chailleadh.

Is é an buntáiste is fearr linn ná cé chomh inaistrithe agus atá ár rang c. Ag tiomáint mothaíonn sé an-chosúil le tiomáint ár trucail d'aois. Since the length is right under 26 feet, we can “fit” into most parking spots. We’ve even managed to find street parking in the city and have “moochdocked” outside of family members’ houses with no problem at all.

In contrast, the last time we returned home, we had no choice but to put our fifth wheel in storage while visiting family because there was not enough space for it in anyone’s driveway or neighborhood. It was really inconvenient to move out of our home for a few weeks and not have full access to some of our belongings.

We also used to be so jealous of the RVers who could pull off the side of the road to snap a photo of a scenic view. We’ve had to settle for mental pictures because pulling over with a 30ft trailer isn’t exactly safe, if there is even space for it. Anois, mothaímid muiníneach as tarraingt isteach beagnach áit ar bith gan stró, gan an scáthán a sheiceáil i gcónaí lena chinntiú go nglanfaimid colbha, agus mothaíonn Lindsay 100% compordach ag tiomáint am ar bith. 

Laethanta taistil níos éasca

Let me paint a picture of what our travel days looked like when towing the fifth wheel. First, we would have to strap down any loose furniture, along with the typical stowing of items. Then, we’d have the usual disconnecting of the sewer, water and electric. The final step would be backing up the truck just right, lowering the trailer, and hitching it up, which would typically take 10 minutes alone (on a good day). We’d often be stressed that we would forget a step, because there were just so many.

I forgot to mention that we’d have to set up a comfortable space for the dogs, pack up a bag of snacks, water bottles, a trash bag, our computers (if we wanted to struggle to work at all), cameras (you always have to be prepared for beautiful scenery), etc. We would be crammed in and have to stop every 2-3 hours to stretch and use the bathroom. If we wanted to make lunch in the fifth wheel, we’d end up taking 30-45 minutes every time we stopped, which made travel days even longer.

Anois, lig dom tosú ag míniú na difríochta i laethanta taistil ag rá go bhfuil mé ag scríobh an post seo, táimid ag tiomáint go Nashville. Tá mé i mo shuí go compordach sábháilte ag an dinette agus Dan ag tiomáint. When it’s lunch time, I’ll get up and déan ceapaire dúinn gan stad agus más gá dom bain úsáid as an seomra scíthe…no problem! The dogs can move around a bit more too.

Ó, agus sula bhfágann muid áit éigin, ní thógann sé ach thart orainn 10-15 nóiméad a phacáil suas, dhícheangal, agus éirí de thalamh. Gan níos mó bualadh suas agus strapping síos. Stórálaimid míreanna, tarraingímid an sleamhnán isteach, dícheangail ár n-arduithe crúcaí, léim isteach agus imigh! Taistealaimid go tapa agus go hiondúil ní fhanaimid ach seachtain amháin ag an am in áiteanna nua, agus mar sin tá sé seo iontach dúinn!

An cúigiú roth 38C Páirteanna trucail leantóir barrphláta a chaitheamh Hitch Heavy Duty Hitch

Spásanna oibre níos fearr

Cé go bhfuil spásanna oibre iontacha ag go leor samhlacha níos nuaí den chúigiú roth, ní raibh spásanna oibre iontacha againne. Ba é an t-aon limistéar oibre a bhí againn ag an dinette cistine Is éard a bhí ann ná cathaoireacha beaga adhmaid nach raibh cúisíní cúil orthu agus ar éigean go leor spáis chun a bheith compordach achar ón mbord. Tá an dinette mboth le cúisíní cáilíochta i bhfad níos praiticiúla le haghaidh suí an lae ar fad.

Má éiríonn an dinette ró-phlódaithe dúinn beirt, is fearr liom a bheith ag obair sa chathaoir paisinéara, a sclóineann timpeall chun aghaidh a thabhairt ar an áit chónaithe. Tá tábla inscortha ann freisin ar féidir liom a shocrú, ar féidir é a chur os comhair an tolg freisin, más rud é gur mhaith liom a bheith níos cluthar agus breathnú ar an teilifís agus mé ag scríobh. Tá againn mar sin 3 rogha de spásanna oibre! 

I mentioned that I am working while we drive, which is also a big deal for us. And the computer is not sitting on my lap in the passenger seat. I am actually at a “desk”, where I can focus without getting car sick or getting a neck cramp!

We also used to only be able to travel on weekends because Dan was the primary driver and he couldn’t take time away from his work during week days. We would occasionally be able to squeeze travel in on a week day if the drive was under 3 hours and after the work day. The hardest part about that though, other than driving at night, is that our weekends are our most valuable time. Weekends are the best time for us to be exploring new places and enjoying the greatest benefit of RV life.

Anois agus mé níos compordaí ag tiomáint an RV nua, is féidir le Dan oibriú agus mé ag tiomáint. Ní chiallaíonn laethanta taistil a thuilleadh go gcaithfimid am a thógáil ón obair. It’s all about efficiency and multi-tasking, right? And our weekends are free for adventuring!

Míleáiste gáis níos fearr

What do you get when you cross a GMC Sierra 2500 truck and a 8,500 pound fifth wheel? A gas guzzler! That’s not a joke. We used to get 7-8 miles per gallon while towing! Then we’d continue to get poor gas mileage when we would detach the trailer and drive the truck around cities. We basically lived at gas stations.

Anois, faigheann an mótarbhaile amháin an míleáiste gáis céanna leis an trucail amháin, which is around 15 mpg. When we tow our Jeep Wrangler behind the motorhome, we still average around 11 miles per gallon…not too shabby. But when we arrive, we can ride around in the jeep and get 18 miles per gallon around the city! Cha-ching! More money in our pockets, which makes us happy campers!

Mar sin tá sé agat! Is léir go bhfuilimid thar a bheith sásta lenár gcinneadh aistriú ón gcúigiú roth go teach mótair! Roghnaigh muid Winnebago Navion 2018 24D agus tá muid i ngrá! We named her “Wanda” because she allows us to “wanda” around the country while feeding our “wanda-lust”. Or, as my dad says, we “wanda” how we’re going to pay for her! But, as they say, not all who “wanda” are lost. Ha! Okay, that’s enough puns!