In Part 1 of this article, I shared how we purchased our first RV home. With lots of research and by not being impulsive, we were able to enjoy our first full-time RV home for almost seven years. In Part 2, I would like to discuss a few more ideas that might help you when selecting an RV that is right for you.

Gas or diesel

There are so many things to consider when thinking about purchasing your RV. The first main issue, other than price, is to decide what class of RV will work best for you. Will that be a motorized RV or a towable RV? If you choose a motorized RV, will that be a gas engine or a diesel engine?

Gas powered RVs are great if you are not going to be racking up the miles traveling coast to coast, and you would rather stay in one place for months on end. However, they certainly don't have the cargo-carrying capacity — a significant issue for full-timers — of their diesel counterparts.

Also, a larger gas-powered Class A RV doesn't retain its value as well as one that is on a diesel-powered chassis with airbags to improve handling and ride. But with that improved handling and ride comes a significant increase in cost. Depending on the make and manufacturer, you can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the price tag of a new RV.

As far as fuel consumption, they are about the same as far as gallons consumed per mile driven — you are going to get 7-to-10 mpg at best. Depending on what your budget is for your RV lifestyle, choose the class of RV that will best suit your needs.

The right size

If you want to live small and like the Mercedes Sprinter chassis, you may be able to get 15 miles per gallon using this smaller diesel engine. But you will have to be able to live in a small space. Can you and your traveling companion be comfortable in a 25-foot Class A or Class C RV? Can you carry everything you need with you? Can you tow either a vehicle or trailer behind that will meet your needs?

Pam and I have been enjoying our eighth year of full-time RV living in a 27-foot Class C RV. We have had it for a year now. We traded in our 40-foot fifth wheel and medium-duty truck that we had been in for almost seven years. We now pull a cargo trailer behind us with a small Honda motorcycle to meet our transportation needs.

We are also running a business out of this RV home. Are there challenges at times? Sure! There are advantages and disadvantages to every choice you will make. There will be things you have to compromise when making your RV choice. A large RV will be comfortable to live in, but you will have travel worries as you navigate the country. There will be places you just will not be able to visit due to size limitations.

When choosing a smaller RV, you won't have the room and amenities, but you will be able to get around with fewer worries and park in places you otherwise would not. If driving a larger RV gives you a level of discomfort, this may be the place to start.

People we talked to with larger RVs shared that they wound up not traveling as much because moving about became such an issue. There was so much involved in getting parked and set up with each move, especially if they had mobility issues. Some even downsized to relieve the stresses of frequently moving in a larger RV.

For Pam and I, moving the 60-foot fifth wheel combo became such a headache at times. Height restrictions, narrow RV parks and campgrounds, challenges when fueling the RV, and route restrictions made random travel difficult. What that meant was we had to plan ahead each time we moved the RV. When relocating once a week, that became a challenge, too.

If selecting an RV is a choice that is being made to get out of a home rental or home ownership, and the RV will not be moved much, certainly a towable unit is a better choice than a motorized one. If you need it moved, you can hire an RV moving company to come and relocate it for you. That will probably be cheaper than owning a truck that will never regularly pull the RV.

Carry capacity

What is carry capacity, and how can you find this information in an RV? There will be a data plate in the RV, either in the front or listed inside a cabinet door that details what the RV can carry. Depending on the class of RV, that figure will include the weight of occupants, the fresh water in the tank, and items brought onboard the RV.

Take a look at this label describing the carrying capacity of a 34-foot Class C diesel puller RV:

For this RV, the cargo carrying capacity should not exceed 1,233 pounds. In September of 2000, the RVIA modified weight rating labeling to help the RV buyer to be more aware of what an RV can safely carry. The label shown here is the result of that change.

How is cargo carrying capacity calculated? It is the gross vehicle weight rating minus the unloaded vehicle weight, a full tank of fresh water including the water heater, the weight of a full tank of propane, and the sleeping capacity weight rating (each occupant times 154 pounds).

Would this RV be a good choice for full-time RVers who want to carry all their possessions with them? Even with a cargo trailer, it would be tough. A 500-pound tongue weight on the hitch pulling a 5,000-pound GVWR trailer would knock that carrying capacity down to a little over 800 pounds. That trailer would be the maximum this RV could tow given the gross combined weight rating for the RV.

Now, if the fresh water tank is not full during travel, a few hundred pounds of cargo carrying capacity could be added back in.

Does cargo carrying capacity change in a Class A diesel RV? Sure! Some can carry 5,000 pounds or more. Some of the larger Class A gas RVs have a carrying capacity of 3,000 to 4,000 pounds.

The reason for going into such detail on this topic is because we know many RVers who travel in an overloaded situation. When doing so, that puts a strain on all the mechanical components of the RV, as well as the tires that may not be designed to carry the additional weight. What can that lead to? Perhaps a tire blowout during travel. That is not something you want to experience if you can avoid it.

Conclusion

When selecting an RV to purchase, you can now see there is so much more than just deciding one day to buy one and then going to a dealership. That is the best way to get pushed into the wrong purchase. The same can be said for RV shows. Yes, there are deals to be had, but only if you know exactly what you want after having done lots of research.

Please be a smart RV buyer and do your homework. And if it is just impossible for you to know what class of RV will work best for you, rent one or borrow a friend or family members, and try it out. If you have to rent one, it will be the best money you will ever spend — it sure was for us.

Best of luck on your RV purchase!