It was obviously an oddity because the picture shows a plaque next to the vehicle. How I wished I could read that plaque. What does it say and what the heck IS that thing?!
I found another photo of the same tent camper from a different angle on The Samba:
The person on that forum said:
Does anyone know if these roof top tents are worth anything.
I have never seen one and I think they are cool.
No one had an answer for him, though.
It took a lot of searching, but I found out what they are and found a bunch of other pictures of them. (Continue Reading…)
Filed under: Camping,Food — Laura Moncur @ 10:00 am
Even though I now have a kitchen in my tent trailer, I am still obsessed with camp kitchens and chuck boxes. I believe Springtime designed by Bloondesign is an ingenious idea. It’s a picnic basket, a picnic table and stores your food and utensils.
It’s a clever design, as you can see from the original sketches. (Continue Reading…)
Gem is right! Camping not only has beautiful rewards in the form of sunsets, forests, mountains and deserts, but it has beautiful rewards in the form of family memories and exciting venues. The next time you’re feeling like life is ugly, plan a weekend trip camping and enjoy it. You’ll come back feeling as if at least one thing in the world is beautiful.
Compact, 17-ft. Quantum 5 fifth-wheel trailer from Contempo (left) is designed for towing by small pickups. It sleeps four and has fully galley and bath. Price is $9,200.
When you account for inflation, $9,200 in 1981 is the same as $22,410 today, which seems incredibly pricey for a trailer that can barely sleep four. Despite its initial cost, it looks like a cute and efficient design.
If you are in love with the old canned ham styled trailers, then you’ll be happy to know that Riverside RV has a line of brand new travel trailers that look like they are straight out of the Fifties. Here is what the Riverside Retro 130 looks like:
If that wasn’t cool enough, there is one other feature that will make your life easier… (Continue Reading…)
When we were camping in Buckskin Mountain State Park last month, I was struck with the difference in size between our tent trailer and the motorcoach next to us. It made me wonder how my experience at the park compared with theirs and what each of us had to do to get there. So I made a comparison of my tent trailer to what I imagine for the motorcoach next to me. (Continue Reading…)
In January, Hugh Barker saw my entry and offered to send me photos of his family’s beloved Kamp King Koach. And what great photos they are!! (Continue Reading…)
Motorhomes can range from anything to a van conversion to a massive motor coach. I was shocked the first time I arrived in Quartzsite because I thought only movie stars and musicians toured the country in huge motorhomes, but ordinary people all over this nation own HUGE motorhomes.
Cost
I’ve seen motorhomes in our classifieds for as low as $3,000, but they seldom have a running engine at that price. I appears that you have to spend at least $5,000 to get one that runs and more if you want any hope of it continuing to run. The new motorhomes are HORRENDOUSLY expensive with prices in the $200,000 to $500,000 range. I’ve even seen them as high as $1,000,000.
Fortunately, that’s where the expense ends. You don’t need a heavy-duty tow vehicle because a motorhome HAS an engine. You might want to tow your car behind the huge motorhome, which might cost you in the gear to make that happen, but once you’ve bought your motorhome and it runs properly, you don’t need another vehicle.
If you are a brilliant mechanic, then the thought of an old motorhome probably doesn’t frighten you, but to me, it’s terrifying. I much prefer to have my camping in a vehicle that doesn’t have an engine attached. Then, I can change my tow vehicle when the engine fails or change the camping vehicle when it gets old, leaky or worn out. I prefer my RVs to be interchangeable that way.
Storage
Just like a travel trailer and fifth-wheel, a motorhome would need a large piece of land for storage or a spot at an RV facility for $100-$120 a month. Very few motorhomes would fit under the low door clearances of a garage, not even this van conversion motorhome.
Mileage
This is the worst of them all. Last year, at Quartzsite, I asked what mileage those big motorcoaches got and not one person answered higher than 7 mpg. The lowest was 2 mpg, but he had a glint in his eye when he told me and I don’t know if he was pulling my leg or not. The smaller motorhomes can get 12-15 mpg regularly, but you really have to watch the weight in your coach, drive 55 mph and keep your engine fine-tuned to get that good of mileage.
Capacity
Motorhome sleeping capacity is as vast as the sizes of motorhomes. The tiny vans usually only sleep two, whereas this tiny Toyota Dolphin Motorhome can sleep six. The huge motorcoaches can sleep as many people as the biggest of the tent trailers.
