Читать книгу RVs & Campers For Dummies - Christopher Hodapp - Страница 62

The second key question you need to answer has to do with interior space: How much do you really need?

Our first travel trailer was an Airstream 23FB (those initials stand for “front bedroom”). It had an amazing floor plan, one of the best uses we’ve ever seen of a mere 23 feet from stem to stern with no slides. And if we’d been camping in the thing — and only camping in the thing — we’d probably still own it.

But we weren’t. Our first major road trip had us out for well over two months, visiting family in California, six states away from home. California in the winter, a winter that was breaking all records for rain. And the 23FB, despite its nifty floor plan, had no space whatsoever for a living room. Apart from the bathroom and the galley, it contained only a dinette and a bed. It had a very large shower stall, but not large enough for a pair of recliners. Lying in bed just to watch TV is depressing — you feel like you’ve got the flu. The best of dinettes aren’t made for long-term sitting comfort, and many a dreary hour was spent standing up and staring out the door at the incessant downpour, thinking what we really needed was an ark. We won’t deny the snappishness that began to affect our domestic bliss. In the end, we weren’t halfway home before we got on the phone to our dealer to find out what would be involved in trading up to a larger unit.

In our rambles through the campgrounds of America, we’ve seen lots of people who just can’t stand not being outdoors. They’re out in any and all weather, even if they have to wear snowshoes. They’re often the ones with the most elaborate campsites, lighted awnings and cooking tables, and comfy chairs, with an assortment of killer decorations. This sort of camper will often look for an “outside kitchen,” available in many RVs, where, with the lift of a hatch, all the essentials of meal preparation can be had without ever going back inside your rig. You may be this sort of person yourself, in which case interior space isn’t your biggest worry. But this attitude just isn’t universal. Your RV is your home on wheels, and if you’d like a few of the comforts of home, you have nothing to be ashamed of.

The biggest question to answer is: How long at one stretch are you liable to be in your RV? Are you a weekender? A two-week-a-year vacationer? A snowbird? Or is full-timing even remotely in your fantasies? The length of time you’ll be living in your RV will dictate how much size you need.

In the following sections, we walk you through some other major considerations when you’re deciding how much space you need.