Buyers advice

[grandmahoney]

We are thinking about purchasing a 2017 Forest River Georgetown 329DS. We have never owned a Class A before, just bumper pulls. Any advice, warnings, reviews etc. Would be greatly appreciated. We are weighing this against an Thor ACE. Thank you for your help.

[puttin]

I'd stay away from both. They are both cheaply built and full of potential problems. You should be able to find something from Winnebago or Fleetwood (now REV) with a comparable floorplan. Tiffin also offers some nice units. In the end you won't be spending any more $ for something reasonably well built.

[MisterT]

I would choose the Georgetown, Forest River makes a good, well built and well appointed product, but.... see if you can go with the XL model - it has better storage(basement doors versus compartment doors), and better upgraded solid surface floors and hardwood cabinetry. Another option, and similar to the Georgetown XL line, is the Forest River Coachmen MIRADA Select. It's similar, but also provides an optional Salon/Living roomm electric bunk, that lets down from above the coach and dinette, sleeping room for two, when needed, but doesn't take up any room when not.

Georgetown XL Class A Motorhomes by Forest River RV

Mirada Select Class A Motorhomes by Coachmen RV

both of these lines are built comparably... Coachmen, especially, has come a long way since it's purchase by Berkshire Hathaway(who owns the Forest River brand).

[MisterT]

as for the bent about the quality, or lack of, on some mentioned brands...

I've owned a 2015 Georgetown XLDS360 and loved it, never had a problem, it was well built and nicely appointed(we had the dark grays and black color scheme for cabinetry and fabrics, and a solid surface 'grayed wood plank' flooring that was beautiful).

I also deliver brand new coaches from the factories to dealers, including the Mirada Select that I mentioned. It was much more than I imagined - my dad had lamented the brand from his memories from forty years ago - no more! This brand is excellent, beautiful in it's full color paint, and the interiors are very, very nice. Even though we own and love our Thor Palazzo dp, my wife wanted to keep this Mirada!

I've also delivered Newmars - from the Baystar to the Country Star - they are very similar to these, and do not, at least to me, rise above. They also don't drive any better just because of their name.

Buy the floorplan and styling that appeals to you - don't put too much concern on the name on the outside. Visit several, if not many, dealerships. Some deal only with the entry level models for certain brands, others may carry more of the larger models, while a few may display all of them. No dealer carries all brands, choose wisely.

And yes, Winnebago, and Fleetwood, are fine brands. Every brand may have it's loyal following, but don't let that sway you on your choice. They are all built one at a time by people in a factory. You can even add Jayco, Tiffin, Thor, and Newmar to your list.

[zekethomas]

We just finished a 6 month exhaustive search at gas motorhomes. We looked at everything in the 28-32 foot range. Everything, new and used. Thors, Georgetowns, Forest River, Jayco on and on.

We ended up with a 2015 Winnebago Vista 31KE. Why?

Bed over the cab with the most simple mechanism (and with a handle to manually move it if it does not work ... did I mention my phobia? ). Most counter space in the kitchen. No real bedroom door, but a ton of storage inside and outside. The rear side storage door has enough room to put a small portable washing machine! The Vista had the most counter space in the kitchen side of the rig. All were pretty nice, V10 Fords...

I have to admit I have a few phobias (bias). The largest phobia is slideouts. I just dont get companies that slide out the whole kitchen. The heaviest stuff with the most complicated connections. Next were those that slide the stove/oven only. So, your gas lines move each time to slide em out, hmmm.. not for me. Next was just Fridge, again, gas lines and electric lines moving each time, nope. Settled on the slide with just the dinette and sleeper sofa. Least amount of moving parts.

When you know that each time you drive you subject the unit to a hurricane and an earthquake, the least amount of complication is my way of handling the continuing cost of maintenance. Did anyone tell you these fall apart when you don't use them and they fall apart when you do.. so enjoy!

If you troll the RV traders and craigslists.. there are a ton of Thors less than 5 years old for sale (not that other brands are not, just less). Does that have meaning? .... not sure, but I wanted a name that has been around and stable.

