So, you want to buy your family an RV? Well, awesome! RV ownership and all that comes with it can be one of the most rewarding things you can do.
You’ll learn new skills, go to awesome locations and show your family all that this great country has to offer. There’s state parks, national parks, and so much more. Before you can get started though, you’ll need to buy your RV. But where do you start?
Start At Your Kitchen Table
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It might sound kind of odd, but you should really start at your kitchen table. You need to sit down with your family, specifically your spouse or significant other and go over what you can afford. Don’t go into the RV buying process without knowing what you can easily afford.
You should have a full dollar amount you feel comfortable paying for the RV and a monthly amount that you can easily afford. If you’re taking out a loan to buy the RV (the vast majority of buyers do this) then you need to make sure you have a number that you can pay each month without putting needless strain on your family.
The good news is that many RVs can be had at very reasonable prices. The loan terms on an RV are much different than they are on a car, which means you can get an RV with an extremely reasonable monthly payment.
So, start there. Sit down at your table and discuss your budget with your family. You don’t necessarily need to include the kids (if you have some) at this point, but it can also be an easy way to teach your kids budgeting. Be realistic and err on the side of caution and you should find a number you’re comfortable with.
Think About How You Want to Use Your RV
Image by Camping World
The next step, before you start digging into the different types and classes of RV is to think about how you plan to use your RV. Are you going to spend a lot of time in it? Do you plan on taking long trips or short ones? How far do you plan to go? Who will be going on the trips with you?
These are all questions you need answers to before you start looking at motorhomes vs towable RVs or different classes of motorhomes.
Literally, get a pad of paper out and a pencil or pen and write this stuff down. Once you have all of these things figured out, or as close as they can be to being figured out, then you can start thinking about the individual RV you’d like to have.
It’s these early preparation tasks that will help ensure you get the right RV for you and your family.
When you’re ready to begin the shopping process, head over to Camping World’s website to see all of the RVs on sale.
Need to buy a holiday gift for the RVer in your life, but don’t know your fifth wheel from your A Class? Not to worry, we’ve got you covered with a great variety of gift options that will make you look like a camping expert! Here are some perfect options for your RVing friends and family members.
Midland X-Talker XT T51VP3 Two-Way Radios
Image from Camping World
Give the gift of communication this holiday season with a pair of two-way radios. Not only is this set of Midland X-Talker XT T51VP3 Two-Way Radios perfect for talking with a spotter when backing into a tight space or maneuvering rigs through difficult situations, but with its 28-mile range and 22 channels this set is great for caravanning through desolate regions, off-grid backcountry hiking, or any adventure where you need to stay in communication and there’s no cell coverage. It’s even equipped with weather alert technology so you’ll be warned of any severe weather in the area.
Have friends or family who are making their way through the National Parks? Help them proudly show their progress by giving them a magnetic National Park tracker. This piece of wall art lists all 58 National Parks and comes with magnetic pins to let people easily track how many parks they’ve been to and how many are still to go!
Everyone who’s been camping knows that a good trip can be ruined by swarms of bugs. Keep those RVing friends happy and enjoying the outdoors with a portable mosquito repeller. This repeller by Thermacell includes a fuel cartridge and three repellant mats that provide 12 hours of protection in a 15-ft zone. It’s scent-free, doesn’t have an open flame, and there’s no chemical to skin contact or mess to clean up afterward. It’s a great way to spend time outside without becoming dinner for mosquitos. You might even want to pick one up for yourself!
Sure, you could give your RVing family members basic camp chairs, but why not take it up a level with these collapsible rocking camp chairs that will let them smoothly rock and relax at the campsite? Not only do these chairs have an easy carry handle and feature Spring Action Rocking Technology, but they also fold down for compact storage in an RV and include a beverage holder.
Bring the family together in the evening with the National Parks edition of Monopoly. Choose from fun tokens such as a canoe, bison, or hiking boot and travel around the board visiting over 60 of America’s beautiful National Parks. The game also includes custom Monopoly money featuring National Monuments and educational information about local animals. It’s a great way to learn about the National Parks while on your way to visit them.
