Hi, I'm Neva and I'm new

[Neva]

Hi,

I'm new to RVing and to this forum.  In fact, I'm so new, I don't own an RV yet.  I do have some questions about buying my first RV.  Like, if I plan to live in it, I'm going to need a big one.  They don't make 'em big and cheap, so, what are my options?  Smaller or used, right?  Also, what are the rules?  If I get a 40' RV, do I need a special license?

Neva

 

[Carl L]

Welcome to RV Forum Neva.

If I get a 40' RV, do I need a special license?

That depends on your state, but if it were California you would if it were a travel trailer over 10,000 lbs or a 5th wheel over 15,000 lbs..  A motor home over 40 feet.

However, for a single person, a reasonable full time trailer would be in the vicinity of 26 to 30 feet or a motorhome in the mid 30s  Trailers and motorhomes are much more efficient in layout than a stick home.

 

[Neva]

Thanks Carl, I'm actually looking for a motorhome that I can live in full time for 1 to 5 years.  More realistically, it's probably going to be something between 35' and 40'.  I've been reading some of the other threads on this site and am learning a lot about RVing and motorhomes.  When searching for the RV to purchase, it sounds like the first thing I want to know about is the chassis.  Second is the engine.  Then everything else.  Does that sound right?

I think I'm going to move to the Motorhome board and ask some more questions there to see what kind of response I get.

Nice meeting you,
Neva

 

[Wendy]

Hi Neva, Welcome to the forum.

The size RV you need for full-timing depends a lot on what you plan on doing (travel the whole time vs. spending 4-6 months at a time in one place), how much 'stuff' you need to have with you,  the kind of place you prefer staying, number of slide-outs.  We pretty sure the two of us can do it in our 28-foot Class A. We know a single guy who does it in a 27-foot Class C with no slideouts and another couple with a 45-foot Class A. My parents full-timed for 15 years in a variety of trailers and 5th wheels from 28-foot to 35-foot.

You probably want to visit an RV show or two and 'try on' several different RVs to see which one is right for you.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

There's nothing wrong with "used", Neva. In fact, I heartily recommend it for your first Rv and probably for subsequent ones as well.  If you were buying a house, you would probably be looking at a used ones too, right?

RVs depreciate horrendously, so buying used makes a lot of sense. And new Rvs typically  have anwhere from several to 50+ problems that have to be corrected in the first year, so buying new does not assure you a trouble free home either.

As for size, better to err on the side of too large than too small. Most everybody looks at an RV and thinks "Wow - plenty of room in there" and a year or two later they are shopping for a larger rig.