By Gail Marsh
What a discussion around the campfire! A gal with a small RV admitted she sometimes experiences “RV envy.” From there, the discussion exploded.
Adequate digs
Dean began, “We named our rig ‘Adequate’ when we bought her. She’s all we really need.”
Dean’s wife continued, “We’ve since shortened her name to ‘Addie’ and she’s been good to us. Twenty-five feet of travel trailer gets us into any state or national park we want to see. She’s short and sweet!”
“And paid off!” Dean added.
RV envy: Bigger is better
“We’ve had small, and we’ve owned big. Big is better!” Ron smiled proudly. “I’d bet my last dollar that if other RVers could afford it, they’d buy a big rig too!”
Well…
After a quick beat of silence, some folks questioned Ron’s rationalization:
“A big rig can be hard to maneuver, especially in smaller and older RV parks.”
“A big RV also means paying a bigger tab at fuel stops, too. And what about insurance costs as compared to a smaller RV?”
“You’re over-generalizing. A big RV may not be for everyone.”
Ron didn’t back down. “I still maintain that if you or anybody around the fire had the cash, you’d go big or go home, as they say.”
RV unease
Claire admitted, “I sometimes feel like a hillbilly when pulling into our assigned site right next to a big, new motorhome. It’s embarrassing.”
“I agree,” Sherie chimed in. “There’s a rig next to us with five slides. Five! While I’m envying all the space that must be inside, my husband is coveting the rig’s full-body paint job.”
Chas countered, “The view out your windows is the same that the big guys see. Isn’t that what RVing is all about? Seeing the country and seeing it your own way?”
Keeping up with the Joneses’ RV?
Can it be that “house envy” has finally left for vacation? Has “keeping up with the Joneses” taken its show on the road? The green-eyed monster (envy) is always ready to pounce, no matter where you travel. Ron even admitted so. “I love my rig, but if I could afford it, there’s an even nicer rig I’ve got my eye on. Trouble is, it’s got a really big price tag, too.”
How about you? Have you ever experienced “RV envy”? Are there contentment strategies that work for you? Please share your thoughts in the comments.
We are very comfortable and grateful to have our 23’ Pleasure Way. We don’t camp to stay indoors. Our objective is to explore and experience the trails, forests and seasides. No big rig envy here!
Yup! When we go camping, we like to sit in our chairs around the fire, or set up a table and operate our portable ham radio station outdoors, or see the local attractions. The camper is a place to sleep, or to spend our time when the weather is less than stellar.
We have the 19′ PleasureWay Ascent and love it! We have never thought about getting something bigger because we can go anywhere with it and are only in it at night or on a stormy day. We got our camper van to take us on adventures so that we can enjoy the outdoors by hiking/biking. And the biggest bonus for us is that we can park it in our driveway between trips.
After a couple falls down our 40 ft 5th wheel’s interior stairs late at night, I had enough. Back to a bumper pull. 3 tons lighter than that 40 ft beast you’d think: better fuel mpg. Nope. Went from 11.4 to 10.5. Now if I could afford a single level 5th wheel – how about it RV makers.
Tony has reviews of “flat floor” 5ver floor plans in TTs frequently. Those TTs are long, but essentially have common 5ver floorplans, but no interior stairs.
We had a 40’ very nice 5th wheel. But we felt we were missing the true travel experience; always on the interstate (mostly because of fueling up) and always in campgrounds. We went from that to a truck camper. We are so happy we did. Now we go where we want to go, exclusively boondocking along the way. We fit everywhere. Zero big rig envy now.
Our TT is 17-foot Wolfpup (20′ w/tongue). I used to marvel at the size of other RV’s, especially your mammoth Class A with their camp side slide that extends the length of the RV. Actually, we were camp site neighbors to one. You know what, we laughed as we returned back from riding our e-bikes, seeing them parked side by side. Do I envy the owners? Not one bit. We can cook, sleep, microwave popcorn while watching Netflix on a 20″ tv, and have a wet bath in our “tiny” TT. We can and could afford a bigger, larger RV but why? We’re content and quite happy. Our Wolf(pup) chasing the RAM pulling it, lol!