This black coated portable steel grill is perfect for RVing and camping. It can be attached to the sidewall of a RV or can be used as a tabletop grill. The porcelain enamel cooking area offers 305 sq. inches of grilling space, and the 10,000 BTU output lets you grill up feast while tailgating, camping, or even just at a picnic. The grill features a built-in temperature gauge and cool touch stainless steel handle, as well as foldable legs and a carry bag to make storage easy.
For those RVers who love to boondock and explore the wilderness, this Garmin handheld GPS can help them find their way. This high-sensitivity GPS and GLONASS receiver has a full color 2.6” screen and aquad-helixx antenna which provides fantastic reception and keeps your location even when exploring deep canyons. It features a 3-axis electronic compass with barometric altimeter and a 1-year BirdsEye Satellite Imagery subscription. You can even share your routes and waypoints wirelessly with its Bluetooth connectivity and received texts and emails from compatible phone devices.
This ladder mounting bike rack is perfect for those RVers who love to explore on two wheels as well as four. The lightweight aluminum construction adds minimal additional weight to the RV, and the rack easily hooks onto a rung of a roof access ladder, allowing the tailgate to be freed up for other uses. The rack holds two bikes and comes with tie-down straps to make sure everything stays secure.
Maybe it’s just you and your significant other. Maybe your kids are out of the house and you finally have time to travel. Whatever the reason, when you’re looking for a camper designed for couples you don’t always need or want a large motorhome.
Small towable campers can be exactly what you need, and here are five of the best ones you’ll find out there for extremely reasonable prices.
Keystone Bullet Crossfire 1900RD
Kicking things off, we have the Keystone Bullet Crossfire 1900RD. This unit features a queen bed at the front of the unit, a sink and range on the camp side, a U-shaped dinette at the rear of the unit, and a refrigerator and pantry across from the kitchen area.
The travel trailer measures 21.92 feet in length and has a dry weight of 3,360 pounds. With the U-shaped dinette that turns into another bed, you could even bring along some friends because this unit sleeps four people total. It’s a perfect option for the outdoorsy couple.
Another great option for an outdoorsy couple is the Crossroads Zinger 18RD. This unit features a queen bed at the front along with some storage areas, a kitchen area on the camp side of the trailer, a large u-shaped dinette at the rear of the unit, and a wardrobe and a pantry opposite the kitchen.
The Zinger 18RD measures 22.5 feet in length and comes in at 3,290 pounds. It sleeps three, so it’s not going to work if you would like to bring along some friends but if you have your grandkid for the weekend, then you should be good to go.
Are you looking for something with a little more room? The Coleman Lantern LT 18FQ is the answer. The single slide-out on the off-camp side gives you some extra room inside the unit. The camper comes with a queen bed at the front, a sofa and dinette housed in the slide-out, and a kitchen along the camp side.
The trailer features a 22.75-foot overall length and a dry weight of 3,980 pounds. It sleeps three people so like the Zinger shown above it’s perfect for couples and maybe a grandkid.
If the Coleman unit above doesn’t do it for you, maybe the Coleman Light LX is more your speed. The camper features a sofa and a Murphy bed combination at the front of the unit with wardrobe space to either side. It offers a dinette and storage on the camp side and a kitchen across from that.
The camper is one of the shortest on this list at 21.92 feet and it weighs 3,586 pounds too. The unit can sleep up to three people between the bed and the dinette, so it’s the perfect camper for a couple looking to get away from it all for a few days.
Another great option with a Murphy bed is the Forest River Geo-Pro 19FD. This unit features a layout very similar to the Coleman Light shown above. There’s the dinette on the camp side wall and the kitchen across from that. It’s just a different take on this same layout. Some folks find the Geo-Pro to be the preferable option.
The Geo-Pro measures an even 20 feet in length and it has a dry weight of 2,829 pounds. Which makes it considerably lighter weight than the Colman, which can be important depending on your tow vehicle. The unit sleeps three, so once again, it’s perfect as a couple’s getaway trailer.
Michigan is one of the most unique areas on our planet. Touching four of the largest freshwater sources in the world, it has the longest freshwater coastline of any political area and contains over 64,000 lakes.
It is home to glacial moraines and dunes, mountains, beaches upon beaches, and many square miles of preserved old-growth forest and wilderness within its two peninsulas.
Michigan has the largest state park and state forest system of any state, with 78 state parks, and six state forests. Here are some (note: just some) of its most unique state parks and features!
