How To Choose The Right RV or Motorhome

"No matter what needs or budget you have the RV industry has tried to make a product that can suit you"

How To Choose The Right RV or Motorhome
By: Jim Johnson

If you have been thinking about hitting the road in an RV or motorhome whether for just a short vacation or a more long term trip, you probably have come to realize that there are plenty of choices available to consumers these days when it comes to these rolling homes away from home. There are more manufacturers than ever and a dizzying array of sizes and configurations to select from.

But thankfully, the industry has come to recognize a few general classifications to help bring some order to all of this and make your choice a little less confusing. There are four main classifications that we will discuss in this article, and hopefully when we are done you will have a better idea of which type or class of motorhome will fit your needs best.

The first one we will discuss is the Class A motorhome. These coaches resemble a bus in size and shape and are built on their own unique chassis. They can range in length from 30 feet to well over 40 feet. Since they are the largest of the first three classes, they lend themselves to having more and better features and amenities built into them. In fact, many people use them as full-time homes and travel the entire country, while living in them in as their permanent residence.

They often come with extras like washer/dryers, satellite TV, large screen TVs, dishwashers and more. This class of RV can easily support a couple for a very long time in complete comfort. One of the drawbacks though is that they are not very maneuverable and don't handle going off-road very well. But if used for touring, they are hard to beat. New costs range from $75K - over $1 million.

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The next on the list is the Class B motorhome. Actually this is the smallest by far of all the classes and is usually built on a truck or van frame. The length of these coaches often fall between only 17 and 25 feet. Obviously, since they are so much smaller than the Class A motorhome, sacrifices must be made when it comes to features and amenities.

You usually won't find many of the high ticket accessories in these RVs as space is at an absolute premium, and they are probably not a good choice for long term use for more than one person. New costs are usually between $45K and $85K.

Class C RV

Next you have the RV class that falls right in between the first two, the Class C. This motorhome is also usually built on a van chassis but it is usually larger than the Class B, but smaller than the Class A. More options and features begin to appear on this size simply because there is more room to make use of them. They can range in length from 20 feet to 35 feet on average and cost new in the area of $50K to $125K. These are often used by families on vacation as they can accommodate 6-8 people at a time. Some couples also use them on a more long term basis.

Finally, you also have the option of looking at the giants of the motorhome industry, the bus conversions. As the name suggests, they are buses that have been converted to rolling homes and because of the extra heavy duty construction of buses these coaches can be very durable and reliable. They are often used by celebrities and corporations as they travel the country in style and luxury. Prices on these RVs routinely go into the millions, and they can be expensive to repair, but they are also a pleasure to tour with.

No matter what needs or budget you have the RV industry has tried to make a product that can suit you, so look over the different classes and decide which will fit your needs best, and then begin the earnest search for the exact manufacturer and floor plan that pleases you most.

Editor's Note: For more in depth information about the different types of RVs, you should visit our Types Of RVs Page.

How To Choose The Right RV or Motorhome