Comfort
Just as with the sleeping capacity, the comfort levels can be spartan or luxurious. Most motorhomes have propane heaters. Some of them even have A/C. Since they are all hard-sided, they will definitely be warmer to sleep in than tent trailers, so those cold nights in the Utah mountains will be easily slept through in a motorhome.
Additionally, you have the comforts of your motorhome while you’re driving. Your spouse or children can wander the motorhome, getting food, playing with their toys or even sleeping while you drive. If you’re stuck in traffic, you can even switch drivers quickly. And the luxury of a restroom onboard would allow for fewer stops along the way if you didn’t have to refill the gas tank so often.
Effort
I imagine that setting up a motorhome at the campsite would be the easiest of all, especially if you’re not towing an additional vehicle behind you. I would think that parking and leveling would be all that you needed before you could drop into your pre-made bed to sleep.
Restrooms
The small van conversions might not have restrooms, but even some of them have them. I love the thought of having a restroom in a motorhome. I imagine Mike would be driving and I could just get out of my seat and use the bathroom while we were still going. It’s a luxury I can’t stop thinking about when considering a motorhome.
Safety
I have NO idea how people drive these huge motorhomes. We don’t hear about motorhomes getting blown over by huge winds on I-15 every year, but they do get into accidents quite frequently. I can’t even fathom how to drive them, but here is a video about how to drive.
I’m more partial to the smaller RVs just because I imagine they’d be easier to drive, but I really have no experience with them.
Campsite Availability
Just like with the travel trailers and fifth-wheels, there are some campsites in our national and state parks that are too short for the longest of the motorhomes. You’ll be safe as long as your motorhome is less than 25 feet, but most sites can accommodate motorhomes that are 25 feet or less.
If you are in a luxury motorcoach, you won’t have any problems with elitism at luxury RV resorts like I have with my tiny tent trailer. I suspect if I had a tiny Toyota Dolphin motorhome, however, the people at that luxury resort would have put me in the back with tent trailers.
Weirdness
Depending on your motorhome, you might attract a crowd. I suspect that the older your motorhome is, the more likely you are to have strangers come to your campsite to talk to you and ask to see the inside.
The Walmart Factor
The Walmart overnight parking benefits were MADE for motorhomes. They expect you to have engine trouble and need parts at their store and they would love you to stay there and spend your money. One note, however, is that it’s polite to not put down your stabilizers and leveling jacks.
Conclusion
I’ve never owned a motorhome, so my viewpoint might be a little off on these RVs. They may be harder to set up or easier to drive than I imagined. I’d be interested in using one for a few months to see how that would change my viewpoint, but at this juncture, it’s just not within my price range.
Here are links to the other entries in this series:
Fifth-wheel trailers look like travel trailers, but they have a large gooseneck at the front that attaches to a huge hitch on the bed of a pickup.
Cost
Used fifth-wheels can be found in the classifieds for as low at $800, but a good one will probably cost you about $2,000. New, they can go for as much as $50,000, so they can be very pricey if you want a brand new one.
Another cost you have to plan for is a pickup. You MUST have a pickup to tow a fifth-wheel. An SUV with a high towing capacity won’t work for you because you need to have the pickup bed to attach the trailer to your vehicle. If you already own a pickup and plan to continue owning one, then you’re set, but if you prefer any other car, you cannot tow a fifth-wheel with it.
Storage
Just like the travel trailers, a fifth-wheel trailers can’t just be easily stored in your garage. They are very high and won’t fit under a garage door. They won’t even fit under a drive-thru roof, as shown in this video (BTW the driver and his son escaped unscathed).
You’ll have to find a huge spot on your property to store it out in the elements or store it at an RV storage facility at $100-$120 a month.
Mileage
My mom owns a fifth-wheel and a Toyota diesel truck. The truck gets 18 mpg when it’s not towing and 12 mpg when it is. You can assume it will take about 6-7 miles per gallon off your usual mpg.
Capacity
As huge as fifth-wheel trailers are, they don’t seem to sleep much more than tent trailers. My eight-foot tent trailer can sleep six, whereas my mom’s fifth-wheel can sleep six people. The difference is that there is a lot more room to move about in her trailer than there is in mine. Considering that their trailer is THIRTY feet long, I’m surprised that there isn’t sleeping capacity for twenty people in that thing. If fifth-wheel manufacturers used their square footage as efficiently as truck camper and tent trailer manufacturers, they WOULD be able to sleep twenty per trailer.
