Tuesday Tumble - Buying an RV - Choices Galore

RVs never cease to amaze me, no matter how big or small. Yes, we were two of many that are considering the purchase of an RV later this year.

Just going to the one or two dealers is not necessarily enough. You may be lucky and find the floor plan and RV of your dreams on your first try. But if you don't, realize there are more floor plans than most of us have the imagination to conceive. Add to that more options offered than in a car and it both is overwhelming but wonderful, because the possibility of finding what you REALLY want is there.

We have attended seven RV shows in three cities in the past two years. We have logged miles of walking, asked questions, read brochures, and eavesdropped on other consumers as they questioned salespeople and other RVers. No, it shouldn't take you that long, we started out just curious, no intentions of ever considering one, just humoring me, so to speak. In the midst of that research, I perused websites and RV blogs, looked at so many floor plans my brain started to think in them. (OK, I made that last phrase up, but you get the idea, right?)

Safety and quality come first. Two other extremely important considerations are brought up at the end of this blog, but floor plan is almost everything when it comes to making it work for you. There is a floor plan out there that will probably work well for everyone, but it will take hunting, because there are many more that won't work! If you haven't looked inside an RV, you will not understand the truth in my words.

Choices To Make:

KITCHEN

front kitchen - back kitchen - middle kitchen

two burners - three burners

single sink - double sink

plugs on counter or not

virtually no counter space - some counter space - "lots" of counter space

BATHROOM

back bathroom - middle bathroom

window in toilet area - no window in toilet area

if shower and toilet and sink together - large enough to use or bump every part of your body as you almost straddle the toilet

shower separated from toilet and sink - shower, sink and toilet all separated from each other

(Note: a few tiny RVs have only one sink for kitchen and bath, though a few of those have inserts to put in the kitchen sink, for those who are braver than I germ wise.)


SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS

Bedroom front - bedroom back - no bedroom at all

Sofa Bed - Dining table conversion bed - above the cab if you are agile - queen or king bed with room to walk around - bed shoved against 2 walls so you climb over each other or a combination of some above

DINING

Individual tables placed when you need them in front of sofas - a real table and real chairs - a dining booth (u-shaped booth or normal booth) - individual tables placed in front of lounging chairs or drivers and passenger seats once rotated

OPTIONS

I have only barely touched the major choices. There are so many I could not possibly list the rest, but a few:

No slide outs
How many slide outs?
Sofa or chairs
Desk area
Generators
Inverters
Cloth or Leather
Interior colors
Cabinet choices
Extra seating or extra storage
Surround Sound
Awning

Have fun. . . Because there are engine options and . . . .