Searching for a motorhome

[2 Bichons]

Hello All,
As you can see, I am new here.
We are searching for a motorhome (used)
We recently are looking at a 2006 Tradewinds.
I know nothing about National RV's or Tradewinds. Haven't seen much of them nor do I ever hear much on them.

I know you guys are all National RV owners or going to be's.

And I wanted your feedback about the 2006 Tradewinds.
We will be living in it fulltime...me hubby and the the 2 little Bichon fur babies.
Traveling from Coast to Coast.

Could some or ALL of you that have knowledge of this unit give me your pros and cons PLEASE...
Thank you
Judi

[Bill WA6YBD]

Hi Judy,
Welcome, you have come to the right place. You will learn things here you didn't know you didn't know. I'm surprised many people that own Tradewinds have not yet jumped in to tell you about their rigs. I own a 2005 Dolphin motor home also made by National. National was the manufacture for the Tradewinds as well. The tradewinds has a diesel engine where as the Dolphin has a gas engine. I am currently on my 2nd Dolphin and I like many other people feel National built the best product for the price. I have a friend that owned a Tradwinds for many years and traded it in on a Islander. The Islander was also built by National. He had a Dolphin, then a Tradewinds, then the Islander. He has said many times he wished he still had his Tradewinds. Don't get me wrong he loves his new Islander too but the Tradewinds was his favorite. As you can tell I am a National fan. Find a good RV repair shop in your area and have it independently checked out. It will be money well spent. I only recommend this because you guys are new to RVing and there are lots of things to check out.
We are not full timers but we travel with 2 dogs as well. We have 2 boarder collies.
Best of luck with selecting your new motor home and may you enjoy many years of RVing.
Bill

[Vegasdan]

We fulltime in our 01 Tradewinds and love it. We have done a lot to it before we started fulltiming 6 months ago. National made a good coach and an 06 would be a good unit. You'll want to have things checked out before you buy, just as you would for any brand. Generally the cost for an independant tech to check things out will range in the $500-$600 range and will give you some piece of mind and possibly some bargaining leverage.

[Ken C]

Hi Judi,

You might want to check the carry capacity of the 06 Tradewinds that you are considering. We were interested in the 2006 Tradewinds when they were first offered but found the carry capacity of the ones we looked at to be very limited and not adequate for a our fulltime use. We have owned 2 National coaches. Build quality has been very good one the ones we have owned and we have been happy with them.

[2 Bichons]

Thank you all for your help, much welcomed.
I do intend to have ANY coach we decide on checked.
This one happens not to be in my state. It is in Colorado and I am in Henderson, NV

Glad you brought that up Ken C cause we for sure will be full timing in it and for sure it can be a problem for us.
The hard part is...I don't have a clue how much our stuff will weigh in comparison to what is allowed. More dilemmas! lol

[Vegasdan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2 Bichons Thank you all for your help, much welcomed. I do intend to have ANY coach we decide on checked. This one happens not to be in my state. It is in Colorado and I am in Henderson, NV Glad you brought that up Ken C cause we for sure will be full timing in it and for sure it can be a problem for us. The hard part is...I don't have a clue how much our stuff will weigh in comparison to what is allowed. More dilemmas! lol

The 06s are rated at 32K lbs gross vehicle rate. Check and see what the empty weight of the unit is and determine your CCC. Our 01 weighed in at 26K fully loaded with everything and 2 of us on board. We are under our CCC by 2K lbs. Unless I start filling up small cavities with lead shot, I don't know where I could put 2K more.

[Lault]

I have not been on this site other than to read the past year. So here is a 1st. I have a Nat. 06 Tradewinds 40D. We put 8,000 miles on it in 7 months of travel out West. It was a great trip with no real issues. I pull a HHR and travel 70 to 80 mph depending where I am or state I am traveling. The only thing to suffer is fuel mileage, to be exspected. I also attended Freightliner class last Oct, which is a must for me since I was a Jet Mech. all my life. I had the need to know all I could about this chassis. This is a mid high end unit and very nice for the $. I have had lots of compliments on the unit outside and interior. Any questions at all email me.
Larry