A number of years ago we attended a RV exposition in Abbotsford, BC. We went with our good friends L&G (who are really well-traveled) as they were interested in RVs for travel around North America. It was our first real look into the world of RVs; holy cow we were blown away by the range available. Motorized vs. trailer, size, luxury/equipment level, style, feel, layout, etc.; we were rather overwhelmed. That was about thee years ago and we've since evolved in our thoughts as we've learned more about the different options and what they offer as pros and cons.
As L&G got serious about Class B+ RVs a couple of years ago years ago, we trailed behind both in our knowledge and plans. Like most people getting into the RV world for the first time, we started familiarizing ourselves with the terminology and also started watching lots of YouTube videos. Our plan is to go places more in the wilderness for hiking or trail walks and just enjoying the peacefulness of nature. Driving south and going to a RV park, hooking up, and staying for days just to be in warm weather isn't what we see ourselves doing most of the time. We don't have children, so a vehicle for the two of us was all we needed. I think, fairly early, on we decided the following:
• Class A These wouldn't work because we didn't want to spend that much money and the size was problematic. I really wouldn't feel comfortable driving a large rig, we wouldn't be able to get to the places we think we want to go, and we wanted to store the unit on our property and couldn't do so with a class A.
• Trailers Considering driving comfort, we didn't think a trailer was practical for us either for the same reasons as a class A. We would need a reliable tow vehicle and a place to store the truck and trailer. We prefer "easy and convenient" and a trailer wasn't going to put us into our comfort zone.
• Truck camper and a pickup We came really close to settling on this option, but see below as I'll explain what happened there.
The final decision (in late 2020) was that a Class B+ or a Class B suited our needs best, so we started digging further into these units. Reliability and relatively low maintenance were big concerns so we didn't want any units with slides. When we started getting serious, along with watching many more YouTube videos, we visited several RV retailers and walked through many units. Most of them were quite nicely made, but each of them had limitations that didn't quite fit.
Overall, what would I say are the main determinants for us? Here they are:
• Size I really wanted something 24 feet or shorter. Small towns, tight/rougher roads, or low clearances will be encountered on our journeys. Our home storage area also meant the unit had to be under 10' in height. Angela is a "worrier" and I couldn't see myself driving comfortably with her in the RV. I'm not so much of a worrier, but I do worry about when she worries... It's not that her worrying is a bad thing, but we just recognize the reality of what that would be like when traveling - probably not really relaxing for either of us!
• Sleeping arrangement We tried getting in and out of some vans with an east-west (side to side) sleeping arrangement... There was one Class B that I really liked a lot. It looked great, was really well made, had good capacities (storage, fresh water, grey, black), functional washroom, nice galley, etc. so we waited for one to come in and made an appointment to see it 'in the flesh'. It was very nice, but... (FYI - I have some torn cartilage in my knee.) Angela laid down in the bed on "her side" (the one closer to the washroom) and I tested getting into bed and climbing over her to get to the other side. Well... disaster struck. As I was climbing up, I had to bend my knee in an awkward way and my knee locked up because of my torn cartilage! Then I had to climb back down into the narrow galley area and do my weird knee bend procedure and press the side of my knee as I straighten out my leg to get the cartilage back into place. (I've had this problem for about 30 years, but it only locks up a few times a year.) Can't see us/me dealing with that every night so that rig was out. The RV also wasn't "inexpensive" but it was a strong contender.
• Washroom A shower (with hot water) and toilet are must haves. We could not see ourselves going outside to pee (during the day or night!) We also wanted decent black tank capacity and not having to use a composting or cassette toilet. A dry bath would have been awesome, but we'd be okay with a wet bath as long as it was practical. So one with a stall and toilet that needs to get fully squeegeed or wiped down after every shower didn't appeal to us. We're not big people, but we found a toilet, shower, and sink combo was too crowded and necessitated sitting on the toilet to shower; this didn't appeal to us either.
• Galley I love to cook and we like good food and drink. That meant a compressor refrigerator with decent capacity and a freezer compartment, a two burner cooktop, a good sized sink, reasonable counter space, and a fair amount of storage space.
• Eating-living space We would want to be able to have up to four other people over inside to share a meal. We get it, that when RVing, much (hopefully most) of the living happens outside, but between weather/climate and bugs, that won't always be possible. We wanted a table and dining area that could seat up to six people in reasonable comfort. When it's just Angela and I, we wanted to be able to have a smaller, Lagun mounted table in the same area.
• Style What can I say, "we like what we like." The feel of the finishes in some units didn't suit us, or one of us didn't like the look of one aspect or another. We had almost settled on a truck camper and a pickup truck, but in the end, we just didn't like the enormous look of the combo and even though it comes with its own challenges, we like the cab space being part of the living quarters and not separate like you get with a truck and camper top or a trailer. Yes, our designed bed area has to be converted into the eating area each day, but I think we have a relatively fast and practical solution for that (more details to come on that later).
• Cost I think we can afford a fair bit... but at the same time we don't want to break the bank. We do prefer new vehicles, so buying used was out. I'm also reasonably handy with tools and have access to a workshop. With me doing all of the labour, we would save a bundle even though we are not trying to do it on the cheap. Overall I figured we could do our own really well-equipped van conversion from new for less than the cost of a new truck and camper. We were thinking a Ford F-350 and a large, high quality clamshell type truck camper as our price point comparison. Overall, I think it will be about $100K less than the cost of a commercially made higher end class B van, but if we do things right, I think it will be more capable, better equipped, and more suited to our needs in the end.
