Starting my education process....

[Frankthedriver]

Awesome forum!!!! been reading it for the past few days.

I do like Class B's but they are just outside of my budget, well at least the ones I like.

I'm looking at C's since we are 4 (parents and 2 young adult children)
Potential long vacation would be all 4, but long weekends would most likely be with 2. I'm not interested in slides. Other than traveling, sleeping etc, hope would be that more time is spent outside. So the extra room that a slide provides is nice but just something else that can go wrong.

I like Class B's for their mobility and figured C's would be the next step for focusing something bigger but not as restrictive as an A when it comes to driving around.

Reading through the site, there seems to be trend(at least it seems to be my impression) that introductory priced level rv's have more issues either right out of the dealer or shortly there after. I glanced through the A's and sort of saw a similar trend.

after reading a long post about quality (related to C's) by ron.ditmer there was a line that said it all to me.

When a motor home is driven, the house bounces, resonates, shakes, and leans, many thousands of times, representing a series of extended continuous earthquakes

Are the lower priced/introductory RV's in A and C something to shy away from? I get that adage you get what you pay for, but dropping 70-90k is not pocket money. LOL if it were, I would be driving a Roadtek E-tek or something from Coach house 🙂

Seriously, is the quality that different? is there something that can be upgraded or done to lessen the issues?

What about appliances in the introductory category? do they get shaken up enough to have issues earlier in their life cycle?

Thanks

[Frankthedriver]

Hi all

Hope Santa was good to you all 🙂 didn't leave me an RV, will try to be nicer next year lol

I'm catching up on the post in between family visits. Thanks all for the input. VERY appreciated

I have seen some direct buy places and saved their sites for future researching. It is amazing what is out there.

I will visit a few places to check out some MH's - no money, just looking after i get my notes together and do some more reading up. I want to compare notes from here to what is out there just to get a sense of what is going on.

Thanks again, Off to packing for an early drive tomorrow.
Night all

[PghBob]

pnichols made a couple of good points regarding repairs. Those considering older rigs should keep those points in mind. We bought our LD new from the factory. Given the factory in is SoCal and we are in Western PA, I really don't want to take the unit back to the factory for service/repairs. So, a couple of things to keep in mind: 1. Our new rig came with a Ford Chassis warranty for 60K miles or 5 years. If any engine, tranny, chassis issues, I will take it up with our local Ford truck dealer that does our routine service. 2. All appliances come with their own warranties. If any problems, a call to the appliance manufacturer will decide on where to get repairs. Had a faulty AC thermostat replaced in a couple hours at a Camping World near Orlando while "snowbirding". 3. The build quality of the LD is so well done, that "house" issues with the newer rigs are virtually non-existent. So, while everyone has their own needs/requirements for a RV, our's were such that buying from the manufacturer direct was the way to go. Happy Holidays to all and safe travels.

[Rolin]

Hi Frankthedriver,
I also tend to keep things a long time but our travel style changes over time and we are on our 3rd RV and within the next four years expect to purchase a 4th. We have always purchased used and so far the experience has been positive. Plus, its not as costly when we change our mind for a different style of RV.

Our current RV is a Winnebago B+ and we have enjoyed the dual pane windows, the fiberglass roof, and general more solid feel when driving down the road. Plus this unit handles much easier and we can adjust the ride with the airbags on the rear suspension. The B+ is narrower (less than 8ft wide) and easier to drive in traffic and to find parking.

We usually keep our automobiles for 10 the 15 years and we generally buy new. However, our experience with RV's is that our needs evolve more quickly and what worked 4 years ago may not work today.

Wishing you great luck in your search and much fun in your travel experiences.

[pnichols]

Buying direct from the manufacturer is fine, if you can ocassionally get close to the great sale prices that dealers sometimes offer. Also ... one needs to make sure that the manufacturers that only sell direct also have an established network of AUTHORIZED repair facilities so that repair of somewhat ensured quality is available many places for their products. Having to take an RV back to the manufacturer - if it's wise to even drive it busted - for quality repair is not good.

We only take our RV to repair facilities that are authorized by the manufacturer as repair facilities for their products, even though many vanilla RV repair outfits all over the U.S. would be willing to take our money when things are broke.

[thestoloffs]

Born Free has sold directly to users for years, as well as using selected dealers.

