Ukukhetha i-RV efanelekileyo kunokuba ngumngeni. Zininzi iinketho! Ingcebiso yokuqala esiyinika abantu abathengela iRV kukuba akukho RV egqibeleleyo 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.

Ukunyaniseka, iiRV ezininzi zexesha elizeleyo ozibuzayo kusenokwenzeka ukuba zinee-RV ezi-2 okanye ezi-3 ezahlukeneyo. 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.

Ungazifunda zonke iingcebiso zokukhetha i-RV efanelekileyo (njengeposi esiyibhalileyo, 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.

Kuthi, sasingazange sibe nayo iRV kwaye sasingekabi nayo nenkampu enye. Ngokuzenzekelayo sikhethe ivili lesihlanu kwisithuba. We loved it, too! In fact, we wrote this post – Izizathu ze-10 zokukhetha i-Wheel yesihlanu ye-RVing yexesha elizeleyo. Ezo zizathu yaba kanye isizathu sokuba sigqibe ngevili lesihlanu, kwaye nangoku iinzuzo ezinkulu ukukhetha ivili lesihlanu.

Nangona kunjalo, kwiinyanga ezisi-8 kamva xa ilixesha lokuthenga iRV entsha, samangaliswa ngokupheleleyo ngokwethu xa sakhetha ukutshintshela kwiklasi c motorhome endaweni enye ivili yesihlanu. 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.

Nazi izizathu, nangona, ukuba sigqibe ukukhetha iklasi c motorhome endaweni.

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

Xa sihambisa izinto zethu ngaphandle ivili lesihlanu, sakhupha izinto ezininzi esingazange sizisebenzise 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 iRV. Ke, abantu abaninzi baya kukhetha i-RV enkulu de baqonde ukuba incinci kangakanani na abayidingayo. It’s extremely common for full-time RVers to downsize their RV during or after their first year on the road. Ngandlela ithile, ukuhamba ngokwamanqanaba, yinxalenye yenkqubo yokwenza ubomi bakho bube lula.

Maneuverability > indawo yokuhlala

Siphulukene nento emalunga ne-50 sq ft xa sisehlisa ivili lethu lesihlanu ukuya kwiklasi yethu c. Ngaba siyayikhumbula? Kanjalo! Kodwa izibonelelo esizifumeneyo zikodlula ukuphulukana nendawo.

Inzuzo yethu esiyithandayo yindlela enokulawuleka ngayo iklasi yethu c. Ukuyiqhuba kufana kakhulu nokuqhuba ilori yethu endala. 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. Ngoku, sizifumana siziva sizithembile ukuba singangena phantse naphi na ngokulula, ngaphandle kokuhlala sijonga isipili ukuze siqinisekise ukuba siya kucoca i-curb, kwaye uLindsay uziva ekhululekile nge-100% nanini na. 

Iintsuku zokuhamba ezilula

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.

Ngoku, makhe ndiqale ukuchaza umahluko kwiintsuku zokuhamba ngokuthi njengoko ndibhala le post, siqhuba ukuya eNashville. Ndihleli kamnandi kwaye ndikhuselekile kwindawo yokutyela njengoko uDan eqhuba. When it’s lunch time, I’ll get up and senze isangweji ngaphandle kokuyeka kwaye ukuba ndiyayidinga sebenzisa indlu yangasese…no problem! The dogs can move around a bit more too.

Owu, kwaye ngaphambi kokuba sihambe kwenye indawo, kusithatha nje malunga Imizuzu eyi-10-15 ukupakisha, qhawula, kwaye uhambe. Akusekho ukubetheka kunye nokubophelela phantsi. Sibeka kude izinto, sitsale isilayidi, sikhuphe i-hook ups yethu, sitsibe kwaye sihambe! Sihamba ngokukhawuleza kwaye ngokuqhelekileyo sihlala iveki enye kuphela ngexesha kwiindawo ezintsha, ngoko ke oku kukhulu kuthi!

Ivili lesihlanu 38C Cast top plate-trailer iindawo zelori Hitch Heavy Duty Hitch

Iindawo zokusebenza ezingcono

Nangona iimodeli ezininzi ezintsha zamavili esihlanu zineendawo ezinkulu zokusebenza, ezethu azizange zibe nazo. Ekuphela kwendawo esasisebenzela kuyo yayikwigumbi lokutyela lasekhitshini Eli lizitulo ezincinane ezenziwe ngamaplanga ezazingenazo iicushion ngasemva yaye kwakungekho ndawo yaneleyo yokuba kude netafile. I-dinette ye-booth enemiqamelo esemgangathweni isebenziseka ngakumbi ukuhlala imini yonke.

Ukuba i-dinette ixinana kakhulu kuthi sobabini, ndikhetha ukusebenza kwisitulo sabakhweli, esijikelezayo sijongane nendawo yokuhlala. Kukho netafile enokushenxiswa endinokuthi ndiyimise, enokuthi ibekwe phambi kwebhedi, ukuba ndiziva ngathi ndonwabile kwaye ndibukele iTV ngelixa ndibhala. Siye ke ngoko Iinketho ezi-3 zeendawo zokusebenza! 

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.

Ngoku ndikhululekile ukuqhuba iRV entsha, uDan angasebenza ngelixa ndiqhuba. Iintsuku zokuhamba azisathethi ukuba kufuneka singabikho emsebenzini. It’s all about efficiency and multi-tasking, right? And our weekends are free for adventuring!

Irhasi mileage engcono

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.

Ngoku, i-motorhome iyodwa ifumana i-gas mileage efanayo njengelori yodwa, 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!

Ngoko ke unayo! Ngokucacileyo, sonwabe kakhulu ngesigqibo sethu sokutshintshela kwivili lesihlanu ukuya kwikhaya lemoto! Sakhetha i-2018 Winnebago Navion 24D kwaye sithandana! 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!