What's the best bang for my 20k?

Thanks, Ohhwell. I appreciate the information. Why would a low mileage rig be a concern? I can think of a few reasons but would like to know for sure. I found a 98 Dolphin 35' with 31k mileage for 20k. It has a slide a looks nice in pictures. Thanks.

Safari360, while you are searching, look at www.PPLmotorhomes.com in Texas (two locations). It will give you an idea of what is out there on gas and diesel units. They also have a link on their site showing the history of sales and what a unit actually sold for.

Good luck on your search!
MM.

I'm going to reply indirectly to your question. Like you, I am searching with a limited budget. I do not necessarily look for one model/one make. To me at this age the coach is a series of systems loosely glued together.

What type of roof does it have? I like fiberglass one piece or something that *may* be less apt to leak? Delamination is a deal killer for me.

How old, in years, are the tires. Should be replaced before 7 years; as mentioned very expensive. Most sellers seem to point at tread depth.

How many miles? A lot means it is well used and not "lawn art" that has been sitting in the weeds for the past 4 years; but even if the engine is good for 200+ everything else gets stressed out rattling down the road.

Do you need a slide. Despite much wisdom, I do not think I do. To me it is one more system to leak/break. But it helps with resale and roominess is nice.

Diesel vs Gas? Look deeper. Different drives trains have their own issues. Not all diesel engines are created equal, same with gas.

Capacities: Even if you are not towing be mindful of how much weight you have to play with.

DIY - my neighbor is a master mechanic on gas engines. That make diesel slightly less attractive for me. Also, is the engine relatively easy to access. Sure, you can change a spark plug but there are one or two on a V10 Triton that are tough to get at with some layouts.

Yes - makes as you say. I think a high end model may weather use more. But there is something to be said for a make/model that is very common or still gets some level of support from manufacturer.

Number of owners & service records. Does the owner show care in other areas - like does he drive an older car in mint condition. Has he/she stayed up on visible maintenance?

Do the A/C's, Generator, Furnace & Frige work well - these are all super expensive.

Is there a specific floor plan that you need? I've prefer reare twins but they are rare. But I need a booth rather than free standing dinnette for the extra sleeping.

Another thing I think of is re-sale. Most people trade up down or all around. Is there something about the rig that you may not care all that much about but would hurt resale?

Safari360 wrote:
RFCN@ - this is exactly the type of answer I was hoping to receive, and I thank you for the time and energy. We want to travel in an RV for no more than a year, and we pay all cash for everything, so that means no loans or debt. Fortunately, the job can go with me anywhere, and it sounds like we may be going in a gasser. Thanks again man!

He was indeed pretty right on. The fleetwoods on the ford V10 chassis are great and easily in your price range. A lot of people say to beware of mileage that is too low as well as high. The Ford V10 is a great engine and should go to at least 200,000 miles if taken care of. Yeah, they don't ride as nice as the DPs but it's not THAT bad and they are WAY easier to maintain. It's the same drivetrain as in the Gas F-450 and F-550 trucks.

$20k to purchase and $10k to repair / upgrade is smart and very doable. I am perhaps somewhat biased towards the Bounders in that price range since we own one but there is a reason.

Why must you have a class A?

There are plenty of Class Cs out there.
Easier to drive, cheaper to buy and repair,

In your price range, the perceived snob factor
of a Class a is pretty much gone!

foretravel, safari, bluebird, american eagle, ??travel??

are QUALITY RV's

anything can go wrong with anything Not maintained

BUT these are quality construction

Daveinet wrote:
So far, you have been given all the wrong answers (except maybe one which hinted at it). If you have a budget of 20K, you need to purchase a coach for about $12 to $15K. You will need 5K or more to put it in normal usable condition.

Right on.

Especially with the "or more" part.

Safari360 wrote:
Hi Daveinet, I wanted to clarify that 20k is the initial investment that I have to spend on an RV today. I will have another 10k or more to spend on it between now and when we leave in the fall.

Sorry, I made very incorrect assumption. If you do not require slideouts, take a hard look at an early 90s Foretravel. The Foretravel is built well enough, you may be able to squeeze some of your maintinance/repair budget into the initial purchase. Foretravel is not a production built coach, so the workmanship and material quality is a good jump up from your Monoco/HR, Newmars, and Allegros.

BTW: The Ebay Foretravel is too much money for an '85. If you are going that route, you want it to be new enough (ie 90s) to be a Unihome, Grand Villa. Those are a full monocoque construction. That is when Foretravel really came of age. Technically if you can find a '94, it would also have a 6 speed, which is of significant benefit as well, but may be pushing your target a little high. For a period of about 2 years I was watching Foretravels very closely. IF you are patient, you should be able to find an early 90s unit in the 25K range.

OK, here you go, try this:
http://houston.craigslist.org/rvs/4227213656.html
BTW: I use this search engine for Craigslist:
http://www.dailylister.com/Search_Results.cfm?q=Foretravel&as_oq=rvs&cx=006225133476456637497%3Anhut7xqnd70&as_occt=Title&cof=FORID%3A11&ie=UTF-8&sort=date&newwindow=1

RFCN@ - this is exactly the type of answer I was hoping to receive, and I thank you for the time and energy. We want to travel in an RV for no more than a year, and we pay all cash for everything, so that means no loans or debt. Fortunately, the job can go with me anywhere, and it sounds like we may be going in a gasser. Thanks again man!

Safari360 - For 20,000 + 10 grand fix, if that is it, meaning that is all you have to spend I would suggest not getting a diesel pusher unless you are a skilled mechanic who can work on diesel motors, transmissions, and air leveling systems. If you blow a transmission when on a trip you will be stuck. A replacement mid range Allison is 7,000. I know. Mine blew a year ago for no reason. Heaven forbid your motor goes. A Cat or Cummins might set you back 15-20,000. The exception might be the 5.9 Cummins motor which they sold by the many thousands for motorhomes and pickup trucks. Likely that would be cheaper to repair/replace. Besides the motor and transmission you have a very expensive air suspension system in most diesel pushers. To replace the tires on a 1990's DP assuming no tag would be $3,000.

Yes Monaco are one of the better brands. Country Coach and Beaver are similar.

Here is what I would do knowing what I know - 33 years of motor homing. We belong to a small RV club in the San Diego area. Of the 20 coaches in the club about half of them are 32' - 36' class A gassers. Fleetwood, National, Monaco, Winnebago, Tiffin, Newmar all made very good coaches in this size range. In our club most are either National or Fleetwood because those makers used to be in S California. These motorhomes have 1 or 2 slides. They have either big Chevy or Ford motors. Almost all that standard spring suspension. They are very! roomy and represent a huge bang for the buck. My personal favorites in these coaches are Dolpins (National) and Bounders (Fleetwood). There are thousands and thousands of these models on the road. They are easy to fix and low cost to fix. I have several close personal friends with these models. They are very well built, sturdy, and comfortable.

Good luck on your search. I spent over your entire budget on our coach fixing it up the first 3 years i had it. And I had an extended warranty. Yes we have a very nice motorhome. But most big expensive motorhomes are money pits. Fun but expensive. The only reason I am not sour about it is I owned a big sailboat before the motorhome and anything is cheap after that.