[jerseyjim]

Lazy Daze is the only one I ever heard of. Still haven't heard about the others mentioned. Until now.
Thanks.

[GailS]

Phoenix Cruiser in IN, Nexus in IN, Coach House in FL, as well as Lazy Daze in CA are factory direct.

[tenbear]

jerseyjim wrote:
"...buy direct from a Manufacturer" ? I only know of one. In California. Enlighten me (by name), please.

Since his Profile indicates he is driving a Lazy Daze, I checked their web site and Lazy Daze sells direct to the customer.

[jerseyjim]

"...buy direct from a Manufacturer" ? I only know of one. In California. Enlighten me (by name), please.

[PghBob]

Frank...I second the idea of going to an RV show to look and not buy. We did so for several years to get a good idea of OCCC, floor plans, standard equipment, and build quality. Given you are from NEPA, you might want to consider going to the Hershey RV show, usually in mid-September, self-billed as the largest RV show in the country. We did so for several years before deciding to buy direct from a manufacturer. This will also allow you the opportunity to compare Class C to all other types of RVs. Good luck with your search.

[Frankthedriver]

WOW WOW so much input in a short time!!! thanks all, I really appreciate the information. Rental road is something i will look into - interesting thought thanks for bringing it up!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays ALL!

[Snowman9000]

Very interesting info, map40. Thanks.

[map40]

I have owned several motorhomes and currently I own 6 units that we rent out.
There is a difference between craftmanship and sturdy design.
Ex-rental units, specially the Cruise America, are designed to last forever. They have the least amount of amenities and everything is bullet-proof. I have had Cruise america ex-rentals with over 200K miles with no issue.
Going for a higher end coach will give you a lot of amenities, but also more maintenance and more probability of things breaking.
If you buy from Cruise America make sure that you check the DOT in ALL tires and that you check the front end. I always ask them to lift the front end and check the ball-joints. Even after taking it home, if you take it to a shop and they find something wrong Cruise America could pay for the repairs. Every time I buy from the refurbishment center they have to pay my mechanic to re-build the front end, and the do so with no problem.
There are a lot of good class Cs for sale. You might find a good one.
Even when we sale one of our fleet units they keep running with minimal problems.
My only advise would be don't let low miles drag you in. I have always had more problems with low miles motorhomes than with units that have been running all the time. I had a class C with over 300K, ex-rental, sold it and every so often I see it still in some campgrounds.

[OutdoorPhotogra]

I'm still a year or two away from upgrading from a pop-up for a variety of reasons including no time to camp due to work commitments but I've researched C's pretty extensively since that is the lead candidate.

I'm strongly considering the used rental from El Monte. I'm also considering no slides and 25' range which will allow me to park in two parking spots as a pull through. We have camped for extended periods in a PUP including two cross country trips. We also spend most of our time siteseeing or outside. When rain drives us inside, we usually play a game around the dinette or lay in bed and read. My kids are are teens and won't be in house much longer so I don't have to worry about little kids going stir crazy. By grandkid time, I will bump up to my retirement RV with a whole new set of criteria.

The single best thing you can do is go to an RV show and walk floor plans for hours. Don't go with any intent to purchase! An RV show will give you more manufactures with less sales pressure. We walked through all types including large 5er's that we had no intent to ever purchase just to educate ourselves and get a good comparison.

[petrel]

We travel as a family of six. For us, slides are for when it rains, or when it is so doggone hot nobody wants to even look outside. The rest of the time, the rv is just a place to toilet and snooze. We do all of our cooking outside, unless it is raining sideways.

If you like to cover some ground when you are behind the wheel, be sure that the rv you select affords access to the restroom and the fridge while underway. Some units are really built to travel. Others are pretty much built to sit in a campground.

Yes, the road is hard on all of them. That is why the best rvs are built like yachts and remain damned expensive, even when they are over ten years old! The good news is that you don't have to buy a Prevost to find a quality used unit. Just look at the resale. Some continue to plummet in value. Some take the initial hit then level out nicely. You pay more, but the market will show you the units that hold together over time.

Our first family RVing experience was in a little rented C-class. Unfortunately, although we fell in love with both RVing and the C-class at the same time, it was years before we could consider anything beyond our beloved TT.

PS. If you plan to spend most of your time enjoying the outdoors with your children. Be sure that whatever unit you select has a good spot to store shoes and jackets that is near the main door:)