RV Research - Purchase of Class A

[HGC]

We have a 2014 Tiffin 36LA. Bought it new. Wished we could have bought used but it seems this was the only way to get what we really wanted.
What we found out is that you should really buy a coach closer to the factory than further because serious problems can't or won't be handled by most dealers. This includes Chassis AC, Slides, Roof cracking and so on. I am sorry we didn't buy a Fleetwood because the factory is only about 280mi. from us. Unfortunately Tiffin is in Red Bay Alabama.(800mi.)
Find a very good MH repair place that is reputable. This includes truck repair places and/or Ford truck repair if you get a newer gasser. Our dealer hung us out for weeks.
Next become really handy with your own repairs, sometimes dealers make it worse. Send flowers or candy to the service dept. of the manufacturer and get to know their family members on a first name basis. They will determine your fate.
Learn Zen and read "The Inner Game of RVing". Do not keep a loaded gun near you when things go haywire. (no matter how many times you shoot it, it will still be alive. Your life will not be your's anymore... it belongs to THE RVVVVVVVVVVVVV!

[Gordon Dewald]

HGC - make lemonade out of the lemons. Have heard many good things about Red Bay. May not be the part of the world you want to visit but there must be things to see. We are 1800 miles from our dealer and the manufacturer.

We are able to call our dealer, tell him the problems and his service department notes the issues on our file, submits them to the manufacturer so all we have to do is plan our trip to include a short stop at the dealers.

I have talked to the manufacturer service department and they will do the same thing as our dealer in recording the service requirements for a subsequent visit.

[flywithcoop]

I am looking to purchase another Class A. I used a 2008 Winnebago adventurer 38T gasser for loan comparison purposes. I have State Farm insurance on my current motorhome. Have never had to use it. Knock on wood. I just found our they have auto/rv loans for around 4.8% with varying loan periods. My bank wants 5.5% with max of 72 month loan. My credit union is higher than my bank. Floor plan is very important as is what you are going to tow. I need a bigger motorhome now cause mine won't tow a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee weighing 6500 lbs. I wore out a Saturn VUE towing it behind my F53 Ford Chassis. Gonna have to go Diesel on next purchase. Gotta keep the wife happy.

[Adam1219]

I want to avoid as many problems as I can in advance by learning what NOT to do and what NOT to buy and WHO not to buy from all of the good people on this forum. I know experiences will vary but there are some who have a consistent track record of failure. I want to know who????? I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here. I just don't want to make the same mistakes others have made. yes.... I want to listen first.


The dealers in my area are:
Independence RV
LaMesa RV
Lazydays
Giant Recreation World
Orlando RV
Camping World of Winter Garden
Camping World of Kissimmee


All are within 45 minutes from me in the Orlando, Florida area.


If you have had a positive or negative experience with one of the locations or one that is a chain and listed above I would like to know. I will cross them off the list.


It appears not many are ever members of the Better Business Bureau so I can get a history and they would never put any bad comments on their own websites.


I would also like the names of companies that you are using to finance. I know about Southeastern and Essex. I do want a term of either 180 or 240 months so a specialty lender will probably be my only option. My bank does not even write MH loans and they are one of the largest banks in the US.


MH Insurance.. who likes there insurance and feels they have a good rate? What company is it with and how much do you pay each year for it? I have GEICO for my cars. Is there a difference in coverage between car insurance companies and MH insurance companies?


Thanks again in advance.


Warranties???? Give me some names of companies and an idea of their costs please.
Are they worth the price?

[SarahW]

Originally Posted by Adam1219

I want to avoid as many problems as I can in advance by learning what NOT to do and what NOT to buy and WHO not to buy from all of the good people on this forum. I know experiences will vary but there are some who have a consistent track record of failure. I want to know who????? I'm not trying to reinvent the wheel here. I just don't want to make the same mistakes others have made. yes.... I want to listen first.


