A real honest-to goodness "NEWBIE"

bouttime wrote:
I am the essence of "new" to rving. Never have. Always had a secret desire to. Retired. Not rich. Moderate income. I intend to travel around and see some of this great country of ours. My first pref is for a Class A DP; new-one pref, but used is a possibility. From all I've read in the forums, DP seems to be the best long term choice. I'm an eastcoaster. NC. I know I don't have to travel far at first to enjoy sights in my present locale. This is something I will be spending a lot of time doing. So, investment wise, I'd rather fork out for the best I can afford at the start. I've read a lot about the many responsibilities involved in rving. My first step has been education through forums like this. My next step is to actually step into one of these monsters and get a feel. ANY SUGGESTIONS?

I wasn't new to RVing when I bought my first one as my father had owned both a TT and a Class C when I was growing up so I had RV'd. My wife didn't want to have anything to do with RVing until I convinced her to let me rent one for a week. We rented a Class and went down to the Grand Canyon and all over that area and then we bought the next year and now I can't get the wife out of the RV.

However, like you, we wondered what to buy the first time around. We bought a 32' gas class A with the Ford V-10 and a single slide. It was a nice motorhome and I liked it, but in less than three years we traded it in on a 35 foot DP. I wish I had just started with the DP. So the moral to my story is look around and see what you want, but if you think you want the DP then get that first so you don't have to trade it in in 3 years. And I know people will tell you to buy used, but you figure out your finances and get what you want. I bought new and I don't regret it.