Everything You Need to Know About Getting a New RV

Recreational vehicles, or RVs, include a wide range of motorhomes, from luxury motorcoaches to travel trailers to an RV that has the camper portion extending over your truck’s cab area. Hooking up an RV to your truck is so much fun! You can leave town behind and spend the weekend wherever you would like, without the need for finding a hotel. Instead of booking an airline ticket and dealing with a bustling airport, you can drive as far as you’d like and make the travel part of the vacation. Stop in whichever national park or state you’d like and spend the night! You can simply pull over for a little while and nap if traffic is too congested. No wonder you are ready to do it!

 

However, there’s a lot more to owning an RV than driving down the highway and spending the weekend at a campground. Here’s what you need to know before making the big purchase:

 

#1 Take your time and do your research. As stated above, there are many different types of RVs to choose from, as well as multiple makes and models. This is going to be a big purchase, probably only less expensive than your home. Smart buyers research for a year or more before buying an RV! Avoiding purchasing an RV based on appearance and floor plan alone, without taking time to notice cheap plumbing, an off-brand water pump, or cabinets stapled to the walls. Never, never, never impulse buy an RV!

 

#2 Good news- you don’t need a special license! Unless your RV is truly massive, you probably do not need a license in addition to what you already have to legally drive your truck. Most states do not require a special license for RVs weighing under 26,000 pounds or towed vehicles under 10,000 pounds. As long as you cannot fit more than 16 passengers inside, you are good to go!

 

#3 You’ll need additional insurance. In most cases, your auto insurance on your truck does not cover the RV you are pulling behind it. RV insurance covers many of the similar risks that auto insurance does, including collision, comprehensive, and liability coverage. You can also opt for additional protection for your personal belongings inside and attached accessories like a satellite dish.

 

#4 You’ll need the right hitch. Unless you are purchasing the type of RV you sit inside and drive without the need for another vehicle, you’ll be towing your RV from a truck or large SUV. That means you’ll need to connect them with the help of the right type of adjustable receiver hitches. When budgeting for your new RV, don’t forget to factor in the trailer hitch receiver prices. Your RV needs to be towed, and a hitch is the way to do it!

 

Have you ever passed an RV with a smiling driver and thought, “One day, that’ll be me?” Now is the time to make that a reality! In a recent SpareFoot survey on leisure vehicles, 42 percent of respondents said they’d like to buy an RV or mobile camper if they had the money. Of course, your budget is not unlimited. Be sure to factor in the cost of additional insurance, trailer hitch receiver prices, maintenance and repairs, and a few other factors when deciding how expensive of an RV you can afford.