There are many determinations to make when selecting an RV to purchase. That decision can be entirely different if the RV is being used for full-time RV living compared to just for occasional travel.

What I want to address in this writing is to give you things to consider when starting your research for an RV purchase. It amazes me that 1.3 million Americans live in an RV full-time. The question is, did most of these folks make the right choice when they made their first RV purchase?

My research has led me to answer no to that question. Many people we have met in our eight years on the road have shared how many RVs they have had since they started the lifestyle. Most usually have bought a newer RV every one to two years. They also admit they have made impulsive RV purchases — buying in the moment instead of thinking it through.

Is that a bad thing? Well, it can be costly as with each purchase comes the potential to lose money.

Making the right choice

What should you be looking for:

• What class of RV will work best?
• Will your choice be easy to drive?
• Does paint quality matter to you?
• What floorplan will work best?
• What about features and technology?
• Will you have enough storage space?
• Can you carry everything you want with you?
• What is cargo carrying capacity?
• Should you buy a new or used RV?

I want to address some of these issues by telling our story and the process of how we were able to buy and keep our first RV for almost seven years.

The best thing Pam and I did was to rent RVs for many years before deciding to get into the full-time RV lifestyle. We were at the point that a vacation in an RV was far better than other options we had done previously. And once we were out RVing, we learned so much about what we wanted in an RV of our own and what we would not.

Once we finally decided to start looking for the class of RV we had decided on, I researched my choice vigorously. I set a budget and decided a used RV that was two-to-three years old would suit us best. My determination was mostly based on an RV manufacturer I thought had great quality. We also based that choice on one we had rented from this particular RV manufacturer and the feedback of other owners.

I found the one I wanted, and it was only a couple of hundred miles away. So, with our budget in mind, we took a drive to look at the RV. It was just what we were looking for — but about $25,000 more than I wanted to spend for it. So we decided to continue our search.

As chance would have it, a few weeks later the dealership was having a close-out sale, and the price dropped $25,000. The RV was now right where we wanted it: priced right, two years old, hardly used, and looking like new.

The only problem was it had a bad odor inside. It was not a mold issue, but a black tank odor. It turned out they had never dumped the tanks after receiving it as a trade-in. Thankfully, once the tanks were emptied and the unit cleaned, the odor was no more.

We closed the deal and purchased our "new to us" 2006 Newmar Kountry Aire fifth wheel. We now had our full-time RV living home, and we were delighted. It was in our budget, it had all the space we required in the kitchen, it had plenty of storage below, it could carry the weight of the items we planned to put in it, the full body paint was stunning, and it appeared it had been well cared for.

The point here is we spent a lot of time researching the RV lifestyle. We traveled 35,000 miles in rented RVs before buying one, we spent the time deciding what would work best for us, we talked to other RVers about their experiences, and we did not rush into purchasing an RV. Thus, we were able to enjoy that RV for almost seven years. It worked out perfectly for us!

And, because we purchased both the truck and the fifth wheel at below market value we did OK when it came time to trade the RV in.

Why did we trade the RV in you ask? Well, our needs changed in a way we could not have anticipated when we started the full-time RV lifestyle — and that's OK. But, since the RV was approaching the 10-year mark, which for us was a good time to trade, and we needed a different class of RV due to our business, we started the process all over again.

We are now in our eighth year of full-time RV living and in our second RV. It has been a year since purchasing the second one, and it is working out as we planned it to.

So, the lesson here is to do your homework and avoid being impulsive. You will make the right choice when you finally decide to buy the best RV for you.

Check out Part 2 of this article for more considerations before you buy.