RV Size

[moisheh]

I see lots of questions re the ideal RV for Mexico. I find that a personal choice. But here is a question for others. What is the largest size MH for Mexico travels. I know BrianSue( did they fall off the ends of the earth?) travel in a 40 ft. MH. I see bigger units but usually they are going from NOB to a CG and that is it. No further travels. We travelled for a number of years in a 35 ft. Bluebird and that was a perfect size. There were times when parking in a CG was very difficult but we managed. We are itching to go further south before I am too old to travel. I looked at a few Classic MH's but many were gas jobs and I want a diesel. After owning a Bluebird every time I look at a plastic MH I shudder. So we thought maybe a 35 or 36 ft. Bluebird. These are all older and it is getting hard to find good ones. Then I thought "what the hxxx""go for a 38 or 40 ft. Anyone here travelling in a 38 to 40 ft.? Do you have any difficulties due to the length? Many of the pre 90 Bluebirds are not wide bodies. Approx. 95 inches wide. Nice when you have to go between double parked cars ( think Oaxaca). They have 300 gallon fuel tanks. 100 gallons of fresh water and huge waste tanks. Hardly any electronics so voltage problems are not as serious. I can find a nice one for under $55,000. Maybe $45,000. But I still worry about the maneuverability. Any thoughts?

Moisheh

[Tequila]

My rule of thumb is get the smallest RV the wife is happy with. We have been turning customers away on our Yucatan loop with rigs over about 38 ft. Unless they were a bus driver or semi driver in a previous life.

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Ground clearance is every bit as important as length. I raised Quicksilver up by a full four inches when installing the Ride-Rite suspension. Entrances to gasolineras in remote areas and some rural campgrounds seem to be the biggest challenges.

Fold in mirrors, a quality set of communication handheld radios and thorough knowledge of routes to RV parks on the entrance roads to Colonial Cities and towns are an almost must-have.

I had to detach a towed pickup at a gasolinera then proceed to an RV spot vehicle-by-vehicle too many times to count. It is a bother to say the least.

But ripping off of tanks and plumbing is a hazard that in my opinion is addressed far too few times. I glued a large big rig mud flap to my gray and black holding tanks. They have gotten scars. So they have protected the tanks.

Another trick is the mounting of a truck transmission flexible twanger switch that is used for installation of reverse lights on vehicles with no backup light switch. The extension on mine sticks up 6" higher than the top of the (removed) A/C units. When the orange pilot light on the dash blinked -- I stopped. These backup light switches are waterproof, and high-amp capacity.

[Belgique]

Hey Kevin! Do more videos! I've worn mine out. 🙂 Best to Jeanne and the next Hugo.

[moisheh]

Hi Kevin. Actually we are looking at another Bluebird. Want a 36ft but hard to find. I Amin love with a 40 ft. Widebody. We sahall see. Nice to hear from you. Stick around. You could teach the newbies a lot!

Moisheh

[tahoenow]

Hello Moisheh. It's good to see you are still active here. I have not been for years but I took a look today and have some input. We traveled about 15000 miles through Mexico in our BigFoot SL29. It's really 30 ft. and it was perfect for us with only an occasional desire to shrink. It is a fiberglass/foam construction - very well insulated against the heat - and has dual pane windows. They are not widely available since going out of production during the financial crisis but they can be found. We are still in Quintana Roo during the winters. Be well. Kevin

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Quicksilver is a 37' 10 wheel Crown diesel. 90% of centros of towns older than 100 years are verboten. So I had to compromise. I stay at hot springs when RV spots are inaccessible. For instance Rco Sn Nicholas in San Cristobal de Las Casas is not reachable.

The Church book may offer size tips.

For month-long stays I believe looking at fully enclosed patios with a 28' rig bears some advantage.

[daveB110]

We did about 20,000 miles in Mexico over 8 winters with a 30-foot "plastic" gasser, after- market slide, no automatic step (broke on our first Mexico trip and never replaced it) but with solar running to 10 outlets when the 2K watt Inverter/charger is selected, three holding tanks: galley grey, bathroom/bathtub-shower grey and black. 60 gallon fresh water and 60 gallon fuel. Fantastic fans. Backup camera to watch the towed car.

It's the towed car takes us into places far from the mading crowds. We once found a highway placed in the jungle paved to, but not including bridges. This shortcut from La Huerta to Hwy 200 near Punta Perula intersected this phantom road, thinly paved in a distant past, but with gravel roadway that led up, out of a couple of canyons, as no bridges had been made. The same vehicle brought us to 10,000 feet on a quest to find the Monarch butterflies.Though we would never drive the motor home from near Guadalajara to Melaque by the Pacific, we would drive up this Hwy 80, but would worry too much about the braking, if heading down it. So we'd drive past the volcano near Colima and up through Manzanillo, to get to a favourite beach.

Going south, and on our return trips north, we saw a bit more of this mahgical country, year by year. Yes, we missed a lot. Our final trip had us exit into Texas, and twice we've used these same vehicles to cross North America as part of our 14 years of travel in it, almost all done traveling south, in winters.

[Talleyho69]

We rook our 22 foot class C everywhere, paced, unpaved (not if we could avoid it,) and we saw the country for 23 years. Now we have a 27 foot Safari Trek, Class A, and love it, and wouldn't hesitate to take it anywhere.
However, we finally found paradise, and after spending 6 months a year in the RV for 6 years, we bought a house and are staying forever.
Any size RV, up to at least 35 feet would take you anywhere in Mexico in our opinion.
When in doubt, look at the Mexican buses. They go everywhere, anywhere, and normally, considering the miles they rack up, are in extremely good condition!
Drive what feels good to you and go. Explore this excellent country!

[navegator]

I have a class "C" that is 24 feet bumper to bumper and we have gone of the beaten path boondocking in small mining towns in Chihuahua and Coahuila, what I like is that I can turn the unit arround in thight places, I have had to do a 180 turn in a road that measured a few inches less than 28 feet and that is with the toads tow bar on without hitting the houses, that was the entertainment for the kids and the town for the week.

If you go from campground to campground a small A should be good, we wanted to get a 32 foot A we setteled on the C and it turned out to be ideal for us, making U turns in confined spaces is a challenge and lots of patience and good driving skills are requiered.

navegator