Choosing Your Perfect RV Type

RVs continue to increase in popularity with Americans buying hundreds of thousands every year according to Business Insider. Choosing the perfect RV for you can be overwhelming.  RV, or recreational vehicle, generally refers to a vehicle that is equipped with many of the amenities found in a home such as a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and living area. They can be motorized or towable, and there are classes of each type ranging from small campers to massive diesel motorhomes.

At a minimum, a RV typically contains a bed, table, and food preparation areas. They may also have outdoor kitchens or showers, even awnings to extend outside living space. Some have slide-out sections which increase the available interior living space. The choices can be overwhelming. Before deciding which type and class of RV would best suit your lifestyle it will be necessary to decide your primary intended use.

You will save time and frustration by clarifying how you plan to use your RV, your budget, and how many people you plan to accommodate. From weekend getaways to cross country trips, short treks or full-time RVing, there is a type of RV to make the RVing experience pleasurable. Typically the towables will be less expensive than the motorized RVs. But do you have a suitable tow vehicle? Check the maximum weight your vehicle can tow before selecting a RV trailer.

The options for RVing are numerous. There are choices for those who want to feel like they are “roughing it”, luxury accommodations for those who prefer “glamping” and plenty of choices in between.

Camper Shell

The most basic kind of RV is a truck camper shell. Attached to a pickup truck’s bed it creates a cargo space that is protected from the weather and secured from theft. They are either made of fiberglass or aluminum. Aluminum tops are cheaper and usually from a standard mold. On the other hand, fiberglass tops are more than double the price but made from a custom mold specifically designed for the make and model of pickup truck. The fiberglass shells can be optioned to have more head room and both styles can have sliding windows and interior lights.

Camper shells work well for people who simply want a dry, secure spot off the ground to sleep. It takes two people to install a shell on a pickup truck so it is not practical to remove and replace it on a frequent basis. Between camping trips the camper shell keeps their equipment from the elements.

Truck Camper

Truck campers offer compact living facilities with many of the amenities of larger RVs but in a very scaled-down version. A truck camper slides into the back of a pickup truck’s bed and comes in different options. Campers are classified as hard-sided or soft-sided. The soft-sided option is lighter weight and lower profile. The top is collapsible on soft-sides and pops-up for walk-in headroom when set up. The soft-sides are more minimalistic in features but still offer more in creature comforts than a camper shell.

Hard-side truck campers are generally more elaborate than the pop-ups. They are also heavier and need a 3/4 ton or even a 1-ton pickup truck to handle the weight. The benefits include a kitchen that includes a stove and refrigerator and maybe a sink and water source. Some models include a water heater and wet bath (all-in-one). Dry baths are less common because of the space they take up. The truck camper has some advantage over RV vans because of the higher ground clearance.

Travel Trailer

By far the most popular RV type, trailers are one of the least expensive ways to get into the RV lifestyle. Some are lightweight enough for a standard pickup truck, van, suv, or crossover to tow. There is a range of designs and construction to suit the needs and budgets of most buyers. This type of RV is easy to hitch-up and disconnect.

Smaller trailers typically have a single axle while larger trailers have two or three axles. The multiple axles improve towing stability. Adding anti-sway bars or a load-leveling kit for a travel trailer, even a smaller one, improves stability even more.

Sizes vary from the small “teardrop” which is basically a bed on wheels to much larger trailers with all the amenities of home. Teardrop trailers have a retro feel and look with sleeping for two and typically a kitchen accessed from an outside rear storage area. These trailers are eight to nine feet long and four to six feet wide.

Typical travel trailers range in length from 10 feet to 35 feet and are usually 8 feet wide. Depending on the floor plan, they can sleep 4 to 10 people. The bunkhouse floor plan having the most beds but even in many of the one bedroom plans the dinettes and/or couches convert to extra sleeping spaces.

Pop-up or Folding Camper Trailers

This class of trailers includes soft-sided and hard-sided (A-frame) campers. They fold into a very compact profile when collapsed making them easier to tow and maneuver than full-sized trailers. Because of their lightweight, these trailers can be towed by much smaller vehicles. The soft-sided campers are only about four feet high collapsed and consist of a trailer frame, a box, hard roof, pull-out bunks, and “soft” walls(usually canvas).

Opened, soft-sided campers expand to roughly double the box length. Space is at a premium but like the fifth wheels and travel trailers, they often have kitchenettes. The sleeping area is in the canvas fold-out areas. Usually, there is no AC or heater but sometimes there is a functioning bathroom.

The hard-sided or A-Frame type of pop-up has a distinct triangle shape when collapsed. Unlike soft-sided pop-ups that have canvas walls and plastic windows, A-Frames have solid walls with insulation and solid windows and skylights. This makes them cooler in summer and warmer in winter. A-Frames share many of the benefits of conventional pop-ups plus an added element of security.

Hybrid Travel Trailer

This class of trailer combines the best of traditional travel trailers and pop-up trailers. Lighter than traditional travel trailers but more room than typical pop-up trailers. The canvas slide outs give the feeling of tent camping while still enjoying the comforts of a hard-sided trailer. Most of the benefits found in traditional travel trailers are available in hybrid trailers.

Toy Haulers-Sport Utility

This class of trailer is found mostly on towable RVs but can also be found in Class A and C motorhomes. Available in a range of lengths from 19-39 feet, a toy hauler has an enclosed garage in the back designed for carrying outdoor playthings like ATVs. Living space area is often smaller than traditional travel trailers but additional sleeping space can be incorporated into the garage area by way of convertible bed units that lift up toward the ceiling. The garage ramp can also be used as a patio when the trailer is in camp mode.

Fifth-Wheel Trailer

Second in popularity to travel trailers, fifth-wheels are the largest towable. The front extends over the pickup truck bed that has a special hitch that sits beneath the forward quarters. They can be very spacious especially if they have a slide-out(s).

Motorhomes

The motorized RVs include Class A, Class B, and Class C. They may be fueled by gasoline or diesel.

Class A

These monsters are built on a special chassis and resemble a bus. They are easy to spot with their vertical to slightly sloping windshields. These are often the choice of full-time RVers because of their luxury and space. Appliances are often residential style.

Because of their size, there may be limitations on where they can go. They are too large for some RV parks.

Class B

Camper vans fall in this category. This class of RV is the smallest of the motorized RVs. It is typically built on a van chassis. They often come with a sink, small stovetop, refrigerator, and maybe a toilet, even shower but typically offer fewer amenities than Class A or C. They are easier to drive and park. Their low ground clearance does limit access to some off-road areas.

Class C

Usually built on a truck chassis, this class of motorized RV is sort of a hybrid between Class A and B. Class C has a distinctive cab-over profile. The living space is larger than a Class B but smaller than a Class A. They typically have wider bodies than Class B RVs.

Slide-Outs

Slide-outs are available on many types of RVs including travel trailers, fifth-wheels, motorhomes, and vans.
Trailers typically have 1 to 3 slide outs which can increase the interior living space. Sometimes when the slides are in travel position they can block areas you might need to access before full set up.

Multiple slides can make an RV feel like a small apartment. The downside is they add weight to the rig and have the potential for leaks.

The world of RVs makes it possible to get outdoors and still have many of the comforts of home. Identify your personal needs and aspirations, and don’t rush your decision, do your research. The result will be worth the effort you put into finding the right fit to suit the destinations and activities of most interest.

A good way to get the feel for how an RV will fit your needs is to rent before you buy. That helps to identify which floor plan works for your type of camping and which features are most important to your family.