One MH or 10 in your driving life time? Why?

[zekegb]

Many owners that change coaches often don't think things through:
- What do we intend to do? Where do like to camp?
- Do we boondock or only go to resorts?
- How will we use the moho?
- What features are important?
- What kind of quality do we want?
- How much can we afford?
Answer those questions and you will probably purchase something you can enjoy for longer.
We were tent campers for 35 years. Now we have a 2003 Monaco Safari Trek. Can't envision anything else.

[LSC9901]

We lived two different camping lives. 39 plus years ago we started with a pop up and then moved to a very small TT .... maybe 18'. With two small kids that just didn't work to well.

Fast forward about 33 +/- years and we found an old (1984) 27' Fleetwood Jamboree. We basically stole it. My bride wasn't to sure about camping. Along with son and a friend we did NASCAR. The bride tried it and enjoyed it somewhat. We later bought a '93 Bounder 32'. That was fine until we started seeing the dreaded slide outs. The extra room seemed phenomenal, and it is. We stepped up to our current '01 Bounder and feel pretty content. We are just summer campers so the size and layout are working fine. The current intent is to keep this one. 55K miles and in better than average condition.

Now if I hit Megabucks ......... all bets are off.

[LVRVLUVR]

Originally Posted by zekegb

Many owners that change coaches often don't think things through:
- What do we intend to do? Where do like to camp?
- Do we boondock or only go to resorts?
- How will we use the moho?
- What features are important?
- What kind of quality do we want?
- How much can we afford?
Answer those questions and you will probably purchase something you can enjoy for longer.
We were tent campers for 35 years. Now we have a 2003 Monaco Safari Trek. Can't envision anything else.

maybe things just change....years ago we had 2 sons traveling with us..

we needed a 40'r but went 5 years with a 22' jamboree...as money free'd
we kept upgrading...

[LVRVLUVR]

Originally Posted by zekegb

Many owners that change coaches often don't think things through:
- What do we intend to do? Where do like to camp?
- Do we boondock or only go to resorts?
- How will we use the moho?
- What features are important?
- What kind of quality do we want?
- How much can we afford?
Answer those questions and you will probably purchase something you can enjoy for longer.
We were tent campers for 35 years. Now we have a 2003 Monaco Safari Trek. Can't envision anything else.

maybe things just change...years ago we traveled with 2 boys... we needed a 40'r.... but got by with a 22' jamboree for 5 years....
as money free'd up we up graded....

as of right now I wouldn't keep a 13 yr old coach for any reason...

so I guess to each his own...

[historyljc]

We bought our coach in June of '06, six months before I retired. We had done some upgrades to it (MCD shades replaced the string and curtains, residential refrigerator installed after the Norcold died, dishwasher replaced the oven) before my wife passed in May of '14. The basic coach has been well maintained and is sound and serviceable. It is a 40' Tiffin Phaeton, 4 slide, CAT 350 engine, sitting on a Freightliner chassis. Since new, every year except one (when the wife, who was ill with bone cancer, was too sick to travel and too sick for me to leave her) the chassis has been serviced at the Freightliner Service Center in Gaffney, SC. After my wife passed I made the decision to do further upgrades rather buy a newer coach. In this decision I relied heavily upon the advice of my primary tech, a service manager with over 25 years experience at a local RV dealership. His claim is my chassis and coach are time tested and are as good or better than some (or most) of the coaches rolling off the line at the present time. He has been very instrumental in the upgrades to my coach. Some of the major upgrades that have been done since included, but not limited to, a DISH satellite receiver replaceing the King Dome receiver, all TVs upgraded to JVC flat screens (no real preference on brand, the JVC just happened to be the one that came in the size I needed and fit the budget), TV receivers upgraded to DISH hopper and 2 Joeys (the hopper in the main cabin and the joeys in the bedroom and outside bay, Blue Ray plays for all TVs, 7 motion detector lights installed on the exterior around the coach, stacked washer/dryer replaced the failing combo unit, outside vent installed for the microwave/convenction oven, credenza w/electric fireplace and pullout drawers replaced the PS couch, new couch combo dinette w/custom made table on the DS slide out, all interior lighting replaced with LED. additional LED lighting under the kitchen cabinets, additional LED lighting under the dinning table, in the bath area and over the stove area. The unit came with a king Sleep Number bed. A 3 inch foam topper has been addid. All vertical lift cabinet doors have been replace with horizontally opening doors. The 10 gallon water heater has been replaced with a propane fired Prescision Temp Endless Water Heater. Electric heating elements have been added to the propane heating ducts. I used no propane for heat last winter, all electric. My coach is very comfortable, usuable, and up to date. I'm 72, I expect it to last my the rest of my life. (I put over 5,000 miles in 16 states over the summer). I see no reason and have no desire to buy newer. And yes, I have looked. I not really impressed. Some new coaches are really nice, I just can't see the money difference for the same comfort level. I consider this my first, and last coach. That's actually what we tried to buy when we bought it. And it's kind of worked out that way. I'm a happy camper. Should everyone be so fortunate.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by jerboy

I would guess those that change MH's often also do the same with their cars.

