Forum Discussion

Powerstroke2000

Explorer

Mar 08, 2016

Is there a 'I wouldn't buy a ? Motorhome' - and why?

We have somewhat of a budget set for buying a motorhome, and in doing research, I, like everyone else want to get the 'best for my buck'. Many, unsure quite why it is, don't like to say anything nasty about brand/model A, for fear of hurting someone's feelings who have one, or to think someone may argue the reason that they are wrong....but there are those of us out here that would like to hear such information!
I'm at a point where I'm ready to buy, and have come up with a couple of brands/models I like, and like everyone, my budget puts us into one or two X 'year' models, and of course the one we would like (mainly because of specific options came out) that we'd like in the slightly newer model!
It would be nice to hear things like..."I wouldn't buy one lower than such and such a year" or "Engine X sure is nicer than Y" (CAT and Cummins will suffice over any others thanks).
I tend to like a unit where 'more' horsepower is better, as I'm not one to enjoy holding up vehicles on those long mountainous climbs while pulling my loaded 18' enclosed trailer with toys, or vehicle! Add to that, I have my current pickup truck with over 500 HP...why can't they give more motorhomes similar power?
I'll add, the two brands I've been watching more than others, mainly for their floorpans, but with hopes of longevity...are Tiffin models (Phaeton mainly) and Newmar. I'm open to others if they pass the ability to give me the same longevity these two will, plus have favourable floorpans for the wife & I.
Still not sure, being new to retirement if we'll consider going for long periods (months at a time) as we are quite close to our kids/grandkids, but I'm sure many of you have gone through the same thinking!
We've 'camped' all our lives, going through slide in campers, trailers, and even living out of just a canopy on the pickup for 6 weeks back when we where younger, but now life has moved on, and it's time to relax, and enjoy meeting those of you 'like minded' folks, at a similar point in life!
Now, back to reality...getting a Class A motorhome to fit our needs! I'm not apt to like the 'lighter' cabinetry (honey oak?), I keep asking myself...since I'm not a huge sports fan...do I really need an outside tv? I heard something about an 'in motion' satellite system....now that perked my interest, as I'm a fan of having internet more than television, so I can 'research' everything under the sun! :)
I keep looking at unit's of 36 feet, but would a 40 be better? Not sure on the hinderance of 'longer is better' when it comes to getting an RV site at some places? Especially if/when towing!
My wife keeps reminding me, of the many costs of ownership, with regard to maintenance (I currently do all my own pickup truck maintenance), fuel, RV/camp site costs, cell phone, insurance and on and on...but hey, it's that point in life, so...so be it!
Rubber, Fiberglass or ? roof...or are there many options there? Is an oven really needed, if you have a convection microwave? Is there a great difference between a Freightliner and Spartan chassis? Do all motorhomes in this realm, have walk around beds?
Is there a particular washer/dryer unit, that is better than another, and are those one's that 'do it all' really work better than the dual washer/dryer?
Do most motorhomes come with Bluetooth radio, so you can do the 'hands free' on your cell phone, AND do they have the MP3 ability, as I prefer to use my own 'burned' CD's with my own music, over the 'bought' CD's (love my tunes).
What year do the 'power' awnings come out, and the power front shade as well?
With regard to the televisions, I often will some older motorhomes with 'older' looking tv's, so when did they start coming out with the newer flat LED screens, or is it just better to get a unit, and then do your own tv upgrading?
Oddly, I happen to see a lot of motorhomes that are having 'upgraded' home type fridges installed...are there particular makes that aren't up to snuff on longevity, or is there another reason?
I see 'air horn' as an option on some...or do all Class A's have one?
What is the MCD shade upgrade...as I sometimes quickly see that as something someone has upgraded?
Twelve volt, or 6 volt batteries...is it really that big a deal?
The one BIG thing to us, of which I very rarely see as an option, is Solar Panels! That's a no brainer to us, as keeping one's batteries charged while boon docking is a must to us, yet I'm seeing very few motorhomes 'with' a solar panel system installed? Is it the extra cost, or do most folks just not boondock?
Full body paint seems to be a mainstay, but is this something one needs to watch for, and are they are to keep up, to look new?
We haven't yet got out and done much in the way of doing a 'walk around' on motorhomes, but 'odd odours' is something that would have me turned around in an instant when walking into a unit. I would imagine one extremely important thing to watch for is a leaky roof, of which can be hidden if not watching for it, and bacteria can start smelling over time as well, but I haven't read anywhere, where this has been a terrible issue?
We live in western Canada, with lots of rain, so this is an important issue to us.
Dinet with chairs, or is a slide in type nook better, or is this just personal preference?

