Small RV that sleeps only ONE?

[haziz]

Many companies seem proud of how many people they can cram into the sleeping quarters of their RVs. I care about accommodating only ONE person, and would prefer to dedicate the rest of the space to minor creature comforts and other purposes.

I am looking for a compact (strongly prefer class B although I would consider a very compact class C) RV with accommodations for one (I guess I can also consider one designed for a couple).

Essentials:
- Compact and maneuverable, able to be easily parked by the side of a country road or a riverside (I intend to go fly-fishing and birding solo cross country).
- Bathroom
- Shower strongly preferred (preferably a dry shower, but will take a well designed wet shower)
- Air-conditioning
- Electric generator and/or solar panels
- Electric/water/sewer hookup for when I do check in to an RV park
- Microwave and small fridge

Optional, but would be nice
- Dry shower (see above)
- Stove top
- Rack for a bicycle
- Tubes for fly rod stored fully assembled.

This would be for a solo cross country trip with frequent stops roadside for birding and riverside for fly-fishing (no formal parking spot needed) and in national parks/wildlife refuge/BLM land, with the occasional stay in a motel when the whim strikes.

I will probably think of a couple of other items that would fit as essentials and/or optional but this is what comes to mind at present. My only prior experience with an RV was a 2 week rental from Cruise America which I took for a 2 week fly-fishing trip to the Catskills in upstate New York. Their 19 foot RV was not available at that location and I got the 25 foot RV. My impression overall was quite negative. I need a far more compact and maneuverable RV.

 

[Onyrlef]

Essentials:
- Compact and maneuverable, able to be easily parked by the side of a country road or a riverside (I intend to go fly-fishing and birding solo cross country).
- Bathroom
- Shower strongly preferred (preferably a dry shower, but will take a well designed wet shower)
- Air-conditioning
- Electric generator and/or solar panels
- Electric/water/sewer hookup for when I do check in to an RV park
- Microwave and small fridge

Optional, but would be nice
- Dry shower (see above)
- Stove top
- Rack for a bicycle
- Tubes for fly rod stored fully assembled.

Some things, like bike rack and fly rod tube you may have to do for yourself. Class B's with optional 9' fly rod tubes are hard to find.

 

[Kirk]

I don't recall ever having seen an RV of any type that was not home built which was designed for only one person. Most of the class B units are designed for 2 people, while most class C units are designed for a family or at least have a couch that will make into a second bed. In the class A unit there are many that are designed for 2 but with a couch that can be made into a bed. My suggestion is that you shop for class B or van conversion models. Most class B units have wet showers and cassette toilets are very common. The RV builders make what they can sell and make a profit on. Things like a bike rack are not typically offered but they frequently do have a rear hitch receiver that could be used to mount a bike rack. Fishing rod holders are something you will need to add unless you find a fisherman who is selling his RV. I suggest that you visit some of the larger RV shows or dealers to learn what is available.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Technically the only difference between a B & a C is the shape of the body - a C can be wider or taller than the base van body would have been. But since the C-type frees the designer of the length, width & height limitations of a van body, they tend to be larger than your "compact and maneuverable" ideal.

The dilemma is that you are also asking for things that take extra space, i.e. a bathroom with dry shower, and a decent galley with a cooktop, fridge & microwave). Only you can decide if the compromise of comfortable interior facilities is worth the tradeoff in compact size and maneuverability. For example, is something like the Phoenix Cruiser 2100, a C-body, acceptable? Or the slightly smaller Coach House Platinum 220? Or would something like the Thor Palladium or Talavera be better (under 20 ft & includes all-wheel drive, but a wet bath).

 

[Isaac-1]

If I was looking at current / recent model RV's for this sort of task I would look at:

Leisure Travel Vans 24MB on the Sprinter B+ / C Chassis, note this model came out 5-6 years ago, and they have steadily made incremental design updates, downside is I think they have something like a 2 year wait list for new builds.

Coach House Arriva V-24 TB, this is a new model this year with dry bath in Sprinter B chassis, for it has a pair of twin beds for solo use I would consider removing one and maybe installing a work station area.

For ultra small I would look at the Winnebago Travato 59KL, though this would be smaller than I personally would want, has the same twin bed issue as the Arriva , and a wet bath.

Another possible contender would be something semi-custom, I met a woman traveling solo who was parked next to me at an RV rally a few years ago in a 25 ft Hoosier Cruiser that had been custom ordered with solo travel in mind. As I recall it was a B+ had a rear dry bath, and was custom ordered without a slide, she had a e-bike for transportation (this was 5-6 years ago before e-bikes really caught on)

 

[garyb1st]

Let us know if you find one with a toilet and dry shower. I'd be very interested.