RV or Trailer Can't Decide

Hi, I am new to the RV world. I recently rented an RV from Cruise America and while I loved the experience of being outdoors, on the road and at the campsite it made me question if an RV is for me. I am a single woman almost 50 and will be traveling mostly alone. I have about 25k to spend and might be doing this full time or near full time. My goal is comfort (walk around bed), decent size bathroom, easy set up when arriving at campsite. I realize now with that small of a budget I likely wont be able to buy a very nice RV but can I buy a nice trailer with all the bells and whistles that will make this comfortable? My biggest fear is beleiving everything the sellsman tells me and spending way more then I have to. I am doing as much research as possible but I find the best information comes from people like you who are doing it. I am super excited to finally make my dream become a reality and hit the road. The goal is to buy by June/July. Any advice as to what units you would recommend, good companies to buy from, used or new or anything else I would appreciate so much.

Welcome.  You are asking an age old question.  BTW, All are RVs.  There are motor homes, both class A,B,and C.  Then there are travel trailers, and then fifth wheels.
A motor home might be a better solution for a single person.  But then unless your taking a toad (towed behind vehicle), your pretty well stuck.  A toad means two drive trains to maintain.  You need to think long and hard about how your going to using your RV.  Sit for weeks at a time, then a trailer would be a better choice.  Move often, then the motor home could make more sense.
With a trailer you need a sufficently large tow vehicle to safely handle your trailer.
Your budget is going to severely limit your choices.  Yes, you can find decent weekend TTs for around 10K, but finding a decent long term trailer with decent closet, storage space plus a real bed might be tough. Then it would be easier to shop for a fifth wheel.
Motor homes in your price range can be had, and offer better storage, but adding a toad would likely push you over your budget.  Unless your current vehicle can be towed 4 down.
If your going full time, consider an exit plan.  Also remember what your not paying for rent and utilities could go toward payments in the short term.

Relax, you will have no problem finding an RV that will suit you on your budget. I agree with Dickie that a motorhome is a better option. With a trailer or a fifth wheel you would need a fairly large truck to haul it around. The motorhome is self contained. You can tow a car around with you but it is possible to full time without a car, I did it for ten years. You can start out with a motorhome and then add a car at a later date if you so desire or you can rent a car when you need one. There are many places you can stay where a car is not necessary, like the Grand Canyon, Zion or Yosemite. Or if you stay close to town then public transportation is always an option.

As far as motorhomes go you have a choice of class A, B or C. But for full timing your only real good option is a class A. It can be done in a C or a B but you will not have the walk around bed or a large bathroom. As have much more storage space and much larger holding tanks. Here is a used A that will give you an idea as to what you can expect in your price range:

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/classa/2003-Bounder-33281.htm

Don't let the mileage scare you, it is still good for another 100,000 with proper maintenance. PPL has a whole bunch of RVs in your price range, look around their site. If you live near a major city head on down to the largest RV dealership and walk through a bunch of units to get an idea of what they look like and what appeals to you. Just don't take your checkbook and don't believe a word the salesmen tell you. They would lie to their own mother to sell an RV. Look at a few, test drive a few and then come back here with your questions. There are no stupid questions. Forums exist to answer questions and we will answer questions all day long for you.

And I might add that the RV experience is absolutely wonderful. I have been living in one for a long time and have no desire to return to normal life.

THere are others like you.

I am in my 50's running amuk fulltime in a Class C 1994 motorhome, no car. been living and traveling in it 24/7 for over 7 years.

Look at TONS of rv's in the $25,000 price range. You might be astonished just how comfy and cozy you can be in that price range.

The more you look the more you get a feel for what would and wouldn't work for your particular day to day lifestyle.

Good luck and it's all about fun!

I am about your age, closer to 50 than 45, and I think there are a number of motorhomes out there that you should consider, given your budget and the features you list one of them should be the model I have, a 2002 Safari Trek 2830, this is a small class A measuring just 29.5 ft overall bumper to ladder, 11'1" high and 100 inches wide (advertised as a 28 ft model), which is shorter height and narrower than many newer motorhomes (the Trek even went to 102 inch wide and 12'1" tall in mid 2004).  The unique thing about the Trek is that the main full length 60x80 inch queen size bed stores in the ceiling above the living room with a motorized lift mechanism.  This leaves room for a very big kitchen and huge by RV standards bathroom.  If you research the Trek's online you may find some negative comments about handling of the P32 chassis, this is an issue, however mine does handle fairly well at highway speeds being the post 01 wide track P32 and having about $4,000 in suspension upgrades (trac bar, safe-t Plus, spreader bar, Koni FSD shocks, SS bell cranks, ...) much of which was added by the previous owner.

Take a look at this video of a 2002 Safari Trek (a twin to the one I have) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqDAGm4LEJ0&t=603s  note the salesman does make a few mistakes on overall length, model number and he says it has an Allison transmission which is wrong as they did not show up on the Trek's until 2004.

Ike

p.s. I paid $20,500 for mine last fall and it was very well updated

I'm in a completely different situation, but I'll tell you this....
I spent a long long time considering options when we were looking to step out of the popup trailer we had.  Looking at travel trailers (TT's) for a long time.  In my case that would have meant a different truck since my daily driver doesn't have enough capacity for the trailer my family would need.
anyway, back and forth, round and round, lots of window shopping, rv shows, etc....
and in the end I have some weird sense of bliss every time I see someone towing a TT or hear the weight distribution hitch squeaking away as they come up the campground road looking for their site....
In the motorhome, I park, set the brake, shut down the engine, and walk back to stretch out on the sofa..... if it's not hot out so I don't need AC, maybe I'll wait till later to plug it in....oh so much easier.

This is alot of great information, I sure appreciate it. Ideally I would love to find a class A and all of your advice and opinion have me leaning back towards an RV. I think it would be much easier and convenient but sure is a bit scary to buy a used RV. When buying a used RV should I have it inspected? That can be very costly if I find several I might be interested in. I know to alot of people having a Motorhome is just an added luxury to their home and that is wonderful but that is not my situation. This is a huge purchase for me taking most of the money I do have but with my disability pass I will half off camping and free state park during the day. I am doing so much research but am super excited to finally make the purchase. So class A is my decision, now to find one that is roomy enough if I am to live in it full time and easy breezy. My initial plan is to travel a bit to Montana taking my time exploring many states then I will pretty much be staying near the coast from Bolsa Chica to San Diego. The class A that one of you (Seilerbird) provided a link to actually looks really good but not sure if it is doable it being in Texas. I would need to get alot more info. thank you so much all of you.

Dont let location scare you.  You want a class A, then go for it. There is no logical reason is there that you could not drive to the MH of choice, look it over (after a professional inspection) hitch you car behind and drive it home. If your in CA, unless you relocate before hand your going to get hit with some hefty tax and license fees.  Now might be a good time to move to a lower cost place to establish reasidency

That is not something I am able to do at this time. I am looking for something more local to me.

I can see that lots of good feedback has been provided.  Don't believe everything the sales person tells you as some of them will say almost anything to make a sale.  Not sure about something?  This is a great place to post and ask.

While you are searching for the right unit you could dot down some notes in what you are wishing for.  Sometimes I do this to avoid getting caught up in the excitement and overlooking an important factor.  Sounds silly but when I was looking at many different trailers and had narrowed down the choice I didn't remember the details as well as I thought I had.  The proof was in the photos I took and not my memory.

Good luck.

Im not sure they were recommending you were to purchase from them specifically. Due to the large inventory on used RVs of all sizes, its a good place to look at layouts and prices.