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..

[Rbuzz]

I wanted a 28 ft but found a Winnie Adventurer 34 ft with only 20,114 miles 1995 at the right price and bought it. NOw I glad we got the 34 ft I think it's perfect. BUT the 95 454 Chev is the last throttle body engine one year before the real fuel injection enging and that would be a better choice. When you buy used it's hard to cover all the bases. Everything has been good but I still lust for the real fuel injection.

[LeviLady]

Bought our first motorhome in 1973, Concord 24 ft. Many many things wrong with the floor plan..but mech. was a breeze..318 eng. got 11.9 per gal pulling my Toyota.. lived in this motorhome for almost 4 years. Traveled 40 of the fifty states and wouldn't give up those years for anything. Second motorhome 1989 Pacearrow..no problems...better floorplan... third motorhome a 1990 Titan..Junk.. now in the process of purchasing a 1999 Infinity with only 10thousand miles and like new. love the floor plan. No slide out, for we are backroads travelers and camp for the night in strange places.Didn't want to be bothered with extras like that. Now time to visit more states..have 8 more to go..considering Hawaii and Alaska are not choices. Don't believe any of our motorhomes have been a mistake, just a learning process.

Looking forward to getting out of Florida for the summer*L*

[Gypsy_Ginger]

Mistake? Too soon to tell, but I am beginning to worry a little. I think I bought a home without knowing enough about what may go wrong with the big ticket items, like the engine. Supposed to be an extended warranty, but it reads "Service Contract". Took it for 4 years, but wonder what will happen in four years and two days?

Anyway, I am having it checked out, after the fact. Good news or bad, at least I'll have a better idea what I am dealing with.

The dealership had been recommended by people who bought there, but I found out later that they had purchased a one year old model at the time. Mine is at least 5 years old, high mileage, and it had been a rental.

I have found a number of defects so far, and have given my salesman a list for them to correct when I bring it in. I am sure they will take care of some of it, but I am concerned about the fact that he told me it would take them a week to get it ready for me to pick up, and that they would give it a complete servicing, including all new fluids(oil, trans, lube, etc.) and thoroughly check everything over.

After 200 miles I filled the tank and checked the oil. Found dried gook on the dipstick, a few inches above the full mark, and the oil is plenty full but does not look clean, by any means. The engine chatters when you apply some throttle, as if the lifters may be sticking from dirty oil or something.

(I a driving a 6 year old Ranger with 101,000 miles on it and keep my oil clean as a whistle. It still looks pretty good by the next oil change when I do it right on time as I usually do, so that was what I was expecting from this 5 yr old veh).

Keep your fingers crossed for me, that I may come out of this mess smelling more like a rose than a skunk.

It's not over til the -at Lady sings. I love the MH, itself. It is very comfortable and so far, plenty or storage.

gypsy g
1999 34' Bounder
Chevy, gasoline

[happyRVer]

We have several camping friends who traded up to new motorhomes without extrensive research. They are already talking about moving on to the next motorhomes (less than 2 years). We took our time and visited several RV shows and waited till we found the floorplan that seemed perfect for us in a used model at a good price. We're still happy and not looking to move on since we still have not seen anything we like more. My suggestion is take your time, buy what you want (don't compromise too much) and buy used!

[Skeptical_John]

I will echo the recommendation you join RVCG before you waste a lot of time and money. We almost bought an Alfa DP but were concerned about some evident quality problems and the way it drove. Then we got the RVCG report showing it had one of trhe worst hiway control ratings in the MH industry. Since hiway control was a serious consideration we said "See Ya" to the Alfa and now love our Newmar Dutch Star DP. It has one of the highest hiway control ratings of all, as well as high ratings for reliability and value.

Good luck in your selection. Do not be misled by sales types or emotion. Decide what you need/want & be objective. If money is an issue (when isn't it?) be sure to calculate your total cost incl taxes, insurance, registration.

There are many other considerations such as type & frequency of use, family size, travel plans, cooking habits which may be responded to by others.

