First Time Buyer...Updated 03/06/2006
This post is intended to be helpful to the first time buyer of a motor home. For those of you who don't fall into that category or believe this post is incomplete or off the mark, do us all a favor, a...
Forum Discussion
Johnny T
Good job, I think your plan will help first time and all buyers. The list of questions you have cover most issues, however I did not see much coverage for the area I find very important. As a prior owner of 7 diesel pushers and as one who has owned a large selection of DP's all the way from my first a 1998 38 foot Diplomat, thru a 1999 40 foot Windsor, a 2001 40 foot Signature a 2000 45 foot Monaco Prevost Royale. a 2002 45 foot Monaco Prevost Royale, a 2004 40 foot American Eagle, and now a 2005 Winnebago Journey I too have a few likes and dislikes and I have had disappointments. The details you point out and the questions you put forward cover living in and living with the RV very well. Most of the the areas are personal preference items, floor plan, seating, slides, storage, convince etc. All these items are very important and they must be given great deal of consideration. As you point out, how the owner will use the coach should influence most of those choices. I have found all of those points important, but most were only of minor importance to me in my usage.
We are travelers, we are not campers, I enjoy being on the road, I would rather not drive at night for fear I might miss some great highway scenes. I drive my coaches 15000 to 20000 miles a year, yet I spend almost no time in camp grounds. My coach has to be a great driver, we sleep in it and on rare occasions we have cooked in it (once or twice). I want a coach that drives straight, does not wander, does not rattle, has a good CD player for audio books, and has no or little restrictions to the view forward, to the "A" pillars, out the walk door, out the drivers window and out the window behind co-pilot seat. I need good acceleration and good brakes and I need good ground clearance with good entry angles and departure angles. I started with a 98 Diplomat that cost $125K steered and tracked so bad I invented the TruCenter device sold by Blue Ox to fix the steering, it worked but a hunk of concrete in a parking lot forced me to trade for the 99 Windsor (nice coach) after big eyes and to many rally's got me into the Signature, the two Prevosts and then the American Eagle. All those coaches were nice, but each had issues that for me took away my enjoyment of the drive. One had a "A" pillar 17.5" wide (big blind spot) others were great for going from down town hotel to downtown hotel, but were too long and too low for urban roads, one was too tech smart with too many issues. In my 7 coaches I went from 125K all the way to 850K and now back to 200K list. However I now have a coach I feel does suite my RVing to a "T", it is a 2005 Winnebago Journey 36G. It has a great view from drivers seat, forward to the corners and out the sides. It has great mirrors, a great color backup camera that will work in total darkness, it sits high with good entry and exit, ramps and driveways are never a issue. It drives straight, handles cross winds and it has a smooth ride. And when we get to the items on your list, floor plan, slides, storage, washer dryer, bells and whistles it scores high there too.
For me (now after 7 not quite there RV's) the way the coach rides and drives, the view from the drivers seat, the access the higher coach gives me is much more important then floor plan, storage access or other details. I drive so driving is number one, to others camping might be number one, but please remember your family will be in the coach, to keep them safe you need to be able to control the coach under all conditions. Some RV designers cannot have ever driven or camped in the coaches they are designing. RV builders brag about their large one piece windshields while at the same time they make the "A" pillar larger and larger. I lost a semi behind the "A" pillar on my 2001 Signature (large one piece windshield) with 17.5" between windshield glass and walk door glass. I was making a left turn onto a four lane and the sliding semi just stopped before he hit us (just luck). Low long wheel base coaches will hang up on the smallest inclines and you will do damage. They will ride like you are on a cloud, but enter a restaurant parking lot with a incline (even small 330" wheelbase) and you loose something under the coach costing big dollars.
This has gone on too long, but I hope some get the point don't forget you are buying a truck (bus) first, you want to drive and then camp, it has to be setup so you can see, it should go and stop well, and to enjoy the drive it needs to drive straight, do what you tell it and have a smooth ride. Safety on the road and quality of the ride is number one for me.
