First Time Buyer...Updated 03/06/2006

[JohnnyT]

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, and enlighten us. If all you have to offer is criticism with no corresponding constructive comments, no one besides yourself will benefit from the experience. So please improve or expand on this post in a constructive way.

The issue at hand is how to select the coach that best matches your wants and needs and offers the most promise of not being a perpetual headache.

I think there is an order to thinking through selecting a motor home that best maps to your wants, needs, and pocketbook. There are a lot of issues to get at and understand. Going about the process out of sequence will circumvent some critical steps and increases the potential that in the end you will not be as satisfied with what you buy as you could have been. I've heard it said that nothing can be seen until seen in a form that you're looking for. You give yourself the edge by determining your wants and needs first, letting them guide you to the make and model of motor home. Focus on deal making after your prioritized wants and needs have lead you to the type, make and model, and level of fit and finish that best fit your pocketbook.

BUDGET
I believe the first step for most will be to establish a framework relative to cost: decide how much you want to spend, how much you can spend, and how much you are willing to spend. For the most part you can count on spending more that you initially thought. Knowing what the max you can spend is a place to start.

While the initial cost is a lot more than the tip of the iceberg, the cost of ownership and operation bear some thought as well. Gain some insight into annual insurance cost, maintenance, and storage fees. Start making a list of items that will be purchased to support the RV. Don't forget the dingy and associated costs if you're planning on dragging one around, tow bar, braking system, car insurance and registration. Think about chemicals, hoses, adaptors, critical spares, tools, as well as outdoor furniture, grill, mats, and kitchen gadgets, cleaning supplies, hooks, and toilet paper holder! Then add on the operating costs: fuel, camping fees, charges for radio, television, and telephone, etc.

I personally think it's a mistake to go into the process thinking you can always trade in or up. It's a costly strategy. Try to get it right the first time. For many, the choice will boil down to compromising what they want to fit with what they can afford. All the more reason to spend the time and energy to figure out what you want and need and then prioritize your selections to get what you can afford.

Once you have established a framework for purchase budget and ownership cost, use that frame work to construct the best coach that will fit into it. At this point in time you may have a gross idea of size diesel pusher or gas... new versus used. You may even have a specific manufacturer you're interested in. These choices, especially the make and model, ought to flow from your wants and needs.

WANTS AND NEEDS
Go to work figuring out what you want in terms of livability and travel-ability. A good place to start is deciding if you're going to be a parker or a driver. Most motor homes are better suited to one or the other. Coaches with lots of slides are terrific when parked, but coaches with fewer slides may seem roomier when driving down the road with the slides in. Things to think about if you're a driver include how much room there is to move around with the sliders closed, and access to such things as storage areas and facilities like the washer/dryer.

The next and crucial step is to figure out what you think you want for power train, chassis, floor plan, features, amenities, and gadgets. Look at a lot of coaches, even trailers, and see what combinations seem to fit your lifestyle the best. As you get immersed in the process, I think you will find some of your original thoughts will change. The following checklist will give you some things to consider. Keep in mind that the right coach is out there; it just takes hard work to find it.

Will you spend more waking hours driving or parked?
What features need to be accessible while driving?
How many people do you need to sleep?
Is a queen-sized bed appropriate?
How long will you be using the coach at a stretch?
(weekends versus long trips)
How much storage will you require?
How fussy are you about the quality of workmanship in furnishings?
How much counter space do you want in the kitchen?
How often will you use an oven or washer/dryer?
Will a dinette or table and chairs suit you best?
How much privacy do you want for the bathroom?
Does anyone require upgraded seats or bed?
Will you tolerate losing speed on hills?
Are you concerned about miles per gallon or emissions controls?
How far do you want to be able to travel between fuel stops?
How much capacity do you want for water, black, and grey tanks?
Do you require pass-through storage for long items?
Do you want basement doors that open in a specific direction?
(to the side or up like a bus)
How important is soundproofing or insulation?
How important is entertainment, inside or outside?
How many televisions, and where?
Speakers or refrigerator in basement to use when camped?
Can you find the features you want in a used coach?