[hairlessinmiami]

my philosophy was to buy the best motorhome i could afford as the first one so that if i don't like motorhomeing it wouldnt be because of the motorhome. it would be the lifestyle.
Well
after almost 2 years of research and a year of looking i found a 40Ft
country coach intrigue with 1 large slide. I love the coach and have no rergrets except i wish it had 2 more slides, a flat panel tv, an additional burner on the stove, an in motion dish, etc. I could go on and on but I guess even if you buy a new 05 you will never get all you want. So, I say buy the best you can and enjoy it as mcuh as you can and most of all have fun!! i know I am

[LuvRving]

No mistakes....learning experiences! First mh was a 24' Minnie..liked it fine but eventually it became too small. Moved up to a '97 Winnebago 33RQ Brave with couch slide/Ford 460. Had 6,200 miles on it and the owner had lived in it 'on the job' for 6 months. Don't know that I'd buy another motorhome that someone had lived in full time as we had to replace the toilet, furnace and converter. Other than that it was a great mh (we drove it across the U.S. twice) but it was underpowered...got down to 25 mph. going up some long hills towing a Honda CRV. Recently traded it in on another Brave (2003,34D) with the Vortec 8.1 engine, 5 speed Allison transmission on the Workhorse W20 chassis. Love the floor plan, added power and the transmission. Have 2 concerns however, the 19.5" Michelin XRV tires that I've read a LOT about on this forum and the suspension. Workhorse knows they have had problems in the past as they've put Bilsteins on the 2004's. Have talked with our Workhorse service person and requested that Workhorse put on Bilstein shocks all the way around as I had them installed on the '97 Brave and it made a BIG, wonderful difference. Three different service techs drove it (not on any rough roads you can bet) and couldn't find a problem. That mh bounced up and down going over some rolling roads enough that we were yelling..."Whoa there Big Girl" and "Yahoo". It even 'bottomed out' on our last trip so something isn't right. Guess I'll have to go in again and complain some more. Will probably take off the front tires and replace them with another tire I'll feel more comfortable with as these Michelin XRV's sound like a nightmare just waiting to happen. So, again, no BIG mistakes, just learning experiences!
Happy and safe travels.

[tuanton]

I made a mistake buying my 2nd MH. It was a Fleetwood Bounder 2004 with 8.1 Workhorse engine. The MH breakdown on my shakedown trip. We camped at a repair shop parking lot for 1 week. finally we had to trade it in for a 2004 Monaco Diplomat because of the above incident and we can,t withstand the roaring sound of this gas engine. We lost 20,000 due to the trade in. We should buy the DP in the first place. What a mistake!

[reggie1]

rvten, I also made the mistake of buying a Fleetwood product. Not once but twice. I guess you could say that I am a slow learner. I learned the hard way. I don't know anything about other manufacturers but I do know Fleetwood to well. All I can offer on the subject is if you if you have your mind made up on purchasing a Class A, save yourself a lot of headaches and money, and don't buy a Fleetwood product. Also, don't buy a new one. Be patient and the one that you want will come along for the right price. Good Luck.

Reggie

[heavenlyscent]

We have looked at the Ambassador also and liked it and liked the workmanship of HR. Did you get the 4 slide model?

[heavenlyscent]

Are you real happy with the Endeavor? This is the one we have been looking at and it seems it is built well. Which floorplan did you go with?

[P3TC]

According to the replies so far, alot of people made at least one mistake. Mine was not driving it enough to pin down the handling problems.
Bill

[Byron_Unger]

First purchase, 45'country coach-60 series diesel etc. wonderfull coach glad I purchased what we wanted the first time around.

[carl66vw]

If I had it to do over, I would rent one for a trip and see what there is about it that I didn't like. For one, I will never buy another one with a rear side bed. Second, I would take the motorhome, even if I had to put down a non refundable deposit to a mechanic and get their opinion. I decided to remodel my present motorhome beginning with a new engine and then went from there. I am just about done with the interior. No matter how much money I put into this one, I still have a 1984 vehicle and I will never get the money I have invested out of it. Do your research before you plunk your money down.

[gunney23]

My first motot home was a mistake-a lot of hidden problems such as water leaks, rotten wood, things that didn't work. I have re-done just about everything myself and the motor home is now in pretty good shape. I now know exactly what to look for and believe I won't make the same mistake again. When I bought the MH I didn't do a detail inspection. If you're thinking of buying one spend whatever time it takes or have a reputable dealer go over the MH with a fine tooth comb-it's worth it.