Recreational Vehicles

Shopping for an RV

Also see RV Dealers

Defining Requirements

A highly individual process, this is your first step. Research what is available, and decide how you want to travel as well as determining your budget is crucial for narrowing this enormous field.

• How much space do you need?
  • Living space
    • Sleeping area
    • Cooking
      • Include storage for food as well as cooking equipment
      • Will you cook outdoors as well as in the RV?
    • Bathing
    • If you travel with pets, where will they stay?
      • When on the road
      • While parked
  • Storage
    • Inside storage
    • "Basement" (outside) storage
• Do you want a vehicle with living space, or a towable you can separate from your vehicle?
  • Towing or towed vehicle storage
  • Do you want to tow a toy-hauler
• Do you plan to stay in RV parks, or dry-camp, or both?
• How large a vehicle are you comfortable driving?
• What can you afford?
  • Keep in mind that buying the RV is just the beginning. Traveling comfortably involves more than that.
  • Accessories can add up quickly.
  • Weight is a consideration when determining what you can take with you.
  • Fuel isn't free, and neither is maintenance.
• What are your power needs?
  • Add up wattage & amperage for everything you want to operate at once
  • Electricity for cooking and entertainment can come from various sources
    • Shore connections
    • Solar power
      • Built-in solar panels, controllers, inverters, batteries
      • Portable solar power stations
      • Hybrid built-in & portable systems
    • Gas or LP generators

RV Shopping Resources

• RV Reviews
• YouTube
  • search for reviews of RVs by class, size, features
• 2022 RV Show List

RV Categories

RVs are defined by broad categories. The first three classes include a vehicle as well as living & storage space, and are more expensive and possibly less flexible as a result.

1. Class A
   • Self-contained motorhomes or motor coaches built on a truck chassis. Generally larger than Class Bs.
2. Class B
   • Self-contained small motorhomes, usually built on a van chassis, with the cab integrated into the body of the coach
3. Class C
   • Self-contained small motorhomes, built on the back of a truck chassis, with separate cab
4. Travel Trailer
   • Towable, separate self-contained or partially self-contained mobile home, usually with independent power & water
5. Toy-hauler
   • An RV with some provision (hatch, ramp, etc.) for carrying gear inside them, such as motorcycles, bikes or ATVs, sometimes also including living quarters

Class A RVs

I am personally not interested in a Class A at this time, although I did live in one fulltime with my husband for several years.

Class B RVs

Roadtrek

Roadtrek Zion

Built on a Dodge Ram chassis, gas engine, 20'9" length, no slides. Automatic 6-speed. GPS, SiriusXM, backup camera. Parking assist. King-size bed converts to 2 sofa banquettes (powered) w/table. Front wet bath. 200/300w solar panel. 2-burner propane stove or 1-burner inductive electric stovetop. Microwave oven. 5 cu ft refrigerator. Pantry. Instant hot water. Underbed storage. Swivel front seats w/table. MSRP $110K at Sunshine State RV.

Roadtrek Zion SRT

19'7" length, automatic 6-speed, Dodge Ram chassis, gas engine. Rear power sofa/queen-size bed. 1-burner inductive stovetop. 700w 0.7 cu ft microwave. Deep pot drawer, pantry. Front wet bath, outdoor shower. Awning. Generator, 300w solar panel. YouTube tour of the 2020 model from Advance Camping who list it for $98K.

Coachmen RV

Coachmen Nova RB

Dodge Ram chassis. 20' 11" length. Rear wet bath. 2 twin daybeds w/table, center aisle. Under-counter refrigerator & microwave, 1-burner induction stovetop. Swivel front seats. No place to put cat litter box.

