First RV 27' vs 32' how much of a difference?

[tnedator]

The wife and I have pretty much decided on a Thor Vegas, which is 26' 6" or so. It has most of what we think will be nice in a first time coach, including decent nightstands (we have cpaps), which is unusual. But, I'll have to add a leveler if I want one and I'm worried about the living room floor space as there is no side slides (25.3) and we have two standard poodles which are tall and lanky.

So, now I'm wondering if I should just jump to something like a forest river FR3 30DS, but that's pushing 32'. Upside is there is a lot more room. Many more standard features. I think we are far less likely to feel cramped.

In either case, I plan on pulling a jeep, so I won't be looking to use the RV to park at stores or attractions.

So, how concerned as a first time buyer should I be about jumping all the way up to a 32' class A?

[retired-guy]

Good question. I jumped into a 40', triple slide pusher for our 1st rv.

[saddlesore]

I would buy a used RV first... just the size & floor plan You THINK you want,after a year or two Then You will know What you need & buy the best fit for your life style.

[Isaac-1]

Another thing to keep in mind is, what fits your lifestyle now, may not fit it in 4 or 5 years.

[Newmar2856]

You'll appreciate having the slides as they'll give you more living space. I don't think you'll find the extra few feet a problem when moving and will be really happy when parked.

[pplwizard]

I sold RVs for many years and here's what I would tell people, when you buy a motorhome and drive away from the lot you will lose an enormous amount of money so the game is to spend the least amount of money for the most amount of motorhome that you're willing to keep so long that you don't care how much money you lost the day you bought it. Remember that fundamentally you are trading money for memories on the batter the memories the more worth it it was spending the money. So I would say go bigger rather than smaller

[Isaac-1]

Here is my take on it when it comes to motorhome size, the smaller the motorhome the more places it will fit, mine is 29'6" long, 98.5 inches wide wall to tall, and 11'1" tall. The next question you need to ask yourself is, does it matter to you and how you plan to travel? If you plan to travel base camp to base camp and then explore in a TOAD then bigger is generally better as you will basically be buying a self propelled house, however if you are wanting to explore in your motorhome, then smaller is better. The down side is at some point you end up giving up too much in the way of comfort for the sake of mobility. (less living space, less cargo carrying capacity, less tankage, ...).

When I was shopping for my first class A last year, I started out strongly considering the 26 ft version of the Safari Trek, but in the end decided on the 28 ft version, as it has significantly more living space, nearly double the cargo carrying capacity and is only about 20 inches longer. With a 29'6" length I can still fit into 30 ft length limit campground spaces like those commonly found in many national parks. Also with a 178 inch wheel base, I can fit in some single parking spaces if I can back in, and let the back end overhang the curb. (a typical rural parking space like those found at big box stores is about 9.5 ft wide and 22 ft long).

[triplewide]

Originally Posted by saddlesore

I would buy a used RV first... just the size & floor plan You THINK you want,after a year or two Then You will know What you need & buy the best fit for your life style.

X2

[nothermark]

You will seldom notice the length when driving but you will find a few more feet makes a huge difference in comfort. You are still short enough not to get shut out of most of the really tight places.

[triplewide]

We are on our 3rd coach.

First: Class C 30' (?), Bought used 3 years old
Second: Diesel Pusher 34,' Bought used one year old
Current: Class A 30', Bought new

We went through a similar decision process as it appears you are before purchasing our current coach. We almost bought the Vegas, but ended up with the 30' class A instead.

Reasons for us choosing the A over the Vegas:

Class A came with:

1. Leveling jacks
2. Heavier duty chassis (truck vs van chassis)
3. More room. (We had two Bouviers at the time, similar in size to your standard poodles.)
4. Larger bathroom

I felt that the Vegas was too large to use as daily transport when traveling. We would probably end up renting a car when we hit our travel destinations. Renting is not a bad option though as opposed to towing. I don't think we would have been happy with the Vegas and two dogs.

So far we feel that we made the right decision. It only took us three attempts to find the "best" coach for us

PS,
We are not interested in full timing yet. That will change things again if we ever go that route.
Also recommend the 50 amp, 5.5KW generator, dual AC package on the FR3.

Good luck, hope you enjoy RVing.

[Sweetbriar]

I'm at 31' and just came off a two week summer vacation. At around day 10 the walls started to feel like they were closing in. In a 26' that would probably start at day five. RV's are like boats regarding overall length. Four feet may not seem like much but it will make a big difference.

One small item to also consider. Not every day at a campsite will have blue skies and sunshine. If weather is less than optimum could you live comfortably inside a 26' coach for a day or two?

Go with the bigger rig and find something around two years old or so. Let the first owner deal with the pre-installed factory faults, lengthy warranty repair process and initial rapid loss of value. Saving $20,000 will buy a lot of fuel or accessories that will help make the coach feel like home.

[Waiter21]

Our Mirada was 30 ft. The reason we limited it to 30ft was we weren't sure what would fit in our driveway. We have since bought a 35 ft Soutwind. Its very tight in our drive, but does fit.

Our Mirada didn't have a slide and had a booth dinette. We wanted more interior room with a little different floor plan, table and chairs vs booth, and a slide, The Southwind fit our list perfectly.

ON THE ROAD

No real difference in driving or use while traveling. The Soutwind is heavier and it does make difference (slower) - The larger the MH, the more of a challenge it becomes on where to park and fuel while traveling. Not a show stopper, just need to be more careful on where I turn into to make sure I can get out of.

Campgrounds / RV parks also become more limited. I think older parks seem to be set up for about 35 max. once you get out past about 35 ft the options start to diminish.

[mpinva]

Originally Posted by tnedator

The wife and I have pretty much decided on a Thor Vegas, which is 26' 6" or so. It has most of what we think will be nice in a first time coach, including decent nightstands (we have cpaps), which is unusual. But, I'll have to add a leveler if I want one and I'm worried about the living room floor space as there is no side slides (25.3) and we have two standard poodles which are tall and lanky.

So, now I'm wondering if I should just jump to something like a forest river FR3 30DS, but that's pushing 32'. Upside is there is a lot more room. Many more standard features. I think we are far less likely to feel cramped.

In either case, I plan on pulling a jeep, so I won't be looking to use the RV to park at stores or attractions.

So, how concerned as a first time buyer should I be about jumping all the way up to a 32' class A?

Have you considered the Thor Hurricane 31S? Great floorplan and lots of extras included.

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by mpinva

Have you considered the Thor Hurricane 31S? Great floorplan and lots of extras included.

The three I'm looking at are the ACE 30.3, FR3 30 DS and Hurricane 31S. I've only started thinking about going larger in the last day or so, so only spent a small time looking, but considering one option we have is a large shower (we don't want to use campground showers), those are the three I've found when combining floor plans and price.