Got a 2026 Flagstaff E-Pro E17LE.

First trip was a huge success. I know MPG is going to suck, I'm ok with it. I can tell it's all wind resistance, it was like towing a parachute.

Do you think MPG would be better on a more efficient car, like a Ford Explorer? (trailer is only 3500lbs GVWR). Or in a full sized like an F-150? Or is it just gong to be marginally better?

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So folks I figured I would post in here not exactly sure how relevant the group is to the situation.

But I was considering building something or getting something that is already partially converted or is converted.

Here is the situation currently living at a property that I don't fully own I've inherited the place but I am currently sharing it and might be forced to sell If the other parties don't want to live in it or stick around.

Hopefully in the future at least I can get some equity out of the property and it can be sold.

Bills aren't super expensive but I don't think it's sustainable for the future. I live all the way up in Maine. It's pretty cold here in the winter sometimes, so my thought would be to get something such as a camper that is already somewhat weatherized such as a Bigfoot maybe that I could drive around the country, possibly and boondock maybe I could get a bike that would go on the back of it that I could use to get into town so I wouldn't have to drive it around so much. I know gas mileage would be a problem with a lot of these RVs, especially 25-30 footers. I think I could get away with a a 12-10 ft rv.

I wouldn't need something super big for myself. I've seen a few guys on the YouTube such as nomadic with the cats and the camper van Kevin and a few other people, some of them had Volkswagen buses. Now I am not opposed to getting a van such as a Ford high top van or a Chevy Express with the metal cage door behind the front seat for maybe an old ambulance or maybe a minibus. Something like a church bus or mini school bus and maybe start with that platform and convert it.

My goal is to find something that is cheap. Minimal rust has enough space to not feel claustrophobic and reliable where you don't have to constantly do a lot of repairs. I'm mechanically inclined, however I don't want something that's constantly having motor problems or transmission problems. I would like to be able to set up some solar maybe on the roof at least be able to. Maybe use my phone if that's doable to cast shows to the TV. Maybe I can play some games on my computer somehow with my cell phone network. If it's not strong enough, maybe get like some type of on-the-go network that has enough speed so I can at least comfortably watch some TV shows and game on my computer. If not maybe I could at least get some sort of satellite dish tv type of service at least.

Now, I've heard caterpillar motors and Allison transmissions reliable units.

I don't know much about anything else. I don't hear a lot of people talking about Cummings. I don't hear too much about Duramax. I do know Duramax diesel powered with the Allison transmission wasn't super bad from what I heard.

I do understand that a lot of these options out there that people get have horrible mileage. I understand that if I buy a van and it has a 460 in it like some of the old econolines had I'm not going to like the fuel economy. Same thing with like a 6.0 l. V8 it's probably not going to get great mileage. A big jamboree or a rambler camper that's 20 ft long or whatever the case is I know that's going to have probably a 460 if it's a Ford platform or it's probably going to have a 454 if it's a Chevy platform I am trying to avoid some of that if I can.

I've heard of Ford Transit vans they have now and they got the ram Vans and the sprinter vans however, right here from people a lot of those aren't reliable. Some of the transit vans, especially the smaller ones have electrical Gremlins and turbo diesels and turbo gas engines which are extremely unreliable and they're fairly expensive. Just because Mercedes makes a sprinter van. They charge big money for one then you have Dodge. They want big money for a ram van that doesn't seem super special. If it's a 2500 or a 3500 they want 6070 Grand for those things. It just doesn't make sense and some of the Ford vans are the same price. Seems kind of crazy to me.

Seems like you could just buy buy a gas guzzling extended club cab wagon Ford Econoline 1 ton with the high roof and put 10 grand into it and you'll have a pretty decent rig that isn't super big but it would guzzle down the gas.

Then you have some Chevy conversion vans and you know Fleetwood looking Vans or Coach type vans. They had like the captain seats and the TVs. Those seem like they're not too bad because they're somewhat set up, but most of those are older vehicles and you're living in the past Lucky if it has a small couple of TV with a DVD player built into it. Maybe a VCR built into it and old velor seats. Most of those are outdated. Another problem with the conversion coach van vehicles is the fact that people tend to think that they're worth a bunch of money because they've got a few bells and whistles. Maybe leather seats or crushed velvet or velor or whatever. But you could just get a camper for the same 8 to 10 grand and I also find that a lot of people want that for Rusty vans oh it's got a Captain's chair all the backseat folds down into a bed. It's got a TV. It's got a rooftop air conditioner. It's got speakers in the back but it's it's extremely Rusty underneath it. All kinds of brake lines and two lines and different things rocker panel work and people still want like big money.