Livability... Casual Use to Full Timing

RESEARCH
Buying a motor home is easy... the hard part is selecting the one that will best fit your needs. Do a lot of looking and as much research as you can. Take notes about what you like and dislike in each coach you see. Do not accept that what you want is not available. After our first month of looking, we had a floor plan we liked but everything else was wrong. We almost bought that floor plan because we were beginning to think what we wanted was not available or economically attainable. Any fool can buy a motor home; the trick is not to be foolhardy about the process of selecting the one. Some people are smarter than we are; it took us months of intensive research, giving up every week end visiting dealers, hours of reading magazines, exploring all the internet sales sites, and forum surfing. In the end, we looked at 26 different models from 12 different manufacturers, and test drove most of them. We also visited a multitude of factories and found people to discuss ideas and assumptions. One thing to keep in mind, make sure that you adopt your own ideas and make your own priorities for features and functions. Others will have valuable insights, but those insights and perspectives will reflect their own priorities. As you listen, try to understand not only what they think is important, but also why. Get as many variant opinions as you can in arriving at your own conclusions. What's perfect for one can be a horrible mismatch for another.

There is no substitute for spending time in a prospective coach, visualizing daily routines in terms of workability and comfort and convenience... sit in every seating position, open and close everything that will do so, adjust anything that has an adjustment, especially the driver's and passenger's seats. Lie down on the bed, open up any convertible couches and test them for comfort. Walk through meal preparation and maneuvering around in the coach with a full complement of people and pets, both with sliders in and out. Go through the exercise both indoors and outdoors. Open the sliders and the awnings at the same time to check angles and clearances. Think through loading and unloading: is there enough space and is it easily accessible? See how cords and hoses roll in and out.

Do not expect that what you will get is any better than what you see in the showroom. So many times I got that response to an inquiry about a noticeable defect in terms of fit, finish, or operation. As you are deciding on the coach and examining the details of fit and finish, do not limit you looking to the interior. Look hard in all the equipment bays and in the engine compartment. A lot of unnecessary breakdowns are set up when the coach is mated to the chassis, look for hoses and wiring too close to heat source or that will rub, abrade, or get pinched, look for lapses in sealing seams. In other words, fit and finish has two flavors: cosmetic and functional. If what you can see looks slipshod, then what you can not see is not going to be any better.

Choosing Gasoline or Diesel Powered?

SELECTING THE DEALER
It seems that a lot of dissatisfaction that people experience lies at the doorstep of the dealer they choose. In other cases, I think some buyers have unrealistic expectations about how the dealer will react to their concerns and problems. Thorough vetting out of the dealer is of utmost importance. Talk to as many people as you can who have done business with the dealer. Also have some very frank discussions with your perspective dealer, starting with the salesperson, and then a review of your expectations with the salesperson and the sales manager together. Be specific, give examples, and require specific responses. Do not accept "You're in good hands All-State" responses.

TAKING DELIVERY
When you go to pick up your coach from the dealer have a thorough checklist of items to check. Do the inspection systematically. There are several lists already created that you can use as a starter. Here are a few thoughts.

„« Do not schedule your pick up of your new motor home on a Friday or a day before a holiday. That way the pressure to get it done will be lessened and there will be time for corrections to be made. Have extra time built into your schedule. Have a place to stay so there is no need to rush the inspection if you're picking up your coach remotely from where you live.

„« Make sure that all the documentation and manuals are present. Do an inventory and do not forget to get a list of all the serial and model numbers for all the warrantee registration. It's the job of the dealer to provide that.

„« Operate and test everything. Make sure you can do it yourself... and then do it, and have your companion do it. We got the in motion satellite and the home entertainment system; I am still the only one who can operate them...

„« Take notes of what you see that bothers you or questions that come to mind. If you don't get satisfactory answers to your question, just ask them again and again until you're satisfied. You have paid a lot of money for those answers.

