Thoughts on manufacturers

We have bought a 2004 Fleetwood Tioga Model 26Q new in 2003, model was discontinued a few years ago.It has a huge rear cargo bay with mounted spare wheel/tire inside, a rear bedroom with RV Queen bed and a typical convertible dinette, captain's chair and over head bed in front. Fleetwood Tioga and Jamboree models are nearly identical. There are no slides, we don't want them. Bed has access on right side and foot only, not great climbing over bed partner in the dark. Slightly longer rigs have better bed ingress/egress or have a bedroom slide. This size fits our driveway and is adequate for us two and our two small dogs. Shorter rigs have less cabinet storage and sleeping is usually on convertible sofas or dinettes or in the overhead bed (not for arthritic older RV'ers or people with sleeping problems). Most Class C's use the same brands and models of appliances, roof AC units, house battery converter/chargers and awnings. I recommend buying 3 or 4 year old rigs. Major appliance replacements may be needed after 10 years, RV tires go bad with age, may need to be replaced when 5 or 6 years old. Ford E-450 V-10 engines/drive trains are quite durable and may have many years of trouble free service when they have 70K miles on the odometer. As others have said, condition may be more important than brand names. The "best" may cost considerably more than the volume sellers used by rental companies. Check RV rental company refurbished model sales. Don't buy an extended warranty without carefully reading through the policy for loopholes and exclusions.