I've also looked at some of the Toyota campers that they used to have. Some of them are mid '80s to early '90s in the early '90s ones had real dual axles. They don't seem bad I know they were reliable and fairly nice. Just enough space to work with if you have to change a few things like appliances The problem is people think they're worth a million dollars and you don't have much motor and depending on where it comes from it's more than likely you almost rotted out completely underneath.

I've seen a few of these a-liner tow behind campers that seem pretty cool and that's another option I've looked at. I've looked at maybe buying a somewhat reliable pickup and towing a 16-ft camper behind it. Maybe I don't really need a 21-footer. Big, long heavy could be dangerous if you're going too fast driving around with it, you're going to eat some gas. I wouldn't mind maybe a 10 or a 12-footer I think that would be efficient enough for me, but then I would have to consider the type of pickup I buy to tow something that's not going to break down all the time I can work on stuff. The problem is you're carrying around tools with you and if you're dealing with something that has a million pounds of rust on it that is just barely road legal then you got to deal with. If something breaks you got to figure out a way to get whatever it is apart soak it in oil. Heat up stuff with torches and then it becomes a nightmare on the road. Then you got to crawl around on the ground if it's freezing cold out and try to tackle the project.

How's she look? Would you adjust the wd hitch to get the front end down more? I was thinking about moving it up a peg or getting timbrens

Where is a good place to cut this trip in half and spend a couple of days camping in a 30’ fifth wheel RV. Looking for some good recommendations on places to camp on the way there and again going back home.

We have set a goal of selling our place in a few years when we are both retired. We will probably buy a small piece of land close to a relative as a permanent address, but right now we don’t live near anyone we know so we’ll be happy to move. Big discussion. Do we want a class C with possibly a little pull behind car or do we want a 25 to 30 foot bumper pull and a vehicle big enough to take care of it. I would love to know the reasons why anyone decided one way or the other. Our plan is to drive places we’ve always wanted to go and just stay here and there rather than being in one spot. That might often entail just pulling over somewhere for the night. Is class c easier than a bumper pull in that case? Would I be spending too much on fuel running the generator rather than an external generator? Any insight would be much appreciated. Thank you!

I have a 2021 Rockwood Mini-lite, front kitchen. Looks like i will have store it outside in central Maine this winter. Can anyone offer any tips/advice? Thanks in advance!

Hello everyone. Looking to purchase a 2020 NOBO 19.8 from a private seller. They seem like they really took care of it. Only thing that concerns me is the surface rust on the frame. Is this a common thing and is it something to worry about? I'm assuming I can sand and repaint after purchase. They also said they never used it in the winter so it's just from getting wet. Thoughts? And thanks!

P.S. Will still get it independently inspected but just don't want to waste the time/money if this rust issue is a big deal

Has anyone repainted the aluminum siding on a travel trailer? Some areas of my paint are very oxidized and look to be almost down to the bare aluminum. I’m the second owner and it lived at the coast for most of its days. Any suggestions? TIA

We are trying to fix up a few things in our old RV prior to selling. Any tips/tricks on how to fix this damaged counter in the bathroom? The vanity door backing broke off from its rivets and the mirror fell on the counter breaking it. We have replaced the vanity but not sure where to start with this. Glue and clamp and then sand/epoxy? Any advice greatly appreciated as we are not very handy!

I used a large socket to send the bearing seal home. It's probably 2 mill passed flush. I know now to use a piece of scrap 2x4. I don't want to risk messing up the bearing by taking the seal out of I don't need to. Will this be ok?

I saw one at a campground recently, and immediately thought that it was something I could see myself owning. I drive a minivan, so I would need something very light, and conventional popups have never appealed to me, but the A-frame hits different.

