The long decision process.
I had experience with all the RV choices so I tried to share what knowledge I had on each. We realized there were Pros and Cons on each so we decided to simply look at all of the options.
What better way than attending the Hershey RV Show – the biggest RV show in America. With 33 football fields of RVs from more than 40 manufacturers, it is a great way to educate yourself on RVs so we made plans to go to the 2018 show.
We spent the whole day there looking at mostly motor homes and fifth wheels. WOW – what nice units! Sandi walked into one of the big class ‘A’ units and smiled from ear-to-ear and said “I could do this!” As we walked around the units, trying to imagine spending time in them and spoke to the sales people, as well as other visitors, we started learning things we had not considered. For reasons I will discuss later, we decided that we were interested in a fifth wheel instead of a motor home.
Now Sandi went to work educating herself more on RVs and camping.
She discovered that the 2018 Greater Philadelphia RV Show in Oaks, PA presented a lot of choices too so we set that as out next trip to see and learn more. Being a smaller show, we enjoyed more time chatting with other visitors and learning about their experiences and opinions on various types of RV and manufacturers. We left the show with several fifth wheel units in mind.
As our discussions went on, we were a little less convinced of our decision. Neither of us owned the pick-up truck needed as the tow vehicle. I had said I would replace my car with a pick-up in order to tow the unit. Sandi’s SUV was getting old and had a lot of miles so she was entertaining a new SUV but that did not help. One day, she asked me if I WANTED a truck to which I answered: if we were not buying a fifth wheel then, no, I would much rather own a sedan than a truck. I have a utility trailer I use when I need to haul lumber and large items so I am happy with my sedan instead of a truck. She mulled this over and later suggested we look at trailers instead. She volunteered to buy a SUV big enough to tow a travel trailer so we agreed to head down that path.
After a lot of research, we learned that there are few vehicles, other than trucks, that are truly capable of pulling trailers. She wanted a ‘stylish SUV’ – not a boxy one – and was considering three.
The choices were a Mercedes GLE350, a Jeep Grand Cherokee or an Audi Q7 3.0. After taking test rides in each and then comparing specs, we liked the handling and ride of the Audi the best and it had the best specs with a length, wheelbase, GVW, track, HP, Torque, and towing weight closely aligned with that of a Ford F150 pick up.
One issue was would Sandi even really like camping in a RV. We decided to make a test run so we rented a trailer from RVEzy in Canada half way between Niagra Falls and Toronto. We both thoroughly enjoyed the trip and saw clearly that we could enjoy this.
Part of our new discussions were about what driving an RV rig meant. I had explained that steep hills and winds were the real issues with wind being the biggest. I explained that the longer the rig, the worse the wind would be a factor. That meant that with a longer rig we would have to pull over and quit driving during weaker winds and sooner than with a shorter rig. We had our hearts set on a unit with theater seating, a dining table AND a tri-fold sleeper sofa. That meant over 30’ and the ones we liked were running about 33’.
We attended the 2019 Atlantic City RV show to check them out in person. While there, we saw that once you go under 30’ foot you are typically limited to a single seating choice: theater seating OR a dinette. The pull-out sofa is not offered. We found several trailers that we liked very much running about 33’ long. We were still quite unsure though. The 30’+ length set in the back of my mind as a problem.
When Sandi posted on a RV forum that we were looking to pull a 33’ foot trailer with the Audi, one rude/crude guy asked where to send the tombstones. This bothered her and I commented he was making a miserable attempt at expressing just how much care you have to take with rigs that are a lot longer than the tow vehicle. I tow my sailboat and trailer behind my 6 cylinder Nissan Altima and it is 21’ long but the weight is far less and the side surface area is minimal. I then talked in greater detail just what the winds could do and how dangerous they can get. I explained how the trailer is like a big sail (we love to sail so this was pertinent) tugging sideways on the rear end of the vehicle. I paralleled it to the difference between trying to walk in a straight line down the street with a six year old wild kid holding onto the back of your shirt versus having them wrap their arms around your waist.
We decided to see if we could find a trailer under 28’, and maybe as short as 26’, that would meet our needs. This became quite a challenge.
After many hours of research and looking at units at shows and on lots, we decided on some very important items we wanted.
A decent sized kitchen counter space – too many have insufficient counter space.
Decent counter space by the bathroom sink. Most have absolutely ZERO usable space.
Queen bed – not a Murphy bed.
A larger-rectangular shower.
Storage instead of losing space to an outdoor kitchen.
A slide-out to provide more open space inside.
We were pretty sold on one of three units: the Rockwood 2506S, the IMAGINE 2250RK, and the Imagine XLS 22RBE.
Next, we attended the 2019 Hershey RV Show but looked primarily at shorter travel trailers this time – in the 26’ – 28’ range. Again, it looked like all of them under 28’ offered a single seating choice. We were trying hard to talk ourselves into why/how that would make us happy but we were not really buying it.
That’s when we stumbled on the perfect trailer for us.
