Milih RV tengen bisa dadi tantangan. Ana akeh pilihan! Pisanan saran kita menehi wong sing blanja kanggo RV iku ora ana RV sampurna 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.

Jujur, akeh RVers full-time sampeyan takon paling kamungkinan wis paling 2 utawa 3 RV beda. 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.

Sampeyan bisa maca kabeh tips kanggo milih RV tengen (kaya postingan sing kita tulis, 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.

Kanggo kita, kita wis tau diduweni RV lan wis lagi wae camped ing siji. Kita kanthi otomatis milih kalima wheel kanggo papan. We loved it, too! In fact, we wrote this post – 10 Alasan kanggo Pilih Fifth Wheel kanggo Full-Time RVing. Alasan padha persis apa kita mutusaké ing kalima wheel , lan isih keuntungan ageng kanggo milih kalima wheel .

Nanging, 8 sasi mengko nalika iku wektu kanggo tuku RV anyar, kita rampung kaget dhéwé nalika kita milih ngalih menyang kelas c motorhome tinimbang liyane kalima wheel. 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.

Mangkene alasane, nanging pungkasane milih motor kelas c.

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

Nalika mindhah barang kita metu saka rodha kaping lima, kita ditarik metu dadi akeh iku kita tau digunakake 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 ing RV. Dadi, akeh wong bakal milih RV sing luwih gedhe nganti ngerti sepira sithik sing dibutuhake. It’s extremely common for full-time RVers to downsize their RV during or after their first year on the road. Kanthi cara, ngliwati tahapan, minangka bagean saka proses nyederhanakake urip.

Maneuverability > ruang urip

We ilang soko watara 50 sq ft nalika kita downsized saka kalima wheel kanggo kelas c. Apa kita kangen? mesthi! Nanging keuntungan sing kita entuk luwih gedhe tinimbang mundhut papan.

Keuntungan sing paling disenengi yaiku carane maneuver kelas c. Nyopir rasane mirip banget karo nyopir truk lawas. 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. Saiki, kita rumangsa yakin kanggo narik menyang endi wae kanthi gampang, tanpa kudu terus-terusan mriksa pangilon kanggo mesthekake yen kita bakal ngilangi trotoar, lan Lindsay ngrasa 100% nyopir nyaman kapan wae. 

Dina lelungan luwih gampang

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.

Saiki, ayo miwiti nerangake prabédan ing dina lelungan kanthi ujar manawa nalika nulis kiriman iki, kita nyopir menyang Nashville. Aku lungguh mulyo lan aman ing dinette minangka Dan drive. When it’s lunch time, I’ll get up and nggawe kita sandwich tanpa kudu mandheg lan yen aku perlu nggunakake toilet…no problem! The dogs can move around a bit more too.

Oh, lan sadurunge kita budhal nang endi wae, iku mung njupuk kita bab 10-15 menit kanggo ngemas, pedhot, lan njupuk mati. Ora ana maneh hitching munggah lan strapping mudhun. We stow adoh item, narik geser ing, copot pancing kita, mlumpat lan pindhah! We lelungan cepet lan biasane mung nginep 1 minggu ing wektu ing panggonan anyar, supaya iki ageng kanggo kita!

Fifth wheel 38C Cast ndhuwur piring-trailer truk bagean Ngalangi Heavy Duty alangan

Ruang kerja sing luwih apik

Senajan akeh model anyar saka rodha kalima duwe ruang kerja gedhe, kita ora. Kita mung wilayah karya ana ing pawon dinette Iki kapérang saka kursi kayu cilik sing wis ora bantal bali lan lagi wae cukup papan kanggo dadi kadohan nyaman adoh saka meja. Booth dinette karo bantal kualitas luwih praktis kanggo kabeh dina lungguh.

Yen dhaharan dadi rame banget kanggo kita loro, aku luwih seneng kerja ing kursi penumpang, sing muter-muter madhep ruang tamu. Ana uga meja sing bisa dicopot, sing bisa diselehake ing ngarep kursi, yen aku rumangsa kepenak lan nonton TV nalika nulis. Mulane kita duwe 3 pilihan ruang kerja! 

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.

Saiki aku luwih nyaman nyopir RV anyar, Dan bisa kerja nalika aku nyopir. Dina lelungan ora ateges kita kudu mbuwang wektu kerja. It’s all about efficiency and multi-tasking, right? And our weekends are free for adventuring!

Gas mileage luwih apik

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.

Saiki, motorhome dhewe entuk jarak tempuh bensin sing padha karo truk, 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!

Dadi ana sing duwe! Cetha, kita seneng banget karo keputusane kanggo ngalih saka kalima wheel menyang ngarep motor! Kita milih 2018 Winnebago Navion 24D lan ing katresnan! 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!