The RV Appeal

A Home on Wheels

Seven year ago, John Prezio and Karen Watt decided to change how they camped. Though they were previously dedicated to nylon tents, sleeping pads, and canoes, their growing children prompted a reevaluation. As teachers with time off in summers, the couple wondered how to best use the days while keeping things relaxed and family-friendly. The answer to that question proved to be a motorhome, which surprised them.

“We didn’t want some giant, gas-guzzling vehicle that’d kill the ozone layer every time you started it,” Watt says. “But after looking around, we found something that would work for our family.” Jokingly referring to their boxy, 22-foot used motorhome as a “glorified tent” and lovingly christened “The Torpedo” by daughter Kate, the family found themselves traipsing around the country in a way you simply couldn’t in a stuffed car.

Over the next few summers, The Torpedo criss-crossed Canada. With about six weeks of dedicated travel time, the Prezio-Watt family went the distance: one summer down to southern Ontario, another summer on the East Coast, then the West Coast, then everywhere in-between, with the Gaspé peninsula being a highlight. The national parks and national historic sites served as destinations, with the family choosing to spend their time in those wild places conscientiously. Watt explains that they tried the approach of “rather than see everything, try to see a few things well.” That meant that once they arrived at a campground, the motorhome stayed parked for the duration and any getting around had to happen by bike. “We didn’t want to get in the habit of using it like a car,” Prezio says, since the family was proud of their one-car approach in their city lives.

It didn’t take them long to realize the advantages of the motorhome. “It’s really like travelling first class,” Watt laughs. “The open road, the stereo’s going, one kid is playing Legos on the table, the other is reading in a bunk.” While they never used the bathroom for anything but storage—Prezio simply didn’t want to deal with the hassle—the option for an electrical hook-up felt luxurious. There’s hot water for dishes, a furnace in the morning to take the chill off, a fridge to keep food cold—all the advantages of home. The family also realized that the motorhome could lengthen their camping season, as sleeping warm and dry off the ground led to camping earlier in the spring and well into autumn.

While Prezio and Watt have never had any problems with the motorhome, they caution that there are some things to be aware of if you’re thinking of going this route. Preventative maintenance is necessary, but finding a good, reliable mechanic can be a challenge, especially on the road. Even though their motorhome was built upon a Ford F-350 base, many regular mechanics won’t want to deal with motorhomes due to their size and the additional systems. There are also limitations to where you can take a motorhome—older areas of Canada that feature twisting, winding roads, like parts of Quebec and Vancouver Island, simply aren’t built for big vehicles.

Now that Kate and Sam are teenagers and busy with school and jobs, The Torpedo has gone onto a new family. It’s an opportunity for the couple to get back to basics, and Watt says she’s “looking forward to the solitude of a canoe again.” Journeys and destinations can change, but some parts of summer stay the same.