Long before we made the official decision to go full-time RVing we had been looking at RV’s. This lifestyle has been one we have dreamt about for some time now. After deciding to make this transition a priority, choosing to actually make plans not just dream about this transition, we realized that we had to start narrowing our search for the perfect full-time living capable RV for our family.

The research phase started… Eventually we started to make a list of our “Must Haves”… It looks something like this…

A Bed for Each Family Member:

• We have NO desire to make and unmake one or more beds every morning/night for our boys.

• We want our boys to feel as though they have a space that is theirs, so they can feel secure and have some ownership of our to be “home”.

A King Bed:

• Jeremy is 6.2 …. Enough said…

A Washer/Dryer or space to put one in:

• With 3 boys (one of which is potty training)  we have a lot of laundry, and we would really like to have the ability to do this laundry in the time frame that we need to (middle of the night accidents to give one example).

Double pane windows:

• Because we plan to be traveling in all kinds of climates and specifically up to Alaska at some point we really want to have the added insulation of double pane windows.
• Having double pane windows also helps combat the condensation that commonly accumulates on the inside of RV windows, resulting in a lower chance of mold inside.

A Generator:

• Our preference is to do as much boondocking as possible. One to save money, and two being in RV parks is not really what we picture, we love the idea of having open space as our backyard. So our goal is to be as “off grid” capable  as possible.

A Residential Fridge

• Again the 3 boys thing… they tend to eat a lot…
• Also we intend to go the route of solar, so needing it to run off of propane is not as necessary.

Space For Outdoor Gear

• We each have bikes, and multiple bike trailers (Check out our Bike setup HERE)

While one of the things that drew us to this decision of full-time RV living was to adopt a more minimalist lifestyle, we still have to have a “home” that will work functionally for the lifestyle we enjoy (Lots of outdoor activities). As you can tell from our adventures, we love the outdoors and all of the activities that nature allows. Many of these activities come with gear that will need to find a home somewhere in our future rig.

We already have lots of bikes, bike trailers and other outdoor equipment. We also have plans to get kayaks and possibly paddle boards. While putting a bike rack on the back of a 5th wheel is possible, we have seen so many videos about these bike racks failing and are uncomfortable with this solution. Also since this is going to be  our home, we would prefer a way to secure these things rather than storing them somewhere around our campsite. We are currently still working on figuring out a solution to this dilemma.

Our search for the perfect floor plan lead us to the brand Grand Design for many reasons. First off, they are built with full-time RV living in mind. The insulation on this brand is by far greater than any of their competitors. The tank capacity/maintenance systems in place for the tanks are also more advanced than many of their competitors. And most important, the customer service for Grand Design is AMAZING!!  

Grand Design has a few different lines of RV’s. Automatically we found ourselves drawn to the Solitude 5th wheel line! However, when we first started looking, we were disappointed to find they didn’t have a traditional bunkhouse. Thankfully shortly after we started our research, they released  the new S-Class bunk house! We were really excited to check it out in person. Eventually the dealership near us got one on their lot so we jumped at the chance to go look at it in person!

Check out our first impressions of this new floor plan in this video!