Gas class A advice

Ford chassis come in four (4) levels. 17,000; 22,000; 24,000; 26,000# are available. The 24,000 and 26,000 come on 22.5 wheels.

Newmar makes quality homes on all gas chassis with multiple slides and floor plans.

I took delivery of a new Jayco Precept 35UN yesterday. I have no experience with it yet but the PDI went very well and things look like they may work.

Since I have been shopping for a few weeks I can tell you his only choice in chassis will be Ford F53 for gasoline power. The F53 comes in two versions - 17k lbs. and 22k lbs. GVWR. A 35 footer SHOULD be on the 22k platform. Both will offer a 5k lb. towing capacity for trailer/vehicle towing.

My second choice was a 31 foot T30 Itasca. I looked at a lot of units and narrowed them down to these two. I went with the Jayco for cargo space, 22.5 tires, warranty and interior look/feel. Your friend may have much different taste or plans for his use so he needs to pound the pavement and shop.

I can tell you if he plans to use this RV in temps above 90f, he will want/need two A/Cs with 50 amp service and that helps narrow down the field a lot.

The choices are many and price seems to run very close so shop, shop, shop. I was able to get my new unit out the door taxes paid for right around 2/3 MSRP if that helps him with price. It takes a lot of screaming and trumpeting (like breeding elephants) but the dealer will yield after time. Just gotta keep after him. Use the internet to shop as well. I finally made my deal after I told the dealer there was an identical rig 250 miles away for my price and I had time to go get it there.

You are going to hear stories about every brand in a forum, good and bad. Remember most people only make noise over the bad. For every bad unit there are hundreds of good ones made by same company. Most all RVs are built with same components anyway. Look at fit and finish, loose nails/screws, door latch fit and things like that to determine how well the unit was put together. A motorhome experiences many jolts and jars as it travels so things are going to get loose or break. Expect that to happen and be prepared.

We have a Fleetwood. We have had no problems with the Fleetwood parts of the rig nor with the Ford parts of the rig. However, the OEM stuff (satellite, fridge, steps, leveling jacks) seems to be less than road worthy. Since these OEM products (dometic, winegard, kwikee, power gear) are in most every make and model, any manufacturer can have problems.

In general, we are very happy with our Bounder. We just wish the OEM peripherals would perform to the same standard.

Personally I would buy Fleetwood. I'm on my third with great luck.
All systems on most RV's come from the same Mfg'er and sources.
Inspect, inspect, check internet, ride, drive, thoroughly check out everything before you buy.

Personally, I would still avoid Fleetwood products. Ditto Georgie Boy.

Decent mid-range Winnebago . Tiffin a notch up.