Please talk me out of this.

I'm going to suggest that you don't get this recent one your looking at.... Simply for the adults bed... It's only a full size bed... RV Beds aren't as big as a house bed... When they say a queen bed (RV) . It's much smaller than a house Queen... So that RV Full Size in the camper your looking at is going to be very cramped... Another thing on our must have list is... A walk around bed... access from both sides ... A couple of reasons for this... The wife HATES to try and make a bed that is up against a wall... Then another con for abed against a wall is... If (when) the person up against the wall has to go P at night they have to climb up and over the person on the outside... Come mourning the person that got climbed over and woke up isn't a happy camper...

Also I will suggest that you get some of the 4" thick foam for beds... Cut it to the same size as the mattress and put it under the mattress... The mattresses in an RV are thin... you'll be soar in the morning when you wake up... That's if you even get any sleep because of the thin mattresses...

 

Thats a pretty small camper.
But in the end if all you're looking to do is have a place to sleep with A/C it'll be fine.
Here in Texas thats the main thing.

 

Yep....believe I've already said this.
We have the same camper. Couldn't ask for better.

 

The "even expect new to be a headache" is real. Here's my twice used 2025 Forest River I had to repair on Father's day. Can't believe they let that go how it was.

 

Yeah im expecting to patch up a couple things, especially at the low price point im looking at. I like working on stuff so I've made my peace with it lol.

 

OOOFFFFFAH! Sorry to see that.

 

If you love camping and can swing it, do it. You'll make amazing memories with the family! Plus the kids will always remember the times.
The wife and I are picking our new one up tomorrow. Can't wait for the outings!

 

That looks pretty deluxe, how much does it run if you don't mind?

 

Lots of fantastic advice in this thread.

We had a fully restored Coleman Niagara pop-up for a year and the kids loved it. This was the perfect confirmation since he cost of entry was pretty low overall, even with the restoration. Covid hit and it was time to graduate.

We had the same lists others have shared. Top of our list was tank capacity. We had looked at the common names and they were all pretty much the same. Apex, Forest River, Coleman, Jayco, etc.

My FIL is obsessed with the idea of camping and is an encyclopedia when it comes to it. He suggested Grand Design. We begrudgingly looked, and it was that extra step above the others that won us over. Subtle improvement in use of space, massive tank sizes compared to the others, and good quality with a decent warranty. Recommendation for costs - shop in Indiana or Ohio and you'll save nearly 10k vs either of the coasts. It's only about 1k to have it delivered to you.

If you are at a campground with w/e only, they'll usually have a dump station or a honey wagon. There are rolling tanks you fill from you onboard and then tow to the dumps station so you don't have to disconnect and move to dump. We can go a full week without needing to dump as a family of 4, but throw in an inexperienced camper and that can be as short as 3 days. This is fresh, grey (x2) and black.

We went large (28' box) and wouldn't change it for anything, even 5 years later. Storage, personal space, and the ability to absorb additional bodies is huge. This means we have 4 people and 2 large dogs at baseline and often have 5 people and 3 large dogs and all the belongings, without issue. Not cramped, can move around freely, and almost everyone has seating when/where they want. It's great for rainy trips and pleasant day-to-day.

The pop-up tents for added outdoor space is big and the awning struggle can be somewhat mitigated with sun screens and awning anchors. They all bring more cost, more weight, etc.

For me, one of the best parts was the roof and slide out being walk-on rated for up to 250lbs with a ladder attached. Cleaning and maintenance is 10x easier when you have full access, and there is a fair amount of both if you care to keep your rig rot and mold free.

Know your expectations of experience and look ahead a few years. The kids are 15 and 13, and they have no intentions of stopping. It's actually cool because they're now bringing friends, and the friends are equally excited about going. That wouldn't be the case if we didn't have some creature comforts to offer them. Full-size bunks for each kid allows them to have a friend stay and share, without impacting anyone else. This appreciation works both since they have their own spaces to retreat to when needed. They know there is zero tolerance for violating those spaces.

We just finally went seasonal with ours after 5 years of hauling, and that opens even more opportunities since we can now make the most of our travel time. Everyone is loving having clothes in place and essentially a second home we just pull up to and open a door. It is required to remain road worthy, so it's not a trailer park, if that makes sense.

