I took a 1,000-mile road trip in a 150-square-foot RV, where no space was left unused. Take a look inside.
Sophie-Claire Hoeller  Â
- Cruise America's "compact RV" was the smallest motor home I could get my hands on for a recent road trip.
- The RV was comfortable but not too difficult to drive.
- I thought the RV was surprisingly spacious and comfortable.
- While there was a clever way to store the dinette table's leg to turn it into a bed, I didn't notice any other space-saving features.
I recently rented an RV for the first time in my life, using it to drive almost 1,100 miles from New York to Acadia National Park in Maine and back.
As first-time RV-ers, my friend and I spent hours scouring the internet to find just the right one: small enough not to be too difficult or slow to drive, but large enough to sleep us comfortably and not ruin a decade-long friendship (i.e. had a bathroom with a door).
We settled on Cruise America's "compact RV," the smallest motor home offered by the rental company, which has 127 locations across the US and Canada.
RV rental companies have seen an enormous spike in bookings since states started lifting stay-at-home orders, as Business Insider's Brittany Chang previously reported.
While I paid $225 a night for my rental, booking about a month in advance, Cruise America's website says "prices fluctuate based on season, location, and availability much the way airline prices fluctuate. In general, the earlier you book, the lower the price."
Despite being 20 feet in length, 12 feet in height, and 7.5 feet wide, my compact RV was a lot more comfortable and spacious than I thought it would be, though it didn't have the space-saving features I expected from a tiny home on wheels.
With a length of 20 feet, our RV wasn't that much longer than an SUV. For reference, a Ford Expedition is 17.5 feet long.
The RV looked pretty standard on the outside.
There was a little storage window for the water hose ...
... And another one for the charger cable.
Inside, the RV was surprisingly spacious.
Six-and-a-half-foot ceilings meant that even my tall friend could stand up straight and move around comfortably.
We had two cozy beds, one behind the driver's seat and one above it.
The main bed, located over the front of the RV, was queen-size and full-length.
It featured a window, skylight, and curtains both for the window and between the bed and the rest of the RV for privacy.
My bed was technically for children, but at 5-foot-4 I fit perfectly and slept soundly.
There was a dinette table that could seat four. The table and cushions could be turned into the second bed.
Turning the cushions into the bed meant that there were no stray pillows obstructing the limited space at night.
The table's leg went in here, which I thought was a clever space-saving feature.
While there were cabinets for storage around the top of the RV ...
... I didn't really unpack and kept my suitcase under my bed.
This extra seat was also a great storage spot for backpacks and other knickknacks, though they tended to shift while driving.
Underneath that seat, there was a nifty little shoe rack that fit about three or four pairs.
I think this compartment was meant for clothes since it had a closet rod (though no hangers), but since it was located between the fridge and kitchen sink it made more sense to us as a pantry.
The fridge was quite small. As you can see, a gallon jug, laid sideways, took up almost an entire shelf.
The freezer was even smaller. The ice tray didn't come with the $110 kitchen kit we rented with the RV.
The kitchen also had a microwave ...
... And a double burner stove. To get it going, however, you need matches.
Counter space was extremely limited (especially when you kept the dinette table made up as your bed), but the stove had a clever plastic lid that could double as counter space.
There were three cupboards and three drawers in the kitchen.
There was also a small sink, where we put everything from the counter before driving so it wouldn't fall to the ground as we were moving.
There was a control panel in the corner that was meant to show us how full the tanks were, but it didn't seem to work half the time. It was also where you turn the generator and water pump on and off.
The tiny bathroom was right next to the kitchen and had the smallest sink I've ever seen.
There's a freshwater toilet that you flush by pushing a lever with your foot. If you run out of water in the tank and aren't connected to a water hookup, well, then you can't flush ...
There's a handheld shower head right over the sink, meaning that to shower you basically contort yourself between the sink and toilet, as there's a drain between the two.
If your grey water tank (used water that isn't sewage) is full, however, the shower won't drain. We learned this the hard way.
Surprisingly, a very quick shower managed to flood the kitchen right outside.
Outlets were few and far between.
The door, which was covered in duct tape, had two locks so that it wouldn't pop open while driving.
The front of the RV was comfortable and spacious, and filled with various nooks, crannies, and cupholders.
While the RV was nice and bright thanks to various windows and skylights, that's not what you want when parked at a campsite where people are all around you looking in.
This divider curtain, I believe, was meant to shield the RV interior from view, but clearly didn't do a good job. I'm sure a few passersby caught glimpses of me changing.
A Cruise America representative told me that the oldest compact RV they have at my location is from 2017. While I don't know what year mine was from, it felt a little older and more worn to me than that.
It was also not as clean as I would have liked.
My biggest gripe, however, was that the RV only had four hooks for towels and coats, and not a single mirror anywhere.
While super comfortable for a short summer road trip in which we spent most of our time outside, and kept the second bed made rather than turning it back into a dinette every day, I thought it could get quite cramped in this RV if we had heavier clothes in winter, or if we were on a longer trip with more luggage.
Representatives for Cruise America did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Read more:
- 11 common struggles of living in a van you should consider before committing to the lifestyle
- A couple turned an old school bus into a gorgeous tiny home, and now they live in the 185-square-foot space full-time
- A nurse working to fight the coronavirus in California lives in a 75-square-foot van with his wife and 2 cats
- A couple quit their jobs and sold everything to live in a van. Now, they make money by building tiny homes on wheels for others.
- I spent a single night in a camper van with my husband and have a newfound appreciation for people who do it full-time
This is an opinion column. The thoughts expressed are those of the author(s).
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