Lazy Daze '96-2000 26.5MB, 26.5RB

No chance of me going with a Tiger or Sportsmobile. Too confined. As far as roads are concerned, I'm not planning anything far off the beaten track. The motorcycle (Yamaha TW200) I referred to in my post is intended for that purpose. This is going to be an open-ended trip, at least 2 years, with long stops along the way, so the motorhome has to provide comfort. At 68, that's important. I've been advised by a guy who leads the TrekAmerica Mexico to Argentina tour that anything larger than a 30' Class A will be a white-knuckle PITA. A woman who blogged about driving through Mexico in a 36' Newmar was less than thrilled with certain moments of the experience. Highways frequently are hilly, narrow & precipitous, and pass through small towns with very confined roads. If I can avoid a widebody Class A in favor of a Class C with enough CCC, I'd prefer that. I have a fairly stringent set of criteria, and have scrapped more than one seeming possibility which failed to meet one of them. Thought I had settled on a Safari Trek '91-'94 on the Isuzu/NPR platform, which is slow as molasses but bulletproof, and has an exhaust brake. Inadequate CCC. My main interest is learning the CCC of Lazy Daze on the E450.
I have considered MANY possible alternatives. Still doing so.

I'd almost look into either a 4x4 Sportsmobile, Tiger as mentioned above, or a 4x4 pickup with a truck camper. I don't know what roads the OP is going on, but I'm guessing one may need a higher clearance than the average 2WD motorhome might have without tearing anything off underneath.

Were I heading to Baja or Central America, I'd probably consider going with a Sportsmobile Ford van with a 4x4 upfit and a pop top. It isn't as roomy as the Lazy Daze, but it would be fairly self contained, wouldn't have the clearance issues of a "C", and you could easily get a heavy duty wench for it for help when stuck.

Here's a few things to keep in mind:

- Lazy Daze uses wood for interior framing. I prefer steel, or ideally aluminum, so that there is no framing in the walls to rot, ever.

- The Ford V10 transmission is much better from 2005 onwards.

- The Lazy Daze aluminum roof can be dented from freak hail storms with large hail stones.

- For travel in parts of Mexico and in all of Central America I'd recommend looking into a Tiger Class C product, instead. Search these forums concerning Tiger motorhomes, as a starting point.

I have a mid bath LD and really like it. Given the age range you are looking at you will want to pay close attention to how the roof was cared for. As with any RV that old there are concerns but on the east coast I have been to meets where there are older LDs that are in very nice condition. The factory never mass produced so there are just not that many out there. I flew from Virginia to California to get the used one I was interested in two years ago. As for your question about changes through the years you might fine this link useful: http://www.andybaird.com/travels/LD-guide-web/
I second the suggestion about joining the LD yahoo forum. A lot of good info there. (like the guide I linked to)
John

duplicate

Be sure to join this group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/lifewithalazydazerv/conversations/messages

They will have specific answers to any question you have on LD MHs.

edit: I see you already joined.

What years did the V-10 have problems with spiting spark plugs? You might want to think about that.

We looked at several Lazy Daze. What I did learn is look at how the roof is done. The early ones had the roof stop at a trim on the top edge. All of the ones we looked at leaked and had wood rot. The newer ones where the roof wraps over the sides and the metal is bent and no edge trim are the ones you want to look at. Or do a lot of rebuild work. We did not find one we liked so passed on them.

Yep, good quality; as are others I've considered and dismissed for subjective reasons. I still keep an eye out for them as they are made up here in Canada. As such they can be had at a reasonable price and sometimes nearby. On the other hand, Lazy Daze are scarce as hen's teeth. Not built for the Canadian climate. I've never seen one for sale. Again, I prefer Lazy Daze for partially subjective reasons and intend to use it primarily outside Canada.

Consider Triple E also.....