RV Or Motorhomes?The difference between an RV and motorhomes can sometimes be hard to define. Function, like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder. So what sets the RV and motorhomes apart? How do you know which to choose, or even which you are choosing? First let's look at how they are similar. Both the RV and the motor home are designed to make it easy to live on the road. Both have sleeping and eating facilities, sanitary systems, heat, refrigeration and, of course, the ability to be driven cross country by the average person. Both the RV and motor homes come with hookups to allow you to buy resources from RV and motor home parks scattered around in every state. These usually provide electricity and drinking water. Some provide sanitary hookups for more advanced RV motorhomes that are equipped for external sewage feed. (Many RVs rely only on their internal chemical systems which must be flushed at special sanitary sites.) So where in does the difference lie? One key feature that divides the pack is size. The true motor home is larger than many RVs, since it is truly meant to be a home on wheels. The RV, on the other hand, differs from motorhomes in that it is more a means to an end. The goal is to get you to the place where the recreational activities are happening, and provide something better than a tent of the back seat of the car to sleep in. The recreation takes precedence over the motor home aspect. RVs will often be more self contained, able to function away from hookups for longer periods than a motor home. The RV will be set up to go right where the action is. For fishing trips, the RV is often loaded with gear and boats, and driven right down to the water, providing not only transportation, but a sheltered place to cook what you caught and brag about what you didn't. Motorhomes, on the other hand, differ from the RV by being more of a home and less of a shelter. More living room, larger beds, better equipped kitchens, and full sized showers are just a few of the things that one would expect to find in a motor home that is not in an RV. With motorhomes, the trip rather than the destination is emphasized. You travel in comfort and stop where you like for as long as you like. There is room to bring the whole family, bikes, toys and all. Unlike the RV, which is smaller and more maneuverable, motor homes can be hard to park at tourist attractions and shopping malls. So many motor home owners tow a smaller car behind for traveling around the area once the motor home is safely settled into a parking spot. This is not a science, and there is a lot of overlap in between RVs and motorhomes. Basically, if the destination is the main reason behind the trip, and you just want a place to sleep along the way, what you are looking for is probably an RV. But if the traveling is an end in itself, and the stops less a destination and more of a pause along the road, then the comfort and size of the true motor home is probably what you are looking for. |