Your Wolfpup is one of the models my wife and I were considering, before settling on a Sun Lite 19RB LTD (getting it in the springtime, after we sell our ancient popup). Same advantages, and about the same size (the Sun Lite is 21’8″ including the tongue), but the Sun Lite has a full dry bath across the width of the back of the camper. It’s gonna be great! 🙂
We love our 25’ C with one exception, the corner bed. Eleven years, 90,000+ miles later, mostly dry camping, “Bessie” is the best! Heading for our 6th Alaskan summer where we leave all our stuff behind. If you have to have it all with you, you’re missing a lot. Friends have big…no thanks!
We have technology envy. Our new Ford Maverick, towable by the way, has many driver assist features. Wish our 2017 Class C had the same set of features.
Maybe next time.
There’s definitely some huge RVs out there that would never leave the pavement let alone be found boondocking in the wild but that’s not for me. I love having lots of space but the bigger things get, the fewer options for the roads it travels and the locations it fits. That said, RV’ing in a lil’ van isn’t for me either. Strangely, I admire the happiness of all owners, regardless of their rig.
No envy on size as I prefer the nimbleness of getting as small as possible and yet big enough for the space you believe you need inside. I do have some envy of the smoother driving smaller rigs verses the stiff truck-like driving of the E450 I have currently.
Sometimes I envy the larger RV’s but normally, I’m very happy with my 13-foot Scamp. It is easy to pull, easy to fit into a campsite, and will go anywhere that my car will go. It is hassle-free. It is amazing how many RVers come to my site to have a look and tell me that they wish they had bought a smaller rig.
The rig before current RV, thought was good. We had 5 yr plan to get new one. We were on the search for a new one WAY sooner due to major defects.
Our current RV does not have a 5 yr plan but a 10-15 yr plan. We were not searching for bigger, yet it is. We were searching for the perfect floor plan. I still look at the new but nothing comes to the perfect match this floor plan is for us. Though I notice other manufacturers are copying the floor plan we have.
The only envy I have is for those who ordered theirs (same model as ours) because they have IS, disc brakes, and paint. I doubt we would ever get the paint because of the cost but dang it is pretty!
It’s whatever one can afford and tow with given vehicle. Have upgraded from a 23′ to a 30′ and if I could have from the get go, would have gone with a 30′ Airstream instead of the conventional rv.
When we were shopping for our current class A in 2011 we wanted to stay as short as we could without fixing up anything important. In the end, we wound up with a Coachmen Mirada 29DS, which is actually 31’11” long. Sadly, many national & state parks have a 30′ limit. Some have some leeway, but many are firm & we can’t go there because of that 1’11” difference. If we’d realized this we’d have tried harder to keep to 30′ it under. That & the gas filler on the back wall are our only regrets.
I have size envy in the other direction. We bought a used 32 Class A because money was our first priority. The walk around bed (if you don’t mind doing a narrow line dance) was a necessity because of my physical handicap. I would have loved a smaller rig but the ones in our price range had beds that I wouldn’t be able to use. We bought the smallest one in our price range that worked for us. I am not disappointed with it.
Whenever I see a Country Coach or a Prevost with a beautiful paint job pull into the campground, I give them a little salute.
It depends on the type of camping you do.
We’ve had small trailers, Class C, cabover campers, large Class A and now we have a Newmar Sport, a 27 ft. Class A, because it’s just my husband and I, no littles, and three small pups.
When we had kids and their each ‘take one friends’, we boated, or spent the majority of our time outside, our needs were different. It depends on needs as well as budget.
So, no, I don’t envy the bigger rigs. Mine is perfect for me right now.
We used to travel in a 40′ Landmark fifth wheel. The wife does all the driving since I am nearly blind because of Macular Degeneration. Yes she pulled the Landmark, even through Atlanta on a Friday at 4:00PM. What an adventure.
Now in a class B Roadtrek Popular 210. Perfect for us.
As the wife has told other folks who asked how we could possibly live in such a small rig.
22f. long. PERFECT
First she says, YOU HAVE TO LIKE EACH OTHER.
Yes, PERFECT for us.
Love this newsletter.
