On the fence! Still!

[Lou-ClassB]

I said "rent first" but would like to add to that. Go to RV shows and sit in different kinds. We ended up buying a second hand Pleasure-Way from a rental company. You save a lot of money. If it is a big company the vans are getting checked and serviced every two weeks so they are in good shape. Ours was 5 years old when we bought it.
Eleven years later it is still worth what we paid for it. Don't buy a bunch of new things for the van. At first just use your camping things until you are sure you need something different.

 

[JonMN]

I was in almost the same situation. Just retired, could afford a Class B. One difference is that we really do not like camping. But we did want to start visiting the sites in the US, and spending a month or so escaping winter in a Florida rental house.

So we chose our Class B mainly as a great way to take LONG road trips. It is by far our favorite vehicle for long drives. The ability to pull into a rest stop, make a great lunch, a cup of coffee, and and take off again is great. Also, if one needs to stretch their legs or even lie down while on the road you can do that too. Having clothes on hangars rather than a suitcase is a bonus too.

We have almost 20K miles on our 2022, so it's been used. Just back from the Grand Canyon, which has a great RV camp in the village itself.

Our longest stay camping is 4 nights so far. It was fine, but the vans are kind of small . . .

 

[michaelingp]

Lots of good advice so far. What's missing is exactly what it is about camping that you like. And what about camping don't you like (other than the leaking sleeping pad). Since you don't mention traveling as an important part, I'd tend to agree with others that a small travel trailer might be a better and much less expensive solution. We bought our Class B because we like to travel and visit off-the-beaten-path places. Camping (i.e. sleeping in the outdoors, making a fire, cooking outdoors, swimming) is somewhat a secondary goal. We rarely stay more than a couple of days at one campground, and the other days we are driving 120 to 250 miles or so. If that's not your style, and you'd rather spend a couple of weeks relaxing and enjoying the outdoors at a beautiful campground, then, again, I'd recommend a small travel trailer. A tent trailer would be very economical and they have real mattresses I think.

 

[SQUASHMIRE]

And another idea is a truck camper. We got our first one this year. Can take the camper off and it is still a truck used for other things. Don't have to register the camper portion in PA nor insure it. Camper does not have its own engine, brakes, suspension, etc that cause maintenance to be done such as on a Class B. And it is more spacious than our previous Class B. And the truck besides a transporter comes with extra storage in the back seat, 4WD, and high clearance. Good luck.

 

[jojobafanzi]

And another idea is a truck camper. We got our first one this year. Can take the camper off and it is still a truck used for other things. Don't have to register the camper portion in PA nor insure it. Camper does not have its own engine, brakes, suspension, etc that cause maintenance to be done such as on a Class B. And it is more spacious than our previous Class B. And the truck besides a transporter comes with extra storage in the back seat, 4WD, and high clearance. Good luck.

Slide in campers are a good option for a certain lifestyle. I have some friends that own them and they are wonderful. The only complaint I hear is that they obviously use the thing part of the year and when they take it off, it sits where they put it so it is in the way and a two person time consuming pain in the butt to bring in the truck, mount it and move it to a new position 20 feet away. Other than that, it's a good option. It is a full motorhome in a short platform with no axles to maintain.

 

[GeorgeRad]

And another idea is a truck camper. We got our first one this year. Can take the camper off and it is still a truck used for other things. Don't have to register the camper portion in PA nor insure it. Camper does not have its own engine, brakes, suspension, etc that cause maintenance to be done such as on a Class B. And it is more spacious than our previous Class B. And the truck besides a transporter comes with extra storage in the back seat, 4WD, and high clearance. Good luck.

Slide in campers are a good option for a certain lifestyle. I have some friends that own them and they are wonderful. The only complaint I hear is that they obviously use the thing part of the year and when they take it off, it sits where they put it so it is in the way and a two person time consuming pain in the butt to bring in the truck, mount it and move it to a new position 20 feet away. Other than that, it's a good option. It is a full motorhome in a short platform with no axles to maintain.

My experience was Camper Van Westfalia VW > Westfalia again > 19’ trailer > truck camper > 21’ trailer and 19’ Sprinter camper van, a full circle from 1977 to 2013. Our least liked one was the truck camper, divorce prone mounting, claustrophobic sleeping, and no truck storage.

 

[SQUASHMIRE]

TCs have disadvantages to Class B vans. I'd say the biggest one is that you have to know what your truck can handle in terms of weight and truck bed length and match that to a camper that is within those limits (when fully loaded). Other disadvantages as I see it are you cannot take the TC where it is either too tall or too heavy or too long. I would not consider the difficulty of loading the TC on the truck a disadvantage....after all, you don't even have that option in a van. But you could leave the camper mounted on the truck all the time. And it is only my first summer owning a TC and I can load it by myself, so my marriage hasn't suffered other than during the learning phase. Not sure what you meant about "no truck storage"....did you mean camper storage? If so, it has a smaller footprint than the Roadtrek.....but again, to compare apples, it could always live on the truck if parking space is the issue.

 

[jojobafanzi]

Stealth

personally I prefer stealth and a daily driver that fits in a regular parking space and is low in height and knobody knows if I'm in it and gets good fuel economy and I can watch a movie when wife is shopping and and and and.... That is why a B van came my way.