Thor Miramar 34.1 - So excited, that I just can't hide it...

[jdwky]

Hi all, big time lurker here for a long time. The DW and I got our first motorhome (2004 Itasca Spirit 31) back in January and have been loving RV'ing ever since. We are on the younger side of the RV crowd (31, no kids) but have used the RV far more often than we imagined we would. I own my business and generally work 6 days a week, but the feeling of just jumping in the camper and taking off somewhere, even if for only one night, is amazing. I'm a pilot, and even still thoroughly enjoy owning an RV over an airplane. I hear people complain about gas and I chuckle that I'm saving money Rv'ing vs putting $7 aviation fuel in a bird that burns 25 gallons per hour (Piper Aztec is my main mode of air travel). Anyways, we are so bit by the RV bug that my wife gets extremely heated that I like to spend most of my evening free time reading on these forums and researching/learning/comparing about everything RV.

This past sunday we decided to fly to Elkhart, IN on a whim to go to the RV show there. I had narrowed it down to a few Class A models that I thought would be great for us to upgrade to, **someday**. Those were the FR3, the Hurricane, the Vista and the new Miramar. I absolutely loved the FR3, but she felt like it was too similar to our current RV (floor plan was exact same, but she doesnt see things that we do like all the new features, construction, reliability, etc). She also really wanted a bath & and half floorplan. Well we toured all 4 of those models at the show, and one by one, we ruled out the ones that just didnt fit our "perfect" model. The FR3 was too similar, the Vista's dropdown bunk was a single berth (we camp with other married friends a lot and want a comfortable berth for them as well), and the Hurricane exterior storage was too small. I was drooling over the Miramar from the first moment I heard about it. Is it bad that one of the features I would dream about was large basement storage with side hinged doors? I hated having to hurt my back bending over and unlocking one side, unlatching the other and lifting up the top-hinged doors on the Itasca. And hoping they didn't get nudged and fall down on my head while pulling something out!

Other -musts- by me were an exterior TV, power leveling jacks, power awning, backup camera, linoleum/vinyl throughout (no more carpet stains!) and no short queen bed. The Miramar had everything we wanted except a double door fridge. After looking at dozens and dozens of floor plans and makes/models, the Miramar matched everything we wanted as closely as possible!

So then it came down to the price. I had already contacted RV Direct for a quote and was willing to buy from them, but reallllllllllly didn't want to wait 10 weeks or more! We have RV plans the next 8 weekends straight, literally. And surprisingly, the DW was willing to let me make an offer! So I told them straight up, I'd like to offer you a price, I don't want to haggle, you can accept or I'll buy from RV Direct, no big deal. However, there is a value in being able to get this RV now, and to deal with a nice dealership and nice folks like you (Total Value RV). So I showed them the RV Direct price and said I'm willing to pay you $XXXX more and that's all. They went off and had a pow-wow for a few minutes and came back and accepted my offer with one caveat, they wouldnt deal with taking my trade in. Thats fine, I'll certainly be able to sell it myself for more anyway!! We have a deal!!!!

I pick it up Thursday and am so excited, I have barely been able to sleep each night! I never would have dreamed I'd be buying a brand new Class A at this time in my life, but I love it. You know what they say, there's no luggage racks on a hearse! I got a great interest rate and term too on the financing. I just wanted to let you know my story and hope to drum up some more conversation about this new model RV! There's literally nothing on the web about it! No one on any message board seems to have one yet. Fingers crossed we don't have too many issues!! I'm sure there'll be a few. I'm hitching a ride back to Elkhart thursday and then heading straight to Indianapolis to camp at the Speedway for MotoGP races this weekend! I'm a former racer and diehard fan. If you see a Miramar on the road with a young kid driving with a big grin, honk at me!

[Mystery]

So happy for you! We bought ours last July and have put 12,000 miles on our 02 Dutchstar already. Just a great way to travel. Safe travels!

[SarahW]

How exciting, congrats!! You know we are going to need to see pics, so don't forget the camera! Have fun.