Tahquamenon Falls State Park
Image from Getty
Perched on the eastern rim of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Tahquamenon Falls State Park features 50,000 acres of incredible vistas.
The park’s hallmark feature includes a large waterfall with a 50-foot drop and a span of over 200 feet, but there are many other features to appreciate about Tahquamenon. The efforts made towards park accessibility are especially admirable!
Fishermen and water-lovers will love this site. In the Upper Falls, visitors can see the Tahquamenon River mouth fed via Lake Superior, and will find plenty of fishing opportunities for brown trout in this area. The Lower Falls includes five smaller waterfalls spilling around a small island and is a hot area for walleye, northern pike and musky. Canoeing, rowboats, and kayaks are available for rental and can be used on some of the park’s 13 lakes, which include more great fishing.
The park hosts many family-friendly outdoor activities, including a fantastic free wheelchair “track chair” rental program that makes most of the park accessible to the elderly and disabled. These durable track chairs fair well in the snow, sand, and up to eight inches of water! Over forty miles of trails are available for snowmobiling, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, hiking, and biking.
Tons of wildlife can be found at Tahquamenon, including over 125 species of birds, in addition to moose, black bears, and wolves. Camping is available via lodge, cabin, modern, rustic, and backcountry sites.
Headlands International Dark Sky Park
While this park is on the smaller side, boasting 550 acres and two miles of undeveloped Lake Michigan shoreline, its uniqueness makes up for it. Visitors to Headlands International Dark Sky Park are offered the rare opportunity of seeing the night sky with virtually no local light pollution.
There are now 40 international dark sky parks in the world: land possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage, and/or public enjoyment.
The park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, however, no overnight camping is allowed to take place within the park. The park is intended to be used as a place to “Stay awake and view the stars!” When the Observatory is open, visuals are projected onto the big screen monitors on the main level.
During scheduled observing nights, Professional star-gazers and astronomers are available on-site to enhance the viewing experience. Scheduled events are often sequestered around meteoroid showers, solstices, visible Northern Lights, and so on.
There is an abundance of rare and endangered plant life within the Headlands’ woodlands and shore, in addition to many wild animals. Bald eagles, wild turkeys, coyotes, osprey, white-tailed deer, and the occasional black bear are sighted at the park. Trails for hiking, cycling, and cross-country skiing span the park. Every nature-lover is sure to enjoy the features of this park, particularly the nightly views.
Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park
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Michigan’s largest state park arguably contains the best-unbridled wilderness in the Midwest. With over 90 miles of hiking trails, a 35,000-acre old-growth forest, powerful waterfalls and rivers, and 25 miles of Lake Superior shoreline, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park is unrivaled in terms of its natural offerings and size.
Spanning 94 square miles and 60,000 acres, no other state park in Michigan offers as many opportunities to get lost in (and admire) nature at its best.
Located on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, just north of the Ottawa National Forest, Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park features many scenic areas and activities. Lake of the Clouds scenic area is a must-see. The Fall Color Ski Lift Rides are a must-do in the fall.
In the winter, snowshoeing, cross-country and downhill skiing bring many “Porkies” to the park, in addition to snowmobiling trails. Many of the park’s access roads are unplowed in winter, and as such, are re-designated as snowmobiling trails.
Camping is limited to 63 designated backcountry sites, but reservations can be made up to six months in advance, with specific check-ins instructions to be followed by all campers. As Black Bear are common at the park, precautions must be taken by campers.
The Friends of the Porkies organization offers several unique opportunities for artists, including a residency program, a music festival, and folk school: all celebrating the richness of this Michigan state park, and extending this richness to visitors old and new.
Lakenenland Sculpture Park
Located in Marquette, Michigan, Lakenenland Sculpture Park’s 37 acres have become quite the local -and national- phenomenon. The drive-thru park features many metal sculptures by owner/artist Tom Lakenen and attracts everyone from tourists to snowmobilers, to art-lovers and beyond.
After being open for sixteen years, the small park has relatively quickly become one of the top tourist attractions in the Upper Peninsula.
In the winter, you can find Mr. Lakenen outside, blowing snow off of his sculptures, stoking a campfire or woodstove, and handing out free hot chocolate to snowmobilers and tourists who’ve stopped to view his work.
