American RV

- What is better a C class RV or 5th wheel?
I want to live on the road and travel from place to place seeing America with my little dog. I will probably be stopping in RV parks for extended periods of time and boondocking whenever possible. Would it be better to pull a 5th wheel with my SUV or get an RV and pull my SUV? Either way I'm looking into getting something in the 20 ft range.

A You need a long bed pickup to tow a fifth wheel a 6 foot bed is too short to make sharp turns and will damage the truck cab and the RV. Towing a small suv with a gas engine Class C will give you 4 or 5 miles to the gallon so a 100 mile trip is about 80 bucks worth of gas. I love the idea because I have done it for many years when I lived on the coast of northern ca all of the oregon coast and the state of washington. Until my health caught up to me. A lot depends on where you live, winters can be hard in an RV in midwestern states, a lot of retirees that we called snow birds used to go west in the summer and to florida for the winter or arizona. But only the ones who could afford diesel pusher motor homes could afford the gas bill. And the price of gas or diesel goes way up in some rural counties. I saw many RV parks close because people stayed close to home because gas was too high. And many people bought 2 or 3 thousand dollar RV and would move the family into a park, then turn out to be bad tenants and pay a months rent and then force the owners to evict them which often took months. (some RV park owners would wait until the people went to work and pay a guy to hook up thier RV when they left and just tow it out and leave it illeagally on the street somewhere) or go through a months long process. So newer RV would be the owners new requirements to move in. So the newer your rig the better. Its not for everyone but you have the right idea you need a little car to run around when you find a place you like. If you know someone who has a travel trailer you can borrow or rent a class C for a month and camp and see how you like it first is a real good idea. There are pros and cons to everything. To stop on the side of the road for a night you need a generator for sure. And keep in mind you only have so much water and sewer storage. about 3 days worth in most cases. so you need to learn how to dump and flush the grey water (sink and dishwater) or the black water ) sewer tanks. It might be worth it to do a test run so to speak before dumping your house or apartment. If you can afford a diesel pusher conversion bus they can be as plush as you can afford and have tip outs and plenty of room for your needs and still tow a vehicle and get 17 miles to the gallon or so. best of luck. you can also maybe buy a smaller trailer and just go camping on the weekends with your dog on the weekends too. Its a great way to get away. There are a variety of floor plans go to those RV shows and walk around until you find a floor plan that works for you,, then spend some time looking for the one you like. fifth wheels and motor homes are usually a lot more money, bumper pull travel trailer are a lot more bare bones and usually a lot cheaper. Motor homes will have every convenience known to man same with the fifth wheels If you plan to look at used ones, try to find ones that were covered when stored, anything left outside that the roof was not checked every year and sealed as needed may have some badly rotten corners in particular. I take my hardwood cane with me and tap the end on the floors everywhere you can tell by the sound if the floor is bad or is soft . And when buying a RV from a reputable dealer they usually hook everything up for 24 hours before delivery to make sure it all works. Buying a used RV can be a crap shoot especially on the 3 way fridge (propane) electric) or 12 volt a bigger RV fridge that is 3 way can be upwards of 18 hundred dollars.

- I have a 94 model C Class RV. I don't have the owners manual. How do I buy replacement parts for the motor?
I do know I have a Ford Chassis and a 7.5 Liter Ford engine. If I go to a site like Autozone it asks for make & model and does not include RV's. Help?

A Your RV is a 94 Ford F 350 with a 7.5 L. All RVs are built on a truck chassis, be it Ford, Dodge, or Chev.