Community Forums

Punkinhead · 08-30-2022, 04:46 PM

I'm a huge fan of Class B vans and truck campers but I wouldn't want to full time in either. I'd be looking at a small gas powered Class A pulling a Jeep in your situation.

Alikair · 09-08-2022, 08:31 PM

Market conditions forced/allowed me to pay cash on a nice manufacturer home. This left me with little play money.
It greatly reduced my choices on the RV I was going to solo in. Not to mention the class b+ I was thinking of buying went up from 70k new to 130k recently.

My original plan was to solo the states and when I finished sell the RV and buy a home. (The plan was a work in progress)
Now it's looking like I'm buying a TT or a very used class B+ . TT's are much cheaper.

I was wondering if most soloer's prefer to not go with a TT?

The park my home is on is a co op so I don't need to worry about them rasing the rates, and it's affordable.

gatorb8 · 09-08-2022, 08:56 PM

I bought my 1 year old 20’ class C from a rental company in Canada for $47K. It will tow my jeep or go solo and park in a city parking spot. Plenty of storage for fishing and kayak gear. My wife fits to! Had it 3 years now and love it!

Tachdriver · 09-08-2022, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alikair

Market conditions forced/allowed me to pay cash on a nice manufacturer home. This left me with little play money.
It greatly reduced my choices on the RV I was going to solo in. Not to mention the class b+ I was thinking of buying went up from 70k new to 130k recently.

My original plan was to solo the states and when I finished sell the RV and buy a home. (The plan was a work in progress)
Now it's looking like I'm buying a TT or a very used class B+ . TT's are much cheaper.

I was wondering if most soloer's prefer to not go with a TT?

The park my home is on is a co op so I don't need to worry about them rasing the rates, and it's affordable.

I got rid of my TT until i cleared some financial obstacles, then retirement into a class A. I picked that over a TT. It's really a personal decision and I do believe a TT can work well. While I am doing my financial thing I am doing a l8t of research and reading.

Isaac-1 · 09-09-2022, 01:24 PM

We have a 2002 28 ft class A Safari Trek, and about 1/3 of my trips tend to be solo trips for up to 2-3 weeks at a time. One thing I find on solo trips is I never need all of the seating positions, I always sit on the same side of the dinging table, never sit in the front passenger seat and almost always sit at the same end of the sofa, though I do lay down on it from time to time. Other than that I find something like a 26-28 ft Class A would be just about perfect for longer term solo travel, particularly when coupled with some small exploration vehicle, is motorcycle, small TOAD car, or even electric bicycle as it can be a bit of a headache to break camp to make a run into town in the coach. At just under 30 feet when traveling without a TOAD car I can generally find parking wherever I want to go as I can mostly fit into a parking space if I can back in and overhand the curb, or if i can get 2 spaces end to end in a parking lot, though I really need a 2x2 grid of spaces due to off tracking and tail swing to get in and out of most parking spaces that don't allow pulling straight forward.

I owned a couple of camper vans back in the early 90's and they are just too small, lack fresh and waste water tank capacity, and don't have enough cargo (weight) carrying capacity. Many of the 22-24 ft Class B's that are popular these days have fresh water tanks of less than 20 gallons, waste water tanks perhaps as small as 12-15 gallons and propane tanks also in the 12-15 gallon size range, which may be a propane capacity as little as 8 gallons onboard (due to the 75% max fill rule), by comparison my coach is only circa 6 feet longer, is on a 17,000 GVWR chassis and has 80 gallon fresh water tank, 40 gallon black, and 40 gallon gray tank, plus a 32 gallon propane tank, meaning I can camp off grid for a lot longer than in a smaller class B, even without drastic water conservation allowing for a daily 2-3 minute shower, I can go a week between emptying my waste water tanks and refilling my fresh tank.

Alikair · 09-10-2022, 05:17 AM

Thanks for the reply.
One of my biggest concerns regarding a TT over an RV is solo set up.

On one hand, When I visit a new state on my journey, I will be doing a lot of sight seeing. That means that I would be leaving the TT back in camp alone every day. That feels unsafe unless I am able to find a secure park.

