Hi to all,Last year my wife & I looked for a new-to-us camper that would be big enough for extended stay and we considered both TT and class A MH. Thinking that we would always be in CGs and not needing a generator we purchased a nearly new 34' TT. But now that we're getting ready to hit the road, we've found that not all CGs will accept our German Shepherd dog. Having always stayed in State/public parks in the past we were not aware of the breed issues. So now we're back looking again at used class A MH's and we need to stay under $40k for this first used one and we would like a side slide and bedroom slide if possible.So for this price range I imagine we're talking gasser but it seems like when I was asking last year that some folks thought a decent DP could be had for that price range. (?)As far as gas engines what would be the max mileage I should consider when looking at a well maintained Ford V10 or GM Workhorse? There is a 1999 Ford V10 well maintained near us with 80k miles and I'm wondering if that is one with the early spark plug issues. Any tips on which Ford V10's to consider or not is appreciated.And for a DP what would be the max mileage I should consider?Many thanks in advance, Marty

You can certainly find an older DP in that range with slides. Lots of them on the normal RV sales sites.

Marty - Condition is more important than miles on either a gas or diesel motorhome in my opinion. Used to be gas motors were done on motorhomes under 100,000 miles. That is no longer the case. The reason I say condition is most important is that you may find a low miles or lower miles motorhome that someone lived in for five years and hardly drove. Many of the systems may be ready for replacement. Or you could find a higher miles coach that was carefully maintained and was mostly driven to Nascar races. So it got lots of miles and hardly any wear on the house itself. Another miles issue is lot rot. When things sit without use many times they go bad. This is certainly the case with tires and seals. Do miles count at all? Sure. But keep in mind that a coach with a lot of miles is very likely to drive well and be fun behind the wheel. A low miles coach may be a bear to keep going straight down the highway and so it did not get driven much. When buying a lower cost coach simpler is likely to cost less to maintain. If a motorhome cost originally 400,000 dollars and you can now buy it quite used for 35,000, remember the maintenance costs will somewhat reflect the original purchase price. Higher cost originally = more cost to maintain.

Personally, I would not buy a used DP with more than 300,000 miles on it. At that mileage it will need a tune up soon.....:W..anything with less than 200,000 is ok...100,000 and it's just getting broken in......Dennis

FWIW when we had our Shepherd we never had an issue at any campground. I have heard of the restrictions, but we never ran into one. I only know of one campground that has the restriction. my buddy went there once. between his weekend there and the reviews on RV park reviews we aren't missing anything! we had him for 10 1/2 years. Not sure I would be looking at MH`s just because of a breed restriction. Just something to think about.

Hi Marty, I recently restored a 1989 31ft. Fleetwood Bounder. I might be interested in selling. It has been in the family for several years. I am the third owner. It has 60K miles on it. Everything works excellent. I might be looking for a MH that has slide outs. This MH does not have slide outs.

Interested (again) in used Class A | Good Sam Community

MartyW
Explorer
Jul 18, 2015
Thanks 2gypsies and thanks to all who responded. My wife & I believe a good used MH is what we'll try to find within the next 3 or so weeks. We figure if its meant to be then it will work, and if not, then .... We've had Class C gassers before but never a Class A and never a diesel. I am starting another thread to ask some specific questions about a few DPs we saw today.
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Jul 18, 2015
We sold through PPL ...didn't buy because we're finished RVing. :( The party that bought ours did have an independent inspection done but I don't have any details. You might give them a call to see how it's done.

Good luck!
MartyW
Explorer
Jul 17, 2015
Thanks 2gypsies, I had just finished posting on the pet forum and I got the answer I expected, that the restrictions are enforced since it is usually a liability insurance issue.

Glad to hear about good ppl experiences. I'll consider them again and give them a call. The main complaint that I saw multiple times was that the ppl folks would not do any drive train checks or fixes and they wouldn't allow personally-hired mechanics on their lot so folks had to somehow meet up with a mechanic during their test drive and for out of town folks this wasn't practical for some folks. Please let me know how you understand their policy on this. Maybe it has changed since the reviews I read.

And thanks for the gopetfriendly site. I have already become a registered member and have read several threads there.
2gypsies1
Explorer III
Jul 17, 2015
First, I recommend that you make a post in the Pet Forum to see if anyone travels with a German Shepherd and where they stay.

Second, we know people who have bought from PPL with good experiences. It might be worth a trip for you. They have a couple Newmar DPs in your price range which have a good reputation.

Lastly, perhaps this site can give you some ideas. They travel with a German Shepherd.

