When I decided to buy an RV for photography travels, my head was filled with visions of driving from one beautiful photo destination to another like those shown below.
Little did I know…
RV travel as a nomadic photographer turned out to be far different than I had envisioned. Why?
My first RV, a 40 foot Phaeton, was the wrong RV for how I traveled. It was a great RV, just not the right RV for me. You see, I focused on the manufacturer’s reputation and the RV’s floorpan, but failed to pay attention to why I was RVing.
To help other photographers avoid the same mistake I made, I have written both this List of 9 Questions and the accompanying Perfect Photographer’s RV Checklist.
First Step
Begin with the end in mind! Decide if you are primarily buying an RV for the RV lifestyle or for photography. Maybe it’s both, but still pick your top reason.
With that answer in mind, next proceed to the “9 Questions Photographers Should Answer Before Buying An RV”.
Note these questions only relate to RV usage for photography and do not address other RV issues such as towing capacity, etc.
The 9 Questions to Ask
Now let’s take an in-indepth look at each of these questions.
1.What Is Your RV Budget?
When calculating a budget for an RV, be sure to include the following:
As you can see, RV travel gets expensive quickly. Based on the above budget and how much you plan to travel, think about alternatives to onwing an RV.
2.Where and When Do You Want To Travel?
Where you want to travel greatly influences the type of RV you should buy.
Answering the above question will help you avoid purchasing an RV that can’t handle your photography destinations. I once had to leave the Tetons during fall to prevent my pipes from bursting.
3. Where Do You Want to Camp?
Your preference in campgrounds will guide you in deciding how tall and long of an RV you should buy. Defining campsite preferences will help you decide how much power and tank capacity an RV should possess.
4. How Long At Each Location?
Give careful thought to your primary photography plans. Are you traveling to stay in one area and write a book or other project in a small area such as the Everglades?
Maybe you are like me and want to photograph the entire country. Only you know the answer. What I know from personal experience is, for those of us who like to move around frequently, the wrong RV can make frequent moves more challenging.
5.Full Time Or Part Time
Decide if you are planning to travel on a full time basis, for extended stays of 6 months or longer or part time?
6.Comfort Versus Mobility
This is a tough one since we all want as many creature comforts as possible. However, the type of RV, the length of the RV and the number of slides definitely impacts the RV’s mobility.
Presently, I have given up a number of comforts to travel in my van (will be changing shortly) in order to move quickly to as many photo destinations as possible. A photographer friend of mine, however, values comfort over mobility. Only you know what is right for you.
7. RV Maintenance
As I have mentioned in other RV posts, maintenance can take more time than you expect and negatively impact the amount of time you have in the field for photography. Don’t underestimate it!
Here are just a few examples of items that should be done on a frequent basis. Note: These do not include the yearly more time confusing tasks.
8.How Much Room Do You Need
Give careful consideration to your day to day living and how much room you need in each area of the RV. For instance, if you mainly cook outside or eat out, don’t waste RV space on models with larger kitchen areas. Buy the RV that meets your specific needs.
9.New or Used?
When buying new, especially as a photographer, be aware that you will likely be traveling distances from where you purchased the RV. Sadly, most dealers around the country will not perform warranty work on RV’s that were not purchased from them.
If something goes wrong, you need to be prepared to take it back to the original dealer and or the factory. I know this as I once had to travel over 900 miles to have something repaired.
My personal opinion, based on the above warranty challenges and the terrible quality of RV’s today, is that it may be better to buy used. Repairs can then be more easily performed locally.
Recap
There are many important factors to consider when buying an RV besides what is mentioned above.
As photographers, however, most of us travel to capture images, not spend time tending to our RV’s. Therefore careful consideration to the items on the Perfect Photographer’s Checklist along with answering the above 9 questions will guide you in deciding on the right RV for your photography travels.
Thanks for joining me on RV/Van Travels and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my list of questions.
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