Hello from Chicago! Need advice re first used RV purchase

[amc123]

Hello all! I'm a newbie who wants to get a used Class C for long trips around the country during my semi-retirement (though I'll be working remotely while driving around). I'm on my own, have the money saved and am ready to pull the trigger as soon as I find one that fits the bill and the budget. What I don't understand is the logistics of buying one, especially if the one I want is states away, and I need an inspector for it. I have bought a house on my own and a couple new cars on my own, so I'm not afraid, just want to do things right. ;-)

There are plenty of used Class C's out there. But I'm in Chicago, and most of the used ones I find (Craigslist, rvtrader) are in CA, FL, and TX. If I find one I like, and the seller and I can agree on a price, I would want an independent RV inspector to review it. How do I do that thousands of miles away? And if the inspector says it's basically okay, I fly out, right? And drive it home? But shouldn't I stick around a week or two for a "shake out" or whatever they call it? How is this normally done?

Thanks so much. I'm so glad I've found this community!
AM

[Winterbagoal]

Personally, I'd want to be there when the inspection is done, to ask any questions in real time. Because of the amount of money involved.
Plane fares and rental cars are cheaper than making a mistake might be.
Good luck, either way.

[amc123]

Hmm good point!

[Ron750]

What’s your budget, and what size are you looking at? You’re near Elkhart, Indiana, tons of Class Cs there. Have you tried RV Trader? If you use their filters you can find what you are looking for.

[Yosemite77]

If you haven’t settled on a floorplan yet, I’d suggest going to the Chicago RV show in mid-February. It’s out in Rosemont near O’Hare. Here’s a link:
https://www.chicagorvshow.com/

[Isaac-1]

Just a few thoughts, first I suspect you can find plenty of used class C's for sale within an days drive of where you live, the issue at the moment is they are all likely in winter storage at the moment, in a couple of months owners that have decided to sell after the winter will likely be listing them. Having said that are you sure a class C is the right tool for the job? I am not saying that it is the wrong tool, but it does depend on how you plan to use it, for one thing many class B's and C's have very limited cargo carrying capacity when compared to even a small class A. To put this in perspective a 25 ft Sprinter chassis B+ / C may have only 700-900 pounds of cargo carrying capacity, a 25-27 ft E350 class C with 1 slide may have a bit more at 1,200 - 1,500 pounds cargo capacity (E450's will have more, but are generally only found on 30+ ft class C's) and a 27-29 ft class A will likely have between 2,400 - 3,100 cargo carrying capacity. (this is all referring to coaches built in the last 10-15 years, older ones may have less).



As to the rest, you can find NRVIA inspectors through the inspector locator tool at nrvia.org, you will want a level 2 inspector for this type of inspection, a mid detail inspection on a class C will likely run in the $600-$800 ballpark depending on the level of inspection and details you opt for (oil analysis, number of photos, video, etc.). A base level inspection may be only $300-$400, which just checks for major issues.


In the case of my current coach, I bought it from a private party off a craigslist ad 1,100 miles away, I opted against having an inspection done, which was a dice roll, though in my case I did have about 2 years worth of old online posts with support questions the seller had asked on the Trek Tracks forum (Trek Owners group). So felt I knew the issues he had repaired, as well as his mindset on preventive maintenance.


As to the transaction itself the seller was in a rush to sell, and wanted me to pick it up within 4-5 days of his acceptance of my offer, they was logistically impossible for me (airline ticket availability, need to get insurance rider, ..), and he reluctantly agreed for me getting there on the 7th day after we reached an agreement on the price.


Now looking back my mistakes on the deal were trying to rush things too much, but as I said the seller was in a rush for some reason, I know he had just unexpectedly bought a vacation home due to one coming available at an opportune price, so may have had a money crunch. Regardless, the seller picked me up at the airport at around noon on a Wednesday, after I had been awake since 1 am (2 hour drive from my house to take a 5 am flight, with a layover and change of planes), and it was still another hour+ drive to his house to see the coach. As you can imagine by the time we arrived I was not all that attentive to detail regarding the condition of the coach, and was highly prone to ignoring any shortcomings. Now in retrospect, I don't think any of the issues I found or would find with a more detailed inspection after I got it home would have been a show stopper, but still they would have been nice to know from the start. Things like non-working marker lights, and a few minor paint issues not easily visible in the sales photos.


My next mistake was hitting the road on the drive home right away, instead of taking a day or two to do a shake down. At the time I did not think it was a big deal, I knew the seller had just returned home 3 weeks earlier from a 3,400 mile trip. In this case right away meant a 50 mile drive to a campground, after completing the sales paperwork and handing over the cashiers check at 3:30 in the afternoon on the first week of November when the sun was setting around 5:30 pm. But before I could even do that I had to buy some provisions for the first night at a local Wal-Mart (food, pillows, towels, ...), as a result my first drive in my new to me motorhome involved getting on I-95 just before 5pm in a construction zone with narrowed shifting lanes under every interchange. At a bit after 6 PM I discovered that the high beam headlights did not work, the seller never drove at night, so might not have known about this issue, along with the 3 or 4 side marker lights which were broken. Still the lesson here is the same, don't get in a rush, another day here would have made the whole experience much less stressful, I could have got a good night sleep, met the seller earlier in the day, took more time inspecting the coach, and not have got caught in afternoon rush hour during my first drive.