[mikebrls]

congrats on the new coach

[jdwky]

Here's a pic, hope I'm attaching these right--

[Bryan H]

Awesome. Sounds like you found the right coach for you! And bonus points for getting it quickly with a smart negotiation strategy.

BTW, my wife and I did about the same thing. Had an older coach we loved, but got the bug to upgrade, so we went to an RV show. Gotta stay away from those places...

[Stealth01]

Congratulations on your new Coach! I approach ours with the same thought process that you employ when you're flying... both aircraft and RVs are COMPLEX machines (ours has a touch screen based, multiplex bus for controlling the Coach subsystems). During and after your "delivery walk through", do what pilots do OP'S CHECK EVERYTHING! During your walk through, DO NOT let them "state" how something works make them show you... OPERATE the subsystems!! When you get the Coach, spend the weekend operating EVERYTHING... if it has a switch operate it, test it, play with it... you might be surprised what you find. Our current Coach was purchased used (18 months old) we found issues that were incorrect from the factory... the original owner had not discovered the problem!! Aviators love to play with buttons...

[jdwky]

Originally Posted by Stealth01

Congratulations on your new Coach! I approach ours with the same thought process that you employ when you're flying... both aircraft and RVs are COMPLEX machines (ours has a touch screen based, multiplex bus for controlling the Coach subsystems). During and after your "delivery walk through", do what pilots do OP'S CHECK EVERYTHING! During your walk through, DO NOT let them "state" how something works make them show you... OPERATE the subsystems!! When you get the Coach, spend the weekend operating EVERYTHING... if it has a switch operate it, test it, play with it... you might be surprised what you find. Our current Coach was purchased used (18 months old) we found issues that were incorrect from the factory... the original owner had not discovered the problem!! Aviators love to play with buttons...

Thanks for the tips! Wilco on checking everything. Indeed, I love buttons!!

[Baddad53]

Good for you! Have fun! I purchased a 1999 DP and DW and I are picking up from Redlands Trk and Rv Friday. Hopefully they have everything tip top by now - they have had it for two months.

[jdwky]

Picked up the new coach yesterday! I can't say enough good things about Total Value RV in Elkhart. The whole process was as smooth as can be. At the closing, I was shocked at how smooth and non-shady it was. The price we agreed upon at the show last weekend was the exact price I paid, and not a penny more. No doc fees or BS charges slipped in. Everyone there was as friendly and helpful as could be. The walk through was smooth. I found a few small issues that they fixed immediately. One was the lack of a port to put the shore power cord through. I would've had to leave the compartment door wide open in order to be hooked up to shore power.

Drove down here to Indianapolis Speedway last night to electric-camp only for the MotoGp races. Discovered few other minor issues: (a) kitchen faucet leaks water around the base of the fixture. (b) the drains in both kitchen sinks sit up higher than the sink itself, so water just sits in the both sinks since it can't flow into the drains. (c) worst of all, a basement door swung open 3 times while en route here. It's like it won't latch all the way, but it seems like it does. When at highway speeds, it won't swing open due to wind, but as soon as I slowed down, it swings open since it's on a gas strut. Anyone have any experience with any of these problems?? I really hope my local mobile RV mechanic can work with Thor to get these resolved, as I hesitate to take it the local thor dealer...

[Tha_Rooster]

I can't tell if you like it or not. Ha ha. I don't know about the drain problem but as far as your bay doors the catch should be adjustable.

[jdwky]

Originally Posted by Tha_Rooster

I can't tell if you like it or not. Ha ha. I don't know about the drain problem but as far as your bay doors the catch should be adjustable.

I still can't believe it's really ours! I absolutely love it. It's only 5' longer than our Class C, but it feels twice as big inside. And the features and bells & whistles are amazing. #blessed.

Will look at the catch again and bust out the trusty old Lowe's all-in-one tool kit.

[jrs1958]

I hate to ask a stupid question but who make Miramar?

[jdwky]

Originally Posted by jrs1958

I hate to ask a stupid question but who make Miramar?

Thor