Yesterday we attended the RV show at the Greensboro Coliseum. It was the second day of climbing in and out of trailers trying to find the perfect recreational vehicle. As with most things, I have a hard time making a decision, the upside of which is that I’m not generally impulsive, the downside of which is over-thinking decisions that most people can make without regret using “eeny meeny miny mo.”

Motor homes and pop ups are out, so that part is easy. The choice for us is between a traver trailer and a fifth wheel (the kind of RV which sits in the bed of a pick-up truck and is about the equivalent, to quote Bill Bryson, of taking a building on vacation with you).

Here’s the list of pros and cons we’re struggling with.

Fifth Wheel
– Is more stable on the road
– Has more room

Travel Trailer
– Isn’t as safe (con)
– Is lighter, generally, and therefore, less expensive gas-wise to tow
– Could possibly be towed by an SUV – allowing us to have a useful vehicle when not towing the RV

Once we make that decision, then we have to decide whether to get an RV with extra bunk beds or one bedroom. As usual, I find that there is a huge gap in the marketplace. The RV market consists of two primary demographics: families with children, and retired couples. However, from what we could see, RVs tend to be designed to accomodate the needs of families. What’s really lacking is an RV that has a storage compartment for stowing our mountain and road bikes, or a kayak. We don’t need an extra room of bunk beds, but we could use a small extra room so that the cat has a place to hang out and we have a place to store extra outdoor stuff.

We’ve only just started looking at the possibilities and we have plenty of time to decide, so we’ll figure it out eventually. It’s a fun “problem” to have and I found myself daydreaming a couple of times today what it will be like to be on the road. I learn most lessons the hard way and am a slow learner, but one thing I have figured out is that there is joy not only in a celebration or occassion itself, but also in the hopeful anticipation of it. Having something to look forward to brings joy to the every day, making even long Mondays more pleasant. Life is all about hope which makes even loving “now” easier and more fun.

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