Purchase advice appreciated

Well, that's easy...
Avoid the low end brands. Forest River, Thor, Sportscoach, etc....
Unless you fall in love with one.
Even the pow enders are on a decent freightliner chassis and cummins engine and Allison trans after all...

Bottom line:
Slides are good, the more the better.

Monaco and Newmar totally rock.
Tiffin and Fleetwood are close.
everyone else is a wannabee.
(please... don't hang me over this, we all have opinions)

Bottom line is a diesel is better.
If it wasn't true, there would be $250,000 gassers....
And there never has been.

davesparks2001 wrote:
Allow me to clarify a bit. My budget is about 50k or less total. I have already wrapped my mind around the idea that we will be looking for something around 2000 or earlier with some miles on it. What I'm hoping for in terms of feedback is what make/models I should look for/avoid. Thanks for the replies so far and for any still coming.

Look for Country Coach's....Foretravel U320 and U 195(I think 195's) and look for Fleetwood Eagles. That was their top of the line coach.

They are out there...Ya just have to look for them

Allow me to clarify a bit. My budget is about 50k or less total. I have already wrapped my mind around the idea that we will be looking for something around 2000 or earlier with some miles on it. What I'm hoping for in terms of feedback is what make/models I should look for/avoid. Thanks for the replies so far and for any still coming.

You didn't state what your price range was but you might want to look on this site to give you some idea what you can buy for your price range:

PPL Consignments

I think there is a 2004 38ft Newmar Kountry Star DP with new tires and 3 slides asking $52500 on Raleigh NC Craigs list.....hard to tell what they will take.

Go back as far as you need to in years to get a quality motorhome. Have it inspected by an independent person that is knowledgeable.

Lots of nice luxury D.P. in the 90's and early 2000 out there for the price you want to spend.

We made the move from a 5th wheel toyhauler to a class A, a few years ago. All of our toys barely fit, then I bought a sand car too. So we ended up selling the hauler and buying a 1999 Holiday Rambler endeavor diesel pusher. It is really nice compared to the toyhauler, and we tow our open deck 22' trailer that fits all our toys including the sand car and ATV's. I paid $33K for mine, that included a 2006 Honda CRV toad.
Good luck!

You're probably looking at a 2002-2004 DP. Try to get one with a few miles on it, because that means it was actually used and not sitting and rotting. That would also get you into the before emissions BS era.

RVT.com and RVTrader.com for price research (they are both a little over market) and craigs list to purchase. PPL motorhomes seems to be the most up-front dealer. They do mostly consignment.

If you're looking for an old cheap gasser to get your feet wet, I have one for sale ;)

There is a ton of information on this site and others that will address most of your questions. I was not sure what your "total" budget is, is it 50K plus the trade in or is it 50k total? If 50K total, you will have to go to a much older DP in the 38-40' neighborhood to make the numbers work. I am just now in the process of closing a deal on my first A. My wife and I shopped for 2 years, going to every show and multiple times to the same lots as their inventory fluctuates. We learned a lot doing that. I started out wanting a DP, and while I can afford it, I just did not want to shell out that amount of money. I also did not want to buy new and take the big hit on the appreciation. So I ended up going with a 35' gasser made by a quality manufacturer. The DPs are built better, and they can tow more, but the upper end gassers are lovely coaches and I am confident that my wife and I (not full timers) will be very comfortable in this rig. And we were over your 50K number BTW for a low mileage 2008. I think you will need to shop for a 2000 or earlier coach if you want a 40' DP around $50K. Check out the PPL site to get some idea. Best wishes on your search.