The Worst Advice We've Ever Heard About RVing

An RV trip doesn’t require a lot of preparation.

A successful RV adventure always involves loads of preparation! Your trip will become a living nightmare if you don’t plan accordingly. Planning your RV trip should begin months or even a year before you visit a destination. There are a number of essentials that are necessary to make your next RV trip smooth sailing, including:

√  A reservation at a state park (Popular state parks are booked up to a year in advance.)

√  Travel budget

√  Food supply

√  A planned out travel route

√  Places you want to stop to sightsee and rest for the night

Fifth Wheels

Great for:

• Long distance road-trippers
• Campground socialites
• Larger families
• Families with older children

 Fifth Wheel Pros:

• Superior sway control for longer trips
• Spacious interiors with ample headroom
• Split-level floorplan for extra privacy
• Many luxurious amenities available

 Fifth Wheel Cons:

• Requires a pickup with special hitch to tow
• Can be more expensive than comparable travel trailers
• May be too big for some campsites

Fifth wheels are split-level RVs that must be towed by a pickup truck with a special hitch. Typically, a fifth wheel will have a living space/bunk area on the lower level and a private master bedroom that hangs over the truck bed (rear-bedroom options are also available).

Fifth wheels are great for larger families and for those who are interested in maintaining some privacy while camping. The roomy interiors are also perfect for hosting get-togethers with friends and family. They also offer a smoother driving experience with less sway, so they work well for longer trips.

Prices range from $15,000 to $120,000+.

Travel Trailers

Travel trailers and fifth wheels are the two most popular towable RV varieties available. Both are great choices for families, couples and adventurers, but each has its own unique benefits and trade-offs. If you are deciding between these two options, we have put together a brief guide to help you find what best suits your needs.

Travel Trailers

Great for:

• Young families
• Weekend warriors
• Medium- to long-term campers
• Boondockers

Travel Trailer Pros:

• Affordable, fully-equipped RVs
• Great for vacations and weekend adventures
• Wide range of styles for every need
• Depending on size, can be towed by SUVs, trucks, vans, etc. with proper towing capacity

Travel Trailer Cons:

• More susceptible to sway than fifth wheels
• Better suited for shorter trips than long treks
• Single-level floorplan limits privacy

Happy New Year!!

When traveling in your RV...

...Never pack more than you think you’ll need.

Packing too much stuff will add weight to your load and driving a heavier camping rig will decrease your gas mileage, leading to a more costly trip. In addition, you will be at a disadvantage when braking and accelerating compared to the cars around you, making your trip especially accident-prone. A simple way to shed some cargo pounds is to substitute your glass products with plastic products. In addition, you could take items out of their bulky packaging and store them in zip-lock bags. Ultimately, only bring what you know you will need. Remember, more food can be purchased on the road!

2017 Winnebago Minnie Winnie 22R

We are selling off our rental fleet and this is your chance to buy a gently used Motorhome and save tens of thousands off the price of a new purchase. There is no better way to jump into the RV lifestyle than in a Minnie Winnie®. 

Not only is it built to Winnebago’s® legendary construction standards, it is available in six floorplans and multiple optional packages to let you find the right coach for you and your family. Standard features include LED lighting, four USB charging points, and a large rear trunk. Then, make it your own with options such as a decorative galley backsplash, satellite radio, and a bedroom TV. Whether you want a nimble 24-footer or a 32-foot motorhome with multiple sleeping spaces, including a walk around queen bed, you’ll find what you’re looking for and more in the Minnie Winnie.

2017 Roadtrek Roadtrek ZION

ZION Your perfect bucket list companion Built on the Ram ProMaster chassis and perfected by Roadtrek, the Zion is a versatile and luxurious coach that will have you fulfilling your bucket list locations in no time. The open concept floor plan allows you to pack all your outdoor adventure toys, from bikes to kayaks, in the spacious center aisle. The beautifully designed interior, permanent bathroom, spacious galley, large refrigerator, comfortable sofa and bed and an abundant of storage makes the Zion the perfect coach for all your travel needs.

2017 Forest River Georgetown 369XL

Georgetown XL by Forest River equips you with everything for your travels except the destination! For more info click here.

Towable vs. Motorized RVs

 

Are you going back and forth between a towable and a motorized RV? It’s ok to feel stuck. Both have their pros and cons, and it all comes down to your lifestyle, your plans and your budget. If you’re not exactly sure what you will be using your RV for, we will help you figure this out in the next 5 minutes!

Why you might want a towable

Towables are great for short-term trips like weekend getaways, camping at the local campground, or weeklong RV adventures. A towable RV is also perfect if you plan on staying at the same location for an extended amount of time. Ultimately, if you don’t plan on journeying across the United States year-round, then a towable RV will be a good fit for you. You could use a towable to explore the country, but a motorized will be a better option for this type of lifestyle (I will explain this in more detail later).

