What manufacturer do I purchase?

Everybody in this forum will be biased to what they own or else they never would have bought that brand of coach. You will have to decide which floor plan fits your needs. Also it all depends how deep your pockets are. High end coaches like your Prevost can start as high as 2.5 million dollars and they you can drop way down to a entry level gasoline coach.

Personally I would stay away from manufactures that have given up on the RV industry all together. Some manufactured strictly motorhomes, others were more versatile and survived the recession better by manufacturing travel trailers and fifth wheel trailers. Some were real good companies, but the reason why I would stay away from some of those because it might be harder to find parts. Some had their own chassis designs which nobody else would manufacture. Engines and transmissions would be no problem. Some of these coaches had problems with hairline cracks because of bad fiberglass bought from Dupont.

Appears you live in Iowa so I would give strong consideration for Winnebago/Itasca. Most all motorhomes will have problems at one time or another and we have found that in many case dealers are not equipped to handle all types of problems. You may need to at some time return to the factory for service and the folks in Forest City (Winnebago) are one of the best.

I would look used first, not necessarily to save money but to see which brands are still in good shape. About 3 to 5 years old will give you a good idea of which brands are best. My two cents..

Freebird1958 wrote:
Is there a website, or link, a place that tells what manufacturer is best or worst to purchase! I am asking is there somewhere that shows what brand that has more break downs, repairs, or quality to purchase or not. I hope this is not a copy from a older message, or been ask before. Thanks in advance!

I doubt seriously if there is such an animal as per say. With repairs and dependability, it's usually the ones with the most frills and extras. Rigs that are simple and basic, don't have all that much to go wrong.
You might have the cheapest, no nothing thing on the road and go trouble free, while a 1/2 million dollar coach could be be spending a lot of time in the shop.
As for older gas units, I'm partial to National, as you can see and couldn't have asked for a better used coach in this price range.

wa8yxm wrote:
I do not think there is a "Best" or worst though Tiffin has a good reputation for customer support.

I would say find a rig you like, a Floorplan you like and buy that.. There are a few exceptions.. for example I know a person who is, by trade, a Celtic Musician, and when she went shopping.. Well the Leprechaun was the obvious choice. But then.. He's kind of different (And yes I know the pronoun changed, but then so did the musician, have not met him since the change though).

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I do not think there is a "Best" or worst though Tiffin has a good reputation for customer support.

I would say find a rig you like, a Floorplan you like and buy that.. There are a few exceptions.. for example I know a person who is, by trade, a Celtic Musician, and when she went shopping.. Well the Leprechaun was the obvious choice. But then.. He's kind of different (And yes I know the pronoun changed, but then so did the musician, have not met him since the change though).

Fleetwood Discovery or Providence rates as high as Monaco, Itasca and Winnebago. We have a 2008 Providence for 2 years now love the floorplan and have had no problems.

When we were looking for our Class A, we found the RV Consumers Group to be very helpful. RV Consumers Group They charge for their publication, but I feel it was worth the relatively small fee, considering the cost of a motorhome.

My three choices for mainline manufacturers would be: Newmar, Tiffin, and Winnebago/Itasca (Itasca is made by Winnebago)

If you're going high end: Foretravel and Newell.

Good Luck with your search and enjoy the search.

mike brez wrote:
Newell,Foretravel,Country Coach,Monaco,Newmar

Mike gave you the top manufacturers for mfg. for full-timers or extensive travelers that put on a lot of wear and miles. Are you going to be a weekender? If so, there are other mfg. that would be good, too. You can find used high quality motorhomes for the same price as a new entry model one.

You might want to check out iRV2 owner forums for all manufacturers and start reading and asking questions. You can also get an idea from reading if folks are talking about any major flaws or poor workmanship with their motorhomes. Also, what years of a particular manufacturer that put out poor quality. For instance, Tiffin has had some bad years of production.

We've had our Newmar since 2004 and love it. It's a very stable company that has been around a long time.

Good luck and start reading!

Fishinghat, the ideas is what I am looking for, thank you.

wny_pat, great suggestion. Is the RV-Coach rating from only rv owners? And are they to be the honest rating that I can assume. Again Thank You also.