Confused Need help Newbie here looking for frist

[rs680]

Hello everyone. I am a single semi retired guy that will be doing most of my long distance travel in the summer I have 3 to 4 months off every year and me and my dog are tired of sitting at home alone. So nows the time to get a Rv so I will be ready to go early spring.

Now the question What the heck should I really buy. New, Used and if so how many years old. Motorhome, class A B or C , 5th wheel, tt. REg, light or ultralite.

There is just to many to chose. I have been studying this for 6 months now.
No matter how you look at it they all have good points and bad. The more I ask myself what I need the more confused I get.

I was leaning towards travel trailer or 5th wheel But now I am back to Class A or maybe C or B. Gas unit 30 ft range

My question is What are those must have things and what is the ideal size when it comes to small more remote campgrounds. I spend most of my time away from the big resort campgrounds.

Is there a Company that builds for the cold Canada winters. I live in central Ontario and will be mostly traveling in northern Canada.

Also I have heard not to buy anything over 10 years old is this true and if so why.

I am sorry for all the question I have tried to do the research myself but just find the more I read the more I do not understand

thank you

[Lobstah]

Very difficult question to answer because there are so many variables. How big is your dog, for example? 🙂
I'd start with how much space you feel you need for you and your dog to be comfortable for long periods on the road. The smaller units are going to be easier to drive, easier to maintain, easier to set up and tear down, and more efficient on your wallet.
Second, how many times are you going to setup and tear down? This would impact my decision. A trailer/5th wheel take more time to setup and tear down than a motorhome does. If you plan on moving every week, that could impact your decision.
At 10k miles, your on my edge for a diesel based on cost of fuel. Diesel fuel costs more, but gets better mileage. If you were driving 20-30k/yr, that would have a greater impact. Nice to have, BUT, you get more space for less money in a gas rig. Our rig has a grade brake which is very similar to an exhaust brake in terms of it's function. I believe that most Class As with Allison transmissions have this function. A diesel will typically have air suspension, gas will not. At 20-30k/yr, I'd want air ride, no question. At 10K? I'd elect to spend that money on space/comfort.
As for age...tough one. Personally, I wouldn't buy anything pre-2000, but that's mostly because of slides and other conveniences that came into the market at around that time. Our rig is coming up on 10yrs, which I still can't believe, and if I were in the market, I'd have no problem purchasing it again 😉 We bought our coach sight unseen, with preinspection right of refusal, of course, but we had look at hundreds of rigs online, and when we saw this particular floorplan, we were both sold instantly. We may never have seen this configuration by just visiting dealers.

For research, we found Ebay to be invaluable due to being able to look at 100s of floor plans, and getting a good idea on pricing at the same time. We set up searches within specific parameters, and then could look at new/relisted coaches any time we wanted to. You can save a search, and you can base the search on age, mileage, price, fuel type, etc.

One thing I frequently say is that motorhomes are like boats in that there's no such thing as the perfect one. Everything is going to be a trade-off/compromise based on your own priorities, and what makes it a bit more difficult is that you're not sure what those are, due to lack of experience.
I balance that with the fact that you don't NEED the "perfect" coach...so don't get stuck in analysis paralysis 😉 Ask questions here, figure out what your short list of "must haves" is, and then everything else becomes a bit more minor.

Jim

[Bumpyroad]

I always thought that a nice B towing a small TT would be ideal.
bumpy

[loulou57]

RS Welcome,

It is nice to see someone else from Ontario here.

Where as in how far north in Canada are you travelling in the summer?
Are you planning on provincial parks?
Are you planning on camping crown land?
Will you be heading down logging roads?

As to what you need and what you want will be a personal choice. I could tell you what a female would like in a RV but that may not help you, LOL

If you are summer camping you will not need a 4 season. However, this year in August the heat went on in the TT that was Timmins, I have camped in the rockies in July and woke to 6 inches of snow, LOl but still was fine in a tent. Usually holidays are in Sept and no further south than Chapleau. Still you will not need a 4 season.
If you are planning on northern Ontario you don't want to be over 30'. Ours is 27' then add another 4 for the hitch etc. We are limited in some areas to the number of choices for sites. We never have had a bad one. The parks can handle over 32' but you may not have the most secluded site. Our parks are not like our southern friends with cement pads. I think they are a little more rustic here, LOL
Also remember that once you get a little north distance to town, shops or points of interest may be a drive from the camp ground, so you may want to think TT so you are not having to take a motor home everywhere. We have been glad that we chose TT over a lge motor home. There are places we have been that it is a 6 hour drive to the closest store/gas etc.

We looked at almost every RV dealer from Orillia south. There are a few that we did not like, the dealers not product, including where we bought ours.


Some say your relationship with the dealer is somewhat like marriage.
You don't know what you have until it is too late.
It is either the perfect match, or a deal you wish you had never made.

Good luck, if we can help at all just ask!

[timmac]

rs680 wrote:
Well I plan on putting only about 10k or less a year A 42 is to big for me as a starter unit.
I like the winnebago sightseer 33 But very hard to find used ones in my price range. I would like to spend 50k max with maybe another 5k to equip. the way I like.
I am mostly concerned with construction want good mid entry quality

Check out the Fleetwood Bounders, lots of them for sale, they are built good, you can find them with gas or diesel.

[rs680]

Well I plan on putting only about 10k or less a year A 42 is to big for me as a starter unit.
I like the winnebago sightseer 33 But very hard to find used ones in my price range. I would like to spend 50k max with maybe another 5k to equip. the way I like.
I am mostly concerned with construction want good mid entry quality

[kjburns]

I considered the same things about six years ago. Personally, I prefer some space so I wanted a class A in the 40' range. I didn't have much trouble fitting it into smaller sites. I live in the mountains and liked the idea of exhaust braking so a diesel made sense. Once I got my wife on board with the idea, I pulled the trigger. Over the past few years, other considerations came into play like bigger slide outs and amenities so we upgraded. After a couple of upgrades, we found our sweet spot with the 42QD. It may not be your cup of tea, but it's our idea of the home away from home.

[old_guy]

what type truck do you have to tow a TT or a 5th ? that comes into play also. how much room do you need? just you ad the dog may get by on something in the 25 ft range with a slide. nothing over 10 years sometimes means head ache repairing. some units have been taken care of and they make good first units. I have a 99 and it has been taken care of religiously. it is still a good unit. units like mine are rare but there are some out there. I know a guy who has a dog and he just has a small class C. he does very well in it. he does take care of his MH and it is in very good condition. some Units are built for the cold and the Canadian weather. keep asking your questions we will try to answer the best we can

[TucsonJim]

Welcome! You'll get lots of opinions on here. Each unit has its own pros and cons. If it were me, I'd see if I could locate and RV show somewhere that you could attend so you could spend a day or two touring the models and getting ideas on what is right for you.

Here is a link to Canadian RV shows. (I hope you mean Ontario Canada, and not Ontario California...)

Canada RV shows