Class B Envy and My Continuing Quest Toward Minimalism

Minimalism can be addictive. Ask anyone who downsizes.

After I did my first major downsizing purge six years ago, I had this immense feeling of lightness and freedom. I realized how much stuff I’d amassed that I didn’t really need.

Emboldened by this euphoric feeling, I started looking more closely at my remaining possessions. And I started continually asking, “Do I really need that? Or is it just taking up space?”

After many purges, I felt like I was down to a rational number of items in my life to make me happy. I continue to live with this philosophy of smaller living. As one new item comes into my life, something old must go out. This keeps me from reverting back to the same excesses of my old lifestyle.

As happy as I am with the status quo, I still frequently find myself asking, “Can I go smaller?”

Minimalism in RV life

 

In May 2018, we moved into a 34 foot Class A motorhome with just over 300 square feet of space. Even from the beginning, I was eager to start with something smaller. But we’re a family of three. And frankly, the other two members of my household were already struggling with the idea of moving into such a small space. So, I had to compromise.

As we near the 6-month mark of living in our RV full-time, I still find myself with the desire to be in something smaller. In my heart though, I know downsizing further isn’t anywhere in our immediate future.

First off, Keith has hobbies. Lots and lots of hobbies. Each of these hobbies seems to have plenty of gear. For example, he likes to fish. But he doesn’t just have a simple fishing rod and tackle box. Instead, there’s the two inflatable kayaks, a depth finder, an anchor, six fishing rods, two giant soft-sided bags with tackle and fishing accessories, nets, minnow traps, rod holders, his fishing vest, life vests for the kayaks… the list just keeps going and going. So, my point is, I don’t live with a minimalist. The Class A gives us ample storage space for all these accessories.

Second, we’ve owned our RV for less than a year. We spent nearly a year just figuring out which RV would fit the bulk of our needs before we settled on this particular model. It would be financially frivolous to swap out our current one for something else.

Finally, our current RV gives us the benefit of some space apart. Our son is on the verge of becoming a teenager, and there are new growing pains each week. Not being right on top of each other really helps in the moments when we’re dealing with his spicy attitude, blossoming body odor, and his general tween angst.

Despite all these solid reasons validating our decision to get the Class A, I still secretly yearn to downsize.

So, what is my ideal RV?

 

Lately, I’ve started fantasizing about moving into a Class B camper van. I initially started feeling this way as we were traveling through the northern US and Canada this summer. Rolling down the road in our giant RV – whether it’s on a major highway or small, windy rural road – fills me with immense stress. And I’m not even the one in the actual driver’s seat.

Finding campgrounds is another task where I’m very aware of how large our rig is. There are plenty of RV parks and campgrounds where we fit easily. But, I realize many of them seem more like open fields than the unspoiled wilderness. Sometimes I just long for the days when we were tent camping and nestled in between trees.

I realize that a Class B camper van isn’t a perfect fit for our family. Like anything else, there are always pros and cons.

The pros of a downsizing to a Class B

 

Better maneuverability.  The Class B is more nimble than our current RV. Many of them are built on a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter chassis, so they’re only 15-25 feet long. It’s much more like driving a van than driving a commercial bus. And, that smaller size might actually allow me to feel like I could hop into the driver’s seat and maneuver the RV every once in a while.

No more TOAD.  The Class B would eliminate the need for a second car. Currently, we tow a Subaru Crosstrek behind our motorhome. Purchasing a car to travel with us was a necessity. It simply isn’t realistic to sightsee, park at trailheads, or even go grocery shopping in our 34 foot RV. While a Class B wouldn’t be as nimble the Subaru, it would have the ability to get us pretty much anywhere we needed to go without much hassle.

Lower maintenance costs.  Transitioning to a Class B would cost us less than maintaining two vehicles. In our current setup, we have to pay for fuel, insurance, oil changes, tires, and other maintenance costs on both the RV and the car. This isn’t cheap. Downsizing to just one vehicle would eliminate half our costs in this area.

Design and aesthetic appeal.  The interior of our motorhome is much better looking than most RVs. In fact, I really like it a lot. However, the exterior is still a giant breadbox moving down the road. Conversely, a Class B is about as unobtrusive as it gets. The interior design of most Class Bs have come a long way too. They tend to lean toward a more sleek European minimalist design.  Camper vans are no longer synonymous with the VW bus or boxy van conversions with ugly shag carpeting from the 1980s.

Better camping locations.  Downsizing to something below 25 feet in length gives us many more choices of where we can camp. We would have the flexibility to reserve spaces virtually anywhere that allows an RV. This would include the majority of the national parks, which are often off-limits to us at our current length. Living in a Class B also would allow us to boondock or dry camp more easily, since we wouldn’t have as much weight and wouldn’t have our current electricity hog (aka the residential refrigerator) to support.

Overhead clearance.  I spend a fair amount of time worrying about overhead clearance with our RV. According to our manufacturer, our Class A is nearly 13 feet tall when you measure to the top of the air conditioners. As a result, I’m always on the lookout for bridges and overpasses along our routes that might have lower clearance heights. Most Class Bs are in the in the 9-10 foot range.  So, that’s one less thing for me to stress about as we are traveling.

