CeeLaVie

I am just popping in to update this thread, in case anyone reading might be interested. We bought a 40-foot class A, coming up ten years old, sold up and moved on out. We spent the winter in the snow and ice in Canada with some days temperatures getting down to -4F (-20C). Apart from learning how to avoid condensation, we had no issues whatsoever. We were comfortable all winter and thoroughly enjoyed looking out at the snow. We will be doing this again next winter. If anyone isn't put off by all the people that say wintering in Canada is a stupid idea, there's loads of videos on YouTube, and blogs, from people that have done it and some good tips to be found if you search. I thank everyone for helping us clarify that a motorhome would suit us best. It most certainly does and almost a year down the track we have no regrets.

Thanks Chad, and everyone here. Your advice has been invaluable. We decided to keep an open mind about what we thought might suit us and we have spent several days visiting RV parks and talking to owners. We thought we wanted a 5th wheeler. However, we don't - not at this stage of our journey anyway. Nothing wrong with them at all (and, oh boy! Those DRV's are gorgeous!) but we knew what we needed to get when we were out taking a test drive in a Newmar Dutch Star. It wasn't the Dutch Star (because that didn't feel quite right for our purposes), it was being up high and cruising around the countryside. The owner was keen to sell so wanted us to drive for some time to really get a feel for his motorhome. The dog immediately found a spot to lie in and went to sleep. And we just wanted to keep on driving. Having everything just THERE and so easily accessible felt right. kb0zke - you have steered us in the right direction. Thank you. We've looked at a couple of National RV's, an older Tiffin, and a 1980's Blue Bird. We have a Foretravel to look at this weekend and hope that it might be "the one". There's some wonderful 1980's/90's orphans around. Thanks again everyone.

This is great advice, thank you. We decided from the outset that we wanted to go full-timing but we knew there were a lot of issues to be sorted through that could make this impractical (or unwise) for us in our current situation - the big issue being the ability to work full-time, Monday thru Friday, with good internet access. Planning, for us, was condensed into just a few weeks but its also easier for us. We'd already sold our house and are renting a condo until August. We had started out with a plan to buy a house until one of us said, "why?" and "why don't we just hit the road while we are still working?" We spent the next day trying to answer, "why not?" and couldn't. My dad said he was surprised we hadn't thought of it sooner. Financial planner said go. Accountant said go. So, we're committed to going. You're the first person that has suggested this! We came to that conclusion over the weekend and went out to look at a few Tiffins, and a 2004 Newmar Mountain Aire that is in superb condition. Absolutely beautiful and very well cared for by its two owners, with all maintenance records since new. We spent several hours with that class A and spent time chatting to owners of a few other class A's, and visiting some RV parks on Memorial Day to chat with anyone that seemed happy to talk to us. I love, love, love the Newmar coach. It's been in northern winters and apparently handles them well. Not toasty warm but comfortable enough. BUT it's not right for us at this time. I can see us with an older Class A sometime, but not now. We will be in close quarters Monday - Friday, working. I feel that the kind of lifestyle we will have while slow traveling, plus the confines during bad weather since we will be living in the RV all year, mean that the more space we can have for getting some private time and chill-out time without seeing our office setups, the better. So, we have narrowed down our search to either a fifth wheel with a separate bunk room, or a toy hauler 5w. We've looked at several new Grand Design models but nothing made us feel like it could be home. For RV's designed for full-time living they sure don't have much cargo carrying capacity either! That's our next challenge - fifth wheel with really good insulation, including insulated slideouts and basement, that can carry a lot of weight. Preferably less than 40 foot. Used, because I prefer not to take the biggest hit from depreciation, & we haven't seen any models yet that don't have carpet - so an older model that we can rip the carpet out of and replace with engineered wood would suit us. We have a very big, very hairy dog! But, my three "must have's" are a shower with a seat (or room to put a shower chair in), washer/dryer connections, and power (with, preferably a night stand/shelf/something to hold the cpap machine) beside the bed. Does anyone know of a list of fifth wheelers that shows ccc for each manufacturer and model, by year? We have a lot of computer gear and having a good amount of storage weight available is more important to us than floorpan.

I hadn't considered doing that for the whole RV but we had intended to keep the bedroom area unheated, as long as this didn't have a negative impact on the RV itself, or the basement heating. We sleep with windows open year round and only close them when it gets around -32F. It isn't great if we have to get up for a bathroom trip though. Good in the morning because you're suddenly very wide awake!

Thank you for the manufacturers to look into. Funnily enough, it seems that the few Canadian manufacturers I found cater for holiday style RV's that are designed more for taking to Florida than for doing much travelling, and nothing suitable for winters in colder climates. The hunt continues (but now with some direction - thanks!)

Thank you! This is wonderful information and I really appreciate it. We were just about convinced that a fifth wheel was the way to go and now we are seriously reconsidering. The size of tanks would really come into their own with boondocking. I'm off to research those Class A's now. Thank you. Do residential style refrigerators work better in the cold and heat than RV style, do you know? These are all great points to consider. I think I might need to create a spreadsheet to go through each point for every RV we look at. Many thanks to you all for your responses. You've given us some great advice and many things to consider. Thanks.

Thanks. I will hunt for some blogs/videos about full-timing in Alaska. I'm starting to think its going to be better to go with a fiver for what we need. Thanks again.

