How old is too old?... older NICE rig or newer budget rig.

gafidler wrote:
coaches before 2009 seem to be build better than the newer ones..

The story I was told is that prior to 2009/2010 the demand was high and builders were competing on quality and features, not so much on price. Then everything went bad; RV companies were going bankrupt right and left. To sell anything manufacturers suddenly had to compete on price. To do that they had to reduce cost, which reduced quality. It has been that way until recently when sales heated up again.

Or so I was told. Probably just a story to get me to buy well cared for 2008.

Bruce Brown wrote:

garysol wrote:

Gjac wrote:
Newmar is nice because it can't delaminate but it can leak and have other problems like any other brand. .

Why can't Newmar coaches delaminate? Are they not fiberglass construction? I have my learning hat on :)

They are built using a hung wall method as opposed to lamination. Newmar, Holiday Rambler/Monaco, and Travel Supreme/Entegra all use this method.

I didn't know that. Good to know info, thanks.

coaches before 2009 seem to be build better than the newer ones..

^^^ Good advice!

Keep in mind that it is difficult to finance an older RV if that is an issue.

We just bought an immaculate 40' 2008 Tiffin Phaeton. A good amount of the money coming from the sale of our 12-year old Montana 5th wheel. Now we don't need our 2003 F350 diesel dually so it will be sold and go toward the coach as well.

We could have spent money buying a new 5th wheel and reconditioning the F350. Or the same money added to the money from selling the old rig bought us a fantastic diesel coach.

garysol wrote:

Gjac wrote:
Newmar is nice because it can't delaminate but it can leak and have other problems like any other brand. .

Why can't Newmar coaches delaminate? Are they not fiberglass construction? I have my learning hat on :)

They are built using a hung wall method as opposed to lamination. Newmar, Holiday Rambler/Monaco, and Travel Supreme/Entegra all use this method. I'm not sure if this link will work but take a look

**nope, that link didn't work. You can find the full factory tour link here.

As to the original question, I would buy an older Newmar in a heartbeat. We camp with friends that have a 2002 Dutch Star with over 100,000 miles on it; the thing still looks brand new. Ours is 10 years old now. Different friends were over the other day and they asked if we had gotten a new MH. Not a bad question considering its age. :B

My wife and I were out for a drive yesterday, we went by a house with an early 90's Newmar Mountain Aire in the driveway. It still looked good - straight as a string, no decay to be seen from the road whatsoever.

I agree w/ Jplante, if it starts as a quality coach there is a good chance it will stay that way. A lesser quality coach will never get better - ever.

Gjac wrote:
Newmar is nice because it can't delaminate but it can leak and have other problems like any other brand. .

Why can't Newmar coaches delaminate? Are they not fiberglass construction? I have my learning hat on :)

My 1988 Prevost is still going strong and we are still fulltiming in it since 2000. Buy quality and you and go way back in the years.

I think with a used 15 year old MH how it was maintained is more important than the brand. Last year I looked at 3 very nice 7 year old MH's in the ads but when I inspected them in person the owners never were up on the roof to caulk and water leaked inside on one and rotted the inside wall the other two had exterior delamination among other issues. Newmar is nice because it can't delaminate but it can leak and have other problems like any other brand. They all use the same appliances, drive trains and other accessories. There are personal discriminators like large FW tanks and storage bays if you dry camp or maybe HWH jacks are better than some of the other brands but most of the other stuff is pretty subjective.

IMHO, it all depends on the INITIAL quality of the coach. Well build motor homes will tend to hold up better than the mass produced units. I've seen some beautiful early 90's Liberty coaches and Blue Birds that would put the newer paper-bag buses to shame. I would certainly pick a 15 yo Newmar over a 7 yo Thor.

The issue with buying an older coach is mostly in the appliances; fridge, water heater, furnace, A/C units, genny etc. All of these are fixable/repairable with parts readily available until you get to the 25 year mark. Then it becomes hit or miss. Example; I wanted to replace the seals on the fridge doors. Seals not available, need to replace door. Doors only available from salvage lots, seals probably in worse shape than the ones I have. Solution - weather striping.

Another issue is simplicity. Numerous slides or large slides, self leveling systems, hydro hot heating, all electric coaches all add complexity along with convenience. More stuff to break.

Rig in sig is now 22 years old and still going strong. Original fridge, genny, furnace and A/C units. I spend about $5k a year in maintenance and upgrades.