Editor's note: Don and Shelly Hafner are counting down the days until they set out on an ambitious tour: 59 national parks in 59 weeks! It's an audatious bid, particularly when you consider they'll have to crisscross the globe, from the far Pacific to Alaska, down through the Lower 48, and off to the Caribbean. How will they travel? They put a lot of thought into that question, and for most of their trek they'll be hauling a trailer. If you've ever considered traveling to the parks by RV, you might want to see what the Hafners went through in deciding on their 27-foot-long Surveyor. And you can keep up on their trip by following their blog.

When we first hatched our plan to visit all 59 national parks in sprint-like fashion, we really didn't know how were going to do it logistically. About the only thing we knew for certain was that we wanted to take our Maltese puppies Bubba and Lilly. Everything else was on the table.

We had always stayed at lodges and hotels on previous visits to national parks. We initially thought that would work this time. Not so, too many pet restrictions. We had to make some adjustments. One suggestion was that we not take the dogs. That idea was immediately shot down. We turned our attention to getting an RV.

We had never owned an RV before. In fact, we had never really gone camping before. The CEO of 59nationalparks.com (Shelly) has always declared that her idea of camping was a hotel without room service.

We didn't want to overspend though and started looking at pop-up campers. That idea didn't last too long when we learned that we could not pull it with our Ford C-Max. That and we saw the bathroom configuration on a pop-up. No thanks.

A "new" used truck was just the thing to pull our trailer. Don Hafner photo.

We really didn't want to purchase another vehicle so we started looking at Class C RVs. For the uninitiated, a Class C RV is similar to a van chassis with a large camper attached. Ultimately we decided (with lots of advice from others) that a Class C wouldn't work. We would be constantly hooking up and "unhooking" at RV campgrounds. For us to effectively get the photographs we wanted, that would just take up too much time not to mention the hassle factor. We also drove a Class A motorhome. No way, too much like driving a bus.

We concluded that we would need to purchase a travel trailer. That decision also entailed the requirement that we bought a truck for hauling our RV. Picking up a truck was easy. I know some "guys." We found this 2003 Ford Lariat 4x4 with 73,000 miles and reasonably priced. Too easy.

The Scamp was interesting, but not for us. Don Hafner photo.

There really was nothing easy about buying a travel trailer. Too many options, too many requirements and a few scoundrels along the way as well. We knew for our purposes that smaller was better but a Scamp just didn't work for us. 

Here were our requirements:

* First, we wanted to limit the weight as much as we could. Recall we had never done this before, so something we could manage was important to us.

* Second, the travel trailer had to be in our budget (mission accomplished).

* Third, the RV could not have any water damage. We saw several travel trailers that did. Water damage spells catastrophe for a travel trailer. Some of the people selling travel trailers tried to hide this damage, so buyer beware. Recall that above I mentioned that we met some scoundrels.

The Tag was cute, but not going to stand the test of 59 parks. Don Hafner photo.

* Fourth, it had to have sufficient storage space to accommodate a year-long plus trip. Not easy when you are trying to keep the weight down.

* Fifth, the RV needed a few features, such as a stove and a queen-size bed. My best guess is that we considered 35 + travel trailers before making a decision.

We finally found an RV that met all of our needs at Camping World of Kansas City. We picked up a 2010 Surveyor on December 31st, 2013. We were satisfied with the travel trailer and with the value we received. Our (third) salesman Dave did an excellent job. The living area/kitchen is in the rear, bathroom is in the center and the bedroom is in the front. It measures 27 feet and has a dry weight of 4,300 pounds. There is no water damage and everything functions as promised.

This gently used RV will be home for us for a year on the road. Don Hafner photo.

RV Tips:

1. Buy what you need and be patient finding the right fit. We believe many people will be inclined to over-buy and sales people are ready to accommodate that urge.

2. In our experience, there is no price or quality advantage gained from buying from an individual over buying from a dealer. In fact, a dealer is necessarily going to have more accountability for a lot of reasons.

3. RVs have a significant mark-up, much more than cars do. The one we purchased was priced at $13,800 (the price is still written on the hitch and we are leaving it there). Based on published wholesale values, we concluded that it was marked up about $5,550. High-end RVs are marked up tens of thousands of dollars. While pricing guides for RVs aren't as readily available as they are for cars, they are still accessible on the Internet. Do your research before making a decision.

4. Yes we did hear the sentence, "What Does it Take to Get You Into an RV Today?" more than once. We found that buying an RV was much like buying a car, with many of the same pitfalls. Be prepared for that, have a strategy when you shop. Let them know that you are aware of the wholesale and retail values of RVs. Let them know then that you will be writing a review of your experiences. Communicate your needs and expectations from the beginning.

5. Finalize your deal on the last day of the month. Better yet, if you can, finalize on the last day of the year as we did. Camping World was highly motivated to make a deal on December 31st.

6. Quite unlike a car, an RV requires that you purchase many other accessories for it to be travel ready. RV accessories are commodities, treat them as such. Ask a lot of questions before you spend more money on extras. Have a budget to buy a new mattress whether you are buying new or used. We highly recommend that you invest in a high-quality hitch equalizer. They are expensive, but will really increase the ease of towing your camper.

7. We give the Good Sam Club our full endorsement for quality of services, pricing and friendliness. Check them out if you are in the market for an RV at www.goodsamclub.com. This is not a paid endorsement. We have met several of their ambassadors--good people.

8. Attend an RV show. We recently went to the show in Kansas City. There were all varieties and brands available to browse. Since there were multiple dealers there, we believe the competition for business was intense. Chances are good that the dealers were willing to make deals.

9. If you need RV storage, arrange it in advance. After you finalize your purchase, an RV dealer will want the unit off their lot. There is a strong demand for RV storage, so make sure that you have the right place at the right price available.

10. If you are planning to make a long trip this summer to a national park or other destination, consider making a trial run to a nearby park or campground. This will allow you to "learn the ropes" without the stress of a long drive, demands of instant gratification by your children, and the unanswered questions about set-up. Did you know, for example, that lighting an oven in many RVs requires a match?

We are going to make our trail run to Branson, Missouri, in March before we hit the big time. We are so looking forward to our 59 National Park journey, which begins in just 67 days. Yikes, so much left to do! We are grateful that we have the RV purchase off of our check list. Happy camping!