|
We had been looking for the "right" RV for about 3 months. We previously owned a 93 Warrior on the Toyota chassis for about 5 years. We had no idea they had a cult following and wound up selling it for what we paid for it. Our second RV was a JayFeather 25Z that we towed behind an F-150. We kept that for five years before selling it. Our ideal is a class C under 25 feet since there are just the two of us. We can store it beside the house and much of the time can leave the car at home. We will tow one only when we are going to stay in one place for a while.
Small class C's seem to be in high demand and we looked at some smaller Class A's as there were a lot more of them in our price range. We pretty much came to the conclusion that the new dealers rarely keep older trades and wholesale them at auction to the "used dealers". The best bet does seem to be either a private seller or a consignment with a good repair shop.
After our Jayco, we have pretty much ruled out anything with a rear kitchen. There is too much motion in the rear and we had many broken dishes and were constantly rebuilding the cabinets. We do like the kitchen to be in close proximity to a door because we grill and eat outside most of the time and pass food back and forth. Having a dinette close to and opposite to the kitchen works well because you can use the table for food prep. As far as the sofa goes, nobody ever slept on it so we ripped it out and built in a love seat with table height cabinets at each end.
As far as slides go, I would just as soon not have any. The warrior worked fine without them and while the Jayco had one, we seldom ran it out unless we were going to stay put for several days. I would take a slide if the layout works with the slides in. If we can't use everything with the slides retracted, it just doesn't suit our needs.
As far as brand goes, pretty much everyone uses the Ford chassis with the 10 cylinder engine. Appliances are all either Dometic, Norcold, Attwood, Onan, etc. That leaves the coach itself and the cabinetry that are provided by the different manufacturers. That said, we are partial to Winnebago Industries or Tiffin as they are two of the few that are still under the same ownership after the 2009 - 2011 collapse and buyouts. I am sure there are those that like Thor products, and if an older one has been well maintained, I might consider.
I think by the time the coach is 10 years old, most neglected problems will be very evident, The rest will have been corrected by the owners. If you educate yourself and look around, you will figure out what to look out for, what is a fair price, and when the seller is full of BS.
__________________
TeamFoxy ~ Traveling North America
2016 Newmar Canyon Star 3710
2017 Chevy Equinox in tow.
|
Linear Mode
