Early 90's Class A --which brand best to buy?

[Mrsmoos]

We are looking for a decent motorhome to take a few 3-4 hour (one way) trips a few times a year in. We have been looking at early 90's class A which is about in our price range (under $9,000). We have seen advertised a lot of brands--Winnebago, Southwind, Pace Arrow, Bounder, Suncrest etc. I understand Suncrest's maker is out of business. So that made me think is there a better brand/model to buy where parts will be available? And someone said Bounder is the "upper end" of Fleetwood. So does anyone have info and advice for us?

[BrianinMichigan]

With most motor homes they are built on a couple of standard chassis ( Gm Ford Deere ). The components that go into them are off the shelf from other manufactures. The only issue you may have is finding body parts and lamp assy's. My 25 year old Georgie Boy is built on a P-32 GM chassis. Most of the parts for it can still be found. But things like motor home manufactures add on parts like the fuel tank is a little trickier to deal with. If you are handy, usually these things aren't to much of a problem. One thing to look for is delamination. That can be a real downer. I bought mine in 2000, a year later I noticed the back corner had ants going into it. I freaked out and was pretty upset. I did what I had to do to get rid of the ants, and sprayed a sealer in between the fiber glass and the wood and was able to screw the back corner trim on and sealed that up. That was 14 years ago and today it's still there. The motor home still rolls down the road and gets us to where we want to go. With the maintenance that I stay up with , I would not have a problem taking it across country.

[Teacher_s_Pet]

Why a propane generator? Most I've seen are on older diesel motorhomes, haven't seen one in a gas powered motorhome as you have listed, but they could be out there.

[gbopp]

Condition, condition, condition.
Don't get too hung up on the make/model.

[valhalla360]

At 25yrs old, brand is pretty much irrelevant. It's about how it has been maintaned.

[Mrsmoos]

So is there a "ranking" of Fleetwood" motorhomes? like bounder are the best, then Pace Arrow is a step down? We are no seeing any of the above named Rvs in our price range BTW. We may go look at a 92 Pace Arrow that has been kept inside when not being used. It's main problem? The speedometer doesn't work and the dash air needs to be recharged. it has 70k miles, new tires, brakes and supposedly the tires are upgraded to wider tires for more stability. The generator runs off gasoline. we were hoping for a propane one.

[J-Rooster]

I think it's a real disservice to recommend a certain brand. What I would look for is a coach with the best floor plan that suits your needs regardless of brand! Good Luck in your search!

[n7bsn]

At that age, who made it is less important then who maintained it and how well.

I have seen a one year old $250,000 rig that that had been trashed and was maybe worth $10,000

I have also seen a Fleetwood that was 20 years old and looked like it had just left the factory.

[njtony]

also might look at airstream mh. I had a 94 and it was a good riding coach. chevy chassie. easy to work on. it was used when we bought it and had it for 5 years, then bought a 2013 coachman. Airstream had better workmanship. now they no longer make them, but a good older coach. just watch out for any unit with roof leaks.lots of hidden damage there.

[LVJ58]

You might want to look at used Dolphin or Tropi-cal's built by National RV and/or Allegro coaches built by Tiffin also Dutch & Country Stars built by Newmar.

All built decent quality coaches in the 90's

Good luck on your search....