Life on the Road

A lot of people have been asking me questions about our RV, so I thought some background information might be helpful.

I don’t claim to be an expert, as we’re just learning all the terminology ourselves!  And if this seems really basic and silly to you, please feel free to skip over it, or add to it…

Essentially, it’s called an RV if you can sleep, use the restroom, and cook in it - all while being mobile.

A “mobile home,” although called a “trailer” (as in “trailer park”) is actually a whole different animal - although you do tow it to a place, it is meant to be used in a stationary fashion.  Aside from the “trailer trash” stereotype, there are regular folks using them, too, and to be p.c. they prefer “manufactured housing.” 

There are three basic types of RVs: 

  Travel Trailer = a trailer that you pull with a ball hitch behind your truck. This is what we have now.

  5th Wheel = also a trailer, but pulls with that “big rig” sort of hitch that’s mounted in the bed of your pickup.

  Motorhome = a “one piece” unit that has the driving vehicle and the living space in one. Some are the big “tour bus” style (they call those “Class A”)…

 …and some are smaller and look more like trucks with a camper built on and a bunk over the cab (”Class C”).

The main advantages of a travel trailer are that it typically costs less than the other types, and that you can (potentially) tow it with your existing vehicle.

5th Wheels offer a lot more space, including headroom, due to the way they are designed to come up over the pickup bed.  They also offer much more storage than a travel trailer, with exterior compartments that go underneath in the unused space.  If you have more than two people, you have to consider how comfy it will be for everyone driving in the pickup cab.

Motorhomes, as you might imagine, are HUGE gas hogs.  It would be awfully nice, though, to be in the back taking a nap, or letting the kids watch a movie, while we were driving down the road!  Clearly you’d want to tow a vehicle along with you to use around town, and unlike our travel trailer setup, you must unhitch the towed vehicle to back your motorhome into a spot.

Did you know that “toad” is actually the correct term for a “towed” vehicle in the RV community?  Ribbit!

So far we’re thinking 5th Wheel for the next one…  and a nice, big super cab truck!