With the Coronavirus going on, you might be home on quarantine wishing you could go to an RV show. You might be doing the next best thing – shopping online for a new rig or maybe just dreaming for the future. You’re probably looking at floorplans and features. A lot of RV manufacturers like to show off some fancy features and try to woo you.
A little background for you about me. In addition to being a bit of a tight wad, I am also “Miss Fancy.” It’s a conundrum. My mom’s nickname for me was “Miss Fancy.” That’s because I was kind of persnickety about a few things. For instance, take me to an antique store and I’m in seventh heaven. Take me into Goodwill, especially the clothing department, and my gag reflex starts going off. That was the case when I was younger. I’m proud to say that if I’m on a hunt for something, I can handle Goodwill. So, maybe now, I’m “Miss Sort of Fancy.” I say this because, the “Miss Fancy” part of me is the part that jumped ship from tent camping to camping in a trailer. My fancy-ness has evolved over my 16 years of RVing to become a little more fancy. Here’s my take on the fancy gadgets they try to woo you with at RV shows. Remember, this is just my opinion. Your needs and opinions may vary. It’s my two cents … for whatever it’s worth to you.
Outdoor kitchens: Some rigs come with extensive outdoor kitchens complete with sinks, refrigerators, and a stove. Our first rig had an outdoor stove. Our second had an outdoor fridge and no stove. I used the outdoor stove only a little and I mostly used it to cook things that would have a lingering odor in the trailer such as clams and bacon. One of my favorite smells is bacon cooking in a campground. Taking it outside to cook was kind of a treat! Our second rig had an outdoor fridge. We thought it would come in handy so we could grab drinks on the road. As it turned out, it didn’t do a good job of keeping drinks cold while we were on the road because the fridge required electrical hookups to keep running. So, we had slightly colder than room temperature drinks on the road. It was kind of nice to have drinks cooling outside in the fridge once we were hooked up. Then, we could transfer them inside the trailer as we had space. It was an OK thing, but kind of a waste of space other than the spare key we hid in the freezer department. My verdict on outdoor kitchens – not worth the money or the space! I’d rather have the storage space to store something more useful.
Washer and Dryers: I have friends that wouldn’t own a rig without a washer/dryer unit. I don’t want one. Here’s why. The first problem is, they have plumbing. It’s one more thing that can leak. Leaks are one of the worst things for an RV. I don’t like doing laundry so much that I would want it going constantly in my rig. I’d rather pony up the quarters and get it done in one fell swoop at the laundromat. I have no idea how noisy they are. I’m sure I wouldn’t like the noise either. It’s also one more thing that has moving parts that could break. I figure, if I’m using the laundry in an RV park or a laundromat, the maintenance and repairs are not my problem … unless they eat my quarters. Space is always an issue in RVs and I would much rather have the space to store things than have a washer and dryer.
Dog bowl drawers: They look like a nice idea in a brochure, but in reality I think they’d be a trip hazard. As one of the world’s clumsiest people and a person who has worked in rehab facilities, I have decided that falling down is basically a bad idea. So, one less thing to trip over. Also, if you have to put the drawer back in while there is still food or water in … eww! What a mess! No thanks! I’d rather flip the dog bowls over accidentally in the trailer and be fully aware that I have made a mess instantly!
Dishwashers: My objections to these are much the same as my objections to the washer and dryer. There is plumbing, it leaks. Moving parts could break. It might be noisy. They’re also small. So, you’re going to have to wash some dishes anyway. I really don’t mind washing the dishes. It’s always been a teamwork thing on our trips.
Theater seating: I always thought theater seats were for wimps. That is, until we had our second rig. The couch was not floppable. Watching movies together as a family was awkward. It just wasn’t very comfortable. Then, we went to a movie theater that had the reclining seats and I was sold. That was going to be a requirement in our next rig. We now have theater seats and I love them!
Heated seats: When we were looking at our current trailer, the dealer was proud to show us that the theater seats were heated and that they had a massage feature. I thought, “Wow, that’s a little over the top, but OK.” Well, the heated seats … let me just say, I’m never going back! I love them! They’re especially great on the first night when it’s chilly out and the rig is still cold. The massage feature just makes me laugh. It’s not so much a massager as a jiggler. When we were kids, my family went on road trips where we stayed at Two Diamond or less motels listed in the AAA trip book. Sometimes these fancy places had beds with a little box you could put a quarter in and get a “massage,” which was more of a jiggle. The massage feature in our chairs makes me think of those funny motel beds.
Fireplace: Try to buy a fifth-wheel without one. I was against them, but when I we started looking at fifth wheels I had to make my peace with them. Luckily over the years, they have gotten better looking. I thought we’d probably never use ours. I was dead wrong. I love that thing! It heats up the living area great and adds a nice cozy feel to the trailer in the evenings when we can’t be outside with a fire in a fire pit. Another plus to the fireplace, it runs on electrical power. So, when you’re fully hooked up and on shore power, it provides heat to your living area without using up propane. One of my favorite things with this rig is when we go to one of our favorite places, there is a place to order take-out chowder. My husband gets the outside all set up and I set up the inside, make salad, and heat up the U-bake bread we bring along. Once he’s done outside, he calls to order up some chowder. I sit and wait in my heated seat and enjoy the fireplace. Miss Fancy … there she is!
Outdoor shower: Our first two rigs each had one. I thought it was going to be a Godsend since we had dogs and a little boy. I figured they’d need to be hosed off outside. It turns out, we mostly used the outside shower for filling up the bucket with the clams we brought back from clamming. In our second trailer, something went wrong and the shower leaked into the trailer. We ended up capping of the pipe to stop the leak which disabled the shower. We never missed it. Our current rig doesn’t have an outdoor shower. We actually could have used one recently when one dog hiked his leg and the other dog got her head in the way. Gross! We ended up working with the hose outside to wash the dog’s head. Everything was fine without the shower!
DVD player: Most rigs come with a built in DVD player. Meh… they’re OK. We’d rather they had a good place to put one that we pick out. We’d pick one with a blue-ray player. We keep talking about buying a blue-ray player for the trailer and never have gotten around to it. We’ve been talking about it since the last trailer….
TV: The TV’s that come with trailers aren’t great. Don’t let them woo you with the TV. We swap them out for smart TV’s. We use my phone as a hotspot and we have access to Netflix, Amazon Prime and a lot of other things. We love having a smart TV in the trailer! You might think that you’ll never watch TV because you’re going into the great outdoors. Well, if you’re boondocking, you’re right! Your TV isn’t going to work unless you run a generator. We generally stay at places with full hookups. I am a big fan of the great outdoors and hiking, but I love to return to my trailer for an evening of flopping out after a hiking day if I can’t have a campfire.
Outdoor TV: I’m not really interested in these, but can see their appeal. Maybe you want to watch a movie with the kids outside while roasting marshmallows. Sounds fun! Maybe you’re a tailgater. Maybe you’re camping with people and want to watch a football game together outside. Cool! My husband is opposed. He wants the space for storage (they usually take up some space in the storage area) and he’s absolutely against sitting still when he might get bit by a mosquito. So, no outdoor TV for us!
I hope that’s given you a little food for thought. If you want to make this long story shorter, I’d say if it has moving parts or if it might leak – think real hard about whether or not having it is worth it to you. If it makes your time in the rig more comfortable, it’s worth it.
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