Easier RV storage options.  There are times when you want to fly somewhere on vacation. Or perhaps you’re going to visit family over the holidays. This always brings up the question of “what do we do with our RV while we’re gone?” While there are lots of solutions out there, most of them involve paying for your RV to be stored somewhere or parked in an RV park. And this costs money. It’s much easier to mooch free parking for a Class B from friends since it’s about the same size as a delivery van. You could even park it in the economy parking lot at the airport if you are flying somewhere.

Smaller gas tank.  When we stop at the gas pump to fill up our Class A, it takes forever! We have an 80-gallon tank, so we could easily be standing there for 20 minutes pumping gas into it. This is compounded by the fact that most banks will automatically stop your fuel sale at $100-$125 to ensure there isn’t fraud occurring with your debit or credit card. If we’re down below a 1/4 tank, filling our RV can easily run between $170 and $200. Not only does this hurt the wallet, it means we have to waste time running our card a second time to get a full tank of gas. Compare this to most Class Bs which have more modest 25-30 gallon tanks.

Environmental factors. Part of living this smaller life is about reducing our impact on the environment. We are already consuming less water and electricity than most people by living in 300 square feet. But, I’m also aware that we aren’t doing the ozone any favors by driving a vehicle that only gets 8 MPG. A Class B would not only reduce our consumption of fuel, it would lower our overall environmental impact.

Fewer TVs.  One of my personal pet peeves with larger RVs is the number of TV sets in them. I didn’t buy an RV to sit around watching TV. Yet our RV came with four(!!) of them. We have never used these TVs, though it’s possible we may eventually rent a DVD and watch one of them someday. Still, who needs four TVs wasting space? Not me.

Getting outdoors more.  A big part of why we decided to transition into an RV was to be able to spend more time outdoors. When you live in a big comfortable house, you can find a thousand reasons not to go outside. There’s always laundry to do, a good show on TV, or something else that merits your attention. Even with a Class A, you can be tempted to spend time inside it when you’re parked at a campground. It’s comfy. The Class B removes some of that comfort.  It’s just big enough to sleep in and sit in. So, much like tent camping, you spend more time living out of it, instead of in it.

The cons of downsizing to a Class B

 

No space for a family.  The #1 downside of the Class B is most of them are truly designed for a maximum of two people. They don’t have the overhead bunk like the Class C or extra furniture that converts into a second bed. So, finding a Class B that sleeps a family of three is near impossible.

Less storage.  Downsizing would mean adjusting the number of accessories for our hobbies. Unlike our current motorhome, Class B’s don’t have large external storage compartments. Moreover, there’s the weight limitations to consider. A smaller RV could carry our bikes, but forget about all the extra weight from the rest of all our outdoor gear. In fairness, this problem could be mitigated by pulling a cargo trailer behind us.  But that solution somewhat limits the vehicle’s maneuverability and negates many of the benefits of going smaller.

Less interior height.  One of the nicest things about our current RV is the interior height. Keith is six feet tall and he’s had three major concussions in the past 10 years. Having an RV with ample overhead space for him to stand up in a ‘must have’ item for us. We also need to limit the number of overhead cabinets jutting out, since his forehead seems to be attracted to them like a moth to a flame. Although a few of the Class B models allow you to stand up easily, the ceiling room definitely isn’t nearly as spacious as our current RV.

Smaller fresh water and gray water tanks.  One of my favorite things about our current RV is we have a large fresh water tank and gray water tanks. We can go a week without having to hook up the RV if we are thoughtful about our water use. Transitioning to smaller tanks would require us to fill up with water far more frequently.

Moving all the time.  When your RV becomes your primary vehicle, that means you have to move it from the campground whenever you want to go out. This requires unhooking from any shore power, water hook-ups, and/or sewer every day. Then when you return, you have to set up all over again. I’m not sure I want to break camp and secure everything just because I need to pop down to the store for some yogurt. Of course, there are some benefits to taking your RV with you everywhere. If you need a jacket because the weather unexpectedly changes, you just go grab it. If you want to make your lunch instead of eating in some overpriced location, you can simply go back to where you parked RV.

Fewer options in bad weather.  As we all know, RVing doesn’t come with perfect weather. You could encounter several consecutive days of rain, which severely limits your outdoor activities. In our current motohome, we have plenty of room to play cards, read, work on our computers, make a snack, or whatever activity we want without ever feeling claustrophobic.

The Class B I’d ideally like to downsize into

 

With all these pros and cons out there, I still find myself actively daydreaming about downsizing.

Perhaps the solution for us could be the Class B+. This new niche of Class B vans is a larger version of the typical camper van. Some include a extra wide body, while others have a slide that expands giving it more room than normal. There are several manufactures out there dipping their toes into this market.

Here are a few Class B+ vans that I’ve been looking at recently:

• The Unity and The Serenity by Leisure Travel Vans
• The Atlas by Airstream
• The Viper by NeXus
• The Cruiser by Phoenix Cruiser
• The Prism by Coachmen
• The Plateau by Pleasure Way

As a minimalist, I suppose it’s natural to reflect on your current situation and wonder whether you are where you aspire to be. Minimalism isn’t a destination. It’s a state of mind. I’ll probably always continue to think about going smaller. But for now, I’ll just work on convincing Keith that he doesn’t need to buy any more fishing gear.