The dealers in my area are:
Independence RV
LaMesa RV
Lazydays
Giant Recreation World
Orlando RV
Camping World of Winter Garden
Camping World of Kissimmee


All are within 45 minutes from me in the Orlando, Florida area.


If you have had a positive or negative experience with one of the locations or one that is a chain and listed above I would like to know. I will cross them off the list.


It appears not many are ever members of the Better Business Bureau so I can get a history and they would never put any bad comments on their own websites.


I would also like the names of companies that you are using to finance. I know about Southeastern and Essex. I do want a term of either 180 or 240 months so a specialty lender will probably be my only option. My bank does not even write MH loans and they are one of the largest banks in the US.


MH Insurance.. who likes there insurance and feels they have a good rate? What company is it with and how much do you pay each year for it? I have GEICO for my cars. Is there a difference in coverage between car insurance companies and MH insurance companies?


Thanks again in advance.


Warranties???? Give me some names of companies and an idea of their costs please.
Are they worth the price?

While you're waiting on responses, use the forum search feature at the top of the page for the topics you're asking about. Search for each dealership name. Search the Owner's Sections for the good and bad with each of the manufacturers. Search for extended warranty info. Believe me, it has all been discussed before. You'll find plenty of info. Good luck in your search.

[nothermark]

You will find people with good and bad experiences with all of the listed dealers. The bad experiences complain the loudest.

I doubt any dealer in your area sells all brands. That should cut the list quickly.

You really need to figure out what you want because some of what you do not want is typical motor home because of construction. Lights come to mind.

The bed over the driver on an A is an automatic no for us. You really do not want room to take 6 grandkids at once!! No place to sleep them sounds better than because I don't want them. ;-)

[SAVGirl]

We went with a gasser because there are Ford Dealers all over this country and we know ZIP about diesels......my hubby's idea of repairing something is to have a new one brought in! LOL - I learned from these forums that if you don't want (or cannot) to tinker with the diesel mechanics, etc. you might do better with a gasser. Yes the drive is somewhat noisier but we have found that on rough roads they all make noise! On dealers - they all have people who can be rude on a bad day and service people who may not be the world's best - we got to know the service folks at our local dealer, tried to be as nice and friendly to them as we could and have found that mostly, we get the service we deserve......good luck to you in your search then, Happy Trails to you...

[Paid4c4]

I'm following your thread as I am researching for a class A also. Good information.
Bill

[HGC]

Think about a used newish MH. PPL Motorhomes is a real good place to look. So is RVTrader.
As far as financing, usually regular banks will not finance MHs. Check out GoodSamRVLoans.com/443. We financed ours using our home equity line of credit. If you have an investment account try borrowing on margin.
If you want to use a dealer to purchase from, spec it out to all and take the best price then find a really good RV Repair and maintenance place. We have not really found dealers who have as good an objective in service as they have in sales.
Maybe Tiffin would be a good manufacturer for you because you are not too far far from the factory. But you will need to use the factory service eventually. We have QC problems, yeh I know they all have SOME but Tiffin seems to be ramping up their volume and QC isn't following instep. But they can make a good motorhome. Otherwise the other good manufacturers seem to be around Indiana.Check out Fleetwood and Newmar.
We have gone with an extended warranty from Wholesale Warranties. Have done some research on that and thought they were good for us. We ordered our Tiffin and picked it up 5/29/14, used it until 9/30/14,put it in storage for the winter and took it back out 4/6/15. Then it spent 3 weeks at the dealer for warranty work that is still not done. So what I am saying is a one year warranty doesn't cut it if you want coverage for things like refridgerators, furnaces, ACs, and so on. Your call!
Hope this helps. Lots of decisions. Good luck!

[mikensallyt]

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

Hey Adam;
Big list. You seem to know what you want. As mentioned floor plan is primary IMO. I think more folks will change because their unit is not what they want rather than for defects.

With you list in mind go visit numerous dealers. Ditch the salesmen and go sit in various units. As many as you can. Each will have parts that you think are very nice. Sit for a while in each one and pretend you are living in it. Oops - it is raining and you do not want to go outside. Will it be comfortable? Is their room for all of the family? Can they do stuff without interferring with someone else?

