Class A gasser

[mikeypj]

Im in the market for a USED class A gasser for FT travel. I was originally going for a used DP, but life happens and had to lower my dream..so for a gasser, what is a good milage per year? Is it the 10k that is recommended for cars? Or would a 17-ish $20000 used DP going to be a POS? Not interested in "save your money" lectures.

[Jim T.]

Look for well maintained Newmars or Tiffins. Both companies build quality products on Ford F53 chassis and provide good customer support. I’ve owned both. Presently own 2013 Newmar Canyon Star on 26K F53 chassis. Bought new. Great manufacturer support. Pretty much bulletproof. Only added 5Star Tuner.

[flywithcoop]

I think you will find that most MHs are not driven very much. They spend most of their time parked. Have never seen a average annual mileage for a MH.

[Waiter21]

at $20k, you're in my range... In this price range, low mileage has its problems, just as high mileage.. Something between 50 and 80k should be reasonable.

If you're a DIYer, you can find a very, very nice MH in this price range. The variables in this equation for me were, ride quality, build quality, operational expense, maintenance ease.

Its been my experience that a DP doesn't gain you anything except higher cost. I was searching for high end build quality, and was able to find it in the less expensive gas models. Ride quality wasn't a big factor.

The issue with this price range will be age and condition. The condition will most likely be there are things that are broken that need to be fixed.. The more knowledge you have the better position you'll be in to identify and fix these issues.

If you need to write a check for everything you want repaired, this will either be a money pit, or maintenance will go unperformed..

I specifically search for a Ford F53 chassis, as I 'm familiar with it.. The MH that we bought was in good shape, had good bones, and after a little time fixing and repairing, we have a top quality MH that reliable and usable. You can take a look at the issues we dealt with on the used purchase.. I suspect most MHs of this age would have similar issues..

We do all our own repairs. As of today, I have a little under 20k tied up in it, and this includes the recent paint job,..

http://www.1999southwind.com/

..

[tomwalt]

I went thru this several years ago - Here are a few things I learned:
Winter is a great time to buy when looking for value (cost to quality).
5K miles a year and 10 years old is a good target for a used motorhome. Expect to put an additional $5K into maintenance the 1st couple years.
Make sure the generator has a few hundred hours on it - 1 hour per month is just basic maintenance for a generator.
Look at it 2 ways - house construction/condition and chassis (ford or chevy/workhorse)
I found the ones with aluminum framing (vs wood) were in better shape and hold up better in wet climates (less likely to be damaged by a leak).
Try to buy local and get some instruction from the seller - craigslist worked for me.
I learned a lot shopping around - each private seller I talked to increased my knowledge. The commercial shops mostly blew smoke - sales pitch vs info.
Tire age is important. They may look good but after 10 years they need replaced (sooner in a hot/dry/sunny climate).
You need to be or learn to be a DIYer with a used RV - simple systems but there are a lot of them.

Good luck and try to enjoy the shopping - it should be fun to spend $20K of hard earned $$.

[zekethomas]

We just bought a 2015 Vista (4 months ago) with 7,500 miles on it. Plan to use it around 20,000 miles per year (that is my history with a B+ for 10 years).

F53 is getting 7.5 mpg (tested for 5,600 miles).

Avg mileage for a typical RV is 4K-7K per year (please, all you FT'ers dont flame me) as has been mentioned most sit for most of the year.

You either need to go 3 years old or less with 15,000 miles or less for $65K or you need to go 5-8 years old with 40,000+ miles for 30K to find a good rig. We researched for a year to find the one we bought.

If you find an older rig (>5 years) with low miles it will have problems from sitting. An older rig with some miles is better as it has been used and that means maintained at some level. Sitting rigs keep sitting, used rigs are fixed enough to use and be comfortable.

These fine machines fall apart when you use them (earthquake rolling down the road) or fall apart when sitting .... so you have to expect that.

<3 years old has not been sitting so long that it has rotted or critters have eaten it up.... or the sun has baked it too long.

>5 used with some miles (40K-60K miles) are usually pretty good for the price point. Check them out carefully, have an RV someone inspect it for you! You can find them where people have cared for them quite well.