Thank you for such fun, shared knowledge.
Thank you for the compliment, Bill. We appreciate it, and we appreciate YOU!👍 Have a great day, and many happy and safe trips in your Roadtrek. 😀 –Diane at RVtravel.com
Variety is one of the best things about RVs. You can match your equipment with what you like to do best. My wife and I (retired, no kids at home) are mid-week warriors, with seven or eight trips per year to nearby state or national parks. Spend most of the time outside, hiking and biking during the day and a campfire at night. For our style, our 16′ retro camper is perfect: goes anywhere, fits anywhere, and has all we need (a wet bath better than our previous iteration of a pop-up with a bucket!). In that context, we have reverse envy. In a glorious, natural park setting, we see a humongous Class A with slides popping out left and right, big TV and lights galore, and we think WHAT???
Planning on our Full timing adventures, my first thought was “I wanted the biggest SOB I could find”, but then reality set in. The more I read and researched, that thought process wasn’t the way I should be thinking. We prefer the national parks, the state parks rather than the “RV Resorts”. Right now we have a 30′ Cougar 25 RDSWE TT that we absolutely love. Once I get to the point to where it is too difficult to set up and tear down, I can then let the envy set in and do something about it. Times change for people, I once thought I’d never have an RV, tent camping was the only real camping. Now I have a TT and still enjoying the outdoors just as much! Happy Trails Everyone!
We gradually went bigger until we got the 35′ 5th wheel that we now have. It is nice to camp in but challenging in some campgrounds. One of the things I have learned to dislike is the camp side slide…I’ve banged my head on that thing too many times! We like to boondock more than stay in campgrounds, so we’ll be going back to a 30′ 2 slide or smaller, as soon as someone builds the floorplan we prefer. I’ll probably find something on it that bugs me too. 😉
I agree, Dennis. If our 25′ trailer was designed the way I want to use it, it would be perfect, we could full time in it. I say it’s all about the design.
“Best size” really, and I mean really depends on how you are using your RV at the moment. It is why we have two TTs – and several of our seasonal/FT RVing friends do the same. For longer-term stays, our larger units are our homes. More space, more features. For touring we each have a smaller unit. We don’t need as many features as we don’t spend as much time in the RV. It is easier to find sites. Fuel costs are lower. We love our 21′ for adventure, but would probably kill each other living literally cheek by cheek in it for 6 months. We love our 37′ but would probably kill each other moving it every few days.
While I sometimes see features I wish we had, we never have size envy. Our 24+ foot class B+ has plenty of room for us, our dog, and our gear. It’s for traveling, cooking, lounging, and sleeping, essentially serving as a motel with a kitchenette. We don’t need – or want – more space, because we live outside our rig, taking in the recreational opportunities of the areas we visit. Plus, it’s small enough to go anywhere we want.
I have to admit to a bit of schadenfreude when I see the look of “fuel mileage envy” on the faces of Class A owners when we tell them we get 16-18 mpg.
Decades of RVing has taught us that there is no perfect RV for every situation. We have owned every type except a popup (which my daughter’s family has, so familiar). Each type and size has had its advantages and disadvantages.
We currently have a 43′ Newmar Mountain Aire DP. Love it…most of the time. But I get “RV Envy” when I’m trying to plan a trip and find something other than a “parking lot” campground we can fit into. With a 60° wheel cut, it’s plenty manueverable, but finding those sites to book is a pain. Once set up though, the amenities are really nice, but that certainly comes with a price.
Enjoy what you have.
We have had everything but a trailer: Class B plus, Class C, and a half dozen truck campers. Not counting the tent… Having a lot of room would be nice, but the disadvantages are too many! We bring our toys with us (boat, UTV, horse trailer–not all at once, obviously!) We found the easiest way to take it with us and still camp is a truck camper. Right now we have a Bigfoot (no slides) and it is cozy, but hey! we have been married 62 years and have this togetherness thing figured out… If we had to ‘camp’ for an extended period of time we might reconsider the space issue.
