Xaviar
Explorer
Joined 8 years ago
User Profile
User Widgets
All Activity
Re: Class A 'Best Bones'
BigRabbitMan wrote: Here is a link to FMC motor homes. They are all 29 ft long with a rear engine. Originally they were all Chrysler 440's, but a number have been converted to diesel. If you are going to tow, a diesel would be preferred but a number tow with the original 440. FMC photo albums by BigRabbitMan Bring up BigRabbitMan's photo albums (that's me) and look for the various Rally photo albums to see a number of them. The roof and wall down to the beltline is all one piece of 1/4 inch fiberglass. Nothing is laminated nor are there any wall or front cap seams. I like mine, but it may be too small for you. I have put 75,000+ miles on mine over 15 years. I did upgrade it to a diesel 25,000 miles ago. PM me if you want more info as to floor plans etc. Appreciate it, and sadly yes I think it'll be too small. I think anything below 30 feet is going to be a bit rough for us. I'm still working on the idea of downsizing with my wife. I could probably go much smaller, but, happy wife happy life!505Views0likes0CommentsRe: Class A 'Best Bones'
fulltimin wrote: You tube has a bunch of videos on converting a bus to a motor home. Many, but not nearly all, are school bus conversions. Buses can be had from 20' or so up to 40'. It's not too difficult to find a 35 footer. Some are cab over, some conventional, depends on what you prefer. One thing about the bus, you will be able to install heavier components, without the worry of going over your gross weight. Do not fear plumbing, it is one of the easier, simpler jobs. Not much required in the way of tools, or special skills. Link to you tube bus conversions What makes the difference on the gross weight where it can handle it so much better? Just a better chasis/engine? What's the typical life expectancy of the engine in the busses vs RVs? It occurs to me I keep comparing them to cars -- and yet I've seen a couple listed as "low mileage" at 100k miles.505Views0likes0CommentsRe: Class A 'Best Bones'
Gjac wrote: Having spent time fixing delaminated side walls I would take Bruce's advice look for one with a hung wall, they can leak but not delaminate. $25k or less would probably be about 15 years or older so maintenance is important. If gas I would choose a straight axle front end over an IFS P-30 chassis a lot less maintenance. After 2006 both Chevy and Ford had good chassis and eng HP. Before that I would look for the WH chassis with the Alison transmission. Also look at things like FW capacity, storage, and CCC. These things are more important to me that the type of roof it has especially storage and the CCC if you plan to fulltime for a couple of years. If you plan to camp in NP's, NFS, SP's CG's without full hook ups them FW, black and grey tank capacities are important also. What sort of mods are you anticipating to make? Optimization of the rooms is probably the biggest bit. How the furniture is laid out and space is used inside. My wife has a notion that she'd like me to make a shower bigger, or find something with a tub/jacuzzi -- but that seems rather rare. As much as I've looked at the plumbing on these too, I don't see me getting around to messing with that. One of her biggest requests is to make the shower feel like a 'real shower' (tile it or something instead of the little plastic nonsense). Which I can certainly do if the thing can support it in a way without destroying the whole thing.505Views0likes0CommentsRe: Class A 'Best Bones'
Bill.Satellite wrote: gbopp wrote: Bill.Satellite wrote: Get an older Prevost and you will be good to go. Steel, stainless, aluminum and fiberglass caps. Excellent idea.. But they are not cheap. No, but after you are done with it in 2 years you will be able to get most of that money back when you sell it especially if you do a nice job on the updates and upgrades. Hadn't occurred to me to look at the busses as I'm not sure how handy I would be in general as far as plumbing goes. It does look like these are pre-plumbed though eh? I may have to take a look at a couple and see. They do look a bit long, I had been told going over 35 feet made it hard to get into some of the parks. Looks like these are all 40 footers-ish? I'd also be curious how they do mileagewise. Looks like they're all going to start at 100k. I'm not much of a mechanic (and by not much -- I'm not any sort of mechanic).505Views0likes0CommentsRe: Class A 'Best Bones'
