If we were to have an RV in “Early Life And Continuous Livelihood”, we would have a Class 3 single-rear-wheel or dual-rear wheel pickup truck and a Fifth-Wheel trailer.
The Fifth-Wheel trailer is suitable for traveling very occasionally and wanting to park the RV in a certain spot for a little while and use it as a moving cottage, is far homier and roomier than any motorhome of an identical size due to not having to factor in the driver’s compartment; and having to build the coach on a standard truck or bus chassis. The cost to title, register, plate, and insure a conventional travel trailer or a Fifth-Wheel trailer is also vastly less than any Motorhome, as is the case in the State of Michigan.
A simpler way to put it is that a motorhome is not designed and intended to be parked for a while in a single spot, be used as a moving cottage; and to be used very infrequently. A motorhome is designed for moving from one place to another frequently, and for frequent overall usage.
In our case, we’d use the Fifth-Wheel trailer mostly for planting a cottage at our campsite in Vermont for a little while, while we visit Marie “Mimi”, Mary Ann, and their family; and my paternal grandmother has ample time to visit with her eldest sibling and her eldest niece/goddaughter.
Another reason as to why we’d have an RV is to have our own surroundings and our own belongings with us while we’d rarely travel.
In fact, the hominess in the Fifth-Wheel trailer is a verbatim to the hominess in our large house on a vast amount of property.
The length of 36-40 feet would suit the 5 of us (my parents, myself, my sister; and my paternal grandmother) very well while we’d temporarily reside inside of the Fifth-Wheel trailer.
We would buy a brand-new Newmar or Travel Supreme Fifth-Wheel trailer. The Fifth-Wheel trailer would have a floorplan that consists of 2 bedrooms, and possibly; 2 bathrooms.
We would buy either a Ford or a GM GMT400 Class 3 pickup as either 2-wheel-drive with a locking or limited slip differential or 4-wheel-drive, a Crew Cab with the center-band two-tone paint job that we like, and either the Red or Blue interiors.
Just like with the diesel Suburban, I would always be sitting in the middle of the front bench seat next to my paternal grandmother in the front passenger seat and whichever one of my parents is driving at the moment, Marie “Mimi, Mary Ann; and all 5 of her children would have to sit in the backseat at all times while they’d be transported in this truck, Shari Lewis, her daughter Mallory, and her sister-in-law Judith Krantz would, at one time; be transported in this truck, sitting in the backseat; and Marc Brown and his sisters would also, at one time; be transported in this truck, sitting in the backseat. Rick Steves would also be transported in this pickup truck at one time or another, and he too, would be sitting in the backseat.
The premise of buying our house on a vast amount of property that we move into with my paternal grandmother together would be that we’d rarely, if ever at all; go on vacations together as a family, we’d never have a cabin cruiser boat or a vacation home/cottage; and only my paternal grandmother would go on her vacations around the world. Getting an RV (such as the Class 3 pickup truck and the Fifth-Wheel trailer) would have only been about 10% probable and likely in this scenario.
The other premise of buying our house on a vast amount of property would be that my father has a shorter commute to his work while my mother has a longer and lengthier commute to her work as a School Bus driver.
The Class 3 pickup truck also isn’t as rare as the diesel Suburban, the diesel 2-door Tahoe; and a diesel Full-Size van all are.
Either way, the diesel Suburban, the diesel 2-door Tahoe, if we purchased a diesel Full-Size Van in lieu of the diesel Suburban, and if we bought this Class 3 pickup truck and a Fifth-Wheel trailer would be vehicles that we intend on holding onto for a long, long time. Well into the time in the future where the diesel Suburban, the diesel 2-door Tahoe; and a diesel Full-Size van would each become rare collectibles. And well into the time in the future where GM B-platform station wagons and any vehicle built on the Ford Panther would become collectibles.
We’d still purchase the older Class 6 Medium-Duty truck as either a Box Truck or a Flatbed to haul things occasionally, even if we did purchase the Class 3 pickup truck and a Fifth-Wheel trailer.
The Ford Class 3 pickup truck from this time:
This is either one of the two interior colors we’d get if we bought the Ford pickup: Blue (pictured below) or Red.
The GM Class 3 truck from this time:
One that has been customized, but has the OEM/factory paint job that we like:
This is either one of the two interior colors we’d get if we bought the Ford pickup: Red or Blue.
Dodge, at the time; did not offer a Crew Cab (they haven’t offered a Crew Cab since 1985 and won’t offer a Crew Cab again until 2006); but they did offer the center-band two-tone paint job that we like, at this time.
Photos of a Newmar Fifth-Wheel trailer in the aforementioned dimensions and specifications from this time period:
Photos of a Travel Supreme Fifth-Wheel trailer in the aforementioned dimensions and specifications from this time period:
Matthew Parij 