Nope, still driving the '05 Ody daily although it only has 103,000 on the odometer and probably at least another 35,000 towing four down.

[Just For Fun]

In our case, I bought our last coach 1st - 16 years ago.

Now it's time to again upgrade to our next last coach.

[frankdamp]

We started out with an old 26' Class C. Loved RVing, but hated that cramped, gas-guzzling SOB. Switched to a 32' Class A which we really liked, but eventually had to bag the lifestyle due to cost.

[Salmon Run]

Fairly new to coach travel. Bought our MH used in 2010, 1998 Fleetwood Discovery, 36 foot, 1 slide, 275 hp cummins. Have toed a H3T hummer form Yuma to Alaska, from Vancouver to St John's NFL Canada. Have put 60k on and love it. We thought about upgrading but decided to spend some capital on the interior and we have it just the way we want it. Fuel economy is good and lots of room for 2 people so unless we have a major break down we are going to carry on. Happy trails to all.

[gruelens]

Originally Posted by LVRVLUVR

i had 9 since 2013....5 class a gas. 2 class a diesels...and 2 class c

hold all your calls ..... we have a winner

ps. in 13 years of fulltiming I have had a 38' motorhome for 5 years, a 40' trawler boat for 5 years, a 40' motorhome for the last 3+ years. Hoping to break the 5 year cycle with my current rig.

[Just For Fun]

Originally Posted by gruelens

hold all your calls ..... we have a winner

ps. in 13 years of fulltiming I have had a 38' motorhome for 5 years, a 40' trawler boat for 5 years, a 40' motorhome for the last 3+ years. Hoping to break the 5 year cycle with my current rig.

Your'e either crazy (), rich or you own an RV dealership!!!!!

[Snyderwheels]

Originally Posted by jacwjames

We are on our 2nd coach. The first one I bought at a an auction, the dealer was liquidating his inventory, ended up buying at dealer cost , after ~10 years we sold it to a friends father and he still has it. The 2nd motor home was in 2008 at the height of the RV sell off, ended up buying a repo for about 1/2 the value. Still worth ~80% of what we paid for it.

We drove the first on 69K miles, the second ~50K miles so we use our RV's. I even lived in mine 6 months while I relocated to a different job. Saved me a bundle in rent and it is pretty nice digs.

What I don't understand is that people buy a new one, it depreciates whether you use it or not, sell it for a fraction of what they have into it, and then buy another.

I don't understand either but I'm glad they do. I bought our MH when the owner traded it in after 10 months and 5k miles for a bigger one. I paid about 60% of the original price for a coach that is way more than I thought I could afford.

[macgyvr]

I always wanted a DP. I started in 2008 trying to make that happen going through a 3 diesel pickup with a truck camper, 48 ft toyhauler, Class B+, until last fall when I bought my 2001 Winnebago Journey 32T. I did not loose any money on any of it, and built equity until I could afford what I refer to as a "poor man's" Diesel pusher. I hope to keep the Winnie for 6 years and then move up into something a little newer and bigger, by then the kids will be with us on every trip (maybe bunks). Now they are 3 yrs and 3 months old and the grandparents are still in good enough shape to watch them while the wife and I travel with our Jeep.

I'm 37 yrs old and enjoy every minute with the DP...well except 2 weeks ago when I spit the serp belt off.

My goal is keep this til it's 20 years old or so, buy a 10 year old coach, sell it at 20 years old, buy a 10 year old coach, sell at 20 yrs old...repeat...until I can't drive them anymore.

To me the price vs depreciation seems to be best from 10 to 20 years old.

mac 'Just happy to own a DP' gyvr

[USMCDevilDog]

We are on our 7th RV. I would say it is all about changing family priorities for us. We started with a MH in 1994 and then bought a boat. Wanted to tow the car and the boat at the same time and the MH did not have enough power. Hence MH #2 with a double stacker boat trailer. Years later, I had the opportunity to retire in 2005 and did; however, a large MH payment was a problem. We moved to a house on a lake, sold the MH, and thought camping was over. Then, I became a professional tournament angler and guide, so I bought a big truck and truck camper to tow the boat to various lakes. Took the family once and now they wanted to go camping again and the truck camper was not adequate. Bought a used 5th Wheel and we had a water leak and flooded the RV. Lost confidence in that rig. Bought a new front living room 5th wheel and the man cave was too hot and the dining area too cold. Traded in that 5th wheel for another. Health issues forced the sale of the boat. Then, got the classic car bug and need a MH to tow my classic to car shows. Sold the truck and 5th wheel and bought, hopefully, our final RV.....a used MH. Priorities, health issues, etc. made RVing interesting and fun. One last note: our 1st MH was a HR Imperial and our current MH is an HR Imperial. Full circle for us.