Community Forums

dakotaboy · 01-13-2018, 03:27 PM

I haven't been camping much the past few years and now am looking at 37 - 45' diesels. I hear some talk about staying shorter rather than larger due to fueling, camp ground availability, handling, etc. and am just wondering if there is a trend one way or the other. Will snow bird 2-3 months, but am not a full timer and probably will take short trips in fall that won't be scheduled ahead weeks in advance. Thanks for any words of wisdom!

tropical36 · 01-13-2018, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dakotaboy

I haven't been camping much the past few years and now am looking at 37 - 45' diesels. I hear some talk about staying shorter rather than larger due to fueling, camp ground availability, handling, etc. and am just wondering if there is a trend one way or the other. Will snow bird 2-3 months, but am not a full timer and probably will take short trips in fall that won't be scheduled ahead weeks in advance. Thanks for any words of wisdom!

Bigger the better and what's the percentage that trade down, rather than up, would you imagine?

Gordon Dewald · 01-13-2018, 03:48 PM

Find the floor plan you like and will work for you.

Start with a list of must haves, nice to haves and would be neat. Then visit several RV dealers and go through all of their units. Note the features you like and change your list accordingly. You will find the list will dictate the floor plan.

Then find the floor plan in the brand that meets most or all of your list.

Length will determine fuel.

saddlesore · 01-13-2018, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

Find the floor plan you like and will work for you.

Start with a list of must haves, nice to haves and would be neat. Then visit several RV dealers and go through all of their units. Note the features you like and change your list accordingly. You will find the list will dictate the floor plan.

Then find the floor plan in the brand that meets most or all of your list.

Length will determine fuel.

All that I can add is.....
View the coach with ALL slides retracted, just to make durn sure that the prospective coach is fully usable for those times that for what ever reason you cannnot extend the slides to camp/WallyDock/truckstop/width room in the campground.
Go for the very largest fresh/black/gray water tanks you can find.
(Our coach is 16 years old) but.. the Fresh water tank is 112 gal,black is 55/60 gal & the gray holding tank is 115 gallon capacities.
What ever coach you are considering..(Whether it is an entry level brand all the way to the New or used Prevost conversions/Newell's or Foretravel's) shuck your shoes & step into the shower .. pay close attention to the shower floor..IF you see any flexing of the floor..walk away from the unit.. That coach MAY have some more build/install/quality issues that you do not need to be dealing with on down the road.

happy trails & Good Hunting

1bigmess · 01-13-2018, 04:06 PM

When I knew I was going to be a full time RVr, I thought about all the places I like to go, researched what kinds of RVs can fairly easily get there and find parking, and then went shopping. I have no regrets at all.

Example: I knew I wanted to visit Yosemite. There are RV parks outside Yosemite that can take large rigs, but I wanted to stay in the park. I got a small-ish travel trailer knowing that I like pickup trucks, and the trailer would be easier to find parking for because of it's smaller size than a big Class A. Class A rigs with TOADs can get into the park, but there are far fewer places they can park for camping. It can be done, but in a popular NP like Yosemite, I have better odds with a smaller rig that can be broken up into two separate vehicles, a 24' trailer and an 18' long pickup truck.

If all you want to do is RV park glamping, get a huge bus! Seriously, if you can afford the luxury of a wonderful, comfortable, everything you would ever possibly need has already been installed, just hitch up the Cadillac Escalade and drive on down to Florida for the winter, kind of rig, and you have reasonable expectations of where you'll be able to park it when you visit someplace and you can handle any of those limitations due to the size of your RV, just go for it, live in luxury and always wear a smile because it's yours and you earned it!

So consider thinking about where you want to go, and how you'll get there, and where you'll likely have be able to stay once you get there. I used this route because I wanted to afford experiences, and wasn't worried about luxury or extra stuff. It's worked out very well for me, but wouldn't work out well at all for some folks, and that's OK!

MisterT · 01-13-2018, 04:17 PM

your adding of the term 'snow birding' makes me think you might want to stay with the 'larger' floorplans... better living areas and lots of room to move around, if you need it. I wouldn't worry myself with the overall length, otherwise... most 45' owners will tell you that you can go where ever you want to.

Dtwallace · 01-13-2018, 04:38 PM

Going larger for us I've discovered the hard way you have to be a little bit more careful in picking your drive way's incline, and onto what type of surface you drive and park.

I've made the mistake of driving into a grassy area that had been rained on the day before, requiring assistance to get out of, pulling into and out of a drive way that had an aggressive transition to the streets that modified my external sewage hose holder.

Just a few things to be awhere of when going to a bus based land yacht from anything with more ground clearance and traction.

I don't think I need to mention overhead clearance do I.....?

Other than that, I am with the bigger the better club.

Good luck with your choice.

DTW

JMD VENTURES · 01-13-2018, 04:54 PM

Agreeing with most other responses, I would like to add that a bus with a tag axle handles everything on the highway better. Mike

db7512 · 01-13-2018, 05:01 PM

We have a 40ft with tag and love it. No problems yet with parking. Ride is great. Love the floor plan.

FatChance · 01-13-2018, 05:18 PM

There is a reason that 40' coaches are so popular. They will generally fit where a 36' can go and have enough room to be very comfortable without going up to a 43-45' length and an ISL Cummins can move them easily through the mountains. A very good compromise between a weekender and a full-timer coach.

Triangle Drifter · 01-13-2018, 05:23 PM

Size does matter. The 40'er is not going to fit in the site that the 35'er just fits in. You don't see many 40' plus glampers in the SPs or NP CGs. There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part these CGs were not designed for the rolling mansions & whatever gets towed behind.

This is fine for the snowbird migrating at the end of each season. Nice to have all the space & the couple big moves each year is not such a big deal.

The full time or long time traveller needs flexibility. That flexibility comes with a smaller vehicle. How small is up to the user but if SPs & NP CGs are in the plan the further one goes down from 35' the better. It is a case where less is more. Less RV, more CG options.

Everyone has their sweet spot. Ours was a 34 5er. Yes we have had some challenging SP CG sites to get into but with the exception of very few cases we have gotten into everyplace we have wanted to be.

db7512 · 01-13-2018, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by db7512

We have a 40ft with tag and love it. No problems yet with parking. Ride is great. Love the floor plan.

Should also add that there are two of us plus two small dogs.

Bahamaniac · 01-13-2018, 09:34 PM

The longer the coach the fewer available spots in the big parks. You MUST make reservations with a larger unit way in advance. Very doable, but planning is required.

saddlesore · 01-13-2018, 10:00 PM

[QUOTE=Bahamaniac;3989202]The longer the coach the fewer available spots in the big parks. You MUST make reservations..

With our coach, Always the option of puckerbrush boondocking for extended stays...Or just along side a good stream or small lake for fishing. Magone Lake in Oregon is a good example, another is Quincy Lake in WA.