„« Question anything you do not understand. Make sure you and spouse do not leave with any unanswered question... Nothing worse than to discover something and then hear the words, "I was wondering about that."


„« Do not assume anything has been checked or is working properly. Check them yourself, especially fluids and tire pressures... which means bring a suitable tire gauge. It would also be useful to have one of those indoor/ outdoor thermometers with a remote sensor to check air conditioner and heat performance, including the dash air.

„« If at all possible, go through the manuals and documentation before you do your acceptance inspection. Just take a couple of hours off in a corner; you will be amazed at the questions that will pop up. It's better to do that before you do your walk through.

„« Use one of the many cookbook PDA lists that are around. The best one I found was at http://www.rversonline.org/ArtFactoryPickup.html There is also a special section on air brakes on the rversonline site.

„« Do a test drive that will approximate how you will drive your motor home.

„« Go into the process expecting to have glitches and some your expectations not to be met. Focus on resolutions instead of recriminations. Don't let someone else's ignorance spoil what should be a very special day!!

OUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
From my own experience and what insights I have gained from private discussions with a number of first time buyers, the really tough issue is nailing down your wants, needs, and priorities and then overlaying the price one will have to pay. In our case we spent more than we originally set out to spend, but less than I could have. Deciding which manufacturer was not the starting point, it was the place to end...

Here are some of our answers to the questions I posed above:

Will you be a driver or a parker... In our case we are drivers. We tend to drive a lot and never stay in one place for very long while others will pick a destination, go there and plant themselves for a period of time, then return home. We wanted the maximum of space in the coach when the sliders were closed which was a governing factor in determining floor plan and the number of sliders. We also wanted certain key storage areas accessible and wanted access to the washer/dryer with the sliders closed. We wanted to maximize the kitchen counter space and be able to use the seating area and table while underway or for those times we stop in route. So we opted for a dinette which has the advantage being able to convert into a sleeping position (albeit for a short person). We also preferred not to deal with the chairs while underway which have a tendency to want to move around if not securely strapped down.

In terms of the bathroom, we wanted the toilet area separate from the shower and sink. We wanted to be able to separate the bathroom from the bedroom and the living area for those times when there would be others on board besides my wife and me.

We also chose to eliminate the up-front TV for increased visibility and to avoid a source for bumping heads. We wanted it placed elsewhere in the coach and at eye level so we wouldn't crane our necks up to watch.

We needed a floor plan that would comfortably sleep 5.

How far do you want to be able to travel between fuel stops... how much capacity do you want for water, black, and grey tanks... These are good issues to raise on forums; you will get a wide variety of answers. We arbitrarily decided we wanted a 1000 miles for fuel, and 3 to 5 days capacity for water and holding tanks.

It helps to be reasonable and recognize that it's better to start with the minimum you are willing to settle for and then the maximum you're willing to pay for. Be conservative in your estimates.

We wanted to have pass-through storage in the basement as well as sliding drawers, which eliminated some coaches including one that had our favorite floor plan in it. While you're thinking about storage, keep in mind there are different options for the type of doors used on basement storage. Aside from the conventional, there are bus style doors that cantilever up and out of the way, as well as side opening doors. Our coach has all three types.

We put a premium on insulation and the soundproofing of the coach when parked, so we paid attention to the specs and tested the noise level in the coach in terms of isolating the inside from the outside. We were focused on not being disturbed and not disturbing our neighbors. We wanted the coach to be as quiet as possible on the road as well as when parked.

We opted not to buy used, although there are many compelling reason to do so: initial cost and the potential that new coach bugs would be worked out. Part of our criteria was to bypass anything that had not had continual use, since disuse often accelerates the deterioration of such things as seals, hoses, belts and the like. In the end, we concluded we were unlikely to find a match for our wants and needs in a used coach and focused on going the new coach route. Once we decided we wanted a new coach, we soon discovered that it was going to require us to order one to get exactly what we wanted and would fit into our budget.

