I started my camping career like most people – in a tent. That worked great when my mode of transportation was an FJ-40 Toyota. I toyed with the idea of a class-A motor-home back in the late 80’s but it didn’t pan out. But by 1997 I was working at a job that required I move a lot. Sometimes every week.

For that job I bought a 5th wheel toy hauler. Of course that was back when “toys” were motorcycles and toy haulers had an empty weight around 5,500 pounds. I bought a new 29-foot Road House by Weekend Warrior and it worked great for 3 years of full-time and 8 more years of weekend use. I liked the 5th wheel’s turning radius. I could set the truck at 90* to the trailer and pull it around in its own length.

1995 Dodge 2500 and 1997 Road House 2905

I had a brick house for 18 years before I switched back to a house with wheels under it (long story about divorce, a motorcycle accident, and crazy-high real estate prices).

For 5 years I had a 9.5 foot Hallmark Vail pop-up camper which excelled at ease of carrying and maneuverability. Since it was an older model it didn’t have a real bathroom and no hot water. For weekend trips to the mountains or desert it was great. I seriously considered getting a newer model of a 9.5 from Hallmark or Outfitter, but in the end they just didn’t have enough room for 1 human and 3 felines. That said I have friends (without animals) who put an Apex 9.5 on a 4×4 crew cab truck and they love it!

1995 Dodge 2500 and 1994 Hallmark Vail

For this segment of the adventure I bought a 23-foot bunk house model (bumper-pull) partly because it had 2”-thick 4-season walls, 80 gallons of fresh water, and it weighed 6,800 pounds empty. I’m still pulling it with a 1995 5.9 liter Cummins/Dodge with 280,000 miles so weight matters a lot. I confess that I wanted another 5th wheel because they are SOOOOO much easier to hook up and pull, but new 5th wheels are fat! I could not find one that didn’t require a new truck to pull it.

Still the 1995 Dodge 2500 and a 2018 Outdoors RV 23 BKS

If you go looking for advise about what type of RV to buy you’ll get a lot of suggestions. Where do you go? What does camping mean to you? Questions like those to help you choose the right RV for you. The only thing I would add to that list is What do your friends have? If you like to travel with your friends then get something that can go where they go. If your friends all have expedition vehicles you can’t follow them in a big class-A motor-home. If your friends all live the Van-Life then a travel trailer is going to stick out like a big red brick. Go with the flow

This 2wd truck & trailer cannot follow this 4×4 expedition vehicle

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
P.S. I want to apologize about the ads appearing on this page. Humanity is going to heck in a handcart with internet ads and click-bait banners leading the way!
Race to the bottom; Ready, Set, Go!