Purchasing a new class A

I think the focus of the question was around a ranking of manufacturers:

Aside from high dollar custom conversions the ranking generally comes in at:
Newmar
Tiffin
Winnebago
Forest River
Fleetwood, and Thor rounding out.

Some would argue to slide one above another or vice versa but I think that's about the general consensus. Price reflects what level you will get in a particular brand. Newmar's entry level model will be far more expensive than Thor's for example. Some quality differences as well. But if you want to spend less, generally you get less. Nothing wrong with that on either end of the spectrum provided it's an educated decision. So you might want to go with Tiffin's entry level when you could buy Forest Rivers mid line at the same price. Just know that there will be less bling and more quality.

But a TON of other factors to consider as others have said. Floorplan is more important than brand.

The best place to start any RV search is floorplan. Pick a floorplan and THEN find a brand that has it in a year you are looking for, on a chassis you are looking for in a price point you want to pay. This will start to whittle your choices. Then you will see that ABC's brand of the same floorplan is considerably more or less money and more or less quality than XYZ's.

Again more decisions, maybe you like ABC's quality over XYZ's but can't afford the price. Then you shop for older models. etc etc.

Took me 5 years to finally find a model I wanted in a price I could afford. A year later I bought another floorplan I liked better but wasn't available when I bought my first one. Now another floorplan comes out and looking to trade again. Point is, there is no right answer here and you will get a million opinions on what to buy.

Research, due diligence, experience and mistakes will guide you to your right MH.

Why buy new? Depreciates driving off of the lot, then your stuck with high payments. Many a folks have bought new, nice and shinny, then it ends up being a repo. Buy a good used one, save your self a lot of money. My humble opinion.

my first cut is no rubber roof.
bumpy

As many have said, buy a little used Diesel Pusher-38-40 feet with at least 2 slides; but you can get 4 for the nearly same price. MAKE SURE that you deal with the owner, that he has all the service records, and he shows pride in ownership. You can tell from just looking at the moho. You can find a 3 to 5 year old coach for around 2/3rds to 1/2 what they originally cost. If you take your time and are willing to travel a bit, you should be able to find ANY brand that you are interested in and most floor plans. YES, it is easier to just go by a new one or a used one off of a lot, but that will cost you money n the long run. Go to CraigsList, put in the area you are close to, and you will be surprised at how many moho's are listed. Buy the biggest you can afford, and you will be glad you did a few years down the road. AND save some $$

Wayne07Scepter (for sale)

New is going to take a big hit in depreciation right off the bat! Unless you can find a super deal off MSRP!

Be very careful deciding on size you want, many on here can vouch for getting too small for the first one and having to get bigger after a few years! How many slideouts do you want or need. gas or diesel?

Also the type of traveling you are going to do: ie: RV resorts always, State parks or COE campgrounds, National Parks, boondocking!

Just went through this in the last year+ - twice. I don't recommend buying new if you've never done RVing before. We bought a cheap older class A in decent shape and did a few short trips and one long one. We figured we could sell it within a few years and not lose much money, and certainly less than it would have cost to rent something for the same period.

From our starter bus experiment, we developed a must-have and a nice-to-have list for the next MH. Then we started looking for #2. The must have list contained diesel, levelers and a slide-out. The nice-to-have list was a nice shower, a washer/dryer combo, and 2 roof A/Cs. The MH we got had all this except the slide-out. The layout of the Sahara is roomy enough without one.

We'll do the whole thing maybe one more time. We'll take some longer trips, spend more time on the road and make a must have list for the next bus. There are people who buy their last MH the first time, but they do a lot of research (over a year looking at endless ads and going to shows). I'm too impatient for that so we jumped in as cheaply as we could.

Edit: Craig's List is your friend.

Have you had any type of RV previously?
Make a good list of what you want in the rig> shower or tub? genset? 120 volt water heater element?
How long? What kind of sleeping accommodations? Is this for long term residence or just 2-3 week trips?

Karen has excellent questions.

Also, do you want to buy new or used?

I did notice the topic is 'purchasing a new class A' but maybe you should clarify if 'new' or 'new to you'.

MM.

There are so many choices out there. research. Research. RESEARCH.

Gas or diesel?

What length?

What options?

Are you towing another vehicle?

Are you full timing, a weekend warrior or somewhere in between?

What sort of camping do you want to do & where?

How many people will stay with you? Do you have pets?

How much will what you put in it weigh? Think cargo capacity.

What is your budget?

You can usually buy a better quality used motor home for the same or less than a new one.

Now..with all that typed out... The Thor Palazzo is one that gets a lot of complaints. I have no personal knowledge about them though.

What models are you looking at?