Your First Class A

[Sonny54]

Alright: Put yourself in my newbie shoes for a moment, if you will. You and your wife plan on going full time sometime in 2017. You want a dependable first RV, at least 34' long. You don't want to spend over $50k.

What are you buying, and where are you buying it? And what features are must-haves?

[rk911]

Johno02 wrote:
RK911, when we got our first 30' class A, I had never driven one either, nor did we have any rv experience. We did have a great dealer that walked us through EVERYTHING about the unit, and took us out on a narrow two-lane road to convince himself and us that we could drive it. And we love it!! I have realized that most of the local school buses are bigger than I am, and they take them in places I would never consider myself. Just stay out of their way, and the same applies to local truck drivers. If they can get there, so can I. But I don't like (and avoid) high city flyovers with low side rails. Its amazing (and scary) what you can see from the high drivers seat.

my point was not so much the driving...after all those of us driving a Class A had never driven a Class A...until we did. no, my point was jumping into fulltiming without ever having any RV experience whatsoever. brave soul to do that.

[rk911]

Sonny54 wrote:
rk911: No. I have never driven a motor home...

if you have no experience in any RV including a motorhome it will be a huge jump into full timing. like others if I was going to do that I'd want a new or new-er coach unless you're a competent mechanic.

[Mile_High]

Ivylog wrote:
At 34' you do not need a diesel... not many diesels that short. I made the mistake of starting with a used 36' DP for half time because of posts on here about getting in SP, NP, USFS CGs. As you can see below...42' is NOT too big. No way would we FT in a 34' MH. I now advise to buy more motorhome than you think you need, ONE TIME. For FT most will say you need 3,000+ lbs of CCC.

Unless you plan on towing a small car... most gasser only have a 5000 lb hitch, most DPs have 10000. I would start with a 40' 1-2 slide Beaver, Monaco, HR DP around 2000.

X2 - easy to buy, hard to sell. Make the first one count!

[RobbieH]

I used to have a Super C. For a first timer, a C or Super C is easier, as there are not all the "bus" things on them such as air brakes, air ride, steer wheels behind you, etc. Just about anyone can jump in a C and drive and feel comfortable.

[wredman]

I have not found the used market to be too good now. With the major lack of production for years '09 thru '12 or so, means there is not much in that time frame. So the '13s and newer are really in demand and not much drop in price from a hold over '16 new on the lot. You have to go back to the '08 or older to get a substantial price drop from my findings. Good luck finding something you like.

[Ivylog]

At 34' you do not need a diesel... not many diesels that short. I made the mistake of starting with a used 36' DP for half time because of posts on here about getting in SP, NP, USFS CGs. As you can see below...42' is NOT too big. No way would we FT in a 34' MH. I now advise to buy more motorhome than you think you need, ONE TIME. For FT most will say you need 3,000+ lbs of CCC.

Unless you plan on towing a small car... most gasser only have a 5000 lb hitch, most DPs have 10000. I would start with a 40' 1-2 slide Beaver, Monaco, HR DP around 2000.

[jplante4]

Trouble is, your first class A is usually not the one you really want or need. Some recommend renting something to get a sense of what you're up against, but it's hard to find a class A rental. Some say buy something old and cheap and spent a couple of season in it weekend camping and longer trips. This is the route we took. Came out with a list of "must haves", "would be nice to haves" and "we don't needs" and then sold the old gasser for what we paid for it. This let us narrow down the search for specific models.

BTW there's nothing special about a gasser that will preclude it from breaking down in the middle of Wyoming.

[Johno02]

RK911, when we got our first 30' class A, I had never driven one either, nor did we have any rv experience. We did have a great dealer that walked us through EVERYTHING about the unit, and took us out on a narrow two-lane road to convince himself and us that we could drive it. And we love it!! I have realized that most of the local school buses are bigger than I am, and they take them in places I would never consider myself. Just stay out of their way, and the same applies to local truck drivers. If they can get there, so can I. But I don't like (and avoid) high city flyovers with low side rails. Its amazing (and scary) what you can see from the high drivers seat.

[Sonny54]

Yeah, I really love the Allegros. Red Bay isn't too far from where I currently live. Great family run company

[Johno02]

I prefer gassers, because my home town mechanic can do about anything that needs to be done to it. After all, it is just a (in my case) a Ford truck, and any good farm equipment mechanic can work on it. Any my local shop even has a 14' door and bay that he can get it inside with no trouble.
Under 50K is probably going to be a bit difficult, except for the lower-end units. look for under 5 years, and 30-40K miles. Your area is a good place to look around. Allegro is up in Red Bay, and most of their units are well-rated.

[Mile_High]

there are several nice MHs out there for $50K, including older diesel pushers, but a big risk to full time in my mind. Maybe just me, but if I was getting ready to full time, I would want a new or very new coach around me.

[Sonny54]

rk911: No. I have never driven a motor home.

Stormy: Yes. I have Bill's book. Very helpful. I think my current debate is gas versus diesel. Right now, I think I'm leaning toward gas. My main concern is dependability. I'd rather not get broken down in the middle of Wyoming. 🙂

[Stormy_Eyes]

With a budget of 50k for a 34 ft +, you are, of course, looking at a used unit. Dependability of any used vehicle always raises questions in my mind; you just never know how many problems may lurk. Year for year, a gas motorhome will cost less to purchase and maintain than a DP.

Not hard for me to place myself in your shoes, as we bought our first rig and went full time this year. We bought a 2005 Itasca 33V with a workhorse chassis. It was below you budget (and ours), but we knew ther would be more costs as we fixed it up to our liking and such. Fulltiming ( and lacking a driveway, lacking extensive on board tools, and lacking both engine and rv expertise) we knew we'd have to pay to have professional work on our unit, though these forums have helped us fix some things on our own. We have been pleased with the reliability so far. We shopped on line and in person in Florida, ended up finding ours in TX. We tried to look at mostly units with good reputations including Tiffin, Winnebago/Itasca, Holiday Rambler. We wanted a good price so we would not take too bad of beating if we sell or trade up.

I read an e book by Bill Myers on buying used Motorhomes and found it helpful.

[SCVJeff]

You are starting to get into the early 2000's DP's at that price and ought to do pretty well. Diesels are just getting broken in when a gas is at end of life. You get a way more robust and likely stronger generator as well. Bus or truck chassis million mile chassis vs. whatever gas is on these days, and the list goes on. Once you get inside the interiors are close to the same

Don't forget about weight capacity. A BIG DEAL when FT

[rk911]

Sonny54 wrote:
Alright: Put yourself in my newbie shoes for a moment, if you will. You and your wife plan on going full time sometime in 2017. You want a dependable first RV, at least 34' long. You don't want to spend over $50k.

What are you buying, and where are you buying it? And what features are must-haves?

sonny, do you have any experience with any RV, especially a Class A?