looking for our first class a diesel

[majortwo]

hello, my wife and i are looking to buy a class a diesel. first of all, Jonny i read your article and thank you for taking the time to write it. my question is what brands are the best as far as fewest problems, quality of materials used. we like the floor plans on some of the fleetwoods but i have read a few negative things about them. the brands that seem to be best (from what i've read so far) are winneabago,newmar and one other one that i can't remember at the moment. we are looking at used units because lets face it new ones are very expensive. how important do you guys feel having a washer/dryer are? do most of you use them or just find they fill your holding tanks faster then you would like? what are the most important things to look out for when shopping for a used RV? roof,delam,rust? how many hrs on a gen is alot? we are looking at RV's between 38 and 42 feet. also is there any advantage having an RV with tag axles other then more weight carrying capacity? our goal is to buy in the next couple years and use it for weekend trips and one major trip per year until we retire and then be snow birds or full time RV'ers. any advice you guys have is very welcome and appreciated. thanks guys

[jauguston]

Your thoughts about Alfas are well placed!

[majortwo]

nbargolf, i'm happy to hear from a fleetwood owner. we haven't ruled out any makes at this point. i should take that back, we aren't excited about alfa's
we do like 08 or newer fleetwoods floor plans.

[nbargolf]

To each his own but don't rule out the Fleetwood we have a 2008 Providence absolutely no problems great on the road and real wood finish inside. The Providence the top model of that line but a great value for the dollar in slightly used units.

[nbargolf]

"All the things you mention are good ideas, except the washer combo, takes forever to dry a pair of jeans, I will leave it with- we wanted the storage space plus most campgrounds have a laundromat.". To each his own we have a combo and love it who cares how long it takes to dry and we hate laundromat and if the small space it takes is a problem IMHO would look for a unit with more storage because the unit has too small of space to start with.

[road_glide]

BobandShaz wrote:
Floor plan should stay in the list..

X2

[BobandShaz]

Good info TNT thanks

[conmoto]

Please do extensive research beyond forums. Respectively I disagree with almost all of Tntman`s points. This is such an subjective adventure that everyone will like something different and you will have to explore and walk through many floorplans to get what YOU are going to be happy with. Good Luck!

[Tntman]

Understand that you are getting peoples opinions and judge accordingly
You asked for it, here is my 2 cents worth.
All the things you mention are good ideas, except the washer combo, takes forever to dry a pair of jeans, I will leave it with- we wanted the storage space plus most campgrounds have a laundromat.
ONE thing that should not be overlooked is the size of the holding tanks. Our Phaeton holds 100 gallons of fresh water, 50 black and 70 grey. This is important if you want to ever boondock or stay at a Wal-mart campground. We can go a week on the water before needing to dump.
A residential refrig means more 6 volt batteries, less time boondocking before needing to charge those batteries.
A straight axle front end will give you rocking motion that independent front suspension does not.
You need to make a list of the things you desire, including floor plan and STICK to it when you decide to buy.
Also consider length, it is a lot easier to drive a 40 foot coach as opposed to a short wheel base one. Plus you will have space to move around. NOT commenting on short coaches, just an observation.
Any coach you purchase should have a 3000 MH or larger transmission for when you are towing. Shorter coaches have smaller transmissions in them.
2003 brought the first EPA regulations requiring catalytic converters and EGR valves. 2006 brought in a "collector for the exhaust that is expensive to replace. 2010 brought us the urea system, personally I feel it also is expensive for the urea that is required to keep the coach running.
Hope this helps

[majortwo]

Many thanks to all for the advice. i'm sure we will have many more questions along the way.

[backhoemike]

1995 newmar London aire and love it. it has 223,550 miles on it just replaced air bags and just batteries and minor issues. Oh and roof leaks... but that is common on all of them and with the miles we cant complain. Newmar is class act , the man we bought it from called and wanted it back after a month with his new Winnebago

[tinkerer]

Most coaches beyond 2007 have the lower emission engines which have a lot more complications that could give trouble. I really don't know if this has been a problem with motor homes but it was a real issue with trucks. I have a 2007 motor home and it has 2006 engine which has a lot less complications. 🙂

[marek]

I could never go back to regular brakes or air ride after having them both in an RV. Our dryer was used 2 times in 10 yrs . Residential fridge would be nice tho. The other thing is carrying capacity, I don't ever have to worry about overloading a diesel pusher.

[Passin_Thru]

Forget dishwashers. Just take your money and space in a MH. Takes 5 min to do dishes for 2 unless you ahve to scruba pot. Look for one that will tow what you want, a car on a trailer weighs around 6K and towing a jeep is around 4000 + add the junk you throw in it. I would always recommend a 10K tow capacity and you never overload the hitch.

[cochise49]

We just "downgraded" the engine from DP to gas and "upgraded" the livability by adding slides, stacked Washer/dryer,residential fridge, Air mattress, solar panel, 2KW inverter. Noisier engine but it is in front of me now. Thought the loss of the air bags would be a problem but seems OK. Figured we spent much more time living inn the rig than driving it.