Go Pet Friendly Blog
MartyW
Explorer
Jul 16, 2015
Thanks Blackdiamond for the explanation and the gen is for the air conditioner(s). It will be in the 90's while we're traveling in FL.

We're going to visit a dealer this weekend that has several gas and diesel examples. It will depend on several things, one being if they will give us anything for our 2012 TT.

We're staying away from PPL as we were semi-serious about one unit they had last year and after reading feedback from some of their buyers we decided not to deal with them.
Blackdiamond
Explorer
Jul 16, 2015
Marty, the pet issue has been my experience at a limited number of campgrounds I have stayed at, not saying they are all like that. They have to list that restriction per their insurance...just like many homeowner policies have restrictions against these breeds.

You don't need a gen to run lights, we primarily dry camp and only run the gen to recharge the batteries, run the microwave or such but for lights they run off the 12v system and we have a inverter that will run the TV/DVD/SAT and our CPAP machines all night.
MartyW
Explorer
Jul 16, 2015
Thanks everyone for the input. Last year we were about 50:50 on TT vs MH. The reason for considering a MH again is the generator and ability to easily light in a rest area or truck stop if daylight runs low and we don't have a CG that approves our Shepherd.

I'm interested in Blackdiamond's response that breed rules are rarely inforced. In my trip planning so far, when calling ahead (mostly in FL so far), I'm finding the majority of private CGs saying no to the Shepherd. I've wondered what would happen if I just showed up late in the afternoon for a one night stop. The idea of needing to light in a rest stop or truck stop without an inside crank generatior is not a fun thought and we're too old to be doing that. Thanks blazenpm, but a MH that we would be interested in would need one big slide and hopefully one bedroom slide. Thanks again to all for the input.
Triker33
Explorer
Jul 16, 2015
5 DP under 40K to look at

7 gas in the 30-40K range Many more under 30K
Blackdiamond
Explorer
Jul 16, 2015
MartyW wrote:
Hi to all,

Last year my wife & I looked for a new-to-us camper that would be big enough for extended stay and we considered both TT and class A MH.

Thinking that we would always be in CGs and not needing a generator we purchased a nearly new 34' TT. But now that we're getting ready to hit the road, we've found that not all CGs will accept our German Shepherd dog. Having always stayed in State/public parks in the past we were not aware of the breed issues. So now we're back looking again at used class A MH's and we need to stay under $40k for this first used one and we would like a side slide and bedroom slide if possible.

So for this price range I imagine we're talking gasser but it seems like when I was asking last year that some folks thought a decent DP could be had for that price range. (?)

As far as gas engines what would be the max mileage I should consider when looking at a well maintained Ford V10 or GM Workhorse? There is a 1999 Ford V10 well maintained near us with 80k miles and I'm wondering if that is one with the early spark plug issues. Any tips on which Ford V10's to consider or not is appreciated.

And for a DP what would be the max mileage I should consider?

Many thanks in advance,
Marty

Not sure what a germen shepherd has to do with getting a class A....but most campgrounds list a restriction on pitbulls, germen shepherds, rotwielers, Dobermans, yet I see them all the time. I think that most pet owners ignore the rules because they are rarely enforced.

As far as the class a you have listed, I am hoping that it is nowhere near $40k, it should be under $20k....I paid $25k for the one listed in my sig, 1 year ago with 24,000 miles. The v10 is a pretty strong reliable motor, yes there have been some spark plug issues but that is not really a big deal. For a diesel pusher, it is more about the maintenance, has it been done, on time and the rest of the condition. Mileage doesn't matter too much, was the coach driven 1000 miles a year and lived in full time and the first oil change or any maintenance done at 15,000 miles or was it driven 5,000 miles a year over 3 weeks and all maintenance performed on schedule or sooner.
GMandJM
Explorer
Jul 16, 2015
I'm not sure what the dog breed issue has to do with getting a bigger camper. The dog and the rules will be the same no matter what your rig is, so I guess I'm not understanding something somewhere. Anyway....

Keep your options open and look at everything out there (DP or Gasser) in your price range. Start at the dealerships, look at Craigslist and check out the ads in the back of MH magazines or FMCA's mag.

Dennis is right: 100k on a diesel is "just getting broken in", while on a gasser it might be much closer to the end of its useful life without needing alot of mechanical work.

Important stuff is whether or not it's time to replace the tires and/or whether there are or have been leaks.

Also, you don't mention if you'll be towing anything. That could be a major factor in your decision.

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