Comfort
Fifth-wheel trailers are the epitome of comfort. Not only is there heat and A/C. There are refrigerators, microwaves and a plethora of other amenities. If you plan on living in your RV full-time or even half the year, a tent trailer would be a hardship. A fifth-wheel, on the other hand, would be like living at home.
Effort
Every time my mom and Reed go camping with us, I’m surprised at how long it takes them to set up. They don’t have to pull out bunk ends or raise the roof, but it usually takes them just as long to get their fifth-wheel into its spot, leveled and ready to go. I don’t know if that is added complexity on my mom’s part or if fifth-wheels are REALLY that time consuming to get into a campsite. Just watching this video from RV101 about how to hitch up a fifth-wheel makes me break out in a cold sweat.
Restrooms
Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes! This is one place where fifth-wheel trailers really shine. I’ve seen the most beautiful bathrooms in fifth-wheel trailers that make the bathroom in my own house blush with inadequacy.
Safety
Fifth-wheel trailers are supposed to be safer to tow than bumper pull travel trailers, but they are BOTH very susceptible to wind. Every year in Utah, we have several fifth-wheels overturned on I-15 because of heavy winds. Considering that I’ve driven in wind storms such as these with my tent trailer and had NO problem, I’m very reluctant to trade it in for a trailer that is harder to tow under those conditions.
Additionally, the law doesn’t require RV owners to take any special classes to learn how to drive their monstrous vehicles. If you want to drive a fifth-wheel, you basically have to teach yourself how to drive a vehicle that’s as big as an 18 Wheeler. If that doesn’t scare you, then you’re a far better driver than I am.
Campsite Availability
In the national and state parks, you could run into troubles with some campsites not being long enough for your fifth-wheel. Many of them list their limitations, for example, 25 foot, on their websites, but sometimes you might show up at a campground, hoping you could stay there and find that your 30 foot fifth-wheel just doesn’t fit.
Additionally, a campsite might be long enough to fit your huge fifth-wheel, but getting it into its spot might be a geometrical nightmare. Trying to make your long trailer fit into your campsite might be possible, but only if you are a master driver.
At the luxury RV resorts, however, you won’t have that kind of problem. The resorts that specialize in pull-through sites and have beautiful landscaping will gladly welcome your fifth-wheel and maybe even put you in their lovely premium sites just because your camper is that nice.
Weirdness
No one will think your fifth-wheel is weird. They won’t think it’s cool or come over and ask what it looks like inside. Since they are so commonplace, you will be camping in obscurity every time. You will have to make MAJOR modifications to your fifth-wheel or tow it with a strange tow vehicle to get any attention.
The Walmart Factor
When Walmart offered to let campers stay overnight in their parking lots, fifth-wheels are the exact campers they had in mind. The only time a fifth-wheel trailer has been turned away is when the Walmart doesn’t allow overnight camping at all.
Conclusion
I’ve never owned a fifth-wheel trailer, so my viewpoint might be a little off on these RVs. They may be harder to level or easier to hitch up than I imagined. I’d be interested in using one for a few months to see how that would change my viewpoint, but at this time, I don’t have a vehicle to tow one nor the space to store it.
Here are links to the other entries in this series:
Motorhomes can range from anything to a van conversion to a massive motor coach. I was shocked the first time I arrived in Quartzsite because I thought only movie stars and musicians toured the country in huge motorhomes, but ordinary people all over this nation own HUGE motorhomes.
Just like a travel trailer and fifth-wheel, a motorhome would need a large piece of land for storage or a spot at an RV facility for $100-$120 a month. Very few motorhomes would fit under the low door clearances of a garage, not even this van conversion motorhome.
Motorhome sleeping capacity is as vast as the sizes of motorhomes. The tiny vans usually only sleep two, whereas this tiny Toyota Dolphin Motorhome can sleep six. The huge motorcoaches can sleep as many people as the biggest of the tent trailers.
If you are in a luxury motorcoach, you won’t have any problems with elitism at luxury RV resorts like I have with my tiny tent trailer. I suspect if I had a tiny Toyota Dolphin motorhome, however, the people at that luxury resort would have put me in the back with tent trailers. 
Fifth-wheel trailers look like travel trailers, but they have a large gooseneck at the front that attaches to a huge hitch on the bed of a pickup.
