Selecting an RV that is right for your family

We spent HOURS, days really, researching RVs, and a lot of time looking at them in person too, and in the midst the Texas summer heat. We researched everything from new to used, from class A to 5th wheel. What we learned is that it is really more about your preference on a floor plan that would work best for your family than anything else. A lot of RVs will have similar features in terms of the basics, so we recommend selecting the best RV for your family based on this guide of things to consider so you can narrow down your options from a seemingly endless choice of RVs.

One of the real mind opening moments I had was when somebody asked me, “Would you rather spend a year or two searching for an RV that checks off every single box, or would you rather spend that year or two traveling in one that checks off 80% of them?”

1. What is your price range?
   Start with a budget and stick to it. This will not only guide you on brand, but also on the type of RV that will fit into your budget.

2. Do you want an RV that you drive or that you pull?
   If you want to be able to drive it, Class A or Class C is what you are looking for. However, keep in mind this might require you to tow a car behind your RV so you can explore an area once you arrive and don’t have to take your whole rig with you. The benefits of these are you get to move around a bit while driving; however, they often do not have the best layouts for families, especially with multiples or younger kids. If you want to drive your truck and pull your RV behind, you are looking for bumper pulls/travel trailers or 5th wheels. Since these are two different types of tow hitches, it might be important to consider what your truck capable of towing and what it is already outfitted with to pull.

3. If you are using a vehicle that you already have to tow your RV and are not planning on buying a new one, what is the tow capacity of your vehicle?
   This is an important one, because you definitely want to be safe on the road and not buy an RV outside of your vehicles towing capability. Check your vehicle’s gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR,) and be sure to the tongue weight of your RV will not cause you to exceed this.

4. How much does RV length matter to you? Do you plan on staying in state and national parks frequently?
   If so, do some research on where you plan to go most often and see what their rules and regulations are on size of RVs allowed at their campgrounds. Many national parks do not have sites that will fit RVs larger than 25-30 feet, and sometimes their max allowed length is even smaller. Oftentimes though, state and national park campgrounds can be cheaper than private campgrounds, so consider where you might be spending most of your time and research their rig length limitations.

5. Are you going to be living in your RV full-time or just traveling occasionally?
   This makes quite a bit of difference in terms of amenities that you might prefer to have in your RV. Since we are in our RV the majority of the year, space and storage was important, as well as some of the comforts of a full-size house. Consider if you want to have slides (if so, how many?), the size of your bed, bunk room layout, if you need space for a home office, refrigerator size, multiple bathrooms, outdoor kitchen set-up, washer/dryer, etc.

6. If you have kids, are they old enough to share a bunk room or do they need separate sleeping spaces?
   For us, our one year old still takes naps and goes to bed earlier than our 5-year-old, so we knew that a bunk room or shared room layout would not work for us. Instead, we went with a model that has a mid-bunk room (that we converted to a room with a crib and rocker) and a loft for our 5-year-old to have his own space.

7. Does brand matter to you?
   Some brands have a better reputation because of providing better manufacturing, parts, materials, and customer service than others. We realized that in our price range, more or less, all of the brands seem to have similar manufacturing techniques and building materials. Unless we stepped up a tier in price, we found that all of the RVs, no matter the brand, were very alike in terms of construction. A Tiffin model can be a dream but is not currently our reality – haha!

8. Does aesthetic of your RV matter to you?
   We found that older models tend to be darker wood/color schemes while newer models are more predominantly the “farmhouse” style look and color scheme. Or, do you plan on buying an older RV and remodeling it yourself?

9. Do you have ATVs or motorcycles that you plan to take with you on the road?
   If so, you want to focus your search on toy haulers.

10. We heard A LOT about pre-Covid and post-Covid RV build quality, to the point where it was honestly overwhelming. And to be real with you, we’ve talked to A LOT of RV owners at this point and no matter the brand or year, they all have issues and are going to have something break at some point. It is a house on wheels that moves frequently and is built out of mostly lightweight materials so that it doesn’t weigh a million pounds, so yeah, most likely during your RV ownership tenure, there are going to be issues no matter what brand/year/layout/etc. you decide to purchase. That’s why our best advice is to seek a floor plan that will work best for your family and then research which brands have that floorplan or a similar one. And it still won’t be perfect and you will wish you had x, y or z, but if you prioritize the features that are most important for your family based on the guide above, I promise you will find an RV that will serve as a fun space for memories for the whole family.

Resources we used frequently to find an RV: mostly we used RV Trader, this is a great site with new and used RV listings, from dealerships and personal sellers; it seemed to be the most comprehensive site to spend your time or narrow your search as it has a lot of customizable search criteria. We also used Facebook groups & marketplace – this was a good resource but finding out what is out there and what you can expect for price ranges on used RVs.