New again, remind me

Get a floor plan you like...number one IMO.

I would put condition and maintenance records at equal or above a floor plan.

1986 Diplomat???????????????? Jeez, that is an OLD RV. The Motorhomes now, are light years from that 1986. Cannot even compare quality. Your old motorhome was basically a Model A, compared to Motorhomes built in the past 20 years. Even the "New" Monaco Diplomat re introduced in 1999(Diesel) was completely different than the 1986.
You need to state your basic parameters. To get good info. Doug
1. Used or New
2. Diesel or Gas
3. Price Range
4. Length
5. Slides(how many) or no Slides.

Avoid any post-2007 diesel.

More info. If you're going to sit in one spot for 6 mos then move to another spot for 6 mos then a fiver is your best bet. If you're going to travel a bit but travel light then a gasser is good. But, IMO, if you're a serious traveler who enjoys comfort, go with the diesel. You had a Monaco, they're still around and still build a quality coach. Not too many do that anymore as many brands are being sucked up by others. Tiffin, Newmar etc. I'm partial to Monaco of course but my coach is older too although upgraded a bit to 2021's standards.....Dennis

We spent a bit over 2 years looking for our next rig, always having towable RVs our search began there. Over 3 decades of RVing and now into our 50s we couldn't decide which type of towable as we have had TTs, 5ers, and even toyhaulers over the duration. After about a year into our search we started thinking about motorized RVs, although we have a very capable truck it has just over 80K miles and did not want to wear it out, we don't plan to buy another anytime soon.

That is where our search took a turn towards Class A rigs, I was open minded about which fuel type and brand gathering all the info we could from every point of view. Family, close friends, colleagues, neighbors, and mechanics were all in on giving their 2 cents worth, really opened our minds on what is important for us as we set forth in our quest for our next RV. We purchased new in the past but this time out we want a lightly used low mileage rig, we know it won't be easy.

Looked at everything locally at dealers and private sellers, pretty much anything statewide but pickings were sparse for parameters mentioned above. Started perusing RvTrader among other RV selling online sites to see what was available in surrounding states, luckily we live between TX and AZ which are well known for long term RVing. Lots of snowbirds end up selling their rigs and settling in these states fulltime, problem was there were many like us searching the same type of rigs.

With the onset of covid-19 it became that much more of a battle to find a suitable rig as they were being purchased within days of being on the market, and at marked up prices whether from dealer or private party. We stayed the course and finally found our current rig, traveled to south Texas while the virus was raging last July, drove it home nesrly 1K miles through record breaking Texas heat. Well maintained and cared for, it's a 39' Monaco, W24 chassis, 8.1L with Allison 2100, 19K miles and 248 hours on Onan genny.

Jarlaxle wrote:
Avoid any post-2007 diesel.

This is part of what I was looking for. But why? What are we avoiding here?

Thanks all. My ultimate plan would be to take trips maybe a couple months long. Site seeing and visiting. Then home for same, then maybe out again. I have some "wants" and "must haves" listed. Looking at gasser A or slightly older diesel. Since most have similar motors and chassis, why are some brands rated so poorly? What to avoid diesel wise in 2005-2010 date range? So far rear mounted radiator is one. Is there an issue with Cat engines?

Trips that only last a couple of months? Look toward a used Prevost and you will get WAY more bang for the buck unless the space between your sofa's is important (slides vs. no slides).

G or D.
I drove a gasser the biggest surprise was the cargo Capacity (less than 1000 pounds) and towing limit (4000)

D's usually hold more and tow more... And cost more. And are more expensive when stuff happens...
What would I buy if I were to buy again? Not sure.. Smaller Gasser most likely (I'm now solo) but if I were to go back to full time.. A Big D for sure.