I guess that’s what we are. I was watching the popular HGTV show recently and noticed that they consider going tiny as anyone who is downsizing to below 500 sq ft. Ok, I can accept that. We are going from 1,600 sq ft to about 300 – which is a big difference. I didn’t realize until today how much stuff we had accumulated in our house.
One big thing I noticed about this show (which annoyed me) is that the couples never seem to be on the same page when it comes to what they want in their tiny house (and the fact that they seem to discredit what their partners wants). But, this got me thinking – what is most important to us in our tiny house search?
- Storage
- This is my #1. I am a very organized person and everything needs its place – something I think will be beneficial to downsizing and not getting overwhelmed. Plus, I want to make sure that the kids get everything that they need. While I want this huge adventure, I don’t want it at the sacrifice of our kids comfort or happiness.
- Layout
- I really want bedrooms at opposite ends of the trailer. Not because of the kids, but so I can send Damon to the other side of the trailer when he starts snoring.
- Mattress
- I am a total ‘princess and the pea’ kinda girl. If I don’t have a good mattress, not only will I get a bad nights sleep but I will have a huge migraine and be pretty unusable as a person the next day – which just isn’t an option when you have two young kids.
- Two Bedrooms
- I want our kids to have a separate space where we can store their toys and play.
- Kitchen/Outdoor Kitchen
- I love to cook and teaching my kids how to cook is a big passion of mine. So getting a camper with a large kitchen so we can all cook together is very important. Additionally, we’ve seen many campers have outdoor kitchens, which we think would be great for cooking while the kids are playing outside.
- Budget
- We have a healthy budget, but I don’t want to spend all of it. The less we spend, the more adventures we can have. Plus, I’ve noticed that RV layouts don’t really change year-to-year, so you can get something nice for a lot less if you just go back a few years. And, it gives you more room to update and customize the RV.
- Size
- We want something big enough to be comfortable, but not so big that we can’t drive it or get into certain places (we want it just right :p)
- Bath Tub
- We have two young children, so a tub is a must. Plus – I REALLY like to have my tub time too.
And yes, this is a list that we BOTH agree on. It’s also equally important that our kids feel comfortable in the RV. I don’t want to force them into something they don’t like just because we like it.
So far, we have seen a few RV’s that fit this criteria:
- A 2017 Jayco Jay Flight SLX at an RV show that had the split layout but didn’t have the large kitchen, outdoor kitchen, and was missing quite a few of our must-haves for the price. We left the show disappointed as this was the only camper that remotely fit our criteria.
- The 2010 Palomino Puma caught our eye first with it’s two bedroom split layout, a bath tub and great price, but it had a small kitchen space and no outdoor kitchen. However, this one got snapped up before we could see it (We are learning the good ones always go fast!)
- The Keystone Sprinter is newer, had a bathtub AND an outdoor kitchen, but this camper was in really bad shape. The price made doing any repairs difficult and we wondered if it was worth the time and effort to fix it up.
- The Coachman Catalina 323BHDS had a bathtub and an outdoor kitchen, but the interior kitchen was small.
- The Coachman Catalina 333BHDS had a large kitchen, good sized second bedroom, and an outdoor kitchen but didn’t have a bathtub.
So which one did we choose? We will let you know which one we land on or if we go with something completely different.
Now just to figure out what vehicle to get to tow the RV …
Heartswell Adventures 