So we began to reduce the number of potential manufacturers from 12 down to 3 since the others did not offer what we wanted or their level of fit and finish wasn't acceptable to me. Having said that, I believe that with minor exceptions many of the manufacturers we deselected would have worked for us, had their offerings been a match to our wants and needs.

We placed a priority on which manufacturers would give us the most flexibility to make minor alterations to their standard fare; that got the list down to 2. In the end, we chose the one that gave us the most flexibility. Their reputation for warrantee support was also a determining factor, but any of the final three would have given terrific support based on their reputation.

In our case, we did not place a high premium on after sale dealer support. This is not a course I would recommend for every one but our situation was such that we were comfortable in taking on the responsibility of managing our service needs. It did take some work to establish a network of support once we bought. We have been fortunate to have had only one coach related issue, which was very minor. Other problems we have had were with the generator and our satellite system, where we dealt directly with the manufacturers with satisfactory results. We found both the coach manufacturer and the manufacturers of the specific components were very helpful in answering any questions that popped up.

When our coach was being built, I visited the factory to follow progress on the construction, timing the visit so I would be able to inspect what I was expecting in terms of wiring, plumbing, and interior construction. I was able to see our coach and other coaches down the line so I inspected each step of the build process.

This post will raise more questions than it answers which in part was the intent, and the offer up a process to get the answers...

If you interest is in Buying A Used Motorhome Here are Some Thoughts For First Time Buyers

Good luck in your odyssey it's a worthwhile journey.

JohnnyT

[Louisa]

First time buyers. Are thinking about buying 2005 diesel Bounder with 10K miles, major dealership, extended warranty. Looked at Tiffin but expensive! Are Bounders as good as so many seem to say? Power? Ease of driving? Any other thoughts?

It's all new to us.

Thank you so much.

[TUFAW]

John D said
Rob,
Your choice of coaches will be very limited if you want all steel, even Blue Bird used Alu-a-bond a panel type aluminum skin. I do not think there is a real steel coach out there, Prevost ElMirage is now Fiberglas and Stainless Steel.
Good Luck you might have to buy a school bus.

I hear ya John, that's why I bought an older Wanderlodge. It isn't all steel but hopefully enough. The end caps are fiberglass with the front one being over a steel cage. The bay doors are aluminum skins over a steel substructure. The rest of the body cladding is steel with two layers on the roof. I wouldn't want to but it's nice to know that upside down the roof will support the entire weight of the coach.

[jdshep]

Rob said: Personally I prefer an all steel coach over anything else.
Rob,
Your choice of coaches will be very limited if you want all steel, even Blue Bird used Alu-a-bond a panel type aluminum skin. I do not think there is a real steel coach out there, Prevost ElMirage is now Fiberglas and Stainless Steel.
Good Luck you might have to buy a school bus.
John D

[TUFAW]

Good topic and well presented. I would offer only one comment. I believe before anything, even 'Budget', should be a heading of SAFETY. Personally I prefer an all steel coach over anything else. I'm sure others can offer recommendations that maximize safety as well.

Rob

[jdshep]

Texasanne,
If you are only going to RV three weeks a year you might consider continuing to rent.
Trading in the first couple years is not a good idea. Buying a one or two year old coach is a good idea. Class C coaches are easy to drive in the 22 to 24 foot size, but when looking a 31 class C seems like you might also look at a Gas type A in the 32 to 34 foot range. The small class A is easy to handle and I suspect (not sure) a 32 foot class A might be a better driver than a similar sized class C. I say this because the A is built on a real truck chassis and the C I think is still a modified van chassis. Others will be better at comparing the two. Time share will not work for me or the wife, but others think it is great. People renting coaches are sometimes beginners and being so they are not likely to take as good care of the coach as the owner wood. It is easy to drag bottom, rub branches and trees for beginners. I would not want just anyone to use my coach even if they did keep it clean, it is not a house, you drive it down roads and if it is not yours you may not drive or take care of it as I would. A novice might not understand it is not a off road unit, might do damage to engine or trans or genny without knowing. As I said time share not for me. As for first time buyer Johnny T has done a great job explaining most of what you need to know, make sure it drives good and you feel good driving same and you are not hindered when you are driving. Good mirrors, nice open windows, small window posts good ground clearance in a coach you like.
John D.

