Brand new RV'er

Another vote for renting or borrowing a unit to try it out. 10 minutes in one when looking is not enough time to decide.

If you take the time to read through the stickies and repetitive threads with advice on buying new versus used, etc.,etc. it'll help you in shopping for and buying a "rig" that suits your needs and desires. Renting a rig to get the feel of driving ,operating and using an RV is a good idea. Driving a 22-24 foot Class C is not much different than driving a 27 footer, don't be over-awed by size. Short rigs have much less comfortable sleeping accommodations than medium length (27 foot) rigs. Many of us have owned a number of different rigs over time as our needs/desires change. My advice, buy a 27 footer with rear bedroom,
slides optional, 3-5 years old, new tires, good brakes, no mechanical problems, and all "housebox" electrical, appliances, generator, roof and dash AC,plumbing, etc, etc, working as determined by a thorough inspection by a pro truck mechanic and RV repair service. Buying cheap can turn out expensive. PS: get written estimates for parts and labor for any repairs/replacements/upgrades needed.

Couple things I like about TT's and Fiver's.

They wake up better, after long periods of dis-use, than a gas-powered coach with hydraulic brakes. Less expensive tires, too...

Come repair time, Trailer goes to a Trailer place, Truck goes to a Truck place. None of this "we can work on the House not the Chassis" and "Our Mechanics don't work on RV's."

Our Class C's have worked out well, mostly because we've used them frequently.

But we've traveled and camped with both TT and Fiver. They aren't that hard to park, not bad to set up, then there's a truck to sight see in.

Lwiddis wrote:
"Trailers are good for staying in one place for a while, but a pain for road trips."

That's not my opinion, photobug.

Then I'll have to disagree. We took ours from seattle to LA 4 times. Had trouble finding parking places for it along the way. wouldn't fit into a lot of campgrounds, then got blown over by a semi in central oregon. I like being able to back the MH into our rv pad by myself, and be able to use it for more than just camping trips to established campgrounds.

We went Class C for the floor space it provided us. Once we removed the rear bed we then had the room necessary to put in work space for homework, my art and her projects.

I would estimate that we looked at nearly 90 motor homes over a six month period, made offers on only two. Mostly the seller was out of the ball park and I have no interest in dealing with that. The one we purchased was priced correctly, the seller was very honest (we knew we inherited a project) and it drives very well.

Shop for what YOU want, what YOU think YOU can handle and then enjoy what YOU purchased.

It's a motor home ... not a baby, you can sell it if you don't like it.


Montana

Wow, thank you all so much for the feedback! I am definitely prepared to take my time, and I will be hiring an inspector if I go private dealer as I do have limited knowledge of mechanical systems. I am going with a Class C for sure, as I do not have a good towing vehicle and like my small car.

I will be full-timing working and living in an RV park for now, until I can go part time working online and travel a bit.

I did go to an RV show at my local Camping World and walked through a bunch of different Class C's to see what kind of layouts I liked and didn't like. I made notes about what kind of bedroom style I liked, how much space I felt like I actually needed, and kitchen layouts (I hate cooking, so I don't need a lot of counter space ha ha).

I will continue to post questions and get advice as I work through all this, and I am grateful for everyone's support and kindness!

Lwiddis wrote:
Private sellers can be completely unreasonable in their price. Be prepared to walk away multiple times.

You hit the nail on the head. I have rarely found private sellers that even have a clue about reasonable pricing. You email them the NADA value breakdown and they scoff at it. At least the dealers know the reasonable price and I have found that many units are at or under the NADA pricing. Also, with dealers, at least you have some recourse with problems if they are local to you. Like you stated, maintenance records from a private sale are the key if you are going to buy private. Once you walk away there is no looking back.

Private sellers can be completely unreasonable in their price. Be prepared to walk away multiple times.

Don't be in too much of a hurry to buy one. There are a whole lot of units from brand new to barely usable. I'm on my 4th used one. 1st one was in terrible condition, but for on $800 it was something to start on. Remodeled it myself, including replacing the whole floor. Learned about all the systems and how RVs are put together. Sold that for $3k a couple years later. Bought a big fancy travel trailer. Loved that, but was a pain to move around and park. That got demolished in a conflict with a semi. Replaced that with an identical unit, but by then was a bit gun shy towing something that big. Current unit, I wanted a motor home type. Trailers are good for staying in one place for a while, but a pain for road trips. Ditto with the slide outs. They work well for when parked, but take up room and weight while driving. This is my first "motor home" type unit, it's almost 20 yrs old, but in good shape. Advantage of an older one is you don't feel bad modifying it. Plus $70K new vs $10K used. No warranty, and factory tech is pretty clueless. I've got a background in aircraft manufacturing, so structure, plumbing, wiring etc aren't that big a deal.
As someone mentioned, renting a unit might not be a bad idea, trying out several types and floor plans. I like having the bedroom closed off from the rest of the unit. Towing a trailer vs motor home depends on preferences as well. Tow vehicle vs towing a car. We use a pair of electric bicycles instead of an extra car.
Look around, ask questions, you'll find most rv people are pretty friendly and like to brag about their units and travels.

I got mine as a private sale, off of Craigslist. Looked at at least half a dozen before I found one that seemed right. It's a Class C, and my regular mechanic looks after the Ford van parts, and a series of RV repair places have taken care of RV-specific issues. I was pretty darn naive, but like you I did a lot of reading and asked questions here. There have been some major repairs (it's a 1999 vehicle) but nothing I couldn't handle. Get the seller to share the maintenance records of the rig -- if they won't, or there aren't any, that may be a red flag. Good luck!

Rich (former clueless newbie)