Best ways to purchase a used RV?

DrewE wrote:
and I like that it's not designed with the idea of going to Yellowstone to watch TV there.

While many will say "different strokes for different folks" I have to agree, traveling is for seeing the real world in 3D. I can understand having a TV to catch up on the news, or as a computer screen for planning the next days adventure, but sitting in a campsite in a beautiful wilderness and watching TV leaves me wondering......... I prefer the "get away from it all" feeling.

Charles

Lady_Katie wrote:
We have two small children, by the way.

That being said, I kind of have my sights set on the Winnebago View

This will bring out a lot of different opinions, but this discussion came up recently, I think on the View-Navion forum on Yahoo, not sure, but anyhow, the OP was considering a View and had small children. Basically several people said that a class C was really a two person MH, the rear seats, even with seat belts were not really safe. Many will argue how so few accidents do happen, but one lady popped up and said her and her husband had hauled kids around for years and now they were grown and the couple had a newer View that had been rear ended by a "distracted" motorist (think pit maneuver) and the result was they went off into a field and rolled a couple of times. Both got out and when they looked back, saw a cab and chassis with a couch screwed down. EVERYTHING else was GONE, scattered over an acre or so of the field, and anyone in the back would have been dead.

Charles

The OP needs to be searching for both Winnebago View and Itasca Navion, they are the same MH with different names.

Be aware that 2006 and 2007 Views are built on 2005 and 2006 Sprinter chassis (respectfully) and this is the T1N Sprinter with the 5 cylinder 2.7L diesel engine (most easily identified to the uninitiated by the single air inlet below the windshield). These have a 158 inch wheelbase.

2007 and later Sprinter chassis (not coach year, but chassis year) are known as the NCV3 and are easily spotted by the larger grill and two separate air inlets below the windshield. These are equipped with a 3.0L V6 diesel engine, and have a 170 inch wheelbase, a foot longer than the earlier models.

2008 View is on a 2007 chassis
2009 View is on a 2008 chassis
2010 View is also generally on a 2008 chassis

It is possible to find a 2008 View on a 2007 Chassis with a 3.5L gasoline engine, they are rare and usually do not command as much money as a diesel, and still get around 12 to 13 mpg.

If you want the rear corner bed you want a J model. They MAY have the cab over bed, or may have the optional storage cabinets over the cab.

The H model has a cab over bed as the primary bed, with a jackknife couch and a dinette that both convert into beds.

Both the H and J have slide outs. The couch on the H is the slideout, and the dinette on the J is the slideout.

It is also possible to find a 2007 View (2006 chassis) with bunk beds in the rear, and either the cab over bed or storage cabinets optionally. It has NO slideout.

View Brochures

2006 brochure

2007 View Brochure

2008 brochure

2009 brochure

2010 brochure

Itasca Navion brochures

2006 brochure

2007 brochure

2008 brochure

2008 iQ brochure

2009 brochure

2010 brochure

On RVtrader I found 52 Views of all models from 2006 to 2010 and 29 different Navions for the 2006 to 2010 models. I found three that listed the gas engine. Problem is the dealers now call it the "rare gas motor" to justify a higher price. No bunk bed models are currently listed.

Charles

Thanks for the great info, everyone! I'm glad I asked about the RV show's because I'm not really interested in drooling over what we cannot afford. We did look around our local campers world when we first started considering this idea, just to see what the difference between the different kinds of RV's are and what not - and I will admit, I did find myself sitting in the drivers seat of a $100k motorhome wishing I could drive it away lol. I will say this about the newer models though - I walked into most of them expecting to be more impressed than I actually was. They were very nice, but in my opinion, not worth the money they ask for them.

You can hit RVT and RV Trader to get an idea on the prices, but they're usually higher than you end up paying. Then I would just watch Craigs List every day for new listings. There's a search all Craigs List site out there.

We did a lot of research and settled on a late nineties Safari. They were probably 2 dozen on the market, most either too much money or too far away. We found one in NH, about 2 hours away and tried to get the owner to let us look at it for 3 months. I finally gave up for the season and decided to restart the search in the spring. The week before our last trip of the season in the old gasser, a Sahara came up on CL for a good price and 10 miles from the campground we were going to that upcoming weekend. The seller agreed to drive it over there for us to look at it, and we bought White Tiger on the spot.

Take a look at the PPL website, lots of stuff to research.

Jim

buying used... a drive-able.. you are getting 2 completely different systems.

a truck and a trailer.... in one unit...

so 3 times of work and research is needed.. inspection... professional inspection.. more research.

I understand limited of a SET model.

some models only make a few hundred .. per year.. or over a few years..

I am searching for a used model of 5th wheel..
I can only find 5 in the entire country.. and been looking for 3 months.
but I have time.

I agree with DrewE, I bought my first Class A in November (a 2002 Safari Trek 2830) and went to the local RV show last month where there were probably 35-40 motorhomes on display and did not see a single one that I would want to own more than Trek. Sure there were a few oooh thats nice things like dance floor size open spaces on dual full slide 45 ft coaches, luxury leather seats, and stone tile showers with frameless glass doors, and then there were also the gadgets like remote control light switches which I see as something else to break. At best there were a couple that I thought, if I did not already have my Trek I could live with this instead.

As to buying something somewhat obscure your best bet is to search nation wide using all the online resources, rv trader, craigslist, etc. and when I was shopping I even did daily google image searches for the past 7 days on the brand and model numbers I was considering. In my case I ended up buying from a private party in Florida a thousand miles away thanks to a craigslist ad, and ended up paying about 4/5th of the asking price even though it had only been listed for a couple of days. This was after 4-5 months of shopping, in that time I found maybe 6-8 strong contenders that I passed on either due to price, distance, condition or some combination. The one I ended buying was not the cheapest or the most expensive of those I considered, and may not even have been the best deal out of the contenders, but overall it struck a balance I was ok with at a time when I was ready to buy.

DutchmenSport wrote:
If you are really set on purchasing a 2006-2008 model, you absolutely do NOT want to attend an RV show. You also do NOT want to look at new campers on an RV dealership lot! Why?

If you do, you will see how much nicer, flashier, and advanced the NEW campers are and then if you come across a used one from the era your considering, you'll be nothing but disappointed and maybe even depressed with what you see. Flashy, glitzy, and NEW will prejudice your perceptions and when you find an older unit, it will just simply never measure up.

My advise... stay away from the RV shows, unless you are willing to inevitably accept a new one! Also, if going to a dealership, look ONLY at used RV's for this same reason. Because, once you see the new 'glitz', you'll want one!

I have not found that to be true for me. I look at many of the newer RVs, and I like the older one I have more than before. I like the basement storage that isn't taken up by a big television set or a second fridge. I like the inside that isn't too cramped when the slides aren't out (which is in no small part due to not having slides). I like that there's no step in the middle of the floor. I like that there's no huge television set blocking the view or the path, and I like that it's not designed with the idea of going to Yellowstone to watch TV there. I even like the honey oak decor better than a lot of the newer styles, but I've always liked the look of wood (even given it's only a moderately good facsimile of actual wood).

Yes, the new ones do have some nice features, but on the whole I don't see a lot that makes me wish for an upgrade.

do an internet search for the year and model you want, if you find one a couple of thousand miles away you can take a trip to check it out, have it inspected and drive it home. awesome vacation..