How much does RV size (length) really matter?

[Gemini1771]

Just pulled the trigger on a 24’ Safari Trek with a drop down bed!!! Short, yet roomy!

 

[B and C]

Congratulations!

Pics when available.

 

[RoamerRV428]

WOW I went off and watched a video of floorplan on this motorhome, with that magic bed!

Very nice. I thought the same thing, very compact but one heck of a nice floorplan definitely. You should enjoy the heck of that!! Wish you the best with it!!

 

[rvwandering]

Congratulations! Treks are well-built motorhomes and with the drop-down bed you get exactly what you need and want - a short RV and enough room inside.

 

[Gemini1771]

Just picked her up this weekend. Here she is!!

 

[JDub]

^^^

SWEET! Congrats!

 

[highdesertranger]

Cool congrats. Highdesertranger

 

[tx2sturgis]

Well lookee there!

Enjoy!

 

[bullfrog]

Dandy looking motor home!

 

[Cammalu]

Great looking rig. May we see the interior?

 

[crofter]

Now I want one!

Here is a listing in Rapid City SD, 25 years old so you better be MS FIXIT. The overhead bed comes pre broken.

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/1996-Safari-TREK-5014597638

But seriously, at the price of a used cargo van and comes with a diesel engine and a propane generator. What more could you want? You said you want solar panels? OK better keep looking then.
-crofter

 

[barleyguy]

I really like that interior. Very open feeling.

Solar panels are easy to add after the fact. You wouldn't want 1996 solar panels anyway.

 

[Gemini1771]

Here's the interior! I'm working on a little "refresh"- removing the old carpet and making covers for the sofa and chairs. She has one little solar panel- more solar is in my near future! I love this motorhome- I can't wait to move in!!!

 

[RoamerRV428]

Sweet, seems in good shape. Heck yea you should enjoy the hound out of that! great pics!
You got alot of nice in that shorter type rig! cool

 

[Cammalu]

Very nice. You are going to have so much fun

 

[WanderFree]

There are so many well stated opinions here so its obviously up to you. It sounds like I have a rig like High Desert in that both the 4x4 truck and the fifth wheel are lifted and modified for heavy use offroad as that is where its at as far as I am concerned. I like the extra storage space for large inflatable kayaks and paddle boards, mountain bikes. There's a steel cargo area in the front where I once stored over a ton of mainly agate that I collected mostly in NM for my son. It ended up bending my gooseneck a little which I had a welder rebuild in Montrose last summer but had alot of fun collecting it all in the mountains. I like the kitchen and the bathroom, galley table and kicking back on the couch to watch the screen. I carry a generator for power when I need it. I use the bunkhouse for storage when there are no guests. I lived in a van for a while years ago mainly traveling thru Canada and Alaska with my wolfdog Little Bear and we enjoyed it but it gets really cold in AK. I wonder if that VW Vanagon is still in Kodiak. I gave it to a friend when the sliding door just keep going out onto the ground when I opened it one morning. Anyway, I digress, have a nice time and good luck making a decision. I think I've seen it all out there and in the same campground, giant million dollar bus thing parked next to a guy living in his Prius.

 

[RvNaut]

Not so easy in a 32' motorhome. Not even easy with a "light" 28' motor home! Older motor homes are cheap for a reason one being they are hard to dispose of.

This is no longer true.. rigs that last year were selling for $10k are now asking $20 and up.. the market is hot and dealers are making a killing ... it is a massively Buyer Beware market out there right now.. 

Just pulled the trigger on a 24’ Safari Trek with a drop down bed!!! Short, yet roomy!

... it is my goal as well.. I assume you have found the website and Facebook sites for Treks, yes?


My Take on Length...

It comes down to how much stuff you intend to keep with you, and how far off the beaten path you intend to go.

Here is your choice... the short Bread Van chassis used to make class A RVs comes in at 158" wheel base and you can find this base on the Flair and the Trek and a few others, but not a lot of them. You gain ability to get into places you cannot with a longer wheel base unit due to less overhang in the rear and that shorter wheel base...  the next level up comes in at 178" wheelbase and also usually comes with more rear overhang, making getting into smaller State parks and further off road a lot more risky.

The smaller base units do suffer from less cargo room all around... the basements are much smaller and the interior storage is likewise compromised. Shorties also present a potential issue with roof space and will restrict how much solar you can fit up top.

I am in the process of downsizing and I suppose a lot depends on how small the pile is when I get done the culling process as to what I end up with ... . As much as I want to keep in the 158" wheel base units ( a lot of class C's are in this same boat in terms of wheelbase length) the restricted storage space may influence where I end up. I intend to use a small cc motorcycle as my dingy on a trailer hitch carrier.

So.. does size matter?  Yes.. absolutely.. I think you can solo comfort in a small rig and decent comfort for two... I am finding that right now  you can get into a longer rig for less money than you can a shortie as the demand and supply thing has kicked in...   and there were just not as many shorter rigs made, and there are just ooodles of longer rigs on offer out there..

I am glad I have been shopping for a year as I will be well prepared when it comes times to buy.

I am sad that I am about 16 months behind the curve and will be paying 50-100% more for any rig I want to buy now Vs then.... maybe by Aug/Spt when i am ready to buy the market will have settled down a bit.

cheers all

 

[NoMoreMad]

Just pulled the trigger on a 24’ Safari Trek with a drop down bed!!! Short, yet roomy!

Congrats! I enjoyed this thread with all the feedback and perspectives as it helps weigh the pros and cons of not just size, but type of rig you end up going with as well. 

I too just got a 24ft RV last week, a Gulf Stream Class-C for me! It took me quite a while to find one under 26ft, as many used ones are for sale out there but they are 28-30+ feet long and I knew that was just too big and a lot of wasted space for me going solo. I originally wanted a little 20-21 ft model (like the smallest Thor model Cruise America has), but it was even more difficult to find one that size. Seems people are holding onto and buying those up, and getting rid of the big ones. I noticed "we're downsizing" was a big comment on many for-sale-by-owner listings, that's a clue there for me... bigger is not always better! Just depends on your needs. I need a 'home office' since I work full-time remotely online, so I tried to find what was small enough to drive easily, but big enough I can have more than just a sleeping/eating space too! The one I got already had the "dinette" pulled (recliner put in) out so I can modify it to my liking for an office.

Good luck!

 

[RoamerRV428]

love some further progress pics if you can
you got a nice home happening for sure!

 

[Gemini1771]

Update: I'm in LOVE! Glinda (our Trek) is WONDERFUL! We've got most of the interior refresh done. We pulled out the old carpet and put in laminate flooring and a tad of new carpet under the dash. We did peel and stick tile in the kitchen, painted the walls, got new blinds and painted the kitchen cabinets. I bought a cheap couch over on Amazon for the jacknife sofa and hired someone to help me make covers for the captains chairs (chair covers should be done in the next couple of weeks). We've put in a lot of sweat equity, but the renovations haven't been too costly.

We're still doing a few tiny interior fixes, but are mostly on to more technical stuff like testing out where to mount the cell booster, figuring out what our solar system specs are and installing the composting toilet.

We've been boondocking in the WA mountains on the weekends and working on her. We've done a couple of trips 5+ miles down washboard/ potholed forest roads and Glinda did great!

We're working on getting Bowie the cat used to RV life- the loud engine noise and coach movement made him nervous at first, but he's starting to be more comfortable in the rig.

Here are some pics of the progress.