Currently we are the proud owners of a Lance 845 truck combo.  However, for various reasons we've been considering the option of going motorhome and toad at some point in time, but as I'm thinking about the crazy places we've traveled and off-road places we've camped, I'm not sure a motorhome would be a good option for us.

I'm wondering if any of you have had issues with not being able to access places you'd like to go due to a motorhome's inability to get there, be it a sandy area, winding off road trail, bumpy road, or vehicle length.

I'm also taking into consideration that a truck/truck camper combo could easily tow a small fishing boat, however a motorhome pulling a vehicle really limits that ability unless the boat was stored on top of the tow vehicle.  

Lots to ponder-  would love to hear input from some of you seasoned veterans who I'm sure can give me some insight into areas I hadn't even considered.  

 Thanks~ 

Susan

We had also considered a motorhome/toad, and decided against it for some of those very reasons. Some of the smaller ones might have given us some additional flexibility, but the costs were so high for them. We did fall in love with the EarthRoamer - you know, had we won the lottery or something :D

 

In the end, we went with a small trailer with a 4" axle lift and TV option.  We used to tow with a 4x4 diesel Jeep which really let us explore off road.  But it proved to not be enough for full time towing of our trailer.. so we just upgraded to a full size pickup truck. Already we're experiencing a bit of loss of maneuverability and missing our 4x4.  We have to stop and think before going down a road.. which is... weird! :D

That said.. many of the awesome boondocking spots we've been to, would have been no problem for a moderate sized motorhome to get to.  

 

 - Cherie 

We went with the "giant home, fun adventure vehicle" route. As much as I would like to think that we would be big back country, off the grid, nowhere to be found, kind of RVers, we aren't. We are really more "metropolitan RVers" than back woods campers. We live a surprisingly "normal" life as fulltimers, and we enjoy being around more metro places. We also run 4 DVRs with large TVs, a Wii with full Rock Band setup, multiple computers, and a variety of other grid-needing accessories.

 

We have done quite a few boondocking stays, and other lenghty stays with minimal connections (a month with 15A power only). However, most of our stays sees us in commercial parks, with water, electric, and sewer connections, and usually good wifi and strong cell service. Also, within a short drive will usually be good Thai food, a dark and seedy dive bar, an amazing white-tablecloth fusion restaurant, and good coffee. We don't apologize for being like this - it just works for us :)

 

But, when I'm not working, we like going out and having fun! We tow a Jeep - much like the 4-door you have. We go to the areas we want to have fun, set up our home, then take off in the Jeep for days of adventures. Yestday I played hookie from work and we had an AWESOME day out in the Jeep!

 

I think if I didn't work as much as I do, we would do it a little different. We have also talked about towing something that would allow us a few days away from society - we LOVE the Sportsmobile 4x4 vans, we also considered the Jeep EarthRoamer (if we won the lottery, too!). We want to travel through Mexico and camp, and here in Moab, there are a million places to get away and have the beautiful desert to yourself. 

 

But, in reality, I am sitting behind a computer during the week, and we limit ourselves to afternoon and weekend adventures. That works for us at this time. 

 

 

--kev

 

 

I have mixed emotions about this...  we originally bought our 30 foot class A because we wanted to make sure that state parks and the like wouldn't have any issues fitting us in.  I've checked a LOT of places here on the East coast (and stayed in several).  We were almost always the smallest rig and none of the places would have been a problem for a 40 footer.  Of course, I tow a pretty built up Jeep that I intend to take far off the beaten track and the RV will be boon'ing in some of those places. 

Of course, I also get a lot of inspiration from Our Odyssey...  they take a freaking bus off-road!  Not as off-road as my Jeep, but they get that puppy in some really odd places...  http://blip.tv/file/144275 - I love these guys. :)

Our Odyssey are indeed inspiring folks to watch!

 

We also regularly rendezvous with a fellow nomad with a 40' bus ...  he can take it a bit off-road, but not nearly as much as we can go. He's also not as setup for boondocking as we are. While his options are more limited than ours, we seem to have no problem finding great places to rendezvous at - everything from commercial RV Parks, friend's driveways, Burning Man and up little dirt mountain roads to remote off grid locations.  He's more limited by tight turns, inclines, low hanging trees and ground clearance than we are.  He's currently converting a gorgeous 33' vintage bus to be his new home that should hopefully open up his flexibility and amount of boondocking time he can sustain. 

 

It's all about finding your personal balance of setup.  And we generally recommend not getting too caught up in trying to determine what your ideal setup will be. Get something you think will work out, treat it as a trial phase to discover how you travel in reality.  And there will likely be compromises to consider.  Although we love our small set up.. there are certainly days I wish I could push a button and double our size. 

 

I think very few of us are traveling in our original vessels after the first couple of years anyway :) 

 

 - Cherie 

We're entering our second year, and can echo Kevin's sentiment: we are not way-out boondockers at heart, and though we enjoy a bit of back-country exploration, we prefer a larger home base with a more maneuverable expedition vehicle.  At 36 feet, we haven't yet encountered a place we wanted to put the Incorrigible that we weren't able to, and we've camped without hookups for up to 10 days, though we were in an urban setting where using the genset wasn't a problem. 

Ideally, we'd have a diesel pusher with enough solar to boondock for a few days at a stretch without running the gennie, and a relatively fuel-efficient and off-road capable toad.  We're happy to take the RV out a little bit and set up camp planning to go farther on day-trips.  As Cherie said, we're working our way in that direction, one piece of equipment at a time.

You might check into using a school bus convertion. They tend to be more hardy, higher clearance, and such than a class A RV.

Hey Susan,

We've had our 24' Arctic Fox w/Dodge 2500 4x4 for going on 3 years now. Hubby's thrilled with it, and although there are times when I wish that we had 2x the space (our dang dog takes up 1/2 the rig!), mostly I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's a 4 season rig that has taken us WAY off the beaten path down some gnarly mountain roads and into places that no Class A could ever go (even the Odyssey).

In fact the other day we were boondocking in New Mexico and I even said to Jim, there's no way you could get here without a 4x4. And guess what? We were the ONLY ones there for an entire week!

We were hard core backpackers before beginning this road trip in 2007. The off road capability we have suits our style because we love getting away from humans. I would love a Class A sometimes but I fear we'd be stuck in campgrounds more often than we care to be, or could afford.

We've been boondocking nonstop since January and have only paid for a campsite 2x. Until our arrival in TX this week, everywhere we've stayed has been in the outback. Sometimes I do wish our rig was a 27' but not often.

We had originally thought about doing a truck camper but if we had I know we'd be over it by now. I think our 24' 5er suits us just fine. Can't say it would be great for you but this is just our experience.

Tiny rig chiming in :) I love this topic and would like to throw a bunch of our experience in, but then our RT isn't any bigger than your truck camper so it probably wouldn't be too helpful :(

I know, "Thanks for nothing Mike"...

So, how about a custom rig? Something along the lines of a Hummer crossed with a school bus? Might be fun to build :) You could deploy a smart car out of a micro garage in the back and not have to pull the toad.
I am sorta kidding, but sorta not. I tend to like huge projects!