Driving motor homes

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

We are considering the possibility of a touring holiday in either the US or Canada, using a motor home rather than hotels or timeshare. The potential problem is that I have never driven anything larger than a 'full size' car. We would be planning to remain in predominantly rural areas.
Is the idea practical or just plain crazy. If it's relevant, I have been driving for over 30 years with only one 'at fault' accident. There would only be 2 of us in the vehicle, but we do like to have space and comfort (within reason).

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Well the gas costs wouldn't bother you and we don't have those narrow streets <or many roundabouts > as some of your villages.

If we came away unscathed from England, I imagine you would be fine even with a motor home. Some of the new ones are less wide and intimidating than the old monsters. Similar in size to the smaller U-Haul self moving vans. Since there are only 2 of you, you can investigate some of these:
Compact Travel Trailers - Small Compact RV - Compact Motorhome

[1950bing Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 1950bing]

Use a GPS and also a camera to see what is behind you.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

We have rented RVs twice. One was a Class A, the big ones and the other was a Class C - the van cab. The Class C was easier to drive for me. The Class A was like driving a boat around especially in the city. It might take you a little time getting used to driving on the right side of the road and around town, but is easy on the Interstate and most of the Major US Highways. It is a great way to see the USA. Also, some people will park over night at Walmart stores, if they can not find a camp ground close. If it were me, I would go for it!

[Elan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Elan]

If you don't need a huge amount of room in the motor home, I'd suggest you see about renting one that's based on the Dodge Sprinter chassis. They have 5 or 6 cylinder Mercedes diesel engines, and thus get far better mileage, and handle more like a big van than a traditional motor home (so I've read, never actually driven one). They are definitely going to be more compact, however. An example would be an Roadtrek Adventurous ( www.roadtrek.com ), etc. I am also not sure of rental availability -- you'd likely have to secure one of these from a dealer, rather than one of the big RV rental operations.

[basham Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close basham]

Keitht,

Don't think it would be a problem.

You should go for it. What's the itinerary.?

[happymum Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close happymum]

Judging by the number of RV's that you see around Banff on any summer weekend, they seem to be very popular.

[JWC Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close JWC]

Judging by the number of RV's that you see around Banff on any summer weekend, they seem to be very popular.

I was amazed at the number of rental RV's when we drove from Banff to Jasper. It seemed like they were in the majority. Some of the drivers obviously had never driven an RV before. You do not see very many rental RV's on the road here. The vast majority of the RV's here are owned by the drivers.

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

Keitht,

Don't think it would be a problem.

You should go for it. What's the itinerary.?

No itinerary yet. Just at the "What if" stage.

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

Being married to Curb King, I would never consider something larger than a Class C. The thing about many of those is that your "master bedroom" is in back, all made up and ready for you. We would use the sleeper section for storage as no one would ever be sleeping up there. In years past, many models required "some assembly before use" each night, which is not something I want to deal with! The class c has come a long way.

Bathrooms will be tight in either model. Just make sure it's something you can live with. If you're a tall guy, showering could be very difficult. If you get a Woodall's to find campgrounds, you'll be able to see ratings where the higher ratings should equate to better shower facilities. Take your flipflops and a bucket or something similar to tote your toiletries.

You will periodically need to dump the septic. This is not as disgusting as it could be, but it's not quite a treat either. Most campgrounds these days do have dumping facilities. Depending on how much water you use, you may be able to get away with only dumping once a week. You should also be able to refill your potable water from the campgrounds. I would only caution that you taste the water before committing to filling up with it!

One of the first rvs my folks had was not much larger than a van, and was manufactured by the Itasca line of Winnebagos. It was fine for 2 people, and for 2 months, my folks, me and a friend made out ok. Of course, we got to know each other Very Well.

The Roadtreks are very cool, very expensive. It's what Mom wants but cannot afford. If you can latch onto one of those at a price you will pay, Do It. And then tell me all about it when you return ; )

Driving a large RV is a great deal of fun, if you know what to expect. Being passed on the interstate by a large vehicle is interesting. First you get sucked in, then you get blown out. As I said, a great deal of fun! You know, if you like panic-type excitement! That eases as you get used to it.

I'm not all that great at spacial relationships, but I never curbed it. It takes some getting used to where your back wheels are in relation to where the back of the vehicle is. Not so bad with a Class C. I would not suggest anything beyond 30 ft if you choose a Class A.

Of course a vehicle of that size is going to be very heavy so you'll need to accept slower starts and hills taking forever. Narrow curving roads can be especially scary when there is a lot of oncoming traffic and you're not comfortable with your wheel base. The Class C is far more manageable in both of these situations. Either one will have more rattling than you can ever muffle, so the extra noise from the interior furnishings will take some getting used to. Cabinet covers alone can drive you nuts.

