This article is about the best RVs for full time travel trailer living. And how to know which ones you should buy.
Now most travel trailers you see out there are not made for full time travel.
They’re just made for occasional or part-time use. For things like weekends every now and then and for vacations.
And as long as they’re used that way, they are pretty much just fine for what you need.
But full time travel trailer living puts a lot of extra stress on any RV. And it does it in various ways.
Table of Contents
- Full Time Travel Trailer Living – The Effects Of Highway Travel
- The Everyday Stress Put On In Full Time Travel Trailer Life
- What About Travel Trailer Build Quality?
- The Most Common RV Choices For Full Time RV Life
- Full Time Travel Trailer Life – Choice #1
- Choice #2 For Full Time Travel Trailer Life
- Choice #3 For Travel Trailers That Are Built For Full Time Life
- An Important Reminder About Buying Any RV
- Conclusion
Full Time Travel Trailer Living – The Effects Of Highway Travel
For instance, there’s usually a lot more trips going down the highway in full time RV life.
So what happens to RVs as they’re going down the highway that much?
Well, they get shook a lot, don’t they? And it happens to travel trailers even more than most other RVs.
That’s because they kind of tend to bounce a little bit as they go down the road.
So earthquake forces are applied to these travel trailers that easily shakes things loose in the RV.
But there’s even more daily stress that full time travel trailer living puts on these RVs.
The Everyday Stress Put On In Full Time Travel Trailer Life
There’s also the everyday use of the RV too. So there’s more use of the furniture, the RV fixtures, more walking on the floors, etc.
And these sorts of things can cause an RV to start to break down from the constant added stress.
They just break down a lot faster than they normally would if used only occasionally.
And the big reason for that is because these kinds of RVs weren’t really built for that kind of use.
So using them on a full time basis is going to disappoint you over the long haul.
What About Travel Trailer Build Quality?
But the other thing to remember is that travel trailers are also deliberately built to be as affordable as they can possibly be.
In fact, they are considered the entry-level RV for the whole industry. And certainly for towable RVs.
So as a result of that, higher quality materials and better quality building methods are often not really found in travel trailers in general.
And so, that is why when you see full-time RVers, you’ll notice that they often choose other kinds of RVs.
The Most Common RV Choices For Full Time RV Life
Many of them choose RVs like Super C’s, or higher end class A’s. Also fifth wheels or Class B’s are commonly used by full time RVers.
Now the reason why is because these kind of RVs are more often made for full-time travel. They are built better from the ground up.
And so, many fulltime RVers choose them for that purpose. Because they are built to take the rigors of everyday full-time travel and living better.
So the real question is, are there any RV manufacturers out there that are building a product for full-time travel trailer living?
And the good news is that the answer to that questions is yes. But there’s not a lot of those kind of RV builders out there.
And there’s certainly not as many as you’ll find in some other categories of RVs. But there are some.
And so in this article we’re going to be discussing some of these unique brands.
RV builders that make a product that could be used for full time travel trailer living. And I’m going to cover three of those builders.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that there are only three RV manufacturers you should consider. If you’re looking for a full time rig.
But these brands will get you started in the right direction for full time travel trailer living.
Full Time Travel Trailer Life – Choice #1
And the first one on the list is Airstream. Because Airstream just simply makes travel trailers that are a cut above the competition.
And when you look at Airstream’s website, you’ll find an interesting claim.
They say that about 70 percent of the Airstreams that have ever been made since the 1930s are still in use today.
Now that is an amazing statistic! And what other travel trailer builder can make a claim that’s even remotely similar to that?
So that is a very good reason why we see a lot of full-time travelers in Airstreams going down the road.
It’s simply because Airstream is built with better quality materials. And it’s built with better quality construction methods too.
But now, the flip side of Airstream is that they really aren’t cheap, and that’s for sure.
But they are a quality RV travel trailer. So if you are considering full time travel trailer living, then give serious consideration to Airstream.
Choice #2 For Full Time Travel Trailer Life
Now next on our list is Oliver. And Oliver is really the gold standard of fiberglass travel trailers.
Now fiberglass travel trailers have limitations though. In fact, you can only build them up to about 25 feet in length.
And sure enough, Oliver only offers travel trailers up to 23 feet in length.
But the quality is so good in the product they build that it really can last you a lifetime.
So in other words, you could go out and you could buy a lower quality travel trailer. And you could save a lot of money initially that way.
But you could also go through four or five of them in a row as they wear out.
Or you can just choose an Oliver, and keep it for the rest of your life. What would you rather do? Because that’s how good their quality is.
Also, they’re light enough to be towed by a wide range of vehicles as well. And that’s very attractive to a lot of people.
However, a real issue here is that they can only be a maximum of 23 feet long.
So they’re not really made for family travel quite so much. But they are great for couples who want to travel and camp on a full-time basis.
Especially if they don’t need a lot of space. OK, let’s move on to number three on our list.
Choice #3 For Travel Trailers That Are Built For Full Time Life
And that’s Outdoors RV. Now with the first two manufacturers we covered in this article, Airstream and Oliver, you’re not going to get any slides in an RV.
They just don’t even offer them. You just get the travel trailer alone.
And for many people, that’s just fine. Because whenever you introduce a slide room to an RV, there’s more complexity involved.
And of course, therefore more opportunity for things to go wrong with it as well.
But Outdoors RV does offer slide rooms in their travel trailers. And for many other people this a good thing.
Because maybe you feel like you need a little bit more living space. Your just a little claustrophobic in an Airstream or an Oliver.
Well then, consider an Outdoors RV for full time travel trailer living instead.
And they are well known for making a very high quality product too.
What About Four Season Capability?
In fact, they build what could be considered a true four season RV.
And when a builder makes a four season RV, automatically the materials that will be used in that RV are going to be better.
Also, the building methods they use are going to be better as well.
And Outdoors RV backs all of that up with even a better warranty too. Better than you find from most other travel trailer manufacturers.
Also, there’s tons of happy Outdoors RV owners out there already.
Owners that are very vocal about their support for the company and for the product that they bought too.
So Outdoors RV is well worth a good solid look for full time RV life.
OK, so those are the three that I wanted to cover in this article today. Airstream, Oliver and Outdoors RV.
But once again, that doesn’t mean that’s all the full time travel trailers out there.
No, it just means that this is a good place to get started in the right direction.
An Important Reminder About Buying Any RV
But let me remind you of something as I always do in articles like this.
And that is to make sure that you get a certified RV inspector to go through any RV that you buy before you take ownership.
And that way you can be sure that what you’re getting is generally ready to go.
You can know that it’s in tip-top shape. It’s ready to get right out there and use and enjoy right away.
And that’s a big point to make sure that you’re happy with the purchase you make.
Conclusion
Now it’s true that full time travel trailer RVs are going to cost you more initially.
I’m not going to tell you anything other than that. So it means that you’re going to have to spend more.
That is, if you want to get an a travel trailer that’s really built for full-time travel.
But the flip side of that is they are not going to give you nearly as many problems in day-to-day use.
They’re not going to be breaking down on you as fast. Especially as a travel trailer that’s not built for the stresses of full-time living.
And in the end, that can make your full-time travel and experiences so much more enjoyable.
So choose wisely in the travel trailer field. And if you do, you will be glad that you did.
Have safe and happy RV travels my friends!