mcangelo4 wrote:
Thanks for awesome feedback I just saw this hit the 2nd page.... Looking to pull trigger before year end. Do I stay away from models like these where there seems to be not many for sale?
http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/rvs/5826926624.html
It looks like a possibility; the price seems a bit high (certainly for your stated price range, and possibly for the unit itself). I personally probably would look a little bit older, paying careful attention to how well maintained the unit is--in particular, whether the sealing of the roof has been kept up with well so that there is no water intrusion. This would seem to me to still be in the rather steep depreciation area of the curve. However, it's not my decision. With a unit of this age and mileage, you shouldn't have to worry about tires needing replacement or major chassis service.
Do give some thought to how well the layout would work for you. Think about how you'd go about your daily activities; is the kitchen laid out reasonably to make meals? Can you watch TV without craning your neck? Is there space for another person to do something while you work without bumping elbows all the time? Also pay at least some attention to how accessible things are with the slides in; some designs make it hard or impossible to get at closets or the bathroom without moving a slide, which is not the most convenient for travel.
I've been generally satisfied with the construction of my '98 Coachmen class C. The interior appointments and fit and finish do show signs of being built to a price, but the basic construction seems reasonable and the wiring and plumbing is competently designed and installed. There generally is adequate access for maintenance and repair, though occasionally it takes a little puzzling out to find what that access is. Whether Coachmen today is similar, better, or worse, I have no way of saying.
As for popularity of a specific model, that's not much of a concern in my opinion. The vast majority of the components in an RV are much the same from model to model. The appliances come from the same few makers, the furniture and fittings are fairly standardized, the windows from a few specialist companies, etc. Servicing a rare model isn't much different from servicing a common one in most cases.
