Planning on buying a Roadtrek -- Advice?
Hello to all! I am new to this forum. I have been doing quite a bit of research on Roadtreks, and am almost certain I'm going to be buying a used one in the near future. (I'm interested in the 190...
Forum Discussion
We have owned Class B and Class C rigs for over thirty years. I do all my own maintenance and repair on my rvs most of the time, except the chassis stuff which I have a local mechanic take care of for me. We have owned both a Roadtrek 190P and a 210P over the years and got excellent use and service from both of them. We have owned Dodge, Chevy and Ford rigs.
Now, with all that said, if I were traveling by myself alone, there is absolutely no question in my mind what I would buy: a 190 P Roadtrek and I would probably put a hitch rack on the back for extra care on long trips and if I didn't need it, I would pop it out and leave it in the garage. I would buy or build or have built an armoire to replace the third chair. I actually did that on our 210P, built it myself the way we wanted it and never took it out again. I like the 190 because of its storage, size, stealthiness (looks like a real van, not an rv), layout and quality of construction. I think if you compare one ten years old to one three years old, you will be very impressed with the quality of workmanship of the older rig.
I would buy a Chevy or a Dodge in a heartbeat, but I would be cautious on the Dodges that were more than a dozen years old because some had lots of complaints about front end causing drifting and other handling problems. We never experienced that. I can tell you that the Dodge and Chevy rigs have well proven, easily worked on motors. Personally, I think each has it's own advantage.
I would be more concerned, as others have stated, about who owned the unit over the years, where they lived and where they stored it when not in use. Be willing to pay significantly more for a RV stored inside most of its life. Also, be prepared to spend some dough on having both the chassis and coach inspected buy SEPERATE and DIFFERENT folks before you buy: a good RV person and a good mechanic. If you have a knowledgeable friend about rvs, having that friend go over it. I know I have done that over the years for several people from this forum that asked me to check out a unit for them that happened to be in my area and I was glad to do it for them just for the fun of helping out another RVer.
You live in St. Louis. You are fortunate to have a local dealer of new and used Class Bs that enjoys a good reputation and has been handling these specialized rigs for a long, long time. Also, don't be afraid to shop around and check the rvtrader.com, pplmotorhome people in Houston, etc. You really will be rewarded by being flexible about where you are willing to go to take a look. Search craigs list locally and nationally.
Finally, don't hesitate to ask questions on this B forum. It is great and there is a lot of individual and collective knowledge right here with a great bunch of guys and gals willing to help you.
Paul
Now, with all that said, if I were traveling by myself alone, there is absolutely no question in my mind what I would buy: a 190 P Roadtrek and I would probably put a hitch rack on the back for extra care on long trips and if I didn't need it, I would pop it out and leave it in the garage. I would buy or build or have built an armoire to replace the third chair. I actually did that on our 210P, built it myself the way we wanted it and never took it out again. I like the 190 because of its storage, size, stealthiness (looks like a real van, not an rv), layout and quality of construction. I think if you compare one ten years old to one three years old, you will be very impressed with the quality of workmanship of the older rig.
I would buy a Chevy or a Dodge in a heartbeat, but I would be cautious on the Dodges that were more than a dozen years old because some had lots of complaints about front end causing drifting and other handling problems. We never experienced that. I can tell you that the Dodge and Chevy rigs have well proven, easily worked on motors. Personally, I think each has it's own advantage.
I would be more concerned, as others have stated, about who owned the unit over the years, where they lived and where they stored it when not in use. Be willing to pay significantly more for a RV stored inside most of its life. Also, be prepared to spend some dough on having both the chassis and coach inspected buy SEPERATE and DIFFERENT folks before you buy: a good RV person and a good mechanic. If you have a knowledgeable friend about rvs, having that friend go over it. I know I have done that over the years for several people from this forum that asked me to check out a unit for them that happened to be in my area and I was glad to do it for them just for the fun of helping out another RVer.
You live in St. Louis. You are fortunate to have a local dealer of new and used Class Bs that enjoys a good reputation and has been handling these specialized rigs for a long, long time. Also, don't be afraid to shop around and check the rvtrader.com, pplmotorhome people in Houston, etc. You really will be rewarded by being flexible about where you are willing to go to take a look. Search craigs list locally and nationally.
Finally, don't hesitate to ask questions on this B forum. It is great and there is a lot of individual and collective knowledge right here with a great bunch of guys and gals willing to help you.
Paul
