The Road to Finding our Perfect RV

The road to finding our perfect RV has been a long journey. Between lack of knowledge in the beginning and life changes we have explored many of the available options. To be honest, we have only learned what is really important to us after getting out on the road and putting each unit to the test.

Todays RV’s are very full of fluff. Many of them have become designed to try and replicate the comforts of home that you can take on the road. While they look nice, it is easy to make a very expensive mistake. We have learned after owning several RVs that no matter how nice they look, most of the builds are cheaply made. As an example, more than once when looking at brand new rv’s we have found broken cabinets even in the high dollar models. This is likely one reason there is the 10 year rule for many RV parks. With the need to keep them as light as possible many of the materials are extremely minimal. After years of rough roads at 60 miles per hour partnered with taking on the years of adverse weather conditions, they just don’t stand up to the initial price tag.

Determine your Needs

It is important to look beyond the fluff when purchasing an RV. The build quality of an Airstream would make for an excellent choice, however, it may not check all of the boxes for everyone. The first step you must take before you set out to buy an RV is to determine your needs. We have learned over the years that this is not the easiest thing to do. Needs obviously change and when it comes to recreational travel, we may not even be able to fully determine those needs until you actually head out there.

Over the last 10 years we have had multiple RV’s. Our very first purchase was a bumper tow toy hauler. This was our first RV purchase mistake. Fortunately we learned quickly enough that it wasn’t going to fully meet our needs and the RV dealer took it in on a trade for our upgrade on the 5th wheel version (at nearly 100% of our purchase price). We determined we needed just a little more room and preferred the towing stability of the 5th wheel style, which also lead to buying a more capable tow vehicle.

There is no Perfect Solution

After a few seasons of ownership, we determined that there was no perfect solution. At the time we were winter recreational users and camping in the mountains. This Balboa was not built for this kind of usage, as the insulation was just not sufficient enough. Selling or trading out was not an option at this time so we just stuck it out. Fortunately our needs changed and our RV found its new purpose.

Time for Work

Our toy hauler now became our home away from home for work. We spend a lot of our summer working long days at the Gorge Amphitheater, also referred to as the middle of nowhere. Being two hours from home and 30 minutes from the nearest hotel, we decided to convert our RV to work lodging for us and our staff. Which ultimately became its use for the next 10 or so years. Over this time frame we were able to find the real weaknesses and there were many.

Maybe we need a Beast

After learning how cheaply built so many RVs are, we decided we wanted to build a heavy duty off road RV that we could take anywhere. It was decided we needed a beast of a vehicle so we bought what we eventually referred to as Franklin. Franklin was a Stewart and Stevenson Light Military Tactical Vehicle. If it could stand up to military usage and even go to war it should be tough enough for almost any use. We removed the truck bed and added a truck cargo box and began to build out living quarters.

Time for Something New (to us)

During this time work remained busy. In spring 2018 we were getting everything ready for the summer season and decided our trusty worn out toy hauler was no longer up for the task of being a summer home. We ended up trading it in on a standard bumper tow trailer. No bells or whistles just spacious with a slide out and a couple of bunks for the crew. With the workload we have our recreation gets mixed with work, so the basic trailer was sufficient for our needs.

Crazy Pandemic Life

Then came this crazy pandemic life. Being in the entertainment industry we were immediately shut down. While there were multiple attempts to continue to do shows it just never was able to happen. Finally in August of 2020 we decided we should learn again to recreate. We hooked up the RV, loaded up our mountain bikes into the pickup and off to Wallowa Lake, OR we went. This is when we started to see the shortfalls of this roomy RV. With our kids being adults with jobs and school, they were not able to join us. So here we were this RV built to sleep about 6 people and just the two of us. While the space was nice it was more than we needed for the living aspects of camping, and honestly the bed was not that comfortable. It was when we had to park our mountain bikes in into the living quarters for the night that we started to realize a shift in our needs. This was less than ideal.

Learning to Recreate Again

Still re-learning to recreate, we also became involved in ATV fun. The bumper tow trailer was not an option so we began to rethink our choices. A truck and camper seemed to be a great choice. With it only being the two of us most of the time, we didn’t need a lot of sleeping space. What we really needed was the ability to haul a trailer for the toys. We were intrigued by the slide-in pickup campers. Doing our research, we learned that the Lance brand campers are a great choice for their build quality in comparison to others. We quickly learned that while convenient and handy a camper really wasn’t a great choice for us. We were not into buying the biggest heaviest camper with all the slides. This this would have required spending way too much on the camper and then having to upgrade our truck too. With winter mountain camping, we found we spend too much time in the camper during the cold evenings. It didn’t take long to learn that campers are way too small for “hanging out inside”.

Back to the Drawing Board

Back to the drawing board we go. We now have learned that we prefer to recreate with “toys” be it mountain bikes, or various motorized vehicles. So a legitmate method of transport and storage of these items is a necessity. We don’t need a lot of space, but enough to be able to move about. Going to places where only few can go isn’t our top priority. Furthermore the LMTV lacked the highway worthiness we desired. Therefor Franklin didn’t seem to be the ultimate RV for our goals. With that said, we decided to move on from this project and find a unit more practical for our style of recreating.

Our Ultimate RV

Our ultimate goal is a RV that is tough enough to survive normal RV use. In addition we need to get our toys out to play. We don’t need the overdone “glamper with all the frills”, we just desire the function of a toy hauler with the creature comforts and an excellent build quality. We decided that Franklin needed to find a new owner. Someone that would finish the build and seek the adventures that it was capable of. We were intending to buy and reconfigure a horse trailer with living quarters to meet our needs. In this search we found what seemed to be the ultimate solution. In January, Franklin found his new home. Ironically the same weekend we found someone’s incomplete custom project. A trailer that was built similar to a horse trailer, but more like a car hauler with living quarters. The inside was a fresh canvas for us to build out to our needs. This may become our perfect RV. One thing we know for sure is that it can be built to last with solid materials of our choosing.