Newbie from Alaska

[wholehogbrew]

My wife and I are both retired and are looking to start RVing. Each of us have lived in a 5th wheel at one time or another in our lives so we have no qualms about being in a smaller space. We know we want a motor home and toad. We don't know if we want a Class A or Class C. It would be the two of us, three dogs, and a cat. Since we live in Alaska, I am leaning toward an all-season rig so we can leave here at anytime, drive through Canada, and get to Arizona or California comfortably. Any recommendations are welcome. Thanks.

John

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

A couple of thoughts: many RVs call themselves "cold weather units" because they've kept the tanks in heated spaces - but the low point drains and the sewage valve are still hanging outside the box in the cold - duh! That being said - we as Michiganders, have always camped in sub-freezing temps by flushing the toilet with antifreeze and using a jug of water for teeth-brushing, coffee, etc until we got into areas where the temps stayed above freezing.

And personally, I prefer a Class C: you get all the vehicle safety features provided by the factory for the chassis; the driver and passenger each have a door; plus there's all sorts of storage overhead. It's fairly easy to find accessories (like moose bars) for a van; and windshield replacements would be cheaper....LOL!

[wholehogbrew]

Thank you all for your thoughts. We will take these all into our search.

[Grit_dog]

"All season" model is subjective and you need to take similar precautions for the water system in cold weather.

By all season, I presume this is what you meant. Driving a big boat of a rv down to the L48 in the winter is, umm, not the best plan. Doable but why? You can get 4wd Super Cs for a lot of money. Think $150k gets you in the ball park for new or slightly used and they're rare as hens teeth.
Other reccomendation, ONLY buy your rv in AK if you're dead set on supporting the local economy. Otherwise, buy one in the L48 or southern Canada.
Fwiw, the best deals are typically fall in the colder parts of the country and the spring in snowbird areas like FL and AZ.

If I was getting an over the road, lots of traveling, lots of time in the rv type rig, I'd be looking at 10-20 year old class a diesel pushers. Around the PNW, they're plentiful and in the $50-100k range, you can get super low miles, stored indoors some like new units.

[CFerguson]

If you find a true all season rig. PLEASE post it here.
Floorplan is everything- I really cant add anything else except to agree with above posters.

[Fizz]

Once you've narrowed down your choices go 'live' in it for a half hour or so. Kick the salesman out and walk around doing what you would do, cooking, sitting around etc. Sit on everything. Lie down on everything. How's the view. Do you keep bumping elbows when you both walk around. Can you function if the slides are in.

[gbopp]

.

[gbopp]

Take your time, don't be in a hurry. Go look at Class A and Class C, new and used.
Sit in them, walk around, act like you're cooking, etc.. Can one of you walk past the other while they are cooking/washing dishes or doing some other chore?

Try all the seats, are they comfortable, can you easily see the Television. Is there room to use your laptop, etc.?
Consider where you will store your food/beverages and pet food.
Where will you put the litter box?
Where will the animals sleep? Maybe bunk beds will be a better choice?

Make sure the floor plan works for your lifestyle.
Look at everything before making a decision.

I also doubt you will find an all season rig that will take the Alaskan winters. That's not a problem. Many keep their rigs ready to go but, not filled with water. They just wait until they get to a warmer area before they dewinterize and fill their tank with water.

Don't hesitate to ask questions on the forum. There is a lot of information an experience available.
Enjoy your search and future travels.

[craig7h]

My thoughts would be a large class C, but a good size A would be better. In my hunting for MH, I realized that a C is still hard for the DW to get up and out of the passengers seat while moving. I think with all of your live stock an A would provide them a little more room. If I was you I would be looking a class A.

I could be wrong, but I believe you will still need to winterize your rig. I do not believe there is a true all season rig that you can just leave the water in and get up and go. Maybe if you kept your rig plugged in with furnace running etc. you may get by. I would check with the folks up in your neck of the woods for that information.