Our 2001 Safari Zanzibar 3596 SE.

Yes every RV is a compromise, but we can safely say that our Class A is the right compromise for us. It took a while to get here, and only through seeing the most of what Elkhart, Indiana could offer us could we have arrived at this beast, a rig I would have scoffed at in years prior as an excessive behemoth too large to truly enjoy boondocking.

What we’ve gained:

• Work space. OMFG a real desk for full time work.

• Privacy, we can both take calls, naps, etc in true separate rooms in the coach

• Tank space (we can dry camp much longer.) 100 gallons of fresh water (up from 30 in our TT,) 60 Black, 60 Gray

• Gas Mileage. Yes you read that right. Our reliable big block Chevrolet Dually topped out around 8 or 9mpg while hauling, and while fed a steady diet of premium unleaded was not cheap to fill. The Caterpillar Diesel in our Safari gets 9 to 10mpg with our Honda behind us + we pay significantly less for diesel than premium (for now.)

• Commercial Fuel Discount Card - if you’re on the road a lot, we highly recommend the fuel card from TSD Logistics for RVers. We’re saving 20-30 dollars a fill up.

• Our Honda! Lovingly called Nooblet, our 1998 Honda Civic has seen us through years of service and happens to make for a very friendly exploration vehicle (its no Jeep) with great gas mileage. Having the Honda drastically changed Ava’s interaction with boondocking, as she was no longer forced to drive a long bed dually to the grocery store

• A huge bathroom

• Real countertops! Forest River made our travel trailer counters out of contact paper and particle board, which when wet made for a real treat

• Driving comfort. When we arrive somewhere, be it a truck stop or an overnight, we can truly go to bed almost instantly

• Solar install space! SO MUCH ROOF

• An Allison Six Speed Transmission #swoon

• Caterpillar 3126 Turbo Diesel - a solid light commercial workhorse, this engine powers coaches ten feet longer than ours (and a lot heavier) and in our relatively small footprint at 35 feet we are well equipped to safely go up and down the mountains of the West with power to spare

• An exhaust brake - a game changer for descending grades

• Easier fill ups. With our Travel Trailer, we could access almost any gas station but, without really knowing how tight some would be, we got into many close situations trying to enter and exit gas stations. Because we now fill up exclusively at truck stops in the commercial lanes, we are able to simply follow the flow of truckers to get easily in and out of massive stations.

• Air horn

• S T O R A G E S P A C E

• Larger battery bay

What we’ve lost

• The go anywhere at anytime travel trailer or truck camper setup. The diesel pusher takes more planning for every day to ensure we are on the big roads and make the right turns.

• The ability to turn around readily if you make a wrong turn lol

• Off road capability of our trucks

• Small off road boondocking spots are a no go now

• A high interest rate travel trailer loan #winning

• Foul weather travel - we are more impacted by weather in the Class A, especially high winds so we pay even closer attention to weather on our routes