We are planning to live in the RV during the start of winter. We will head north every winter, to the east coast of Canada, probably arriving early December and leaving around mid-January. We will park in the one place, and use the toad or truck (depending on what type of RV we get) to get around. Thanks for your suggestions.

No, we don't have a toad or tow vehicle at this stage. The $70k is what we've committed to go towards the purchase price of only the RV, while knowing that we will be financing to get a Class A, should we decide to go that way. Because we don't want new, I thought we *might* be able to find a good, used, well-insulated 5th wheel for $70k, if we choose a fifth wheel. If its not enough we can get finance.

Thanks very much John. Your response has been enormously helpful. I would have worried about fire with hay bales but never considered rodents. Ugh. Good tip - thanks. I'll be sure to check out those oil field workers videos.

Just to clarify - over the funds. We have cash and will spend whatever we need, within reason, to get the lifestyle we want. We don't want to buy new (said that already) and don't want to have hefty finance. If we can get what we need - RV wise, not including trucks, toads, or any other vehicle (if it turns out a Class A isn't the best idea)- for under $70K then we will be very happy and will be going off on the adventure with no debt, no financing to worry about. If we can't get what's needed for $70k, as I said, we are flexible. Please don't read more into what I say that what's been said! I didn't expect that stating that amount was going to cause a problem 😟

I'm really sorry that I seem to have offended you. That was certainly NOT my intention. I haven't got it all figured out, at all. That's why I came here looking for advice! Not everyone wants to follow the sun and not everyone hates winter. I explained what our lifestyle is and asked for advice on how best to achieve it within the choices of Class A or 5th Wheel. I didn't ask for a lecture on whether spending holidays with family was a good idea, I asked which type of RV would help us do that. There are winter towing/anti-skid/ice handling courses in Canada so its not stupid to do one, IMO, but clearly that has caused a problem for you. I'm sorry I asked some questions. This is an awesome way to introduce a newcomer to the FRIENDLY world of RV'ers. Thanks.

Thanks for the advice. I'm assuming, from the replies, that people on this forum don't like the cold weather very much 😉 I appreciate the comments - thank you for taking the trouble to reply. I realise that RV + winter + Canada may be uncomfortable but I hoped to get advice on which RV's are the most comfortable (or most nearly comfortable). We will be in Canadian winters. The idea of being south in warm weather at that time of year doesn't appeal much and leaving a rig parked up somewhere then flying to Canada seems to defeat the purpose of having a travelling home, for me. I've seen RV's on the road in Canada when we've been doing winter road trips, and there's always some parked at ski resort RV parks. (If we had made the decision to go last winter I might have stopped and asked some of those travellers about their experiences with winter. But we missed the right season for that.) However, we don't intend to travel around much once winter truly sets in. Just with a toad or truck (depending on what we get) so we can get out ice fishing and snowshoeing then home to the RV at night. FWIW, we have never used a 4x4 or chains in Canadian winter, not even when winter touring in northern Quebec. Good winter tires are enough. On a car or SUV that is. Because we will be in Canada next winter we will do a winter driving course to learn how to handle skids with a rig. I imagine it's pretty hair-raising! There are some RV parks open during the winter, mainly in ski areas, and we will have electricity for sure. We only need to keep an RV warm enough to keep everything functioning and to prevent any damage from the cold. What that temperature is, I don't know. I'll keep researching for sure and will look into the Arctic Fox RV's that Linda suggested. Thanks again folks! Much appreciated advice.

Hi everyone, We have made the commitment to get on the road for the next two years (at least) but we are, despite researching carefully, unsure of whether to go with a Class A or a fifth wheel + truck. The purchase prices of Class A motorhome vs 5th wheel + truck seem comparable so it comes down to what would work best, and this is what we don't know! Our situation: We're an older couple, kids left home. We've done a lot of road trips in vehicles ranging from SUV's with our camping gear to six months in a VW Combi travelling Europe. We're on the road whenever we can get away, in whatever the local rental place has available. Both of us work from home and rely on fast, reliable internet to do so. One of us is employed full-time so has to be able to set up an office space and work uninterrupted Monday thru Friday. We don't want to buy new. That part we know for sure. The rest is what we are vacillating over... motorhome or 5th wheel in our circumstances? We will spend most weekdays parked somewhere. We don't want to be driving in the dark because we want to see everything and work days finish around 6pm Eastern. So, weekends are when we will be moving. We might stay in some places for a week, or a few months. If we have reasonable connectivity we might stay boondocking until we run out of tank space. What is essential is the ability to stay comfortable during winter. During the holiday season we will be in Canada most years, in the east usually, which means in snow and ice. We will be heading in the opposite direction to most snowbirds because we want to be with family for the holidays. We've read everything we can and have visited some dealers (there's not much to choose from locally). We've used a lot of different vehicles ourselves and know a Class B isn't for us. Class C may be too small for living full-time. We want to boondock as much as possible, and stay in a lot of the federal and state parks. I'm not antisocial but I'm never happier than when I can smell trees and sit under a sky of stars with no sounds except maybe some passing animals. I guess you could say we're not really RV resort park kinda people. Is there anyone here living a similar kind of lifestyle that can give us some pointers please? We're really stuck on this motorhome vs fifth wheel decision and could use some tips and advice from you please. Oh! Budget, we're a bit flexible. If we can get what fits us for under $70,000 we'd be happy. Thanks.