As L&G got serious about Class B+ RVs a couple of years ago years ago, we trailed behind both in our knowledge and plans. Like most people getting into the RV world for the first time, we started familiarizing ourselves with the terminology and also started watching lots of YouTube videos. Our plan is to go places more in the wilderness for hiking or trail walks and just enjoying the peacefulness of nature. Driving south and going to a RV park, hooking up, and staying for days just to be in warm weather isn't what we see ourselves doing most of the time. We don't have children, so a vehicle for the two of us was all we needed. I think, fairly early, on we decided the following:
• Class A These wouldn't work because we didn't want to spend that much money and the size was problematic. I really wouldn't feel comfortable driving a large rig, we wouldn't be able to get to the places we think we want to go, and we wanted to store the unit on our property and couldn't do so with a class A.
• Trailers Considering driving comfort, we didn't think a trailer was practical for us either for the same reasons as a class A. We would need a reliable tow vehicle and a place to store the truck and trailer. We prefer "easy and convenient" and a trailer wasn't going to put us into our comfort zone.
• Truck camper and a pickup We came really close to settling on this option, but see below as I'll explain what happened there.
The final decision (in late 2020) was that a Class B+ or a Class B suited our needs best, so we started digging further into these units. Reliability and relatively low maintenance were big concerns so we didn't want any units with slides. When we started getting serious, along with watching many more YouTube videos, we visited several RV retailers and walked through many units. Most of them were quite nicely made, but each of them had limitations that didn't quite fit.
Overall, what would I say are the main determinants for us? Here they are:
• Size I really wanted something 24 feet or shorter. Small towns, tight/rougher roads, or low clearances will be encountered on our journeys. Our home storage area also meant the unit had to be under 10' in height. Angela is a "worrier" and I couldn't see myself driving comfortably with her in the RV. I'm not so much of a worrier, but I do worry about when she worries... It's not that her worrying is a bad thing, but we just recognize the reality of what that would be like when traveling - probably not really relaxing for either of us!
• Sleeping arrangement We tried getting in and out of some vans with an east-west (side to side) sleeping arrangement... There was one Class B that I really liked a lot. It looked great, was really well made, had good capacities (storage, fresh water, grey, black), functional washroom, nice galley, etc. so we waited for one to come in and made an appointment to see it 'in the flesh'. It was very nice, but... (FYI - I have some torn cartilage in my knee.) Angela laid down in the bed on "her side" (the one closer to the washroom) and I tested getting into bed and climbing over her to get to the other side. Well... disaster struck. As I was climbing up, I had to bend my knee in an awkward way and my knee locked up because of my torn cartilage! Then I had to climb back down into the narrow galley area and do my weird knee bend procedure and press the side of my knee as I straighten out my leg to get the cartilage back into place. (I've had this problem for about 30 years, but it only locks up a few times a year.) Can't see us/me dealing with that every night so that rig was out. The RV also wasn't "inexpensive" but it was a strong contender.
• Washroom A shower (with hot water) and toilet are must haves. We could not see ourselves going outside to pee (during the day or night!) We also wanted decent black tank capacity and not having to use a composting or cassette toilet. A dry bath would have been awesome, but we'd be okay with a wet bath as long as it was practical. So one with a stall and toilet that needs to get fully squeegeed or wiped down after every shower didn't appeal to us. We're not big people, but we found a toilet, shower, and sink combo was too crowded and necessitated sitting on the toilet to shower; this didn't appeal to us either.
• Galley I love to cook and we like good food and drink. That meant a compressor refrigerator with decent capacity and a freezer compartment, a two burner cooktop, a good sized sink, reasonable counter space, and a fair amount of storage space.
• Eating-living space We would want to be able to have up to four other people over inside to share a meal. We get it, that when RVing, much (hopefully most) of the living happens outside, but between weather/climate and bugs, that won't always be possible. We wanted a table and dining area that could seat up to six people in reasonable comfort. When it's just Angela and I, we wanted to be able to have a smaller, Lagun mounted table in the same area.
• Style What can I say, "we like what we like." The feel of the finishes in some units didn't suit us, or one of us didn't like the look of one aspect or another. We had almost settled on a truck camper and a pickup truck, but in the end, we just didn't like the enormous look of the combo and even though it comes with its own challenges, we like the cab space being part of the living quarters and not separate like you get with a truck and camper top or a trailer. Yes, our designed bed area has to be converted into the eating area each day, but I think we have a relatively fast and practical solution for that (more details to come on that later).
• Cost I think we can afford a fair bit... but at the same time we don't want to break the bank. We do prefer new vehicles, so buying used was out. I'm also reasonably handy with tools and have access to a workshop. With me doing all of the labour, we would save a bundle even though we are not trying to do it on the cheap. Overall I figured we could do our own really well-equipped van conversion from new for less than the cost of a new truck and camper. We were thinking a Ford F-350 and a large, high quality clamshell type truck camper as our price point comparison. Overall, I think it will be about $100K less than the cost of a commercially made higher end class B van, but if we do things right, I think it will be more capable, better equipped, and more suited to our needs in the end.
