Origins of the Winnebagel: tales of RV hunting

I thought RVs were a bit silly – granted I had done absolutely no research, but I associated RVs with retired couples traveling to Arizona in giant bus-sized vehicles. Of course there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, but as a full-time tech worker in my 20s that vision just didn’t mesh.

When my parents announced they were selling their house and moving into a RV full-time, I of course thought they were crazy. They bought a giant fifth-wheel (what is this? Coming soon!) and took off, and I thought their time in that RV would be limited by cramped quarters and the hassle of life without a permanent home.

Boy was I wrong – six years later they’re still going strong. They decided their fifth wheel was actually too big to reach a lot of the cool spots, and downsized to a truck camper. The whole time I was getting pictures of amazing adventures and nature and a way of seeing the continent without any boundaries. I was jealous, and willing to admit I was wrong about RVs. 

In 2019 I took my first fully remote job, then of course in 2020 the world shut itself down. In early 2022 I finally decided that I should look into getting a RV of my own – I wanted to see the national parks and adventure too! This led to me finally doing the research I had avoided before, and learning about what actually lives under the RV umbrella.

All about RVs

RVs (recreational vehicles) refer to a wide variety of drivable vehicles and trailers. The broad categories are Class A, B, C, trailer, fifth wheel, truck camper, and van conversion. Class A/B/C are one unit that can drive itself, as are van conversions. Other RVs require a tow (or support, in case of truck campers) vehicle.

I quickly eliminated Class A and C motorhomes – they were too large, as well as van conversions and truck campers. Fifth wheels were also much too big for what I was looking for. This left Class Bs, and trailers.

Before getting into the story of how I chose my Class B (spoiler alert), I want to give some background on the different RV types.

Class A and C RV

Class A and C RVs are somewhat similar – they both are one contained driving unit. The traditional giant rectangles you see driving down the road are Class As, whereas Class Cs are the giant rectangles with the front of a truck sticking out. Both are very clearly “RVs”, and though they offer space and comfort they were too large for me.

Class B RV

Class Bs are vans converted by RV manufacturers. They have defined floor plans and specs, and most importantly for me, warranties and historical resale values.

Trailer

Trailers are just that- giant rectangles towed behind a truck (usually). Trailers offer a huge variety of sizes, from small and compact to the size of an apartment.

Fifth wheel

Fifth wheels are a specific variety of trailers, where part of the trailer hangs over the truck bed. This allows for more driving control, but fifth wheels tend to lean massive so I eliminated them.

Truck camper

Truck campers are RVs that sit fully on the bed of pickups, and come in a variety of sizes, though of course they’re limited by the size of the truck. This is what my parents downsized to, as larger truck campers still do have decent space while still being somewhat compact. To safely handle most truck campers you need a heavy duty pickup, and I wasn’t interested in that.

Van conversion

Finally, van conversions (or schoolies, or whatever else people turn into RVs) are the “van life” standard. One day I’d love to convert my own, but working full time it wasn’t realistic for me. I was also concerned about varying build quality and the overall unknown, given that this would be my first foray into RVing. Somewhat conversely to what a lot of people prefer, I also wanted a black waste tank (gray waste is sink and shower water, black tank is toilet contents), and most conversions had composting or cassette toilets. I’d rather pull a lever than carry a bucket of poop.

All this left two potential options: Class Bs, and trailers. I originally thought I wanted a smaller trailer. People love their Casitas and Scamps, and I could tow those with a mid size pickup. I even went to a RV show and found the Winnebago Micro Mini, which came in some great compact floor plans I really liked.

Narrowing things down

At the same RV show, I walked into one of the few Class Bs present and felt claustrophobic, and eliminated that as an option. One of the good things about some trailers is they had slides – you could actually expand your floorspace when parked. It made the whole interior feel so much brighter and comfortable for working in.

I went home from the RV show ready to look at more small trailers. I had my criteria: space to work, at least a wet bath (shower and toilet all in the same room), a bed I didn’t have to convert every day, lots of windows, and a comfortable space for my dog. To me this all pointed at trailers – the Class Bs I saw didn’t have this. Though the standard floor plan with a bed in the back that converts to a dining area would be spacious for work, I didn’t want to deal with that conversion daily, or deal with the general lack of windows. 