Texasanne wrote:
Hi John,
Thank you for your lengthy post. I needed every word of it so don't think it was too long for everybody. You sound so knowledgeable about RV machinery and the features that make DP RVs driver friendly. Please give me your opinion about our situation.
My husband knows little to nothing about vehicles and I'm the one who gets the oil changed etc. Yet he thinks he wants an RV. We rented one and had a wonderful experience with the rental company and living a week in tiny quarters. Our rental was a new Class C 26' Dutchmen. My husband drove and I followed in our car because our destination wasn't far and towing behind a rental is expensive to set up. Now we are going to rent a 31' Dutchmen with a slide and see if we feel less cramped. We're going from Tx to Az so I'll ride along in the RV this time. You can see we're going at this VERY SLOWLY. We don't have money to waste on a bad purchase. We found out the company who rents has a program whereby you can buy an RV (they like Thor Industries products) and put it in their "program". You get it whenever you want. When you're not using it they rent it out and you get half the rental fee mailed to you monthly. So if you only use it 3x a year you can defray the payments by renting it. The company totally maintains the unit which is where I see a real advantage to people like us. But we get little choice in the unit selection other than size. Cost is something like $60,000 (including all taxes) for a new 26' Dutchmen. It goes up from there as the units get larger. They are very STRICT about deposits for rentals. People must not abuse them or the company has a knack for cleaning them because ours was immaculate.
For people as naive about equipment and RVing in general, what opinion do you have on how we should proceed? Also, the choices out there are mind boggling for newbies. Don't you lose a lot of money when you get rid of one?
Any info would be SO-O helpful and I would greatly appreciate your time.
Texasanne

[Texasanne]

Hi John,
Thank you for your lengthy post. I needed every word of it so don't think it was too long for everybody. You sound so knowledgeable about RV machinery and the features that make DP RVs driver friendly. Please give me your opinion about our situation.
My husband knows little to nothing about vehicles and I'm the one who gets the oil changed etc. Yet he thinks he wants an RV. We rented one and had a wonderful experience with the rental company and living a week in tiny quarters. Our rental was a new Class C 26' Dutchmen. My husband drove and I followed in our car because our destination wasn't far and towing behind a rental is expensive to set up. Now we are going to rent a 31' Dutchmen with a slide and see if we feel less cramped. We're going from Tx to Az so I'll ride along in the RV this time. You can see we're going at this VERY SLOWLY. We don't have money to waste on a bad purchase. We found out the company who rents has a program whereby you can buy an RV (they like Thor Industries products) and put it in their "program". You get it whenever you want. When you're not using it they rent it out and you get half the rental fee mailed to you monthly. So if you only use it 3x a year you can defray the payments by renting it. The company totally maintains the unit which is where I see a real advantage to people like us. But we get little choice in the unit selection other than size. Cost is something like $60,000 (including all taxes) for a new 26' Dutchmen. It goes up from there as the units get larger. They are very STRICT about deposits for rentals. People must not abuse them or the company has a knack for cleaning them because ours was immaculate.
For people as naive about equipment and RVing in general, what opinion do you have on how we should proceed? Also, the choices out there are mind boggling for newbies. Don't you lose a lot of money when you get rid of one?
Any info would be SO-O helpful and I would greatly appreciate your time.
Texasanne

[jdshep]

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

[Lars_C]

Hi JohnnyT


It was really nice to read how to do, when bying a motor home. I'm working on a plan to travel through Europe next year with my three kids (all girls!) The problem is that we are not able to buy this kind of motor home shown on this forum, in Denmark - I believe the cost would be 250.000$ - so I have to find something smaller. Have any of you an idea of how much space you'll need on a travel in 6-8 weeks time with three teenagers in the same motor home?

