Recomendations for a new gasser

[trashguy]

This has probably been beaten to death but Ive searched and really haven't seen much recent posts on this. My wife is retired and I am going to in a couple years. We plan to travel at such time. My budget will have to be under 100k. We have a 95 31ft Aerbus with no slides. It's been a good rig but at 80,000 miles and almost 20 years I'm not sure I'd trust it to do any long traveling. We've been looking at the Thor Ace, FR3,Jayco Allante,all in around the 31ft range. I have a garage for it that limits me to 35ft. Are there other rigs that are in that range I should be looking at?

[Mr_Mark1]

trashguy wrote:
The Aerbus has been good to us but with no slides there is no way Momma and I can spend an extended period of time in it. What are everyones thoughts on this one.
http://www.mhsrv.com/2017-coachmen-pursuit-33bhp-bunk-house-rv-for-sale-at-mhsrv-w-2-15k-a-c-new-cla...

That unit sure does have a lot of sleeping availability. I see that the top bunk can be a closet, can't tell if the bottom bunk has a clothes rod or not.

Friends that bought a Thor Palazzo with the bunks use the bottom as the 'dogs' bed area which works perfect. It keeps the dog beds out of the way.


Good luck,
MM.

[alarmingfriend]

Chainwright wrote:

alarmingfriend wrote:
Very true, my $79.00 registration fee went up to $3,600.00 and Insurance went up from $500.00 per year to $1,500.00 but after 2 years of headaches we just decided since this is going to be out last home what the heck. My Monaco Monarch needed Transmission work, front end work, just replaced a fuel pump and 6 new tires. Probably would have been worth the effort but now we are comfortable in the new rig and thats the key. Miserable and cramped or lots of storage with a whole wall slide and a bedroom slide so flip a coin, pros and cons we are happy and glad your bounder keeps you happy.

Sooo, How does a $79 registration fee go up to $3600?

Fee goes up when you trade a 17 year old Monaco Monarch in and buy a 2018 Thor, the positive side is the fee goes down 10% every year HAH. Actually we are very pleased going from 32 feet to 37 feet. 30 feet of it is one slide and the Master Bed has its own slide. This morning I found a connection for my propane grille.

[jplante4]

trashguy wrote:
The Aerbus has been good to us but with no slides there is no way Momma and I can spend an extended period of time in it. What are everyones thoughts on this one.

Do you need the bunkhouse model? You lose a lot of closet space.

[trashguy]

The Aerbus has been good to us but with no slides there is no way Momma and I can spend an extended period of time in it. What are everyones thoughts on this one.
http://www.mhsrv.com/2017-coachmen-pursuit-33bhp-bunk-house-rv-for-sale-at-mhsrv-w-2-15k-a-c-new-cla...

[jplante4]

I'd keep the Aerbus, put a few bucks into it to get it ready for the retirement adventures and take what's left and have a great time. We get a lot of Thors in the shop. I don't thing the quality of newer rigs is quite up to what you're use to.

[Chainwright]

just about all your gassers have Triton V10 and a F53 ford Chassis. So no need to spend any energy there. When I went to CW to look at Thor's Top of the line Diesels and Gassers, I like the Cabins (Lobby, Galley, Bedrooms) but the Storage was a Major let down. The closet space looked sooo promising on the floor plans on paper until I physically touched them, Very very minimal. Now Thor may have other problems that I won't get into, just go to their forums, But Closet space is what did it for me. Almost none existent. lol. Anyway my choices would Be NewMar Baystar sport, Baystar and the Canyon star 3513, if you want 35 ft and under. You may also want to consider some used Tiffin Allegros 2011 to 2014 you may have to look outside of your comfort zone though. If you're lucky you can also find a 2012 Monaco for under $80K. I saw one the other day. Good luck.

[Chainwright]

alarmingfriend wrote:
Very true, my $79.00 registration fee went up to $3,600.00 and Insurance went up from $500.00 per year to $1,500.00 but after 2 years of headaches we just decided since this is going to be out last home what the heck. My Monaco Monarch needed Transmission work, front end work, just replaced a fuel pump and 6 new tires. Probably would have been worth the effort but now we are comfortable in the new rig and thats the key. Miserable and cramped or lots of storage with a whole wall slide and a bedroom slide so flip a coin, pros and cons we are happy and glad your bounder keeps you happy.

Sooo, How does a $79 registration fee go up to $3600?

[Bruce_Brown]

For a 100k budget I'd be looking at a nice used diesel.

[T18skyguy]

If you go over to the Jayco owners forum, you will see how unhappy the owners of Allante's are with the very harsh ride they have. Some owners are replacing the front suspension with another type. If ride quality is important pay close attention to that.

[alarmingfriend]

Very true, my $79.00 registration fee went up to $3,600.00 and Insurance went up from $500.00 per year to $1,500.00 but after 2 years of headaches we just decided since this is going to be out last home what the heck. My Monaco Monarch needed Transmission work, front end work, just replaced a fuel pump and 6 new tires. Probably would have been worth the effort but now we are comfortable in the new rig and thats the key. Miserable and cramped or lots of storage with a whole wall slide and a bedroom slide so flip a coin, pros and cons we are happy and glad your bounder keeps you happy.

[tommy_g]

Personally, I trust my 20 year old with 100,000 miles more than any new one. DW and I travel extensively from coast to coast and do not plan to slow down anytime soon. These models seem to be put together better. We spend about 2 to 3 grand a year on misc. repairs/upgrades which is much less than the extra insurance and note payments on a newer one.

[bullydogs1]

Entegra is about to come out with a Class A gasser...perhaps it is your answer with upgraded suspension and a 2 year warranty...

[azdryheat]

A used Newmar or Tiffin are the only choices I'd look at. Everything else is sub-par with Thor being at the bottom. I don't own a class A gasser but I work in the RV industry and the Newmar's and Tiffin's are the best built. If you buy cheap you get cheap. I'd also get a 2016 or newer as they have the 6-speed tranny, which is a huge improvement over the 5-speed.

[alarmingfriend]

Just bought a 2018 Thor Challenger 37LX and we love it, the V-10 Triton is quiet, the reason we wanted the V-10 is we do only a few cross country trips every year and with a Diesel you have to drive it in order to keep it healthy, with the V-10 a bottle of fuel stabilizer in the gas tank if it is stored for any length of time and you are good to go. Yes Thor is garbage on the assembly line, loose bolts wiring terminals are loose but once everything is tightened down it is a dream.

[Bosun]

We bought a Winnebago Vista 29VE last year in your price range. It has been a good rig so far and we love the floor plan. The Ford V10 has plenty of power and the new 6 speed transmission works great. At 31’, it moves like a sports car. Almost.

Happy hunting

Patrick
Semper Paratus