Anyone make a mistake buying first MH ?

[Dollar98]

Just curious.. No matter how much research you do , it seems there is no substitute for owning and using a MH.. Anyone buy one and then realize you made a mistake on the first one.. If so, how did you rectify it. I haven't felt this way yet and hope I don't.. With all that is involved, I could see it happening.. I believe the best advice I got was to buy an older one and then see what you really want by trial and error..

[Former_enforcer]

Wow! Lot's of information here! All very educational, especialy on a particular brand that seems to coincide with a bit of history I heard from a sales person whose dealership carries that brand!

Anyway, thanks to all of you who so willingly share your thoughts and experiences with others.

From all this info, I feel any "mistake" we make in our shortly upcoming purchase will be minimal. Thanks, again, to all - and, Dollar98, thanks for asking the question.

[Finally_Fulltim]

Just bought first unit - a 1985 Mallard 26' Class C with 43,000 miles on it last June for $9500. Due to injury, illness, etc., only put about 300 miles on it so far. Mistake? I'll let you know in the fall of 2004 for sure, but I don't think so.
We're 2-3 years from retirement and plan on doing weekends and long weekends in the interim. Wanted unit to travel, not to camp.
We rented twice, searched for over a year and discussed many things with RV'er friends. Knew we wanted [1]MH vs. TT or 5'er for bathroom convenience, [2]Used vs. new for budget, [3]Smaller vs. larger for convenience and confidence building, [4]Rear twin beds, [5]Fixed dining area (sacrificing living area at this size range]. Got it all.
Only disappointment at this point (other than lack of use) was gas mileage was only 6.8 on short trips with very little generator use. Was expecting higher but I've just read forum on mileage and this seems to be right in line and hopefully will improve with longer trips.
THANKS to all who contribute to these forums - your advice and hints are a Godsend to us rookies. And I am truly impressed with the high level of the discussions. Even when drastically opposed opinions clash, there is no bitterness or anger evident. A wonderful reflection on the quality of the RV lifestyle! 🙂

[rickb]

It is interesting how long this thread has lasted. Kind of compelling, really. We want to relate how we got into this and, for most of us, it's ultimately led to greater enjoyment, one way or the other. We all have different journeys that have brought us here.

I would have to chime in with a lot of posters, here, though: My biggest mistake was not doing it sooner! Should have done this in my thirties (although in my youth I disdained the notion: tent camping/backpacking seemed more "pure" and appealing to my outdoors sensibilites.)

I've always loved being on the road - being away, living the life of the nomad. Waking up and exploring someplace new every few days. Or every few months, if the place is worth exploring in depth. RV's are the gateway to doing that, hence, I am just fascinated by them. I love going to shows and "ooh-ing" and "aah-ing" and seeing all the different solutions to being on the road the various designers bring to the table.


I like the historical aspects, too. In the National Car Museum in Reno, there's a "camping car" designed by no less than H. Ford, himself - kind of an early box van with a drop side you could use as a table for cooking. Turned out Henry loved to go camping and picnicking, and did so as often as he could - frequently with contemporary luminary T. Edison (if I remember, correctly).

Then there's Mae West's House Car - kind of a miniature railroad car with a porch on the back (it's on tour in the National RV History Tour - here's a link: http://popularmechanics.com/outdoors/outdoors/2000/5/National_RV_History_Tour/print.phtml). She reportedly loved being in the thing and getting on the road. It had an interesting accessory: a box attached to the exhaust you could put a chicken in - at the end of the day, you had roast chicken all ready to go!

Wonder what their responses to this thread might have been...

rickb

[Burfman]

I had no idea how old this post was. I was reading though and ran across a post from myself when we were taking delivery of our first MH. Well in follow up to the question, no way. We both love this rig and feel like others that did their homework via this forum and kicking a lot of tires that we made the right choice. I initally had a hard time talking the wife into buying prior to retirement but now since we have had it for a year and a half, she would sell me before she would sell the m/h. My only regret is I didn't act sooner when the kids were young. Oh well there are the grand kids! BTW we never made it to Mexico. Got as far as the Shady Dell RV Park in Bisbe, AZ and just stayed there. Great place to hang out. Its old 50's style with restored airstreams that you can rent for the weekend and Dots Diner for a real pattymelt and 50's expereince.

[Classagal]

Dollar
We first purchased our 1st motor home in Sept and thought that a 32 ft storm with 2 slides would be fine, well we took 3 trips in it small ones and knew what we would want when we get the next one. We went out three week ago just to look and we did even take our check book with us and went back to the same dealer and he showed us the 37 ft three slide southwind and my husband and I jsut looked at each other and said lets do it because we are planning full time in a year. We didlose anything on the deal. He gaves us all back that we paid and we got a good deal on the new 2004 southwind. We were boater for many years and it seemed you aways end up going bigger and this time we just went right to the top of what we could afford because we knew we would be back as we did in less then 2 months.
Sue

[Dashonthedash]

