moaboy

The Future of RVing
Been to Europe lately? I have. Of course, I can't just relax and enjoy the bread and Black Forest cake (in the Black Forest). I found myself noticing the RVs scurrying down the autobahn. I think I counted a total of five very small motor homes, hardly bigger than the van driven by your daughter's last date (the one that ended within a few seconds after the little punk sauntered up to the front door and addressed you as "dude").

What I was pleasantly surprised to see, however, were plenty of travel trailers. And do you know what was towing them? Cars. Not SUVs. Not 1 ton pick-ups with 8 liter diesels and mud flaps that say "will work for fuel." I'm talkin' BMWs, Audis, Mercedes, and Volvos haulin' travel trailers. Most were of the 26 foot class, mind you, but you got the sense that the Germans weren't going to let a little thing like $8 per gallon gasoline ruin their vacation to the Alps. By the way, if you ever get the opportunity...WOW!

We've been down this road before. I've made my case that a smaller tow vehicle makes RVing a lot more affordable. Not only for the fuel savings while towing, but for the fuel savings realized during the other 340 days in the year when you're just using the vehicle to get to work, to run the grocery store, or to cart around the kids. Even if you opt for the ultimate BMW tow vehicle, you'll save a heck of a lot of money in the long run (please don't call and ask me where you get a receiver installed on a BMW...I take over after that's already been done).

Seriously, though, in the U.S., we'll more likely opt for a half-ton truck all the way down to mid-sized sedan. It all depends on a variety of factors--how much towing you intend to do, how far you want to travel, mountains or plains, etc. But don't limit yourself to the old way of thinking. You'll find yourself discouraged right into spending summer weekends gardening in the back yard.
Excerpt from Hensley Hitch Newsletter