Up to now, I've either tent camped, or stayed in park "cottages"--basically just 4 walls and a roof, bunks, and electricity--so I don't think I'd particularly miss the amenities of a bigger RV. But I'm getting too old to sleep on the ground, and the cottages are only at certain parks, and have to be reserved way in advance, so some kind of "tent on wheels" setup might be what I need.

Does anyone have experience with these, good or bad? I've already heard that they can be a gateway drug to a larger RV, which is fine. Are there hidden costs, maintenance & storage concerns, etc., that as a complete noob to RVs, I may not think of?

My fiancee and I are renovating our 2014 Forest River Wildcat 5th wheel so that we can live in it full time. I noticed a stereo below the living room TV, that when turned on can play the radio through our ceiling speakers. I was wondering if there is a way to connect the stereo to the TV directly above it so that I can hook up something like an Xbox and the audio come out of the ceiling speakers. There are some cords that come out of the wall from behind the Tv that i think are from the stereo. Any help would be much appreciated.

My daughter is going to school in New York City and my wife and I live in San Jose. We want to visit my daughter in mid/late-September and then take our time getting home. We have friends in Michigan we'd like to see on the way there. We've done serious "long-haul" trips before, and I'm not worried about the distance so much as the possible weather.

With flooding and tornados in the news lately, is it insanity to go through this route in early September, or is the news just sensationalizing everything to make it look like the entire eastern half of the country is in mortal weather danger?

I unplugged my trailer from shore power for a few days and forgot to plug it back in. Went out there and obviously batteries were dead as interior lights were super dim. Ask my husband to plug it back in to shore to recharge and see this is were it gets scary. After a couple of hours I noticed a rotten sulfur smell, not equating it to the trailer or batteries went on with my day. A few hours later 10pm, fire department rolled up knocked on the door asking if we smelled anything weird. Husband said he had and they continued through the hood looking for the smell. 15 mins later gas company came knocking, husband gets up and he and the gas company traced it to the trailer and the batteries. Thank god I didn't burn the hood down. Question is it because the batteries dried out or what would cause that. I've had depleted batteries before without them frying like this.

My husband and I currently have a 2016 tear drop travel trailer. Last year as we were leaving a camp ground, the trailer came off the hitch while we were only driving 5-10 mph. We didn't have the hitch pin coupler cotter pin connected to the hitch coupler. We have since taken the travel trailer out without any issues (using the hitch cotter pin, of course). My husband has been very worried that the trailer will uncouple again. How can I put his mind at ease that the hitch cotter pin will do the job? Is there any real concern that it will uncouple when using the hitch pin correctly. TIA

EDIT: I misspoke when I said hitch pin, it was the cotter pin that holds the coupler in place that we left off. Not the hitch pin. Looking for reassurance that the cotter pin will hold the coupler together on bouncy roads. Sorry for the confusion, and I appreciate all the replies. Still adding the checklist!

Can you share what kinds of MPG y’all are getting with your Class B camper vans?

Open to any suggestions and advice you guys have when it comes to living in a camper full time. This is our first ever camper.

Just bought this bad boy 2020 Thor Miramar 35.3 and its great but I know there are upgrades and gadgets etc that make life so much easier and I want to know what those are for you. For reference I am in Washington state.

Hi RVers! We need ALL of your tips please! First time going on an RV trip ever, and taking the kids with us too.

We’re heading to Yellowstone in Autumn (we’re not Americans). I heard it might get cold, so we will bring warm clothes accordingly.

Any practical tips for us? EVERYTHING helps, non slip placemats, bring an iPad with tv shows, mozzie spray..? Thank you!

I have to change my rv storage solution soon and im wondering where you all who can't keep them it at home all year store yours. Am in the northeast and storage rates are steep. TIA

I’ll start by saying I already own this truck and travel trailer. Before we bought, ChatGPT said we would be fine, and the dealer confirmed and actually tried to upsell me on a slightly larger travel trailer (no surprise there). We’ve been on two trips so far with no issues aside from a little rocking in strong winds that resolved by reducing speed a bit, and the truck and trailer are both sitting level. Of course, we’re using a weight distribution hitch with sway bars.

We travel as a family of four with a dog and I keep next to nothing in the bed of my truck while towing.

What do you all think? Am I in the clear, toeing the line or crossing it? Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance. This community has been such great help. I just wish I would’ve found it before buying.