Renting can be very expensive. There's the daily rental fee but it's the miles that will really do you in. You might look around for a used one for sale, that even if you unload it very cheap when you're done, you could still come out way ahead vs renting. Plus, if have any skirmishes (dents, dings, oops, bent the fender) you are not *really* responsible for it, and sell it "as is".

This might be especially practical if you're doing "one way." Get to your destination with a few days to spare and make the rounds of the dealerships. Someone will take it off your hands, especially if you end in a touristy area.

Do let us know what you decide - I'm jealous! And urging you to GO FOR IT! It's a fabulous way to travel. My recommendation is Class C simply because it should fulfill your needs and be far easier on your nerves. And possibly fuel consumption.

[shorts Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shorts]

We down sized from a class A to a class C just so I would feel more comfortable driving it than the class A. I also agree with the recomendation for 30' or less. We went from 38' to 32' and there was a difference in handling. The gas mileage improved also.

We love traveling in our RV. We only wish we could drive it to our timeshare locations, but most aren't set up for parking an RV and have policies against RV and trailers.

We've tried to split our travel between RV and timeshares, but have too many timeshares vs weeks of vacation. We do use the RV alot for long weekend camping trips. Actually prefer the RV to timesharing because we don't have to unpack and get to sleep in a comfortable bed each night. We put in a sleep number mattress.

Before deciding on a long trip, go to a dealer or rental place and test drive one. Take it to a large parking area like a mall and see how it corners. Practice parking and backing.

The other thing to think about is how you will get around to sight-see once you have the RV parked somewhere to camp. We pull our Jeep Liberty behind the RV (all 4 wheels down vs a dolly). That will also effect the handling of the RV. You can't back up when towing a vehicle so have to watch where you park or pull into for fuel.

Good luck with your planning. Let us know what you decide to do.

[Denise Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Denise]

Lots of fun!

We rented a 24' Winnebago View over Thanksgiving to go to Big Sur, CA. We did research for 6 months prior to figure out exactly what kind of motorhome we would like to drive and spend time in. We were also considering buying one, so it was important to rent what we were thinking of buying.

Since it is only the two of you, the Winnebago View or Itasca Navion would be perfect for a road trip. These are both Mercedes engines and get at least 15 mpg, maybe more. They handle like cars, aren't noisy like the Ford/Chevy engines on most Class Cs, and are very easy to drive. Many claim that they are easy to park in any parking lot, say a grocery store lot or a Walmart.

Our main criteria for choosing a motorhome to rent were 1) ease of driving 2) short enough to be allowed into all National/State Parks and 3) mileage. We had five people altogether, and I think that the View/Navion would be perfect for two.

Of course, the smaller the RV, then the smaller your tanks, so you'd have to dump and fill up fairly often. We met a couple from Germany along the way at a scenic outlook. They had rented a 25' from CruiseAmerica, and it was just the two of them, and they seemed very happy.

It's a great idea! We may rent another one to go to Yellowstone. We were ready to buy one, but the depreciation hit is huge, so we are waiting awhile.

Have fun planning your trip, it sounds like a lot of fun !

[ownsherown Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ownsherown]

For a small one your looking at around 200 US a day for rent, mileage and fuel. Add insurance and RV park fees to that and you're up around 240US a day.

As an over the road truck driver, I can tell you that the stress of driving something that big that you are not use to is huge. Let alone the stress you cause us

Somethings to think about.

[Keitht Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Keitht]

Thanks for all the feedback. If we do go the RV route I certainly don't plan to get something huge. Common sense suggests that there has to be a balance between what I'm going to feel comfortable driving and the levels of comfort/convenience in the vehicle.
The comment about sight seeing was particularly interesting as it's something I hadn't thought much about. Another question from me is - If I book into a site for 2 or 3 days, and go out during the day, do I keep the same pitch or can somebody else just roll in and take it?

[BoardGirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BoardGirl]

Thanks for all the feedback. If we do go the RV route I certainly don't plan to get something huge. Common sense suggests that there has to be a balance between what I'm going to feel comfortable driving and the levels of comfort/convenience in the vehicle.
The comment about sight seeing was particularly interesting as it's something I hadn't thought much about. Another question from me is - If I book into a site for 2 or 3 days, and go out during the day, do I keep the same pitch or can somebody else just roll in and take it?

Most campgrounds have assigned that site to you. Even if you get to pick your site, they will often have a card to put on the camp number post so someone knows it's taken (find your site, park, go back to the office to tell them which you're taking). Definitely ask when you register, tho. Each campground can have their own rules.