Sorry for so many questions, as I'm sure even more will come to mind over the next while, but I'm hoping to be as thorough as possible...so I don't end up with a succession of regrets.

Thanks in advance on any advice/suggestions you can share, as it's appreciated!

Dale

Class A

diplomatdon
Explorer
Mar 27, 2016
Powerstroke2000, We live just across the border in Blaine. Bought our 1st DP 3 years ago. Bought sight unseen off ebay and would do it again. It has been a learning experience, I would do some things differently but has worked out OK. We bought a 2001 Monaco 38' Diplomat. 330 ISC Cummins engine. Sufficient power, but never enough for a retired truck driver. Good ride with 8 airbags, quality of build good. Am already looking to upgrade in a few years and would look at Monaco/Holiday Rambler again. Right now there are 2 on RVT.com close by if interested. 2008 in Sydney on the Island for $138,000 Cdn and another on Whidby Island @ Coupville. I think it is a 2006 Diplomat. Both have the ISL 400 Cummins. PM me if you would like to talk or meet up and share experiences.
gonesouth
Explorer
Mar 27, 2016
I found your comments on talking to people who know the coach interesting. I blew a fuse on the Beaver in a campground and spend most of a week crawling underneath on gravel in 50 f weather in pouring rain...... finally I got the right guy (he'd been on the line when my coach was built 14 years earlier)on a call to the Beaver help line which was in those days operated by Navistar and discovered that a fuse box was hidden in the wall beside the driver. It turns out that if the main starter cable ends corrode, the amperage goes up and eventually blows the fuse.......So the two days I spent on my back in the wet cleaning the ends with a wire brush lowered the resistance (both electrical and mine to pneumonia) so that when I found and replaced the fuse it didn't blow again. It was his third attempt to help me, but persistence paid off.
Yes, knowledgeable people do help....but who'd have thought that a 14 year old coach from a bankrupt maker would have that support?
Powerstroke2000
Explorer
Mar 26, 2016
gonesouth wrote:
there are a couple of rigs you should consider in the houston area....ppl has a 2006 Beaver with 4 slides at $95000 that has most of the features you were asking about, while Foretravel Texas has a 2001 Foretravel U320 at $89 and a 2004 U270 at $116. Any of those three fit your budget and IMHO are better than the Tiffins and Newmars of your dreams.

Thanks...the kind of info in these last two post I'm looking for, which will give me the opportunity to look these particular brands/models to see how they might fit the lifestyle my wife & I are looking for.
With regard to Tiffin & Newmar brands, as most will know, there are many 'models' within these brand names as well. I've heard/read that these two in particular are very good companies (without the ability necessarily to fold as some have in the past) as well as give superb quality service, and the ability to go to the manufacturer and have updates done to your coach. Of course there are private companies with the ability to do much of it as well, but having employees that work on these unit's daily, I would think they truly know the 'little things' on getting a job right, whether big or small. Not sure on whether certain brands/models have more problems getting 'parts' though? I'd hope to get a unit that doesn't 'nickel & dime' me, but that may be an oxymoron, especially buying in the years I'm looking at?
One thing I prefer, and this may have something to do with purchasing a specific year/model, when entering a coach, I tend to prefer to see tile of some kind, over carpet. We've always been the type to take our shoes off....but still, it may be a small thing, but a quirk in us where we'd probably pick one without carpet, than one that has it.