As I was looking at Winnebago’s Micro Minis, and still wishing I could find a van that might work, I came across two things at once: a list of the best selling Class Bs, and Winnebago putting a thumbnail of their “Travato” Class B at the bottom of their website. Specifically, when I clicked on the Travato I saw the 59K floor plan – it was different from other vans I had seen with dual skinny beds and windows across all the sides. The front seats both swiveled, and a table slid in front of the passenger seat to make a desk. There was a wet bath in the rear. It seemed like I had all my checklist items – the illusion of space with all the windows, a self-contained bathroom, a place to work, and a place for my dog to sleep (though now I often wake up with 70 pounds of fluff on my chest).

After more research I discovered the best thing about the Travato: both floor plans, the 59k and 59G, offer a “L” addition. Specifically, the “L” refers to lithium batteries. The 59KL and 59GL have massive lithium battery systems that charge both as you drive and from solar, essentially making you self-contained. The battery system is so good that you can run your AC for eight hours off battery capacity alone, which is almost unheard of for a RV. This meant in the Texas heat my dog would always be comfortable no matter where I ended up, so without even seeing the thing I was hopeful.

A trailer had seemed iffy to me – I wouldn’t be able to keep it in my driveway due to city code, I didn’t actually own a pickup yet, and I was a bit afraid of the “hooking it up” part. A van that worked would be ideal.

Turns out vans are as hard to find as used cars in a pandemic

Unfortunately, this was COVID times and everyone and their aunt wanted an RV. The closest Travato 59KL I could find was 3 hours away, and it didn’t have the options I liked. I hadn’t even seen the thing though – it wasn’t exactly a small purchase, and I wanted to make an informed decision.

Thankfully, RV manufacturers copy each other. A RV dealership only 15 minutes from my house has the exact same floor plan from a different manufacturer. I had focused on the Travato due to its proven resale value, general build quality, and electrical system. Several other manufacturers, including the one I went to look at, had gained a reputation during the pandemic for churning out shoddy products to increase build numbers. The floor plan was what I was looking to see though. Walking into the van, with the correct layout, I could see immediately that it was what I was looking for. Now to actually find one.

I went on a road trip on a Saturday, first two hours south then two hours west. South of me was a dealership that had an older used Travato 59K, and several Travato 59GLs. I figured it made sense to see the other floor plan option, as well as the actual floor plan I was looking for. Looking at the vans I quickly decided that the Travato 59GL was too claustrophobic, and though the 2016 59K they had was a great floor plan, it did not have the Lithium battery system. I then drove west.

I finally stepped into my first Travato 59KL several hours later. It wasn’t the exact exterior or interior color I wanted, but I thought I was absolutely fine with it. I could see myself using the van constantly, and experienced how easy it was to drive – it didn’t even seem like a RV. I drove home from that dealership wanting that van.

*Trying* to buy a RV

Monday morning I emailed a written offer to buy the Travato I saw. I thought I was offering a very fair price based on what I had been seeing in the market. No response for a few hours, so I called. The person who answered the phone informed me that the salesman I had been working with was “busy”, but she was sure he’d get back to me soon.

A day went by and still no word. I called again the next day – this wasn’t a small purchase for me. I had been thinking about this and planning for this for months, and I wanted to know what was going on. The same woman answered the phone, and this time I even heard the voice of the salesman in the background. She still said he was “busy”. The only thing I could think of is that this dealership didn’t think I was a serious buyer. After bracing myself to make an offer on this van, a major life decision, not being taken seriously was quite disappointing. 

That night I was browsing rvtrader (pretty much all dealerships in the US list here), and I saw a brand new posting for a Travato 59KL with the exact colors and options I wanted. The problem? It was in Wisconsin. I was in Texas. The next morning I sent an email anyway with an offer for the van of even less than I had offered my local dealership. The Wisconsin dealership called me almost immediately and accepted my offer.

The rest went as smoothly as could be – I flew to Wisconsin, then drove my new 2022 Travato 59KL home. Many trips later it’s absolutely the RV for me, and I would buy the same exact one every day of the week without hesitation. I even had the pleasure of telling the salesman from my local dealership that I had already put a deposit on a different van when he finally decided to call me back. It’s been almost a year, I’ve had many adventures and mishaps since, and I plan on writing about all of them here. Happy travels!