AA Credit Union

Winter 2021

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WHICH RV WILL IT BE? RVs run the gamut from bus-sized crowd pleasers to ingeniously compact living spaces on wheels. Which roving residence has your name on it? Here are the three main motorhome classes and some towable options to get you up to speed. CLASS A: Thinking big? Here's your RV. These are the behemoths built for comfort and classic comedies like Meet the Fockers, We're the Millers, and your very own fearless family road epic. Ranging from 20 to 45 feet in length (or more), Class A's can fit up to 10 passengers and generally come with all the luxury amenities one is expecting for the price. On the compromising side, fuel cost is high, agility is low and some states may require special driving permits. CLASS B: Why is the smallest-sized RV class oddly plunked in the center alphabetical slot beside its heftier Class A and C brethren? We're guessing because this compact camper van-style motorhome—which can typically haul six and sleep four passengers — is designed for those in-between spaces (and more snug- fitting campsites) where larger lettered motorhomes dare not tread. Bare necessities include bed, sink, toilet and limited storage space. CLASS C: Here's the comfy hybrid-ish middle- ground between Class A and B that spares you feeling like you're in a party bus or a phone booth. Built from a standard truck chassis (i.e. not too intimidating to drive or park), Class C campers provide decent space and comfort for up to seven road-trippers. TOWABLES: Hitching a homey tow-behind rig to an able vehicle can be a cheaper, more flexible option on the road that lets you disengage the R from the V at will. Sizes and styles vary from chic, teensy "teardrop" trailers that a sedan can handle to standard-sized travel trailers, pop-up campers and burly "Fifth Wheels" customized for attachment to a large pickup bed. home to the state's highest point, 8,749-foot Guadalupe Peak. Amazingly, this lofty expanse of ancient wilderness — geomorphologists call it "an Island in the Desert" — isn't the most off-the-beaten-path park in the West. That distinction goes to its distant neighbor Big Bend, hiding about 200 miles south, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Break up the trip with a visit to the dramatic Davis Mountains, looming above the West Texas flats in their own eponymous state park (near Marfa), furnished with RV-friendly campsites, miles of hiking trails and neighboring Fort Davis National Historic Site. From here, it's a stunningly lonely 100-mile drive to Big Bend, clearly one of the most timelessly remote outbacks on this side of its riverine, international border — marked by (and named for) that sweeping curve in the Rio Grande. Lined with 1,500-foot gorges and desolate ranges, the park's prize hike leads to the stony summit of 7,825-foot Emory Peak in the Chisos Mountains. Cruising in and around the park, you'll stumble upon retired Comanche trails, abandoned mercury mines, pterodactyl fossil sites, and the satellite ghost town of Terlingua — now semi-revived with a few nearby RV parks and famed local outfitter, Far Flung Adventures, offering some of the most out-there river rafting adventures in the country. Jordan Rane is an award-winning travel writer whose work has appeared in Outside, Men's Journal, Los Angeles Times and on CNN Travel. 24 | WINTER 2021

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