Thanks again for the advice/suggestions folks!
gonesouth
Explorer
Mar 26, 2016
there are a couple of rigs you should consider in the houston area....ppl has a 2006 Beaver with 4 slides at $95000 that has most of the features you were asking about, while Foretravel Texas has a 2001 Foretravel U320 at $89 and a 2004 U270 at $116. Any of those three fit your budget and IMHO are better than the Tiffins and Newmars of your dreams.
DSDP_Don
Explorer
Mar 26, 2016
"Powerstroke2000".....I currently own a Newmar, but previously owned a Monaco Diplomat for 9 years. With the year models and price range you're looking at, my first choice would be a Monaco Diplomat or Camelot or Holiday Rambler Endeavor or Scepter (also Monaco family). They are GREAT coaches, there are still a ton of them on the road and they remain stylish to this day. They came with the Cummins ISL 400 in the Diplomat in 2005. The Camelot, next level up, comes with a side radiator and engine brake versus exhaust brake.
Powerstroke2000
Explorer
Mar 25, 2016
Thanks for the comments/advice up to this point. I've been watching the Tiffin Phaeton & Allegro Bus unit's, as well as Newmars. Those in the $85K to $125K, which usually puts me in the '06 - '08 area....so far. There tends to be quite a range in pricing, even with the same year/engine/length in my research. It's not something I plan on rushing in to, but when the right one comes up, I may just jump in to it.
There are some options I tend to like of course, others that are 'definitely' wanted, so I have a long list, and I'll see if I find something within the range of that list!

It may take a bit of flying, to get out and see some unit's, but that will come after I finish with my research, so I'm up to date on what I'm looking at.

Thanks again folks, much appreciated, and feel free or comment on anything that comes to mind.
Snomas
Explorer
Mar 25, 2016
I researched for a year in 02 and bought Newmar because of quality vs cost. I think they still are respected today for both. Although any MH can have problems new or used and of course you have to practicably be an expert to determine what can be possible problems in the future and they still make mistakes.
DSDP_Don
Explorer
Mar 25, 2016
"Powerstroke2000".....I just took two Anacin to make my headache go away after reading your post :B

You have a lot of good questions, but way too many for one post. You never really define what you're looking for. Only after reading about some of the equipment you want could I tell that you had a DP in mind.

You need to narrow down your scope, which is pretty easy. First, give us a general budget, new or used and some length parameters, like 36' -40'. Once you do that, people can start making suggestions. If you tell us you have a $300K budget and want to go used, you might find a Newell that you talked about. If you tell us you have a $150K budget and want to go new, it's going to limit you to a very small market of DP's.

You'll find that once the budget and few other things are identified, you'll soon know what engines typically come in that range and what components, like Aqua Hot, are available at that price point.
lafrentz
Explorer
Mar 25, 2016
gonesouth wrote:
My last Beaver contained an Aquahot which was a bucket of parts and repairing and reassembling it was an education. While I liked it there were things like having to refill the fuel tanks every eight weeks that I'm not sold on. Hot water space heating is nice and unlimited hot water is good, too, but the effort and maintenance means I'm moving to electric powered heat pumps both home and on the road. It's the future!

our AH is 120V and use that 99% of the time Owned it now for 5 years, use diesel once in a blue moon,one filter and one nozzle replaced(easy). added fluid a couple times
I have two large heat pumps never use them too noisy and don't work well under 45 degrees
gonesouth
Explorer
Mar 25, 2016
My last Beaver contained an Aquahot which was a bucket of parts and repairing and reassembling it was an education. While I liked it there were things like having to refill the fuel tanks every eight weeks that I'm not sold on. Hot water space heating is nice and unlimited hot water is good, too, but the effort and maintenance means I'm moving to electric powered heat pumps both home and on the road. It's the future!