I’m not one of those who envy the big rigs. When I was getting ready to retire and hit the road, I downsized (happily) from a 36-foot HitchHiker with 3 slides to a 26-foot Lazy Daze without slides. I haven’t regretted that decision. I can fit into nearly any RV park or campground with my LD. Something rather amusing happened to me back in the 80s when I was on a trip in my very first RV, a 20-foot Toyota Dolphin. On one of my stops, I was parked between two behemoths. Those owners told me that my rig was “cute”. It was on about the same scale as a gnat sitting between two horse flies. :>)
I’ve got 2 friends that went bigger. In the neighborhood of 50 ft.
thought both were going to kill each other or divorce.
too big to drive around. Too big to travel road into campsites. Too much to drive safely. Both rv’s are history. 1 quit rving. Another bought a very nice A.
as I got older I found my 30 footer is getting too large to safely drive
Type and size is mostly a personal preference. I only had rv envy when I had a 2017 192rd coleman tin and sticks but only because of the more modern looking fiberglass or azdel campers. But even when we purchased our new heartland Sundance 2301ML TT in 2022 I still wanted a smaller camper and definitely wanted it basic, for the fact that I can still work on it however I did like that it has a slide. We could afford a bigger more tech modern camper but, I personally like the that we can pretty much camp anywhere.
My wife and I are upgrading from a 2002 Rockwood popup camper to a 2025 Sun Lite 19RB LTD hard side, this spring. The popup has its advantages – namely, we can park it in our garage, and its light weight and low profile make for better gas mileage. But, we are getting older and we not only want a camper that has its own bathroom (for those “wee” hours wakeups…), but also has a walk-around bed, and a refrigerator and freezer, and doesn’t have the setup and tear-down hassles or aging canvas issues of the popup. My kids don’t camp with us anymore, so we don’t need a huge camper, but the 21 feet overall length of the Sun Lite is as big as we really want, or need.
Thank you, Gail! No, bigger not always better for us. We downsized from 43′ RV to 36′ RV to fit more campsites. Have a great week and safe travels!
I am a solo camper. After tent camping for my first 65 years, I bought an A-Frame pop-up and couldn’t be happier. Easy to tow with an SUV, I can see over the top in the rear view, and good on mileage (3,000 lbs fully loaded). It fits anywhere, I can maneuver into my spot in and be fully set up in 10 minutes. No slides, no bathroom, never need a dump station. ( I have a “Luggable Loo” for boondocking.) I know some people have to have all the luxuries, but I can’t imagine driving a giant MH or 5th Wheel. When i see them in the campground I think “I’m glad that’s not me!”
So, NO, no RV envy from me.
We always called RV envy “two-foot-itis”!
Bought our current 36′ DP because I wanted a DP and we needed to fit into family yard and nothing bigger would fit. We have lived in it most time for 12 years. I would have liked bigger if only to have a second throne room. We are selling it and buying a destination trailer – 40 foot – which will give us a bit more interior space, but I certainly have no plans to pull it anyplace. If we were younger and still wanted to RV I would get a nice B for shorter duration travel.
Of course there are sometimes good reasons for “bigger”, such as a large family.
However, much of the time the size of the unit is just a mirror of the owner’s ego.
We were always travelers, even before RVing, and have never spent more than one night, in one spot, on the road. Two VW camper vans, two Ford vans self-outfitted for camping and now our Chevy Roadtrek Ranger – bath, kitchen and full-time bed are nice as the bones creak when I walk. Sitting in one place is for home. Getting on the road is to see cotton fields, tobacco barns, corn, bean, and wheat fields and forests, mountains and valleys. One night a couple came to our site from their small Class A and asked how we liked our B. I opened all the doors and invited them to look around. Impressed, they thought maybe downsizing may be what they wanted to do. I became their size envy. lol
We have gone from a 35 to a 40 to a 45 foot class A. It’s a lot for 2 people and 2 dogs, but we definitely use most of it with the exception of the dishwasher. We use it for vacations only.. not full timers..
Anything over 25′ can’t camp at many places we enjoy. Plus we’re camping 5-7 months a year.
We have a 25′ Bigfoot that’s good to -20F. Last night it was -2F and our camper was toasty.
We have enough money to buy a 45′ 5th wheel or a Titanic RV, but that’s not for us.