My personal answer to that is an unqualified NO. My current MH is my first and only, and I hope to get a few more years out of it. My only camping experience prior to 1992 was tents and backpacking, but my neighbor had a 27' Holiday Rambler that I remember as being quite "impressive" but I thought "I could never handle anything that big". A perusal of several newspaper advertising sections for RV shows in February and March of 1992 further piqued my interest, and I visited several RV dealers. I had decided to concentrate on units between 21 and 23 feet, so I checked out several small Class A's, B's and C's in the showroom and lot of the dealer. One of the units that was high on my list was the 23' Winnebago Brave. A walk-through of the 27-footer, highlighted by a lie-down on the sofa, quickly changed my mind and, one test drive and a little negotiation later, I had purchased myself that self-same 27' Winnebago Brave. I never had any major problems with it, just a couple minor warranty items, and I still enjoy it. As it turns out, I wouldn't have been as comfortable in a smaller unit, and a larger one is just a waste. It's just me and my dogs and, for a few trips the first few years, my mom. Perfect? Of course not. Sometimes it seems a bit weak in the power department, it's hard to handle in high winds, and the corner bed is a pain to make up. I do occasionally "check out" the new units when I'm visiting a dealer for service but, so far, I haven't found anything I like as much as my "Ruth". :C

[Craig___Karen]

This is our first and we love it. We thought we did a pretty good job of looking and educating ourselves prior to buying, but after a year we sure have learned a lot more and much of it from this forum. We bought a used 1-owner rig from a dealer. All of the warranty and service records as well as all manuals were intact and passed on to us. The prior owner loved this unit and it showed in looks and maintenance. I will say that we did not truely know what we wanted or needed until we had used the MH for several months and about 5,000 miles. Fortunately, this is a great unit for us and we couldn't love it more. Yes, we sometimes get "new rig fever," but it passes quickly.

[Finally_a_new_o]

Can't resist weighing in here...how about "you bought one and really hacked the wife off and got another?". True story. I got tired of the endless looking and the wife not wanting to let go of the old one. We had agreed that the Fleetwood Storm or Flair seemed to be palatable to her although I wanted a Class C. So on a Friday I struck a deal to trade in the old and drug home a 2003 Flair (non-slide). Wife didn't speak to me Friday or Saturday. Sunday she calls the dealer asking about the three-day cooling off period (dreamer). The dealer laughed at the "cooling off period comment" but understood her dislike and offered to take the Flair back if we bought up. So she finds an '03 Pace Arrow, double-slide and very nice inside. Dealer says he'll honor the trade-in from Friday and since they hadn't sent the paperwork in he'd give us 100% return on the Flair as a still new, unregistered vehicle. I told the wife she could have the Pace Arrow if she paid the difference.

So we've enjoyed the Pace Arrow now since early may...true story.

Regards, CD

[uncle_t]

You are "just curious"?? There are as of this writing over 19,000 folks that have read this thread. It is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!! Our first M/H less than 3 yrs ago was a 78 Sportcoach/Sherman tank/Hummer type steel thing on wheels. It taught us after a few uses that RV ing was the thing to do. We have gone from that to a TT to a 5er to a new Itasca due in at the dealer in 2 or 3 days. Although we have been slammed a little on resale we did it right a little at a time until we feel comfortable. DP is right around thew corner, I guess. Hey. It's only money!!

[Dollar98]

Wow this thread sure produced a lot of replies. Thanks guys for some great reads.................

[mowermech]

Our first motor home was fine, until my wife started travel nursing. She works nite shift, and when she went to bed in the morning the bathroom was blocked all day. We traded it for a rear bedroom 32 footer, which was great until we got the 5er. Now we are having a hard time selling the 32 foot rear bedroom motorhome. Oh, well, someday....

[mrwacky]

Obviously this is a thread that will never grow old as long as the forum last. The 31 ft. Airstream travel trailer I once bought was a mistake. I should have gone with a 5th wheel at the time. For its size and weight it didn't have much living space and hardly any storage. Plus by the time I was hooked up with my truck I was 50 feet long. Oh well.

[Sorney1]

The "mistake" was basing my needs on somebody else's needs. My "consultant" said get the couch, not the dinette, in my first Flair 25' Class A. Went to the PA factory to chose one and they had a new 28' model that would have been preferable with both sofa & dinette but was scared of the length.

[erupert]

Since this topic seemed to get "reactivated" with a couple of posts. I'll add my $.02

My first unit was an '89 Class C. Similiar to a previous post, I found out quickly that we were in "separate" sleeping quarters as my wife counldn't stand the cabover. But, I bought it used and it was cheap ($15K) at the time so it met my needs as something to "test the water" wtih. The original poster stated that you need to buy one first to realize what mistakes you made. I agree somewhat in that you need to RV before you know what will meet your needs and what you want. Purchasing an older unit first has it's advantages and disadvantages. At least it's inexpensive and probably past the major depreciation curve so you won't lose much selling it. HOWEVER, if it's your first RV, and an older one at that, the fix-it headaches might discourage you from continuing. For us, we moved too quickly into unit #2. A GB Pursuit. Looked awesome when we bought it, but, in truth, it's their cheapest model and it showed quickly. Fortunately, we got a great deal on it and I sold it for only $5K less than I purchased it for after 14 mos. and 20K miles.

For some, a couple of rentals at $1500 to $2K might be a much more cost effective way to sample RVing before buying a unit, deciding after a year or so that it's not right and taking the deplreciation hit.

[3_dog_nights]

WOW... form April of 02' till Dec 03' what a thread!