We’ve all seen a camper going down the road, whether it’s
a big extravagant Class A motor home, a small tow behind pop up camper, to any
of the numerous variations in between.
But do you need one to take a long road trip?
The short answer is No.
You don’t need anything more than the car you drive everyday (provided
it has been maintained and can make the journey).
Is an SUV/ Car Road trip Possible?
We took our big Las Vegas road trip in a 1997 GMC Suburban. Including our faithful Dalmatian Tanker, there were only 4 of us, so the space was nice to have. For Tanker’s comfort, we opted to take the middle row of seats out and only utilize the back bench seat and the front driver and passenger seats. Our son had the back seat, and Tanker was crated middle of the truck. No RV required.
We made use of our tents and camping equipment when we
could, but for the most part we found ourselves in a Motel6 along the way to
our next stop. In all of our road
tripping adventures, we have never had a complaint with Motel6. Is it the Ritz? No.
But we weren’t looking for fancy; we were looking for a clean place that
was pet friendly that we could lay our heads down for the night. By not having a camper, we had to make sure
that we found a hotel or camp site each night, and we had to find food
everywhere we went (other than our snack bag).
Is an RV easier though?
An RV certainly has its benefits. When we took 11 days to go from NJ to TX, we rented a Class C motor home. You know the one’s that look like a van in the front. We had 7 people, 1 large dog, and 1 medium dog in there. Somehow we all fit, and all had beds. We didn’t have the expense of hotel stays every night. The RV provided the option of cooking with a real stove, and to eat food that we bought from the grocery store. We saved the hotel and food expense, in exchange for the cost of an RV rental. Additionally, everyone was fairly comfortable while driving down the road. You can’t lie in bed if you road trip in your car. By stocking the fridge, we didn’t have to make senseless stops because someone needed a drink, and we had a bathroom on board for the subsequent potty stops.
An RV is larger than a car, or even most SUV’s. They don’t fit as well when traversing the city streets. Most have a tow hitch, so you can tow your car; but then you need to park the RV for the day, disconnect your car, and reconnect everything when you are ready to get back on the road. This isn’t necessarily a disadvantage if you plan to spend a day or two at your stops. If you just like to drive to a target location, see what there is to see, and get back on the road, then disconnecting and reconnecting your car can turn into a hassle.
Our suggestion… Asses your budget, destinations, and accommodation expectations, and allow that to make the best decision for you.
Check out our list of Must Have Apps for road tripping!