The ford F53 seems to be a good chassis.. I dont know the workhorse so I cannot comment on it. Look for a GVR of 18K or more. I have a 16K and it does not have much carrying capacity (we do not pull a toad), but we wanted to be under 32 feet.

Hope this helps.. FWIW....

[Charlie 5320]

Even if you buy a $20k gas rig, it will more than likely need a bunch of work done on it. The last two coachs I have bought needed some TLC. I bought my currant coach about $10,000 below book, BUT it NEEDED $5,000 in upgrades to get it to my standards. That included new tires, TVs, and a few other things. A lot of elbow grease getting the outside cleaned up and polished. It was worth it to me though. There is a huge difference between a $20k and a $30k coach in todays market. Even a $30k coach may need a lot of TLC. My requirement was a 8.1 and an Allison trans and that's the only ones I looked at.

["007"]

If you want a good gasser look for a Workhorse chassis with the Chev 8.1 engine and the Allison trans, this link will lead you to Newmar coach's in the 2003 to 2009 time zone that Newmar used the WH chassis.
Good luck in your quest.

[70ChevelleSS]

Our 2003 has around 56,000 miles on it. Can't comment on the Ford chassis, never owned one. Ours has the Workhorse W22 chassis, that was a selling point for me, others will disagree. I've put around a $1,000 dollars into it in the last few years, $800 of that was a set of exhaust headers. It will need new tires in few years but that's always an issue.

[Unplanned Tourist]

If you are going FT, be sure to get something you will be comfortable in while parked. Both Ford and Chevy chassis' have their good and bad points, so I won't get into that. I looked at a lot of floor plans before settling on our 38J. Think about how much room you need in bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and living area. I looked at 100's of floor plans. PPL and other sites show floor plans in their adds, so a handy place to look.
If this is your 2nd or 3rd rig, you will have a pretty good idea of what you want and don't want.
Happy Glamping.

[awol50]

My advice is to start by seeing what you can find in fsbo that have been garaged most/all of its life. Which in most cases is 90% of its life.
Huge difference. In every way. And tells you the owner took pride in ownership. Will pay more, but probably worth it.

[Charlie 5320]

Originally Posted by awol50

My advice is to start by seeing what you can find in fsbo that have been garaged most/all of its life. Which in most cases is 90% of its life.
Huge difference. In every way. And tells you the owner took pride in ownership. Will pay more, but probably worth it.

Might be pretty hard to find a $20k coach that has been garaged most of its life. I've NEVER seen one. Usually for $20k you get a very neglected coach that people just want out of their way, unless it is a very old model.

[mikeypj]

Luckily, i am mechanically inclined. Nothing but time on my hands. $20000 is a starting point. Im disabled and have spent 3 yrs researching, going to RV shows and such. I had read how DPs are built sturdier because the diesel lasts longer. I had planned on immediately putting new tires and shocks sway bars before ever taking it out. The stripping it out and redoing and fixing things to our liking, DW has to make it homey.

[mikeypj]

Originally Posted by Waiter21

at $20k, you're in my range... In this price range, low mileage has its problems, just as high mileage.. Something between 50 and 80k should be reasonable.

If you're a DIYer, you can find a very, very nice MH in this price range. The variables in this equation for me were, ride quality, build quality, operational expense, maintenance ease.

Its been my experience that a DP doesn't gain you anything except higher cost. I was searching for high end build quality, and was able to find it in the less expensive gas models. Ride quality wasn't a big factor.

The issue with this price range will be age and condition. The condition will most likely be there are things that are broken that need to be fixed.. The more knowledge you have the better position you'll be in to identify and fix these issues.

If you need to write a check for everything you want repaired, this will either be a money pit, or maintenance will go unperformed..

I specifically search for a Ford F53 chassis, as I 'm familiar with it.. The MH that we bought was in good shape, had good bones, and after a little time fixing and repairing, we have a top quality MH that reliable and usable. You can take a look at the issues we dealt with on the used purchase.. I suspect most MHs of this age would have similar issues..

We do all our own repairs. As of today, I have a little under 20k tied up in it, and this includes the recent paint job,..

http://www.1999southwind.com/

..

Damn nice job on your southwind! We have alot of ideas regarding what we want to do to our rig(when it is finally here). Just looking on a few sites there are plenty between $20-25000. Some better condition..im looking for one with right around 50000 miles on it.