Buying First Motor Home

ng2951 wrote:
Ted & Renee, you haven't answered the question of whether you have RV'd before or how much experience you have.

I really recommend you figure out your mission with your RV prospects. I guess being a submariner you might be use to confined storage, navy baths and such. The question is whether your spouse is up to the same.

For example, what toys are you bringing with you, how often will you have to visit the laundramat. That helps you realize how much storage and what type of storage you are going to need.

If you haven't RV'd much, it would be well worth your time and money to rent one. If you are having heartburn issues at one week, just imagine how you will feel after a month or two on the road. You may also find something you thought you needed to have that you didn't or something you thought you wouldn't need that you do.

No Sir,,neither Renee or I have RV'ed before..as I said,,I am retired from the Navy and looking to do some traveling around the states for a change instead of around the world..As far as getting behind it,,Renee would do anything she had to in order to make things work,,I just don't want to make her half to..She can adapt and find the good parts of ANY situations,,I've seen her do exactly that over the last 15 years..I am just looking for good sound advice for my first ever purchase,,maybe something that you wish you had knew before hand,,or would have told yourself some years ago..We found a scam already trying to sell a 2012 Hurricane to us for $5000.00..She wanted Walmart gift cards in $500.00 increments..We still have her dangling on the line and can't find any law enforcement to turn them over to,,now that is sad..
So any help you could throw our way would be appreciated,,Greatly.. We are trying to get close on a 1999 RexHall Rose Air out of Pompano Beach

Ted & Renee, you haven't answered the question of whether you have RV'd before or how much experience you have.

I really recommend you figure out your mission with your RV prospects. I guess being a submariner you might be use to confined storage, navy baths and such. The question is whether your spouse is up to the same.

For example, what toys are you bringing with you, how often will you have to visit the laundramat. That helps you realize how much storage and what type of storage you are going to need.

If you haven't RV'd much, it would be well worth your time and money to rent one. If you are having heartburn issues at one week, just imagine how you will feel after a month or two on the road. You may also find something you thought you needed to have that you didn't or something you thought you wouldn't need that you do.

Blutoyz wrote:
Hey Bubblehead,
I just bought my first from craigslist that was consigned from an RV specific repair shop. It is 20 years old with 36K and about $9k in work 2014/15. I paid $10.5K for it so they are out there. As you know from your time on the pond common sense is the key here.

old MT1(SS) here

Hey Bubblehead,
Thanks for the info,,I see your still in Rhode Island..I use to live in Stonnington CT..we owned a small 12 unit motel there that I am sure is long gone now..
Finding used sites online is proving harder and harder,,that is unless I want to drive 14 hours to pick one up..I was curious also if anyone had ever bought on off Ebay?? I couldn't believe they had motor homes for sale on there,,some go through the auction process and some are buy now..but again,,the deals are 12 hours away from me..I'm gonna keep looking and hope I find something soon..

Old TMT1(SS)..we get there first..

Hey Bubblehead,
I just bought my first from craigslist that was consigned from an RV specific repair shop. It is 20 years old with 36K and about $9k in work 2014/15. I paid $10.5K for it so they are out there. As you know from your time on the pond common sense is the key here.

old MT1(SS) here

I would avoid a chevy/workhorse P-30./32 until the year they stopped rebadging the old chassis as a "workhorse".
bumpy

I don't see any reason to avoid the Chevy / Workhorse chassis models at the time (early to mid 2000's the Workhorse chassis with the 8.1L was a multi thousand dollar upgrade over the Ford F53 with 6.8 V10 on those models that were offered with a choice of each), As to what you can get for your money I paid $20,500 ($25,000 initial asking price) for my then just under 15 year old 28 ft Safari Trek last year from a private seller 1,100 miles away in Florida, and it had over $10,000 in upgrade parts since 2014, though I did spend 5 or 6 months shopping mostly online before I found it.

Also while one might have reason to be cautious about coaches from the gulf coast at the moment, I would not rule them out entirely, particularly right now, sure those with water damage will be showing up on the market but for now people have not had time to hide that damage and there are people needing to sell their RV's to pay for home repairs, etc.

DrewE wrote:

A number of people here have had good results with purchasing an ex-rental RV from CruiseAmerica or similar large rental agencies. They do a very thorough job of reconditioning their used motorhomes before selling them, and the result is something that will give good, reliable service. It's an option well worth considering.

As DrewE has mentioned a Former Rental Is a good option to look into,the link that I put up will give you some Idea of how it has worked out well for more than 90 members.

If you can't find a rental place near by both major companies have a Fly and Drive program where they will pay for airfare one way if you buy from them,There have been a few on that thread that have done just that.

Also don't be afraid of a RV on a Chevy Chassis they have a larger cockpit than the fords with more leg room,ride smoother and don't have the handling problems that plague a lot of the fords.

Again just another option to consider,good luck in your quest to find the RV that will suit your needs and budget,it worked out very well for me.

I recommend a Ford V10 drivetrain over a Chevy.

Preferably a 2002 and up.

Look for water damage. Leaky roof.

ted and renee wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:
needless to say, be wary of anything in the Houston/florida/etc. area
bumpy

Thanks Bumpy,,and yeah I had thought of that,,I gotta say though that the web site that he gave down in Texas has a large amount of coaches in my price range,,but I'm not gonna make a trip from Georgetown Ky (just north of Lexington) to Texas for a unit..it would have to be on hell of a deal..

Yep, I wonder what the status of the PPL units is and where they were located vs. the flooding.
bumpy

Bumpyroad wrote:
needless to say, be wary of anything in the Houston/florida/etc. area
bumpy

Thanks Bumpy,,and yeah I had thought of that,,I gotta say though that the web site that he gave down in Texas has a large amount of coaches in my price range,,but I'm not gonna make a trip from Georgetown Ky (just north of Lexington) to Texas for a unit..it would have to be on hell of a deal..