Buying an RV

This post isn’t on how to buy an RV but on how we bought our RV.  We started our RV education around late 2009.  At that time we had had a pop-up camper for around 4 years but with my back problems it was becoming more difficult to use.  I had surgery in early 2008 and it took a long time before I could tolerate sitting in a car for any length of time.  So we began by going to RV shows and local dealers which were 30 minute drives.  The first trailers we looked at were hybrids, they were interesting but not what I wanted and most had wet baths. 

A hybrid trailer

We then looked at travel trailers which are also nice but John didn’t want the swaying that comes with towing it down the road.  Which put us up to a 5th wheel trailer.  I started the process on the modest size of 30’, those were cute but lacked space and were all split bath.  I prefer the side bath floor plans.  By the winter of 2010 we were driving as far as Duluth to the north and spring 2011 northern Iowa to the south to look at 5th wheel trailers.  The length kept increasing until we ended up at the 40’ category which are Touring or Full-time models.  We were now finding floor plans that we liked with much more storage and counter space in the kitchen.  Finally we had it down to 2 main units that we liked, the Cedar Creek by Forest River and the Big Country by Heartland. 

At RV shows we were now spending hours just sitting in the 2 RVs we were interested in, listening to people’s comments as they came and went.  One time we even sat chatting with another couple in a Big Country for almost 2 hours.  They had been RV’ing for a few years and gave us a lot of information on what to consider when choosing an unit.  What finally sold us on the Big Country over the Cedar Creek was the bathroom.  Heartland has larger showers that are easier to get in and out of.  With the Cedar Creek I had to step up and down 5” to get in and out of the shower and it was the size of a phone booth.  My recommendation is to always check out the RV’s bathroom before you buy it.  Make sure you can fit in the shower (pretend to take a shower) with the door closed plus be able to step in and out of it. 

A wet bath

RV question:  What does the RV industry called the kitchen area?  Answer:  A galley.

RV question:  What is a wet bath?  Answer:  A wet bath is a bathroom where the toilet, and sink are in the shower.   Good luck keeping the toilet paper dry.

RV question:  What is a split bath?  Answer: A split bath has the shower on one side of the coach and a WC (water closet) on the other side of the coach in which you walk in-between to get to the bedroom.  Typically it will also have a sink in the bedroom area and possibly another tiny sink in with the toilet.  The shower is blocked by a curtain from view of the bedroom.

RV question:  What is a side bath?  Answer: A bathroom with the shower, sink and toilet all in 1 room usually to one side of the coach.  Some have 2 doors, 1 from the hall the other from the bedroom.