Pleasure Way

OnTour 2.0

Built on the Ford Transit chassis, at 19'7" with a gas engine. Rear power sofa/bed & 2 jumpseats. Wetbath in center, but no sink. Telescoping & tilt steering wheel. Ford Sync3 GPS, etc. 1-burner induction stovetop, below-counter microwave,3.2 cu ft refrigerator. YouTube tour from Advance Camping in Milwaukee. Mfgr's site says 2,000W inverter for dual 100Amp LiIon batteries, with 200w solar panel. Auto-start Onan generator.

American Coach

Ford Patriot FD2

Built on Ford Transit chassis, 21' long. All electric, big solar (300W), no propane, no generator. 600 amp-hours LiIon batteries. Quietest a/c on the market. Convection/microwave oven. Rear power sofa. Will deliver free anywhere in the US! MSRP $120K.

Mercedes Patriot MD2 Lounge

Like the Ford Patriot, but on a Mercedes Turbo V6 diesel chassis, slightly longer at 24 ft 3 in., with a loft bed. Includes LPG generator, 100w solar panel.

Winnebago

Solis 59P

19'9", on Dodge V6 (gas) chassis. Pop-up camper sleeps 4. Murphy+twin bed in rear & loft bunk. No oven, but 2-burner glass-top range, under-counter refrigerator. Wet bath with cassette toilet, but no sink. Showerhead on handheld wand. Small cabinet to keep toilet paper dry, nice touch. Cassette is removed from outside to empty, and includes handle & wheels in case needs to be moved. Brackets built in to walls to convert to shelving. 220w solar panel & controller. Outside shower. Connection for additional solar panel. Inverter not included, but optional. No generator. 12v compressor refrigerator faces front next to patio door. Eco-hot tankless water heater. Considered a 4-season camper since all waterlines are inside. YouTube video tour from Beckly's Camping Center. No A/C??? That's a show-stopper in Texas. There's a/c on the dashboard, but not in the living area. Also, no LiIon batteries. Too much cost-cutting for me.

Erwin Hymer Group North America

• Builds Carado RVs
• Also parent company of RoadTrek, apparently

Carado RV

Carado Banff

Built on Dodge RAM chassis, 19'6". Convertible dual twins or king-sized bed. Rear wet-dry bath. A/C. Optional 200w solar panels & 400w LiIon batteries, etc. Optional generator. 2-burner propane stovetop, 3.1 cu ft refrigerator, 700w microwave. 6-gal. propane water heater. Used 2018 model $70K at Beckley's Camping Center in Thurmont, MD.

Carado Axion

17'9", on gas Dodge RAM V6 chassis. Convertible couch makes up into single or double bed (double takes up entire width of coach next to galley). Front pop-up table for swivel driver/passenger seats & couch. Rear wetbath w/ drop-down sink. Microwave, 2-burner LPG stovetop, 3.1 cu ft refrigerator. 200w solar panels, LiIon batteries, inverter. A/C & furnace.

Phoenix USA RV TRX

The Phoenix TRX is a Class B+ built on the Ford Transit chassis. this luxury small motorhome comes with either a sofa and dinette, or two sofas, full kitchen, and (possibly unique in its class) a dry bath with separate shower and lavatory. It sleeps two, and has six seatbelts.

Phoenix USA RV Cruiser

A larger Class B+, the Phoenix Cruiser is built on an E-450 chassis, with a choice of ten models, ranging from 27'7" to 30'10" long (without external ladder), and a variety of floorplans.

Class C RVs

Coachmen RV

2019 Coachmen Crossfit 22C

Used, at VogtRV in Ft. Worth. 22' 2" length. Front wet bath, rear power sofa/bed. Ford Transit chassis, gas engine. 6 cu ft refrigerator, 1-burner induction stovetop. Generator, 100w solar panel.

Truck Campers

NuCamp Cirrus 620

Fits a short-bed, 1/2 ton pickup truck

Travel Trailers

My Nissan Frontier Crew Cab has maximum towing capacity of 6300 lbs, which is more than adequate for these small trailers.