Best regards

Lars C

[wolfman01]

WOW, I just finised reading ALL 24 PAGES!!! Lots of awesome info. JohnnyT, I've printed a copy of your initial post, and will be using it as part of my inspection process of the Safari Sarenghetti that I'm eyeballing.

I know I don't have the time expenditure in my searching that many here have, but the coach I've found simply meets all of my requirements. I'll be using the massive quantity of advice here to make sure that I get the best deal possible once I'm ready to pull that trigger on the purchase. I still have a few things to clear out of my place so that I'll have room for the "new" coach.

[JohnnyT]

It sounds like you folks did your homework.., Congratulations and good luck with your coach.

JohnnyT

[Gaylene___Rick]

Excellent points, all.

We did MOST of what you subscribe to, but we bought a slightly used unit that we had researched thoroughly. It only had 7K miles on it and the previous owner discovered he had parkinsons and needed to settle into a home prior to it getting bad, so sold the unit they loved so. Their loss was definately our gain since it had everything we had decided was what we NEEDED as well as the things we 'wanted'.

In addition to what you have said (though you did touch on it) we felt it important to think into the future and choose a unit that would work when our son married and had children. We needed enough comfortable, safe seating and sleeping for a small family as well as ourselves. There were no plans for him marrying at that point, he didnt even have a girlfriend, but he was in his upper 20's and I assumed there would some day be more room needed. We have bought a coach that will sleep 6 total.. 4 adults and 2 kids.. and we bought a folding blowup bed just incase. We also assured the bathroom layout would give privacy for both ends of the coach.

We visited a number of rv forums - asked questions, determined where certain problems were indigenous to most coaches and accepted those flaws as possible trouble later on. We began to understand that every brand of coach has little things go wrong and that some coaches have more problems than others. It was a learning experience that helped guide us in our choices.

[ChinoBob]

Seabreeze is a great motorhome. I have been researching for months now, and finally decided on a Hurricane. For the money I wanted to spend, I think it gives great bang for the buck. Seabreeze was more $$$, but well built and great value. This thread was great. I really enjoyed reading it. I am new to this forum, new to the rv'ing world and really looking forward to it! I just can't wait to get the bugs out. Do you ever get the bugs out???

[GASA765]

Thought this is wonderfully written and provided alot of information. Thank you.
We currently have a travel trailer and are looking to upgrade to a class A. We plan on using it over the next 5 years for a couple long camping trips per year and occasional weekend outings. After that we're going to probably move to a less crowded state, and use our motorhome to travel part of the year.
From what I've read many people spend months and months looking for the perfect motor home, but we've found one that will both fit our needs and has almost all of the amenities we want, with a nice layout, in just a couple of days of searching. At least we think we have.
One of the coaches we're considering is the Sea Breeze by National.
Has anyone had any experience good or bad with this coach or with this company?
I can't seem to find any indepent comaprison's between different motor homes so not really sure which ones are the most reliable, the safest, and with the most amenities for somewhere around 100K.
Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

[bashfulkimberly]

2+YORKIE - You"ll probably have to post a new thread, not many of the old timers go to this poat to se what's happening.

[2_yorkie]

We are Newbies, getting ready to purchase our first motorhome (a DP)after a year of study and research (including driving our top choices). We just joined the Forum today, but we've been "listening in" for 9 months! We're greatful for the opportunity your site has provided in teaching us an enormous amount about a variety of topics!! I remember reading a post from someone several months ago, saying they wanted to buy their third motorhome first!! That is what we're hoping to do also. So, our top choice (of what we can afford) is the Monaco 40 PDQ Camelot 2006. Options we feel are important -- 7' of height (one of us is 6'4"), king bed, auto generator start (Reagan expects AC and heat when left alone), Hydro Hot (Canada, mountain trips planned), auto dig satellite, RV sanicon, and 3-camera rear vision. What about the air leveling option? I've read the threads on the 3-point Monaco levelers, and now I'm thinking we should go for it. Any one have personal experience? Also, any advice about NC dealers---the choices are Tom Johnson or Todd's RV???