His sculptures range everywhere from pink elephants to giant lizards and lumberjacks, and were made mostly from scrap metal Lakenen took home from odd jobs. The park remains free and open to the public and is an absolute must-see in the Upper Peninsula.
What do you think about these state parks? Leave a comment below!
In this episode, Sam interviews Karen from the YouTube channel TravellingK. Karen has lived permanently in a travel trailer in New Zealand for three years. She works as a graphic designer on the road and creates videos of her lifestyle, how-to advice, and interviews others living this lifestyle.
She’s just got back from a three month trip to the UK towing a caravan and has now started renovating a vintage caravan back in New Zealand.
Tune in to hear Karen share her experience with international travel, how she’s earning an income on the road through freelance work and Patreon, and some fun stories from the road!
Part of the fun of hitting the road to enjoy the wide-open spaces of our country is the freedom to go where you want pretty much when you want. However, while you’re out taking in everything nature has to offer, do yourself and your family a huge favor and don’t neglect stays or visits to any of our more than 50 national parks.
But everyone goes to national parks, making them crowded? I hear that and during select times of the year, that’s correct. However, good planning can reap big rewards.
The larger parks, like the colossal Yellowstone, have fantastic campgrounds closer to everything you want to see… but reserve well in advance of your planned adventures, especially for the high season from June to September when school’s out and families are on the road.
Image from Getty
In fact, it is recommended that if you can, travel in the spring and in the fall. One more item about national park campgrounds: bear in mind they can be limited in scope from the size of the RV you can bring in as well and most will have limited full hook-up accommodations.
Most in fact, will not have an RV campground in the park, but there will be one nearby. But when you stay at or near a national park, you have access to a ton of outdoor goodies like the following.
National Parks have Guided Tours
A huge bonus to our national park system is the opportunity to become educated on everything about a particular park’s ecosystem, science, conservation practices, and overall history.
Using Yellowstone as an example, you can gather information from well-versed guides on everything from geography to grizzlies, plus you can get guided tours using transportation from bicycles to boats.
Even in the winter, there are guides in snow coaches… and November and December can be the best time to get an opportunity to see a wolf in the world’s oldest national park.
National Parks have Tons of Hiking Trails
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Call them self-guided tours if you like but take a handy-dandy map with you. You don’t want to miss the sights on the trail or miss the trail entirely. A lot of effort goes into the proper routing of a trail and it is a continual effort to keep it as thrilling, yet safe, as possible.
Fact is, in a volatile place such as Yellowstone, going ‘off-trail’ has led to more than one person never coming back. Speaking of putting yourself at risk, heed this advice – never ever ever ever ever hike alone.
National Parks have Rangers
No, not the New York Rangers or the Texas Rangers, Park Rangers. Rangers are chock full of the information you may need to know about the goings-on for the day or days you are there.
Where was the last grizzly sighting? Best place to see a bald eagle? The closest place to do some angling? Best place to see wildflowers from the road or the best trail to take to see them? Where’s the nearest waterfall? Where’s the nearest bathroom? How close can you get to a bison?
There is a ton of information you can find out from a park ranger… and BTW, the answer to the last question is 25 yards. I’d double that. They weigh over half a ton and are three times faster than you.
National Parks have Beautiful Wildlife
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Yes, you can see a coyote in Chicago if you want to, but you can’t see a badger, or a wolf, or a grizzly or a wild horse. Those are generally easier to find in a national park than anywhere else.
Some national parks have very specific wildlife. For instance, the Everglades is one of the few places where you can see a manatee. As for a herd of wild horses? Get your best chance inside Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
National Parks have Amazing Scenery
Well duh, right? They don’t create national parks where there isn’t anything worthwhile to see. But what may be awe-inspiring to me, Joshua Tree, for instance, might be nothing but a dry wasteland with short trees to you.
The beauty (no pun intended, but it works) of the national park system is there really is something for everyone to have their own jaw-dropping moment. Want to see the ocean sliding over the beach? Try Biscayne. Love to see the Aurora Borealis? Head to Voyageurs. How about a waterfall that looks as tall as a skyscraper? Check out Yosemite.
Are there any other reasons to go camping in or near a national park for you? Let us know and happy camping!