Towable RVs are great for: 

• First-timers and those new to the RV lifestyle
• Young families
• Those with a lower budget
• Weekend adventure warriors or long-term lot campers

2016 Highland Ridge Roamer 347RES

These Full-Profile RVs Are Ready To Explore The Roamer line of fifth wheels is designed with the seasoned traveler in mind. You'll find floorplans designed for extended use that maximize space while keeping weight to a minimum. Wide body construction and 42" deep slides lend a sense of space that's just not achievable with lesser products. From brand name appliances to Corian® counter- tops, you'll find feature content that the accomplished RV owner will appreciate. Rugged construction, top quality materials and leading edge innovation. If you're serious about the RV lifestyle, this is your fifth wheel.

Surviving a Road Trip With Kids

For families traveling with young kids in tow, that redundant "Are we there yet?" mantra can spin you into insanity like a Cyndi Lauper CD stuck on a repeat. Here go a few hints to help divert attention elsewhere:

Start a scavenger Hunt: Prevent back-seat brawls by giving young passengers a list of items to look for along the road. In cities, think flashing traffic lights or black-and-white pedestrian crosswalks. In the countryside, have them scout for a grain silo or a cow that's lying down. The more elusive the items, the longer the fun (and the peace) will last.

Play the License Plate Game: This perennial road-trip favorite is sure to keep them focused (for a while, anyway); you can up the ante by awarding bonus points for sightings of license plates from Mexico, Hawaii and United States.

Music to the Rescue: A family sing-a-long can neutralize nitpicking by putting the focus elsewhere (how about a long and laborious version of '99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall'?). When things get chaotic, switching to classical music or talk shows with calm personalities (think NPR) can lead to an overall calming effect in the car.

Snacks: We're not saying food should be used Pavlov-style to induce good behavior, but a juice box or stick of string cheese pulled out at precisely the right moment can work wonders when it comes to tantrum control. Ginger snaps are a great snack food that works double-time by helping combat carsickness.

Cathedral Provincial Park

It takes a day of hiking to get to this campground at the centre of Cathedral Provincial Park, in the Cascade Mountains west of B.C.’s Okanagan, but the park’s interior is worth it: a subalpine plateau of fish-filled lakes, unique geology, alpine meadows and, most importantly, plenty of hikeable summits and ridges. Day hikes project like spokes on a wheel from the campground, which sits on a turquoise lake across from impressive granite walls.

Things to do: The best hike is the Cathedral Rim Trail, a highline loop along a series of ridges topping out at over 2,500 metres. The route passes some of the park’s best-known geologic formations, including Smokey the Bear, the Devil’s Woodpile and Stone City. The Lake-view Mountain Trail leads to the park’s high point and provides extensive views—on a clear day you can see Mount Rainier’s bulk, 300 kilometres away. Four of the park’s lakes were stocked with trout in the 1930s. Cast for trophy rainbows in Ladyslipper and cutthroats in Lake of the Woods.

If you don’t feel like hiking in, you can arrange to hitch a ride to the centre of the park on a shuttle operated by Cathedral Lake Lodge

Alice Lake Provincial Park

Campground paths link into the area’s world-class mountain-biking network. Nearby hiking is steep but spectacular with mountain-to-ocean views. And of course there’s the rock climbing that put Squamish on the map. When you get tired—and you will—hop in Alice Lake for a refreshing dip and then relax on the sandy beach.

Things to do

A good warm-up to Squamish mountain biking is Wonderland, a three-kilometre roller-coaster ride starting just outside the campground. Link it with Brackendale trails and Cheshire Cat and White Rabbit for an intermediate loop. Forgo hiking in the park itself for better trails a short drive away: the hike to the three summits of the Stawamus Chief, the trek to the alpine meadows on the way to Elfin Shelter, and the stiff but rewarding climb to Garibaldi Lake in Garibaldi Provincial Park. Get a feel for the local granite at the one-pitch-rich Smoke Bluffs climbing area before getting high on a Squamish multi-pitch classic, such as Snake or Diedre.

Cathedral Provincial Park

It takes a day of hiking to get to this campground at the centre of Cathedral Provincial Park, in the Cascade Mountains west of B.C.’s Okanagan, but the park’s interior is worth it: a subalpine plateau of fish-filled lakes, unique geology, alpine meadows and, most importantly, plenty of hikeable summits and ridges. Day hikes project like spokes on a wheel from the campground, which sits on a turquoise lake across from impressive granite walls.

Things to do: The best hike is the Cathedral Rim Trail, a highline loop along a series of ridges topping out at over 2,500 metres. The route passes some of the park’s best-known geologic formations, including Smokey the Bear, the Devil’s Woodpile and Stone City. The Lake-view Mountain Trail leads to the park’s high point and provides extensive views—on a clear day you can see Mount Rainier’s bulk, 300 kilometres away. Four of the park’s lakes were stocked with trout in the 1930s. Cast for trophy rainbows in Ladyslipper and cutthroats in Lake of the Woods.

If you don’t feel like hiking in, you can arrange to hitch a ride to the centre.