ArdraF said:
Speaking woman-to-woman I would definitely go the motorhome route. If you're traveling alone, safety is your number one concern. You do NOT want to have to get out of a truck to get to your trailer (to eat, sleep, potty, etc.) if you're in a dicey area. You want to feel safe. With a motorhome (C or A) you can lock yourself inside and not only feel safer but BE safer. If you decide you don't feel safe enough, pack it up and move on to a better location - all without going outside (assuming you're not hooked up in a campground).
I couldn't agree more. That's one of the main reasons I've settled on a class A when the time comes. Even in a nicer area, why set yourself up to have to go out into bad weather if you don't have to just for those things? Few things are quite as miserable as having to be out in the rain setting up your rig, especially in the middle of the night, and you *will* end up doing exactly that far more often than you'd hope for. Yes, of course, you'll still have to go outside no matter what to hook up, but I'm really glad to know that automatic levelers exist, because at least you could then function until morning and hook everything else up then.
Likewise, when I do buy a rig, it's going to be one with a driver's side door as well as the main entry door, all other things being equal, for much the same reasons, and if I can find such a beast, either the main door or a secondary one either in the middle of the vehicle or towards the rear like many travel trailers have. As a former paramedic, I am too acutely aware of how hard it could be to get someone out of a wrecked motor home if there's only one way into it, and how easily one could be trapped by a fire. Actually, not having been able to find such a layout yet is a small part of the reason I haven't yet bought an RV.
Also, as a short woman who also has an assortment of medical problems, I would find the cabover part of a class C impossible to use for anything at all, because I simply wouldn't be able to reach it, so it would be completely wasted space.
Class A's do have more usable space, and they also have basements, which I've been told are pretty essential for ensuring the tanks and pipes don't freeze in the cold, and since I would want to use it as a base for skiing, that will also be a necessity for me. And of course, the basements provide a ton of storage space.
I also agree about the problems with hooking up and unhooking a trailer. Even if your aim lining up the hitch with the tow ball is perfect (and mine was pretty darned good as a kid with our tent trailer), sometimes you simply *have* to physically lift and move the trailer to get everything lined up right, especially if you don't land it right on the nose the first time. That was hard enough with a lightweight little tent trailer when I was strong and in my teens; I sure wouldn't want to wrestle with anything even that small now in middle age with a bad back. And trying to do it by yourself with no one else to help guide you, never mind the lifting? The mind boggles. Again, I've done it, but our trailer was so small and lightweight that once I got it moving, I could practially guide it around with a finger, and even then, it still took some serious jockeying that would have been greatly facilitated by a helper. I seriously doubt you could do that with most larger rigs.
Which brings me to one more essential, IMO, especially for a single RVer, namely a backup monitor, or whatever they're called.
And then how do you keep a trailer from getting stolen? I remember massive hitch locks that completely covered the hole on the tongue for when you're parked and set up, but is there any way to ensure that the rig stays hooked up to the tow vehicle and someone else doesn't just wheel it away, say, while you're in the rest stop? The last time I tried to research this, I couldn't even find hitch locks for stationary use like we used to have, never mind any information on how to lock the trailer onto the tow vehicle in any meaningful way.
Wendy