[frank1018]

We thought we were going to have to hop a plane and travel into the wild blue to buy our used motorhome. We were looking at the used inventory at the local dealers. Prices were high two and a half years ago and we are retired and on a budget. We found one we liked on line and it had a "make offer" button. We did. Offered our budget price. They called we drove out and looked and liked it very much. Only 9k miles on it no sign of water leaks blah blah. Drove it. They tried to creep up the price but we were prepared to leave. They came back to our price and we bought. It has been a perfect unit for us and our needs. That being said, we should have climbed the roof, crawled under it and peeked around a lot of things in that rig. When we went to pick it up the dealership maintenance dept did a walk over and showed us all the systems worked and how to operate them. We were blessed. I won't buy another one without looking at under over and inside out. I have read a lot of issues with brand new units on this board and I realize we very fortunate we were with our find. You may want to look at closer buy dealers and see if they have that make offer button and get the deal you need. We took this unit 4600 miles out west this year and it operated and ran perfectly I just wont count on luck next time. It was a 2015 model.

[amc123]

Originally Posted by Ron750

What’s your budget, and what size are you looking at? You’re near Elkhart, Indiana, tons of Class Cs there. Have you tried RV Trader? If you use their filters you can find what you are looking for.

For my first purchase I'd like to spend either $10-$15K on an older model (2000-2005) and put another $2-$5K in upgrades and fixes; or $25K on one that's more like 2006-2016.

Looking for a Class C that's 25-30 feet, with a slide, Ford or Chevy engine, and I have a wishlist of features but mainly would really like one with a separate shower (across "the hall").

I've been looking on RV Trader for a long time but mostly window shopping while I got other things in order; now I'm ready to pull the trigger.

[amc123]

Originally Posted by Yosemite77

I’d suggest going to the Chicago RV show in mid-February. It’s out in Rosemont near O’Hare. Here’s a link:
https://www.chicagorvshow.com/

Thanks! Unfortunately that's exactly when I'm going on a long-planned trip to see my grand in California for his 2nd birthday. I did go to the smaller show in Schaumburg this past weekend and climbed in and out of a bunch of them, collected cards and magazines.

One tip I learned from a dealer was not to get one with a slide going out the rear (I was kind of liking those) because then I wouldn't be able to put a bike rack or similar on the back, which I hadn't thought of. So that one tip helped me pare down models I'm looking at ;-)

[amc123]

Isaac_1, Thanks for that great story about your purchase, good advice!

Re load capacity, interesting. I am really not ready for a Class A. I did rent a Class C (a LazyDaze) for a couple weeks last summer and stayed in 3 different state campgrounds, me and my dogs, and it felt doable. I had been positive I wanted this exact model of LazyDaze to purchase (I liked the facing couches/twin beds at rear; and of course their rep), but found that the lack of a slide made me claustrophobic LOL. And when a part broke (the toilet seat) the owner had to wait a couple months for them to send him a new one. Egads.

The length -- 27 feet -- seemed just fine. A little bit nervewracking at the beginning but then it started to feel like just a very long van.

[Isaac-1]

When looking at used coaches during this age range, keep in mind that the industry turned out a lot of junk particularly after the big economic collapse in 2008-2009, as they were cutting every corner they could find. Beyond that pay particular attenention to roof condition, as well as any signs of water penetration, class C's are notorious for leaks around the over cab bunk, which get inside the walls and cause rot which is often far more extensive than it at first appears.


As to model years, don't assume newer is better, try not to be too much in car buying mindset, be more in house buying mindset. I need to run here in a second so I going to be brief, when it come to money, spending more up front can buy you considerably more. ie you have 2 identical model XYZ coaches, one is priced at $10,000 the other at $14,000, it is possible the $14,000 is the better deal as it might cost you $8,000 to bring the $10,000 coach up to the level of the $14,000 one. This is particularly true when you consider what is being included if buying from a private seller that is retiring from RV ownership. Things like bbq grill, hoses, power adapters, surge guards, etc. as well as updates like GPS, or solar panels.

[NRR]

Things to look for I have found value in while having in a class C ….


Walk into shower. Some showers you have to step up to get into them.


Corner shower, some are bigger than others. Big ones are real roomy inside.


Counter space by the kitchen sink for food prep.


Large outside rear storage. They can be up to 100cu ft.


No window over the headboard of the bed.


Livable with slide(s) in.


A north south bed that is offset to one side. That gives you room to walk & dress on one side.


60x80 real queen bed. Uses standard bed sheets and such.


Ford E450 or Chevy 4500 chassis. As a Ford guy, I have found the Chevy better. Hate to admit that.


Just a comment. All class Cs have an overhead above the cab designed to be a bed or audio center. It is a great place for storing things. My current rig has lots of storage behind the TV in the overhead area.

[avfordguy]

Older Fleetwood 31m has a great floorplan for one or two people, remove the jack knife sofa install recpro recliners, have a 31 inch tv that I place on kitchen table, nice walk around bed, and the whole rv is accessible with the slides in! We bought a 2007 with only 6,000 miles on it, west texas stored indoors, it looked new and is in great shape, had it over 2 years, replaced onan fuel pump, and 110v to 12v converter charger that's been it, solid unit yah at 31ft its sorta long, tow a ford escape, mpg about 7.5 real world driving, would I buy another oh yes!

[push toy1]

there is an rv dealer in joliet i use to leave near it. and one in woodstock do a search. as for am inspection i think you are on your own.. good luck happy travles