Community Forums

cableup · 07-24-2011, 10:55 AM

Hello then,

Fair warning, my posts are just about always too long.

When we were young and invincible, I chased boilermaker paychecks around the nukes with a 28' Wilderness on the bumper, a Harley in the bed and the Queen riding shotgun.

Somehow or the other she wound up pregnant and decided that the road and our forthcoming change of priorities were not simpatico.

Fast forward almost forty years and some things change, some don't. I still count on the shaky American industrial sector to earn a living, but I'm a bit higher up the food chain these days then when I was piloting that old Ford from jobsite to jobsite with a welding hood in one hand and the other hand in empty pockets. We still like to get our knees in the breeze, but my Harleys are semiretired at the homestead in New Hampshire while we are gettin our kicks on Rt 66 here in Colorado on an Indian motosickle. The products of our loins are raising broods of their own. We find ourselves comparatively free of commitments again after 40 years. It isn't hard to see where this story is going.

So, we have decided that since the next five or ten is going to be the balance of my "productive" years, and since we recall some good times back in the early days (except for the always hungry and often hungover bits) of our 1970's wheel estate adventures, we are going to take another crack at it.

I am savvy enough to know that the Queen has somewhat higher expectations for creature comforts than she did in 1974 and for that reason as well as some other good ones (like the 26' Autohauler parked out back housing that Indian and it's tool shop with ample room remaining for a little ragtop like say a Miata or somesuch thing) we are going to get ourselves into a fairly late model pusher with a 10k hitch and plenty of grunt in the engine. Nothing substitutes for size so while I would be accepting of something 36 or 38, the boss wants more and she is going to get it. So I'm basically looking for something too long with too many slides for next to nothing.

We have been following the prices, lurking about the forums, visiting the RV dealers in central Colorado, building spreadsheets using the NADA RV Appraisal Guide for baseline and plotting the length of time units sit on the floor at the many web based dealers. We have narrowed our focus to a few brand names and further to some specific models, but despite my years of reading, writing and interpreting specifications and determining applicability and value I will admit that finding the right rig is a tough nut to crack. But we're thinking it's time to get this show on the road so to speak. So I'm signing in, signing up and ratcheting up my game.

I have an Eagle model 10 bus back in NH that I drove up from auction in Houston about a million years ago and started the conversion process on. Nice lawn ornament that one is. Miracle she hasn't divorced me over it. Point is, I know my way around the systems and I know which end of the combo wrench is the box end. What I don't know is where all the time went. I am sure watching the clock now though.

We got some living left to do before our bods finally rebel entirely and fulltiming in a quality coach is at the top of the bucket list. Bear with us. We're green as guacamole but we are teachable.

Lee & Di

tomwalt · 07-24-2011, 11:06 AM

Welcome and Good hunting. Don't discount Craig's List and the local papers for a private owner sale. The fall is a great time for a great deal due to panic selling to avoid another winter storage. (My posts are short:>)

Chickenman · 07-24-2011, 11:12 AM

welcome to the forum. We are anxious to hear about you great MoHo find and future adventures.

MSHappyCampers · 07-25-2011, 06:11 AM

Welcome to the forum!

njs42 · 07-25-2011, 06:17 AM

Good having you here.

JMonroe · 07-25-2011, 06:38 AM

I usually add something for new members, asking them not to be 'shy' about participating, but somehow I don't think that will be an issue for you.

As you start to narrow your choices down the membership here can, no doubt, help you with any questions. As you've probably already figured out, most all brands and models use one of a couple different chassis. For the size of DP you're describing the rig will likely be on either a Freightliner or a Spartan chassis, although some manufacturers build their own chassis (Monaco's Roadmaster, or Tiffin's Powerglide come to mind), even they will use the same power train combinations of the others. The more 'experienced' motor homes may have a Catepillar power train or a Cummins, newer rigs will more likely have the Cummins, although again one manufacturer will deviate from that by using the Navistar line. The point of this is, it's the 'house' that tends to differ more from one manufacturer to another, the 'truck' part they pretty much share in common.

Good luck with your hunt and be sure to keep us up to date on what you find. Sounds like you've already got the most important part figured out, keep the 'Queen' happy and life is so much easier.