Everyone is different, but hopefully this has added something to the discussion. The photo below is surprisingly accurate in a sense, so buy "up" if you can and shop around for the best value, because they exist. Good luck and enjoy the journey

 

Not necessarily.
Our Lance isnt that big but it has two axles.
Check out SD Surfers rig,we have the same one and it's a double axle.
As was mentioned,we wanted the double axle in case of a blowout.
With the double axle at least you can still limp on down the road,unless of course it got both tires.

 

LOL, that picture is pretty accurate. I went from year 1 to year 3. But I am not looking at going to the year 5 one because it will start to narrow down how many and what places I can get to.

I saw a Class A pulling a trailer that had to be 20' behind. It may have been a car, but it was way to narrow. Looked like a regular covered utility trailer. In my mind, that is a lot of stuff. I prefer, and OP, you may also want to consider what and how much you wish to bring with you, but I prefer to go as minimal as possible. If I find I absolutely have to have something I didn't bring, then I buy it, and that is within reason.

 

Here in Texas it can get blazing hot!!!
Especially if you're camping in the Piney Woods of East Texas.
You'll hear and see the wind whipping through the trees overhead but it's dead calm at ground level and gets brutally HOT!!!

 

Yeah...we got THE LETTER from the HOA years back after we brought the camper home to go over it and pack before a trip.
While the HOA can be annoying I wouldnt live anywhere without one.
People can do some pretty trashy Shit to their homes which of course brings down property values.

 

I won’t live anywhere I have a neighbor whose house I can touch while touching mine, or throw a baseball and hit. I won’t live anywhere with an HOA. Fuck. That.

 

I've been down both roads.
I really have no complaints about our HOA.
The only letter We've ever received was when the camper was in the driveway.
Once we explained to them why it was there they were fine with it.
But then the average price in our neighborhood is around $500K so people tend to keep their Shit up to Snuff.
It's like the Wife would say....What will the neighbors think!!!
I dont plan on living here forever but the place is paid off so there's really no reason to move at this point.
When the Wife retires we're heading for the boonies!!

Oh...our neighbors are about 20ft away on both sides.

 

Sounds like a couple of roof top AC units are needed! A seating area inside would be handy and a nice awning as well!

 

The thing is, any bigger than this 16 footer and I can't park it on my driveway, which is super convenient. I think the extra few feet, while nice, isn't worth the added headache and cost of storage.

I acknowledge in maybe 5 or 6 years ill need something bigger if my kids are still into camping and not wanting their own tent or something.

 

I mean, they can sleep in the truck, just saying.....lol

 

Yeah....We have a four car garage.
One is two wide and the other is two deep.
Apparently the previous owner kept his Motor Home in the two deep.
The Wife and I searched for a new house for about a year.....until I saw this house!!!
I was sold after seeing the garages!!
Plenty of room to park our trucks as well as our trailers with all our off road stuff!!
Unfortunately we still needed an off site storage for the camper.

 

I honestly can't picture this, one is two wide and one is two deep?
How the hell is that house built? Like, I can't....

 

Yup, our next place will be deep in the woods. HOA just hit me (and others) with a notice to repaint the exterior. At least we get 6 months to comply. We just did windows so Ill put that on the back burner...no way I'm fucking with that when it's 110* out.

 

The A/C works great!!
And there's plenty of seating for four or six if ya dont mind being a little cramped.
And if more people want to enjoy the A/C they can sit on the foot of the beds.
Of course if they want to sleep in the A/C they better be able to sleep in some cramped quarters.

 

Probably guarantee they won't wanna camp after that lol

 

My dream house would have a giant pass through garage/barn/shop.

 

It's really pretty simple.
The first garage beside the house is a SxS garage.
The one next to it is the two deep.
The house is over 5k square feet so it looks normal.
I'll see if I cant post a pic.

 

So the right-hand garage kinda stick out on the backside? Due to two deep?
Now this makes more sense....but is there a wall between those two garage space? Or just that front load bearing post/wall and the inside is one big space?

 

We call them tandem garages out here.

 

Nah.
The backside is even with the rest of the House and the SxS garage.
The lot shape allows that to happen.