That would give the RV the edge over the TT until I return to camp at the end of the day to find my spot has been taken and now I have to park on the street till I find another location.

I would imagine, in past times booking a park was easy but now its a gamble to find one available so you end up doing more boondocking.

Tachdriver · 09-10-2022, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alikair

Thanks for the reply.
One of my biggest concerns regarding a TT over an RV is solo set up.

On one hand, When I visit a new state on my journey, I will be doing a lot of sight seeing. That means that I would be leaving the TT back in camp alone every day. That feels unsafe unless I am able to find a secure park.

That would give the RV the edge over the TT until I return to camp at the end of the day to find my spot has been taken and now I have to park on the street till I find another location.

I would imagine, in past times booking a park was easy but now its a gamble to find one available so you end up doing more boondocking.

No worries, really. I primarily stayed in State Parks and never had an issue. Often would set up camp and then determine an itinerary, leaving TT for the day snd coming back when finished. Never had any issues with security. It's like coming back from civilization to peace and quiet.

As far as booking, if you give yourself a bit of time you should have no issues finding a place to camp. I would never leave a TT parked on a street. I would find a SP, County Park, KOA, or private camp ground go set up base camp.

Isaac-1 · 09-10-2022, 11:08 AM

At a boondocking site you can leave behind a disposable tent, and some cheap chairs, etc. to "reserve" your site.

Alikair · 09-11-2022, 12:31 PM

So both a class B+ and TT are viable options when solo.
Is one better than the other?
My two foreseeable uses for the RV would be for 2 week trips fishing within a few hundred miles from my new home and the full on journey across the state and back. Got a friend I would like to see in PA and some relatives in FLA and I'm in Oregon. Got another in HI but I dont see that happening.

DebbieMH · 09-13-2022, 05:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alikair

So both a class B+ and TT are viable options when solo.
Is one better than the other?
.

Apples and oranges ... B+ allows you to use the motorhome as a "car" and you can take it with you. TT allows you to set up and keep everything out when you go out exploring or fishing. TT is cheaper, but you need a truck that can tow it, so may not end up being cheaper if you have to buy the truck. It really depends upon how you want to use it. Good luck in your decision.

Alikair · 02-05-2023, 09:25 PM

I am still reading this thread.

Alikair · 03-05-2023, 06:30 PM

I am hoping to buy an RV for my retirement. I am single and will be doing all this solo
My goal is to travel across the states during the summers, sightsee and visit old friends.
Currently I have no plans to be a boondocker unless it's for very short stays.

Is a travel trailer the better choice or a small class c that I can drive around during the day and plug in at a site at night?

Mr_Moustache · 03-05-2023, 06:44 PM

Great question but I'm afraid the right answer is a personal choice more than anything. I am very comfortable driving and backing a class A but would not be comfortable backing a trailer. I see others backing trailers in to tight spots without a second thought. Then there is the issue of how much room you need. A 24 foot class B might be a great fit or maybe a Class C. If a class C (or A) you might need to tow a vehicle with you or maybe have a motorcycle lift or toy hauler. The best choice is whatever is right for your travel style and living needs.

Mike

Isaac-1 · 03-05-2023, 08:19 PM

We have a 28 ft class A coach which we traveled in without a TOAD for the first circa 4 years, about 75 nights per year and about 20,000 miles. Of which about 1/3 of which I did as solo travel, and I can say that there was a lot of wasted space when I am traveling solo, on one 2 week solo trip a few years ago I noticed that of the 7 possible seating positions in our coach I never used 3 of them, I always sat on the same side of the table, never sat in the passenger side captains chair, etc. Also while a 28 ft class A is small enough to get around in, parking can be a challenge at times, therefore I would say that if I were to travel solo, and did not want to drag a car around, I would look strongly at a 24-25 ft B+, probably with a large rear bathroom and sofa / Murphy bed layout similar to the Leisure Travel Vans 25MB. I have noticed that several companies have introduced similar layouts in 24-25 ft coaches in the last year or two.