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Old 06-26-2016, 01:45 PM   #1
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Diesel 36' or Less

After 40 + years of camping from tents-popups-5th wheels we're planning for retirement and want a Class A Diesel. Pre-2008 diesel emissions power. Exhaust brake/retarder important as we intend to do as many and as an elevation as North America provides. No slide configurations are OK.

Length is important as we prefer having unlimited access to smaller parks, especially state parks.

Kitchen layout is important as DW is a great cook and needs as much counter space as possible.

Outside storage is important.

Ultimately we'll shop by the short list that is developed from the suggestions we get.

Budget $100k or less.

For now we're primarily interested in Make/Model/Year/Floorplan suggestions.

Thanks in advance.

Floridarandy
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Old 06-26-2016, 01:49 PM   #2
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Tiffin Allegro RED
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Old 06-26-2016, 01:51 PM   #3
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Here's 527 RV's under 100k, diesel, 36 feet or less.

New or Used Class A RVs for Sale - RVTrader.com
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Old 06-26-2016, 01:51 PM   #4
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the Diesel Bounder by Fleetwood would be another model I would be HIGHLY interested in.
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Old 06-26-2016, 01:54 PM   #5
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I'd be looking too.. at the Holiday Ramblers, The Newmar Ventana, and I would be curious to see what the Safari and the Country coach had to offer. Country coach is another of the old goody brands. I'd certainly be peeking at them.
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Old 06-26-2016, 02:28 PM   #6
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The Bounder being a gasser of course!
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Old 06-26-2016, 04:32 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WyoFree View Post
The Bounder being a gasser of course!
58 Diesel Bounders for sale right now on RVTrader. 402 Gas Bounders also for sale.
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Old 06-26-2016, 04:54 PM   #8
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Hey thanks CWK, I had no idea they built a Bounder diesel pusher and thanks for the clarification!
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Old 06-26-2016, 05:08 PM   #9
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Hey thanks CWK, I had no idea they built a Bounder diesel pusher and thanks for the clarification!
You are welcome, sir. I use RVTrader a lot as one of my research tools. Their website is relatively easy to navigate and search for RV's.
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Old 06-26-2016, 05:21 PM   #10
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I suggest you head over to several RV dealers, ditch the salesperson and wander through the new and used units checking out floor plans until you find the one that suits you.

Many of the attributes you describe could also be found in a 5er. You probably can buy a fairly new 5er and tow vehicle for your budget.

Once you find floor plans that will suit your needs you will have to look until you find the one you can afford and meets the quality you want. Used coaches are/can be problematic. Hopefully it was gently used but due diligence will be required to ensure that.
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Old 06-26-2016, 05:33 PM   #11
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Clarification:

Thanks for the quick replies but what I'm hoping for by this post is make/model/floorplans for older diesel coaches under 36' some of which are, most likely, no longer made. I can, and do, search rvt and rvtrader but I what I'm hoping to find are specifics I can set my searches around.

We've also wandered the RV lots and are fortunate to have Lazy Days in Tampa with over 100 acres to search...but again, you can only see what's on the lot. Once I have some make/model/floorplan gems to search for we can make better progress.

Again, we're a couple of years from retiring so I'm hoping to get some specific things to look for.

Thanks in advance.
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Old 06-26-2016, 06:34 PM   #12
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This *may* help a little. After reading the forums for quite some time, I am leaning towards a "new to us" Newmar. One of the items on our list is a King Bed. So, floorplans are important. Specifically I want to see if they have that "step" up over the diesel engine on one side of the bed. I have seen that in person and we do not want that. We also want 1.5 baths, so floorplan again is important.

Given that we are thinking Newmar, their website: newmarcorp.com has an archive of brochures which include the model numbers and their floorplans. Look under Resources->Brouchures->Archive. There you will find most of the older brochures. I say most, since I just found that a 2008 Ventana brochure was not in their archives, but was available by one of the dealers.

I do not know if all of the manufacturers keep old brochures on line. And, I believe some of the manufacturers went out of business during the recession.

Another website that is helpful is pplmotorhomes.com. They list the available Class A's with floorplan diagrams. On their homepage click on Diesel Motor Homes. (Well, we think we want a diesel, so that is where I am looking.) Or click on Class A Motorhomes and see more floorplans.

EDIT: You may need to click the box that says "Include pictures/floor plans" at the top of the listings.

I am not sure where you can find an exhaustive list of every model made in the last, say, 20 years. I think it would be like listing every make and model sedan made in the same time frame. Then, finding all of their brochures.

As for walking the lot, don't overlook Fort Myers, about 2 hours away from Tampa. North Trail has a LOT of inventory. There are some other dealers in the area as well.

Best of luck!
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Old 06-26-2016, 09:32 PM   #13
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floridarandy,
Yep, you can go for the higher end older coaches like Newmar and Country Coach and a couple of others and get maybe a great deal. We've had our coach, an '04 Itasca Horizon, full body paint, 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT an Allison MH3000 trans now for over 5 years. It rides on a Freightliner XC "Evolution" chassis and, is a great ride. It handles superbly and, we get it into many, many state and National Forest campgrounds with ease.

The quality of our Itasca/Winnebago product is outstanding. We've had very few issues in the 26,000 miles we've put on it since purchase. Yes, there's been some repairs etc. but, no coach can live a problem free life. The floor plan is open and, accommodates us two, just great. The bedroom has plenty of room and we also have a washer/dryer combo that works pretty good for those times when the clothes are piling up and, you're in a spot with hookups.

We have many friends who also have Winnebago Journeys, and Itasca Meridians (basically an equal coach from the two mfgs) in the 34' length. In the Meridian it's called the 34H. And many of them came with 350HP CAT engines. The floor plans of the 34H are great even though you've lost 2' from our version.

We have two slides, one for the galley/living room and one for the bedroom, both on the drivers side. With that C-7 330HP engine, we tow two different toads. One, an '11 GMC Sierra 1500 Extended Cab 4x4 which, carries an '08 Honda GL 1800 Goldwing in the bed. Or, we tow an '03 Jeep Rubicon. In each case, we hover around 7.0-8.0 mpg. The coach does great with either toad setup as we hover close to about 62 mph for all driving.

There are lots of Journeys and Meridians out there. I think you'd have a great coach with either one, including the Vectra or Horizon.
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Old 06-26-2016, 10:10 PM   #14
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Here in California the State parks limit you to 32' so that's a tough one. Other States have different limits. I just don't go to Ca state parks. We had a 36' Winnebago Journey and now have a 40' Winnebago. National RV made a good Coach, they are out of business now but saw 2 07's just today that were 33' with low miles and in the 80k range. Winnebago made a similar size coach that were good imo. There are a lot fewer Diesel pusher coaches out there when you get under 36' but there are some. Tiffin makes the Breeze, it's a pusher but it has a rather small Maxxforce power plant I believe it comes in a 32 and a longer model. The Sprinter, Via style seem to be what people buy when they want short but those are a lot newer than your talking. I agree with you on staying pre DPF either that or a 2012 or newer with a Def system. Manufacturers have caught up reliability wise with the EPA demands in the last 4 years. Good luck with your search.
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