Shopping for first Motorhome near Houston

[Stormy_Eyes]

We are in the market for our first Motorhome. We have looked and test driven some units locally, but have not found the one. Prices and selection seem better in Texas, so I will soon fly in to see some used units, including ppl. Anxious and excited, I have a few questions.
Any input or advise about ppl?
If we find a rig we want, can you suggest somebody to help inspect it?
If we buy one, we will need local storage for a few weeks, so could somebody suggest a good local storage facility?
Any other advice is appreciated.

[garyemunson]

I found using RV Trader to search nationwide found us the best deal on our new unit. We live by Reno NV, the coach we found was in L.A. We were able to negotiate a $250 delivery charge and, after sending the dealer pictures of our coach, were able to agree on a trade in value (dependent on the delivery man's inspection to make sure we weren't lying) so he was able to drive ours back. The logistics might not work out so well for you but RV Trader saved us many thousands of dollars over the other places we looked. Think of picking up the RV as a mini vacation..

[barmcd]

Look carefully at PPL's list of RVs for sale. They also have lots in Cleburne and New Braunfels which are quite a ways from Houston. The coaches at the other locations are noted in the title and easy to overlook.

[Stormy_Eyes]

LOG wrote:
There are three large motorhome dealers in Texas for used and consignment motorhomes. PPL (which was already mentioned), Motorhome Specialist (Alvarado, Texas), and Motorhomes of Texas (Nacogdoches, Texas). Motorhomes of Texas deals in mostly high end motorhomes, Country Coach, Newell, and Foretravel. They seem to always have a very good inventory. Motorhomes Specialist is the largest Motorhome dealer in Texas and has a large inventory of new motorhomes and a nice inventory of used motorhomes. Also in Nacogdoches, Texas is the Foretravel factory which has new and used Foretravels.

Thank you for the info on other major dealers. Motorhomes Specialists current online used inventory does not seem to include the right unit for us, but I will keep watching. We are seeking a less expensive starter unit. Motorhomes of Texas and Foretravel are out of our league for now; maybe in a few years.

[Stormy_Eyes]

imgoin4it wrote:
If you find and purchase one why not make the "storage" part of the purchase. In other words buy with an agreed upon future pick up date.

good idea. I could try that, though I'd still like to have another option or two.

[Stormy_Eyes]

Houston Remodeler wrote:
Were you looking for covered + electric storage? Covered only ? Uncovered ?

I was just thinking of uncovered storage....somewhere safe so I won't be worried about my new purchase for 2-3 weeks whiles do handle some personal business out of state.

[barmcd]

Four states with a lot of motor homes for sale are California, Arizona, Texas and Florida.

Southern California and Tucson/Phoenix in Arizona are pretty easy to shop. Texas and Florida are a little harder because they are more spread out.


We've shopped PPL pretty hard the last few months, but haven't found our coach yet. We've been to MHS several times too. In our experience PPL lets you walk the lot by yourself. MHS tries to direct you to their coaches and away from the consignment units.

[tropical36]

Stormy Eyes wrote:
We are in the market for our first Motorhome. We have looked and test driven some units locally, but have not found the one. Prices and selection seem better in Texas, so I will soon fly in to see some used units, including ppl. Anxious and excited, I have a few questions.
Any input or advise about ppl?
If we find a rig we want, can you suggest somebody to help inspect it?
If we buy one, we will need local storage for a few weeks, so could somebody suggest a good local storage facility?
Any other advice is appreciated.

I've never heard anything bad about PPL or so maybe find a campground or other and even get a month or weekly rate, so that you can power it up and fool with it some. Same place might have qualified people or be able to recommended one for the pre-buy inspection, as well.

[LOG]

There are three large motorhome dealers in Texas for used and consignment motorhomes. PPL (which was already mentioned), Motorhome Specialist (Alvarado, Texas), and Motorhomes of Texas (Nacogdoches, Texas). Motorhomes of Texas deals in mostly high end motorhomes, Country Coach, Newell, and Foretravel. They seem to always have a very good inventory. Motorhomes Specialist is the largest Motorhome dealer in Texas and has a large inventory of new motorhomes and a nice inventory of used motorhomes. Also in Nacogdoches, Texas is the Foretravel factory which has new and used Foretravels.

[imgoin4it]

If you find and purchase one why not make the "storage" part of the purchase. In other words buy with an agreed upon future pick up date.

[Houston_Remodel]

Were you looking for covered + electric storage? Covered only ? Uncovered ?