What to think about when purchasing a recreational vehicle or in the camping organization an RV. If you are an experience camper and no doubt there are thing I have left out, please add in the comments. I want this to help new campers because whether it is tent, pop-up, or motorhomes, the main purpose is to relax and enjoy the great outdoors.

• How you plan to use your camper? This is not a silly question, many think they know until the first camping trip, and then you realize there are so many things you did not take into account.  Having several family members and friends with camper/RV’s, it is clear we all enjoy our time away from home differently. My husband and I like to travel around to multiple states and for weeks on a trip, while others go out only on  weekends and holidays and go within short distances from home. Then others use only seasonal. Believe me distance matters.
• What size of camper do you need verses want? Believe it or not size matters. Most new comers to camping think they want small, but there are so many things to take into consideration. How many are in the family. How many more will be joining you on these trips, and don’t forget the pets. You think pets will not take up room but they do, there is the floor or their share of the bed. Don’t forget your pets needs, like dog food and water bowls, things like these will take up more room than you realize. I have heard some people say, “If you think you need one size then you need to go up one size”. I think this statement is absolutely true.
• New verses Used – Affordability ? For beginners please go used, and try not to have a payment of your new purchase. The first camper is your learning process. You may hit it lucky and find exactly what your family wants, but then you may be like the rest of us and realize you need something bigger. Researching cost of campgrounds will help in giving you an idea of the cost of your new hobby. If this is not your first rodeo, then you have a pretty good idea of what you are looking for, in price, size, and style.
• Where do you purchase?  Beginners don’t be lured in by the large camping sales yards and commercials. Research, research, research!!! Start looking everywhere; newspaper, sales catalogs, eBay, the web, and even in peoples yards. Once you start looking, friends and family will help with the search. Also discussion; by having family discussions many things come to the surface that other family members had not thought about. Please consider the financial impact, making payments starting out may keep you from camping. If shopping at a large camper dealership there are extra chargers that they keep hidden until you are signing the paper work. Not all camper sales yards charge for prepping/cleaning your camper before you take ownership. You would think cleaning would be a part of the appreciation of the purchase. Never will we purchase from a large camping sales yard. I will talk about our latest purchase at a later date.