exploring in the wagon. We found the trailer cozy during the rainy nights on the Oregon coast, but when we cooked inside on the propane stove, all the windows ran with moisture.
That was a long time ago. Today, there are many more options for shelter, depending on what you require for comfort and what you can afford to pay.
RV Camping
An RV can be one of several kinds of rolling homes. The critical component is that all have wheels. RVs are self-contained, which means that they carry propane gas for cooking and heating, a water supply for kitchen and bath, batteries for lights, microwave and exhaust fan, and a holding tank for waste from the kitchen and bath. Some have a “dual fuel” refrigerator, which runs on electricity or propane. Others have slide-out walls that zoom out to create more living space when they are parked.
The most luxurious of RVs is the motorhome, a small or sometimes not so small, bus or van where the driver’s compartment is open to the living space. But an RV can also be a trailer or a living unit—a camper mounted on a pick-up truck.
CHECKLIST
Questions to Ask About RVs
In a motorhome, passengers ride in the living areas. Sometimes there is a second set of swivel chairs, with seat belts, behind the driver and co-pilot. There is more leg room and “wiggle room” in these spaces than there is in a conventional automobile, and children who tend to poke each other in the car can be separated more easily. Motorhomes have one or more television sets, which some parents find useful in keeping the kids occupied during long drives.
When you stop for the night with a motorhome, you don’t just park it. You have to level it, with jacks or ramps, so that all the appliances will work properly. On some models, the jacks are part of the frame. It’s easier to do this leveling if your campsite has a concrete pad, but in more primitive campgrounds you may have to park on dirt or gravel.
When the RV campers stop, they prefer the kind of park where they have a complete hook-up, which means they connect to water, electricity, and sewer, although some sites have only water and electricity. Some private parks also provide phone, internet, and cable TV connections. If the RV campers must take a campsite without a sewer or water hook-up, they can use the park’s water and bathroom facilities. Some campers pull out portable generators that run on gasoline to power their motorhomes when there is no electrical connection. Other campers sometimes complain that these generators are too noisy, but I was assured by the dealers at the RV show that the new models are quiet. Still, most parks have hours when the generators can’t be run.
Many motorhomes have luxurious interiors.
Because they are self-contained, RV campers are also able to stop in areas with no facilities at all. They call this kind of camping “dry camping,” which means that they are totally dependent on the gas, water, and batteries that they carry to supply all their needs. I once saw an RV, obviously occupied, parked on a street in San Francisco early in the morning, but most dry campers are like my friend Deborah. Deborah and her family are hikers. They like to park their RV at the end of the road where several trails lead off into the mountains. Every day, they hike up to a different destination, and then come down again to spend the night in their RV.
Dry campers must calculate very carefully how they use their resources. One long shower could empty the water tank. Too long a stay without a stop at a dumping station might overload their waste-holding tank. Deborah carries a water filter so they can augment their water supply by pumping water from a lake or stream for cooking and drinking, and showers are strictly limited.
When you stop for the night with a motorhome, your vehicle stops with you. You can’t take off to go exploring unless you are towing a second vehicle. Our friend Henk refers to the small sedan he pulls as his “dinghy,” likening it to the little boat attached to a big cruiser. On steep mountain grades when the motorhome is working hard, they detach the dinghy and his wife drives it until they reach more level ground. Like most drivers who tow a small car, Henk prefers to camp at a site that is a pull through, meaning that he can drive straight ahead when he leaves. It’s hard to back up a big motorhome, and even harder with the dinghy attached. Henk warned that not all cars can be used as dinghies. Some with automatic transmissions can’t be towed and need to be carried on a trailer; check the owner’s manual of your vehicle for instructions on how it should be towed.
Renting an RV is not inexpensive. One national company I consulted had summer rates beginning at $157 per day for the smallest motorhome that sleeps four, with a minimum rental of seven days. Rates went down to $140 per day for the same vehicle for 11 days or longer. Another company advertised longer motorhomes that have slide-outs and sleep seven for $225 per night, with a three-night minimum. These fees did not include mileage charges beyond the daily maximum, personal furnishings, taxes, or campground fees, which range from free in some undeveloped forest areas to $25 and up in private campgrounds. (See more about renting at the end of this section.)
In addition, there is the cost of fuel; depending on size, RVs get 8 to 12 miles per gallon of fuel. To buy that smallest motorhome that sleeps four, used, with 90,000 miles, but inspected, refurbished, and backed with a limited warranty, the company asks $24,995, or $257 per month. A new one would be even more.
Remember that the RV you buy must be stored someplace when you’re not using it, and that may be an additional cost. A storage lot in Seattle charges by the foot for a locked, outside yard. Their minimum for a 20-foot vehicle is $95 per month. After that, they add $4.50 per foot per month.
Trailers
Leaving your “home” to go exploring isn’t a problem with a trailer. You can unhitch the towing vehicle and drive into town, leaving your home behind. Vacation homes that are towed are either travel trailers or fifth wheels. A trailer is hitched to the frame of a vehicle, either a truck, SUV, or sedan, but the fifth wheel can only be attached to the bed of a pick-up truck.
A tent-trailer combines the best features of a tent and trailer.
Large models of these towed homes are very similar to the motorhome, with plumbing and electrical systems, awnings, kitchens, microwaves, and TV sets, and they also need to be leveled when they are parked in camp. A difference is that motorhomes open directly