Mile High wrote: I don't understand your statement that MH are wasted space for 2 people - we found quite the opposite- the higher end you went the more tailored they are for 2 people. The entry levels are typically the bunk houses, sleep 10, etc. I would never predicate a 2 year journey on having to gut and rebuild a motorhome unless you really just have nothing else to do. A) It would take me 10 years to finish that kind of project, B) when I was done I would have a MH that only I liked and I could never sell it because no one else liked it :) The layouts are wasted space for two people, in my personal opinion of the majority of the 'entry level' ones. Just because we intend to be on the road consistently for two years, doesn't mean I'd stop using it. We just have some other ideas/thoughts/plans after that -- where it would likely be more casual. Or who knows! Maybe we'll love it and do it forever.236Views0likes0CommentsRe: Class A 'Best Bones'
Bruce Brown wrote: On the rubber roof, there is true EPDM rubber then there are the synethic types - big difference between them. I have a TT with a rubber roof and our MH has BriteTek, which some (wrongly) confuse with rubber. EPDM isn't my favorite, we're on our 3rd MH with BriteTek, I'd buy another in a heartbeat. Also keep in mind just because it says "fiberglass" doesn't mean it's quality material, some is about paper thin. Also keep in mind, like rubber, fiberglass will break down somewhat over time too. I also dabble in older tractors. I recently shipped a cab roof from one of my parts tractors to Louisiana. The roof I had was metal, it was replacing a fiberglass roof that had deteriorated past it's useful life. Also "rubber" is a lot easier to replace. I did a new roof on our TT a few years ago, I did a buddies 5th Wheel last fall. I can't do a new full fiberglass roof in my garage, that's a factory job. IMO I'd be more concerned in the roof condition than the material. We've had a couple (all be it salesmen) tell us that the rubber roofs can get holes just as easily as being somewhere where a bird lands on it with some prey and is having lunch. Given the height and areas we'd go to in a motorhome -- that seems like a pretty high likelihood (though I suppose it could easily have been a perfect scare tactic as to 'why this is better'). Are you saying one of those two types of 'rubber' are better than the other? I suppose the walls and roof (as well as mechanical parts) are my biggest concern over all as for what will last. Remodeling I can do all day long.236Views0likes0CommentsRe: Class A 'Best Bones'
Bruce Brown wrote: I am a big fan of hung wall construction as opposed to laminated. If it's laminated it can delaminate. Those using hung wall are Newmar, Holiday Rambler/Monaco, and Travel Supreme/Entregra. There may be a few others, I can't think of one. Of course a full bus would be great, I don't think that would fit your budget. Watching if something is laminated or if it has a rubber roof has really been what we've tried to concentrate on. We've had several folks tell us a rubber roof can easily become problematic and leak and requires a good bit of an upkeep. Rubber roof seems to have been an easier one to nail down, I wasn't familiar with the laminated setup until very recently so it's something new to us in general.236Views0likes0CommentsRe: Class A 'Best Bones'
gbopp wrote: You want something that didn't leak and was well maintained. Don't just concentrate on the make/chassis. It doesn't really matter how well something was built 10+ years ago if it leaked and is rotting away under the walls and floor. Are you looking for gas or diesel? They both have their pros and cons. I think it'll really depend on what we land on. I've gone over several pros/cons list and gone out on some weekend trips in both and don't really have a preference from what it seems so far. We do plan to pretty much loop the states a couple of times depending on weather and how much we enjoy things. We intend to move pretty often + want to take our jeep for offroading which is what left us stuck on the Class A.236Views0likes0CommentsClass A 'Best Bones'
Hey RV Friends! My wife and I are planning to go spend a couple of years full timing, just to get a break from the world. With that said, we enjoy remodeling homes -- so we figured we'd give it a shot in an RV. I'm trying to figure out which Class A's have the best 'bones' so I can go search for something that's a bit dated that we can basically gut and refinish so the lay out matches our needs and wants + style. I'd love to hear from some owners on what you think has the least outside work or will have passed the test of time if we were to go cheap (I'm thinking under 25k -- but we're certainly flexible). We spent a good bit of time shopping with an expectation of spending ~150k only to realize you really can't get anything that is particularly personalized for two people. Such a waste of space! Not to mention whomever designs the interior seems like they've been at it since the 60's.5KViews0likes26Comments
Groups
Motorhome Group
Join in here to discuss all things motorhomes.Jan 24, 202538,705 Posts
