Hey RV Friends!My wife and I are planning to go spend a couple of years full timing, just to get a break from the world. With that said, we enjoy remodeling homes -- so we figured we'd give it a shot in an RV.I'm trying to figure out which Class A's have the best 'bones' so I can go search for something that's a bit dated that we can basically gut and refinish so the lay out matches our needs and wants + style.I'd love to hear from some owners on what you think has the least outside work or will have passed the test of time if we were to go cheap (I'm thinking under 25k -- but we're certainly flexible).We spent a good bit of time shopping with an expectation of spending ~150k only to realize you really can't get anything that is particularly personalized for two people. Such a waste of space! Not to mention whomever designs the interior seems like they've been at it since the 60's.

You want something that didn't leak and was well maintained. Don't just concentrate on the make/chassis.It doesn't really matter how well something was built 10+ years ago if it leaked and is rotting away under the walls and floor.Are you looking for gas or diesel? They both have their pros and cons.

I am a big fan of hung wall construction as opposed to laminated. If it's laminated it can delaminate. Those using hung wall are Newmar, Holiday Rambler/Monaco, and Travel Supreme/Entregra. There may be a few others, I can't think of one. Of course a full bus would be great, I don't think that would fit your budget.

If you would like to see what water will do to a motor home that has a laminated wall, and has leaked over time....take a look at this link. After the first couple of pages, it gets a little gross.....Lol...Link to destruction.

gbopp wrote:You want something that didn't leak and was well maintained. Don't just concentrate on the make/chassis.It doesn't really matter how well something was built 10+ years ago if it leaked and is rotting away under the walls and floor.Are you looking for gas or diesel? They both have their pros and cons.I think it'll really depend on what we land on. I've gone over several pros/cons list and gone out on some weekend trips in both and don't really have a preference from what it seems so far.We do plan to pretty much loop the states a couple of times depending on weather and how much we enjoy things. We intend to move pretty often + want to take our jeep for offroading which is what left us stuck on the Class A.

Class A 'Best Bones' | Good Sam Community

26 Replies

Xaviar
Explorer
Aug 21, 2017
Bruce Brown wrote:
I am a big fan of hung wall construction as opposed to laminated. If it's laminated it can delaminate.

Those using hung wall are Newmar, Holiday Rambler/Monaco, and Travel Supreme/Entregra. There may be a few others, I can't think of one.

Of course a full bus would be great, I don't think that would fit your budget.

Watching if something is laminated or if it has a rubber roof has really been what we've tried to concentrate on. We've had several folks tell us a rubber roof can easily become problematic and leak and requires a good bit of an upkeep.

Rubber roof seems to have been an easier one to nail down, I wasn't familiar with the laminated setup until very recently so it's something new to us in general.
Xaviar
Explorer
Aug 21, 2017
gbopp wrote:
You want something that didn't leak and was well maintained. Don't just concentrate on the make/chassis.

It doesn't really matter how well something was built 10+ years ago if it leaked and is rotting away under the walls and floor.

Are you looking for gas or diesel? They both have their pros and cons.

I think it'll really depend on what we land on. I've gone over several pros/cons list and gone out on some weekend trips in both and don't really have a preference from what it seems so far.

We do plan to pretty much loop the states a couple of times depending on weather and how much we enjoy things. We intend to move pretty often + want to take our jeep for offroading which is what left us stuck on the Class A.
mike_brez
Explorer
Aug 21, 2017
fulltimin
Nomad
Aug 21, 2017
If you would like to see what water will do to a motor home that has a laminated wall, and has leaked over time....take a look at this link.

After the first couple of pages, it gets a little gross.....Lol...

Link to destruction.
Bruce_Brown
Moderator
Aug 21, 2017
I am a big fan of hung wall construction as opposed to laminated. If it's laminated it can delaminate.

Those using hung wall are Newmar, Holiday Rambler/Monaco, and Travel Supreme/Entregra. There may be a few others, I can't think of one.

Of course a full bus would be great, I don't think that would fit your budget.
gbopp
Explorer
Aug 21, 2017
You want something that didn't leak and was well maintained. Don't just concentrate on the make/chassis.

It doesn't really matter how well something was built 10+ years ago if it leaked and is rotting away under the walls and floor.

Are you looking for gas or diesel? They both have their pros and cons.

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Class A 'Best Bones'

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