Chwazi bon RV a kapab yon defi. Gen anpil opsyon! Premye konsèy nou bay moun ki ap achte pou yon RV se sa pa gen RV pafè 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.

Pou onèt, anpil RV aplentan ou mande yo te gen omwen 2 oswa 3 RV diferan. 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.

Ou ka li tout konsèy pou w chwazi bon RV a (tankou pòs nou te ekri a, 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.

Pou nou, nou pa t janm posede yon RV epi yo te apèn menm kan nan youn. Nou otomatikman te chwazi yon senkyèm wou pou espas la. We loved it, too! In fact, we wrote this post – 10 Rezon pou w chwazi yon senkyèm wou pou RV aplentan. Rezon sa yo te egzakteman poukisa nou te deside sou yon senkyèm wou, epi yo toujou gwo benefis pou w chwazi yon senkyèm wou.

Sepandan, 8 mwa pita lè li te tan pou achte yon nouvo RV, nou konplètman etone tèt nou lè nou te chwazi chanje nan yon klas C motorhome olye de yon lòt senkyèm wou.. 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.

Men rezon ki fè yo, menm si, nou te fini chwazi yon klas c motorhome pito.

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

Lè w ap deplase afè nou soti nan senkyèm wou a, nou rale anpil bagay nou pa janm itilize 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 RV a. Se konsa, anpil moun pral chwazi yon pi gwo RV jiskaske yo reyalize ki jan ti kras yo aktyèlman bezwen. It’s extremely common for full-time RVers to downsize their RV during or after their first year on the road. Nan yon fason, ale nan etap yo, se yon pati nan pwosesis la nan senplifye lavi ou.

Manevrabilite > espas k ap viv

Nou pèdi yon bagay anviwon 50 sq ft lè nou redwi gwosè soti nan senkyèm wou nou an nan klas nou an c. Èske nou manke li? Natirèlman! Men, benefis nou te genyen depase pèt espas.

Benefis pi renmen nou an se kijan klas c nou an ka manyab. Kondwi li santi l trè menm jan ak kondwi ansyen kamyon nou an. 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. Koulye a, nou jwenn tèt nou santi nou gen konfyans rale nan prèske nenpòt kote ak fasilite, san yo pa oblije toujou ap tcheke glas la pou asire ke nou pral netwaye yon twotwa, epi Lindsay santi l 100% konfòtab pou kondwi nenpòt ki lè. 

Pi fasil jou vwayaj

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.

Kounye a, kite m kòmanse eksplike diferans ki genyen nan jou vwayaj yo lè m di ke pandan m ap ekri pòs sa a, n ap kondui Nashville. Mwen chita alèz e an sekirite nan dinèt la pandan Dann ap kondui. When it’s lunch time, I’ll get up and fè nou yon sandwich san yo pa oblije sispann epi si mwen bezwen sèvi ak twalèt la…no problem! The dogs can move around a bit more too.

Oh, epi anvan nou kite yon kote, li sèlman pran nou sou 10-15 minit pou pake, dekonekte, epi dekole. Pa gen plis atachman ak atache desann. Nou ranje atik yo, rale glise a nan, detache kwòk nou yo, sote nan epi ale! Nou vwayaje byen vit epi anjeneral rete sèlman 1 semèn alafwa nan nouvo kote, kidonk sa a se gwo pou nou!

Senkyèm wou 38C jete pati tèt kamyon plak-trelè Attelage Heavy Duty Attelage

Pi bon espas travay

Malgre ke anpil nouvo modèl senkyèm wou yo gen gwo espas travay, nou pa t '. Sèl zòn travay nou an se te nan dinette nan kwizin. Sa a te fèt ak ti chèz an bwa ki pa te gen okenn kousen dèyè ak espas apèn ase yo dwe yon distans konfòtab lwen tab la. Dinèt la izolwa ak kousen bon jan kalite se pi plis pratik pou tout jounen an chita.

Si dinèt la vin twò chaje pou nou tou de, mwen pito travay sou chèz pasaje a, ki vire toutotou pou fè fas a zòn k ap viv la. Genyen tou yon tab detachable ke mwen ka mete kanpe, ki ka Anplis de sa dwe mete devan kanape a, si mwen santi mwen anplis brikabrak epi gade televizyon pandan m ap ekri. Se poutèt sa nou genyen 3 opsyon nan espas travay! 

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.

Kounye a ke mwen pi alèz pou m kondwi nouvo RV a, Dann ka travay pandan m ap kondui. Jou vwayaj yo pa vle di ankò ke nou dwe pran tan lwen travay. It’s all about efficiency and multi-tasking, right? And our weekends are free for adventuring!

Pi bon kantite mil gaz

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.

Koulye a, motorhome a pou kont li jwenn menm kantite mil gaz ak kamyon an pou kont li, 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!

Se konsa, la ou genyen li! Klèman, nou trè kontan ak desizyon nou pou chanje soti nan yon senkyèm wou nan yon kay motè! Nou te chwazi yon Winnebago Navion 24D 2018 epi nou renmen! 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!