Xtreme Outdoors Little Guy Max

This is my latest dream trailer, although it's probably out of my current price range. This large teardrop trailer has lots of very cool features, and the way Janine has customized hers is out of sight! As a result of seeing this walk-through, I looked up her Girl Campers website and magazine, and subscribed to it, and signed up to the local Texas Hill Country Girl Campers Facebook group, I was so impressed. The official website for the trailer is here. My closest dealer is Princess Craft, north of Austin and over 60 miles away from me, so I'll check their website before going up there to see one in person.

KZ Sportsmen Classic 160QB

Small enough to tow with the Nissan Frontier, big enough for comfort, cheap enough for me to afford at $16,988

KZ Sportsmen Classic 170MB

The same size as the 160QB, but with a Murphy bed/couch instead of a queen bed, and slightly different configuration. The bathroom is slightly larger with the wardrobe inside it, and the door is closer to the front than in the other trailer. This is my preferred model. The salesman at San Antonio RVs is looking up the price & availability for me since they don't have this model in stock. The gross weight is 3500 lbs.

KZ Escape Hatch E17

A bit more expensive, not sure the hatch back is a good idea with cats, otherwise really nice. Fiberglass construction vs wood. It is also more expensive than the Sportsmen Classic.

Forest River Cherokee Wolf Pup 16FQ

UPDATE

The decision is made! I'm getting the 16FQ with a Murphy Bed, but not the Black Label edition. The primary difference is that the one I'm getting has aluminum siding instead of fiberglass, otherwise aside from a few other trivial things they are the same.

As well as the included 50W solar panel, I've ordered a Bluetti AP200P solar power station and two 100W solar panels, so I ought to be able to drycamp without sacrificing too many creature comforts.

Here's some images of the one I bought:

Original write-up

The "regular" Wolf Pup is the same price as the Sportsmen Classic 160QB and almost the same configuration, but has a Murphy bed. The model I like better is this "Black Label" version which is a bit more, although I'm not thrilled with the black & tan decor, but I could live with it. It has more of the bells and whistles I "need", and I really do prefer the fiberglass shell over the aluminum siding.

The one the salesman showed me is actually the 16FQBL (Black Label) now shown in the link, which has a few extra features and is a couple of $K more than the plain old 16FQ. Perhaps the most significant difference is the fiberglass exterior, vs aluminum. It does come with a 50W solar panel, which is hardly enough to sneeze at, but at least would mean that the rig is prewired for solar, so more panels might be added, along with more batteries, etc. I'd add at least 150W more to be practical for drydocking, and preferably up to 400W. It does not have a port for a portable solar panel, unfortunately (unless it's on the roof, which would be pretty useless for me), but it's possible that one could be added by the dealer. Portable panels are not all that expensive, but having the controller & batteries to match could be. With 400W, enough batteries, and an appropriate inverter, I could run the a/c and microwave as well as the 12V refrigerator. It does have a good-sized (10.7 cu ft) refrigerator with separate freezer, but instead of 110/12v/propane switchable power like many have, it is 110 volt only. [Correction: it is 12Volt DC, not 110Volt AC.] I don't know how much of a limitation that would be, but does make me more interested in increasing the solar power system. As for the dark cabinets, they can be painted or enhanced with removable wallpaper. They are solid wood, not laminate or anything like that, so doing that would not be too complicated. I also had the idea of hanging a curtain or tapestry behind the sofa to hide the Murphy bed and add a bit of color that way. Also preinstalled is a backup camera that comes with a wireless monitor for the towing vehicle.

Revisiting it on the lot (after doing more research), I see it comes with a directional WiFi antenna already installed, which saves a couple hundred $ over adding it post-purchase. I couldn't tell if it also includes the signal booster, but if not that's an add-on I can get later. Before I get on the road I need to review my cellphone plan to find one that has unlimited data. The WiFi antenna doesn't help with a weak cellphone signal, but King does make a device for that, too, of course.

Here is a 360° view of the model I saw today.

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