Click images to see more on each rig...

Our first RV was a 2005 Fleetwood Colonial popup tent trailer (formerly known as a "Santa Fe")

purchased in July 2004. It was pulled by a 2004 Toyota Tundra 4.7 liter pickup truck and took us all

over the southwest for long weekends and vacations. We owned it until May, 2007. It was a great

introduction to the world of RV travel.

Our second RV was a 2007 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 270 FQS, a 27' travel trailer with a single slide,

purchased in May 2007. We lived in it fulltime until May, 2008. Billed as "half-ton towable," we towed

it with our Toyota Tundra at first. However, reaching a max speed of 28 mph climbing Tioga Pass on

the east side of Yosemite convinced us to upgrade the truck to a 2007 Dodge RAM 3500 single rear

wheel one ton pickup.

Our third RV -- our current home -- is a 2007 NuWa Hitchhiker II LS 34.5 RLTG, a 36' long fifth wheel

trailer with three slides, purchased in May 2008. We pull it with our 2007 Dodge RAM 3500 pickup

and Pullrite Super Fifth hitch. The selling points for us were the enormous, open floor plan, the two

recliners and picture window in the back, the long sofa, and the desk. It is also extremely well built

and is insulated with moisture-resistant Blue Dow styrofoam.

The single greatest improvement we made to either of our fulltime rigs was the solar setup. We had a

modest system on the Lynx that cost about $975 and allowed us to boondock, or drycamp, all year as

long as we were conservative with our energy use. We now have a very robust system on the

Hitchhiker that cost about $3,900 and makes us feel like we have full electrical hookups all the time.

The propane furnace that comes in most RVs is very inefficient, burning too much propane and draining

the batteries too quickly. Mark installed a vent-free propane heater that transformed our lives in

December 2008. In this section the pros and cons of the many heaters on the market are discussed.