Although shopping for RV campers is just as exciting as shopping for a new car, there are many differences between RV campers to keep in mind. Some differences aren’t too drastic, but whether you decide to live the RV lifestyle or just use it for some occasional camping, it’s great to know what you are getting into!
Here are the differences between RV campers!
One of the top two most popular RV campers that you will find are travel trailers. Travel trailers can come in many different sizes, so that will be great for anyone who camps by themselves, with family, kids, etc.
Travel trailers generally have up to three slide outs, mainly because of how they are shaped and the fact that your bumper pull will be pulled from the bottom of the travel trailer.
Please note that your bumper pull is more acceptable to wind because of the free space your axle provides from the bumper pull.
We have a travel trailer because my husband has a massive, built-in toolbox in the back of his vehicle. So due to the weight and the space, a fifth wheel was going to be a no-go for us.
However, some tips on how to keep the travel trailer from swaying to much in the wind is to have a great quality hitch & tow! If you have any heavy items, place your heavier items towards the side where your camper’s hitch is at (ours is our bedroom) and create some weight towards the axle.
This can help a little bit when it comes to driving through windy days.
We have personally found as well, to completely empty the tanks before we head off to our next destination because sometimes, the water in the tanks can swish around in the tank, hence creating more sway in the camper.
Fifth wheel is one of the other most popular campers due to similar factors as the travel trailer with some exceptions.
A fifth wheel camper’s bumper pull will go over the axle of your vehicle, therefore, this eliminates the gap where wind can get through. A fifth wheel will be a lot sturdier against the wind and can carry more slide outs.
More slide outs=more room
Now, keep in mind that you will have less storage in the bed of your truck. Also, I hear that the clearance on a fifth wheel is trickier to navigate than a travel trailer.
I also realize that the fifth wheel have stairs in the interior while our travel trailer is completely flat. So, if you are elderly, camp with elderly people, or even have hyperactive children running around your camper, be cautious of tripping up the stairs.
Toy haulers are basically a camper with a built-in garage for your fun toys, like dirt bikes, kayaks, four wheelers, etc.
The interior concept is going to be stranger because obviously, you can have a small vehicle in the toy hauler so you will get less of an open concept than you would a travel trailer or a fifth wheel.
I’d say a toy hauler is good for singles or couples that are huge outdoor fanatics.
And I don’t have children, but I’ve heard from families who go RV living full time say that the toy hauler is a great space for children (which my assumption is because you can use the free space for a separate area for children).
I’ll be lumping class A and class C together since both are pretty much the same EXCEPT that class A is significantly larger.
With these campers, you are basically driving the camper itself than towing it, so if you don’t have a vehicle, this can be a great choice.
However, these vehicles are veeeerry costly. They can even range to 100K for the newer ones, so if you are on a tight budget, you’d be looking at an older used one.
And unless you have someone driving another vehicle and follow you on the road, you can’t really go out and explore. You basically have to stay put at your campground.
These campers would be good for someone who just wants to get away for a week, but living in them would be tough unless you had someone to drive a separate vehicle to get around.
Popup campers are like the vintage era of campers.
Extremely affordable, but a pain to set up.
My husband had a popup camper when we met and the most annoying thing about the popup camper was setting it up because you had to do it manually versus a push of a button like the newer campers nowadays (but also because I’m very impatient).
Most popup campers don’t have your own bathrooms, so you’d have to use whatever the campground provides (or mother nature). It’s also common that people use miniature portable potties and store them in their camper.
Sometimes, they can be cramped even with storage under the furniture, but if you aren’t someone who carries a lot of stuff in the first place, this might not be a problem for you.
Now, it was good for camping for a week, but I imagine living in it would be extremely challenging, especially in the colder seasons.
Most popup camper’s overhead is made out of canvas, so you have to tend to it very careful to avoid tears and mold. Although, there have been campers that have a hard exterior than the canvas (I just haven’t seen one around).
However, popup campers have gotten extremely popular for DIY lovers and people have really made popup campers look unique to their own taste and style.
Since it’s so small, I would imagine a van or even your normal size car should be able to pull this camper with ease if you don’t have a truck yourself.
So, if that interests you, then a popup camper would be a lovely purchase for you!
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