Using the word, recreational vehicle, invokes imagery and associations based on the readers experience. For some the word recreational vehicles invokes imagery from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation or a huge forty-foot diesel pushers.

RV’s include a wide range of vehicle types and sizes ranging from towables (travel-trailers, pop-up campers, tear-drop trailers, fifth wheels and many more) and Motorhomes (Class A, think very large), B (small), C (size is between an A and a B) and Mounted truck campers (you guessed it! –the size of a pickup truck).

We choose a Class B RV, which is the smallest type of Motorhome. I still don’t know why a Class C isn’t the smallest, but that is the nomenclature used by the industry. A Class B takes a standard Van (typically a Mercedes Sprinter, RAM ProMaster or Ford Transit) ranging from 17 to 24 feet in length and builds within the load space of the van. Holes are cut into the van body to add air-conditioning, fans, utilities, air inlets and exhausts for heaters, refrigerators and other appliances. Our van has (22!) holes cut into the van body (see yellow circles).

This makes building a Class B significantly more expensive on a square-foot basis then any other class of RV. Class B vans costs range from $80,000 to more than $200,000 depending on the chassis, component and build quality, appliances and utilities.

Our Pleasure-Way Ontour 2.2 is very well appointed. We can park anywhere and have all the conveniences of home (kitchen, bathroom and bed). Our camping time is only limited by the amount of fresh and waste water we can store. The rig is equipped with:

Instant hot water (Truma AquaGo)
12V 5.5 cu. ft. refrigerator/freezer (so much better that an absorption refrigerator AKA 3-way refrigerator)
1-burner induction stove (I wish we had an induction cooktop at home)
Microwave/convection oven
Large undermount stainless steel kitchen sink
Enclosed shower and bath
11,000 BTU air conditior
Roof (Fan-Tastic) fan
Tuma VarioHeat Furnace
Generator fueled off the gas tank to charge batteries and run the AC off-grid if needed
300 Watts of Solar Panels (keeps the batteries charged and the refrigerator running without using the generator or driving)
Flush toilet
Tanks to hold both grey and back water
120V interior/exterior outlets
And a bed and sofa of course!

Our multiple month trip to the Oregon Coast will permit us see how all this works for us. In these RV blogs I will share our experiences on how well things work.