During each visit make a list of things that were good. Do you want all electric, washer dryer, half bath, residential fridge, comfortable chairs and couches?

In essence you will be making a list of must haves and nice to haves. Now start looking at brands.

Quality is like buying oats. If you want good clean fresh oats you must pay a fair price. However if you can be satisfied with oats that have gone through a horse that comes cheaper.

All units start out pretty much even. Generally they are all built on the same assembly line so the workmanship will be about the same. Where price comes in is in the size, quality of the appliances and quality of the materials. Units built with chipboard and vinyl surfaced will be cheaper and will last for a fair amount of time if taken care of and used gently. Same for units with real wood but they probably will last longer because of better material.

It seems like all of them, even the expensive ones, take some shortcuts. Folks have posted that some of the "higher end" manufacturers will use OSV rather than plywood in the floors etc. Confusing but that is what you get.

Be careful when folks are over enthusiastic about their unit. They may simply be very loyal to the brand they purchased and are trying to convince everyone they have purchased the best. As well I have observed that some folks are anal when it comes to each and every detail while others are more philosophical. Dont forget the unit will be driving down our roads at 60 mph - the equivalent of a 3.5 earthquake for hours at a time. Plus you will be running in and out with who knows what sport equipment so there will likely be nicks and scratches quite soon. Sort of like installing a new hardwood floor in the kitchen. How long before you drop a knife or something else to leave a dent?

After floor plan the next important item is the issue of customer support. Will/does the dealer and manufacturer stand behind the product? If you go through the forum there are horror stories about all of the manufacturers, as well as exceptional support stories for the same manufacturers.

So once you have determined your floor plan, manufacturer and dealer the next thing to do is buy your unit. Sooner rather than later as each day that goes by is a day that is lost to using and enjoying your unit.

Hope you find the perfect unit for you. Good luck.

X3 now this is the best reply I have ever read. tks

[Voyager35L]

For me it is ease of viewing the TV at night, satellite, two baths, cooking vent outside, residential fridge. Washer/dryer a must, power awning, Good window shades, plus privacy, Ford V10, (mistakes so far, no induction cooktop, no dishwasher, Look at the Fleetwood Bounder, it has most of the above.

[flywithcoop]

To everyone on this thread; I have learned and appreciate some very good info. I am a retired maintenance mechanic with 50 years experience. I have rebuilt cars, motorcycles, airplanes, boats, and motorhomes. Overall summary of this thread "in my opinion" is that ALL class A motorhomes have problems. I will never buy a new one as I don't want to spend my time at a dealer. I am going to let someone else do that and after they get all the stuff fixed that should not have been bad in the first place I'll buy their used RV. I went to a RV show and looked at all the new class A's. They are poorly constructed in every price range. Also you better be a jack of all trades to fix all the stuff that falls apart over the years after the warranty has expired. Good luck and Happy Trails to all.

[Adam1219]

If you get a regular refrigerator that runs off of electricity or propane I know while you are driving it runs on propane. When you using land connections it runs on electricity. What is it's a residential type electrical only refrigerator. Does this mean the generator has to run all of the time you are not connected to land based power or do those run off propane too?


I also have a question about running the stove, air conditioner and televisions. All of these things do not work without either land based power or generator correct? How do you cool the back of the coach while you are moving? Does the front air conditioner provide enough cooling for the passenger areas or do you have to run the generator to cool those areas well?


For the MH's that have a TV that appears in the photos to disappear when the slide is in... Does the TV rotate/swivel around the slide once it is closed or can you just not watch television unless the slide is out?


These questions all seem minor and simple to you experienced folk but all I have ever had was a travel trailer.


Thanks in advance for your answers.

[jwmaustin]

Most RVs that have a residential fridge use an inverter that convert 12VDC to 120VAC. TV access will vary with every unit so you will have to look at them.