Thanks
John D
Good job, I think your plan will help first time and all buyers. The list of questions you have cover most issues, however I did not see much coverage for the area I find very important. As a prior owner of 7 diesel pushers and as one who has owned a large selection of DP's all the way from my first a 1998 38 foot Diplomat, thru a 1999 40 foot Windsor, a 2001 40 foot Signature a 2000 45 foot Monaco Prevost Royale. a 2002 45 foot Monaco Prevost Royale, a 2004 40 foot American Eagle, and now a 2005 Winnebago Journey I too have a few likes and dislikes and I have had disappointments. The details you point out and the questions you put forward cover living in and living with the RV very well. Most of the the areas are personal preference items, floor plan, seating, slides, storage, convince etc. All these items are very important and they must be given great deal of consideration. As you point out, how the owner will use the coach should influence most of those choices. I have found all of those points important, but most were only of minor importance to me in my usage.
We are travelers, we are not campers, I enjoy being on the road, I would rather not drive at night for fear I might miss some great highway scenes. I drive my coaches 15000 to 20000 miles a year, yet I spend almost no time in camp grounds. My coach has to be a great driver, we sleep in it and on rare occasions we have cooked in it (once or twice). I want a coach that drives straight, does not wander, does not rattle, has a good CD player for audio books, and has no or little restrictions to the view forward, to the "A" pillars, out the walk door, out the drivers window and out the window behind co-pilot seat. I need good acceleration and good brakes and I need good ground clearance with good entry angles and departure angles. I started with a 98 Diplomat that cost $125K steered and tracked so bad I invented the TruCenter device sold by Blue Ox to fix the steering, it worked but a hunk of concrete in a parking lot forced me to trade for the 99 Windsor (nice coach) after big eyes and to many rally's got me into the Signature, the two Prevosts and then the American Eagle. All those coaches were nice, but each had issues that for me took away my enjoyment of the drive. One had a "A" pillar 17.5" wide (big blind spot) others were great for going from down town hotel to downtown hotel, but were too long and too low for urban roads, one was too tech smart with too many issues. In my 7 coaches I went from 125K all the way to 850K and now back to 200K list. However I now have a coach I feel does suite my RVing to a "T", it is a 2005 Winnebago Journey 36G. It has a great view from drivers seat, forward to the corners and out the sides. It has great mirrors, a great color backup camera that will work in total darkness, it sits high with good entry and exit, ramps and driveways are never a issue. It drives straight, handles cross winds and it has a smooth ride. And when we get to the items on your list, floor plan, slides, storage, washer dryer, bells and whistles it scores high there too.
For me (now after 7 not quite there RV's) the way the coach rides and drives, the view from the drivers seat, the access the higher coach gives me is much more important then floor plan, storage access or other details. I drive so driving is number one, to others camping might be number one, but please remember your family will be in the coach, to keep them safe you need to be able to control the coach under all conditions. Some RV designers cannot have ever driven or camped in the coaches they are designing. RV builders brag about their large one piece windshields while at the same time they make the "A" pillar larger and larger. I lost a semi behind the "A" pillar on my 2001 Signature (large one piece windshield) with 17.5" between windshield glass and walk door glass. I was making a left turn onto a four lane and the sliding semi just stopped before he hit us (just luck). Low long wheel base coaches will hang up on the smallest inclines and you will do damage. They will ride like you are on a cloud, but enter a restaurant parking lot with a incline (even small 330" wheelbase) and you loose something under the coach costing big dollars.
This has gone on too long, but I hope some get the point don't forget you are buying a truck (bus) first, you want to drive and then camp, it has to be setup so you can see, it should go and stop well, and to enjoy the drive it needs to drive straight, do what you tell it and have a smooth ride. Safety on the road and quality of the ride is number one for me.
Thanks
John D
