How We Chose Our RV

Travel

 

We have little to no experience when it comes to living or traveling in a RV.  My parents are part-time RV’ers who spend about half of the year traveling in theirs, so we do have a reliable source of help.   When we made the final decision to move into a motor-home, we knew there were some specific things we needed as a family to make this journey work for us.  We purchased a 2007 Gulf Stream RV Conquest Super C. (That’s a lot to say, haha.) Here is how we chose the perfect RV for us.

TRAILER VS. RV

We have traveled with two kids many times and we know just how frustrating it can be trying to keep two small kids happy in a car.  We knew we wanted to have options to move around, watch movies, play games, lay down, use the restroom, or even make a quick snack without having to stop on driving days.  We also wanted this to feel like a home. Because we are leaving the home our kids have come to love, we want them to feel like they are at home on the road. We thought the best way to do this would be to give them a home space on wheels so they are comfortable whether we are parked or traveling.  And lets be honest, we would never make it anywhere if we had to make restroom stops for these two kids. The price of a travel trailer is a lot cheaper, but we felt it was worth the additional cost to give the kids a space that feels like we are lounging around the house on travel days rather than being cooped up in a car. (I think our sanity will thank us later too)

SPACE

Another huge factor was living quarters.  Because we are drastically changing our lives, we felt we needed to give our children a sense of their own space. A very small space, but a place they could feel responsible for. A place they would be comfortable retreating to and calling their own, and we preferred to not make them share.  This was going to be a bit tricky, but we hoped we could be creative when it came to the remodel as long as we found the right bones and floor plan. We also knew that having a separate master bedroom with a door and privacy was a must for our sanity and marriage. We looked through many different Class A motor-homes and couldn’t find a floor plan that met our specific needs.  We kept going back to Class C floor plans, they seemed to suit our needs better with the bunk above the cab. When we found Roberta, she had three separate spaces that could be bedrooms. She had a master in the back, a bunk room, and a bunk over the cab. Our kids could each have their own space and Brandon and I could have a room with a door! This was exactly what we had been looking for!

SAFETY & RELIABILITY

A huge decision factor was safety.  This home would be carrying the three most important humans in my life, it had to be safe.  We did a lot of research on different models of motor homes and Super C motor-homes are the safest on the road.  We also wanted something reliable, which meant we couldn’t purchase the vintage 1970’s Winnebago I dreamed of unless we wanted to spend a pretty penny to rebuild the entire thing.  (Maybe someday)

We had to take into consideration that neither Brandon or I are mechanically advanced. We have zero knowledge when it comes to fixing engines or gadgets in our RV and it is inevitable, something will go wrong.  We both really like that when needed, we can take Roberta to almost any mechanic shop to be worked on no matter where we happen to be traveling at the time. With a Class A motor-home, we would be limited to specific mechanics and shops which would not be the best scenario for our situation.

Lastly, we both wanted to be comfortable driving the RV.  Let’s be honest, a Class A motor-home is a lot of bus and I wasn’t sold on the idea of driving one, especially with a toad car behind it.  I am not doubting my ability to drive one eventually, but I know I feel more comfortable right now sitting behind the wheel of a Class C. The Super C is the perfect “starting” bus.  It honestly feels like a big truck when driving it.

MISCELLANEOUS

There were a few miscellaneous items that we considered too.

Yes,  gas mileage was definitely one of them. We considered the advantages of a diesel pushers, but in the end gas is expensive either way right now so it wasn’t at the top of our priority list.

The storage and appliances were factors, but not make or break items.  Going into the process, we knew we were going to renovate the RV we purchased so we were less picky in these two areas.  Although, we did end up with an interior in perfectly good condition; she was definitely move-in ready when we bought her.  The problem was that she didn’t feel like “home” at all. If this was going to be our full time home, we wanted it to feel like home and that is really hard to find in a motor-home that hasn’t been renovated to fit your style.  I really wanted a wash/dryer combo along with a pantry, but Roberta doesn’t have either. We are pretty confident that we can make those two things happen with the extra bunk space, (fingers crossed). If not, Brandon said he would hand wash/dry all of our laundry, so I didn’t make too big of a stink about those requests.

We of course went through the necessary checks to make sure everything worked properly. We checked the slides, the awnings, checked for water damage, so on and so on.  Luckily, we had my parents help in this department. They gave us a handy list of “must checks” for when we were seriously considering Roberta.

There are lots of options when choosing the best RV.   For us, we just weighed all of these factors and Roberta fit us perfectly!

 

xoxo,

Jessica

Comments

  1. Chesiree says:

    Hi there! Loved your post. We are also considering a motorhome and remodeling it – right now when I look at RV’s I just see the potential for decoration/renovation but I would love a good list of “must checks” – would it be possible for you to post that or send it? Would be so, so helpful. Have a good one 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Don't Miss Out!

 fun in your inbox, helpful planning advice, discounts and more!

JOIN THE FUN

@jessicatinklephotography 

On Instagram

Follow along with our latest work, adventures and more!

Instagram-color Created with Sketch.
Facebook Copy-color Created with Sketch.

THE LATEST & GREATEST

Instagram-color Created with Sketch.

Join the newsletter family for the latest deals, tips, and encouragement right to your inbox!

Join the Fun