Anyway, happy motoring..!!!!

For what its worth.

[jonesdg]

My wife and I literally shopped for almost a decade before pulling the trigger this year. We look at Class A, Class C, B+, travel trailers. Everything new. We studied, researched to the point of frustration. We took about a two year hiatus on the matter. We jumped back in and ended up more confused than ever. There are more things out there that will distract and confuse you to the point that you may just give up. You will find people hate Thor, and love Newmar. It is like Ford and Chevy. Some people will like one over another. Opinions are nice but the more people you listen to the more it will frustrate you. Everyone means well, and not one person here wants you to waste your money. When it comes down to it you will have to live with your choice as we all have to. So find the one you like and works for you and go enjoy it. My wife and I after years of looking didn't buy new. We found a 2004 National Sea Breeze that was exactly what we had been looking for. A brand that is No longer made and the company is not in business but what a surprise! It needed work and it is not the prettiest. But it is perfect. I pray God blesses you to find the one for you!😊😊😊

[puttin]

Check which mfgrs are consistently on the recall lists and what the issues are. Just trying to save you some frustration and grief. Ask your neighbors at the rv storage place or the rv parks. I'm aware some people have had good luck with their purchases and I'm glad about that, just know that they are probably in the minority. My sister and brother-in-law bought a Forest River Sunseeker class C two years ago- against my recommendations. They're living the frustration now. I helped an elderly Navy vet with some repairs on his Sunseeker as well. When you get behind walls, under cabinets and storage spaces, you find out how these are thrown together. The Thor products are the same or worse. I was looking at Hurricanes several years ago while we were searching for a bunk bed model. There was a dealer in the Carson City area that had 4 of them all parked next to each other. Each one had the same defects plus a strange thing: they all lacked a t.p. holder in the bathroom (one had the assy. rolling around on the shower floor). When I opened it- the magnetic strip designed to hold it closed slid out and fell on the floor. The dealer there said that the tp holder was a highly personal decision as to where it's located so they leave it up to the owners about where to mount it. Has anyone ever heard about that before? I could go on and believe me-there's alot.

[brokenrule]

When we bought we did not use the forums to educate ourselves; if we did we would never have bought our motorhome!

We were in the used, low price, see if we liked it route. My key was quality over options. I wanted fiberglass roof and metal framing - no wood. I also did not want slides or leveling - less problems.

our 21 year old MH had less problems than my brothers two new TTs. I did not get hung up on the little things, just made sure all the major stuff work and it had to run good. She is solid with no rattles and as little things break (they always do) I deal with it.

New is wonderful if you can take the financial hit for the short term. It you are going to own it for the long haul then go for it. But it's your first and you might just find something better or bigger in a year or two... my brother went through three brand new TT in a year till he found the "one". My wife is still looking at MH...

I would recommend looking at a few used models of what you might buy new to see how they hold up. So much of what we looked at used was rough after a ten years. But some were solid and demanded higher prices the folks would not budge on.

One thing for sure, the wife was tired of me nit picking; there is no perfect MH. Get close and go for it or you will be a professional looker and not camper.

[Dan McMartin]

To the OP:

What is your intended usage? That makes all the difference in the world. If it's short trips and weekends at the lake, a Thor ACE or Georgetown are good rigs at a good price. The Georgetown is a higher end coach and the two models aren't really comparable apples to apples.

We looked at a Georgetown 5 Series for full time use. Two things worried us and we eventually went with a Newmar Bay Star. First, the chassis on the Georgetown model you're looking at is 20500 lbs. That's not much for a coach of that size. You won't have much carrying capacity. Second was the tank sizes. They are on the smallish side at 50 fresh water, 41 gray and 41 black. The ACE line suffers from the same issues.

Build quality for both is not as good as other manufacturers. Not to say they are all but falling apart upon delivery but materials, fixtures, etc. are all lacking. A lot of plastic, cheap parts, laminated wood, etc. Winnebago, Newmar and Tiffin build better quality coaches.

But again, it boils down to your intended usage. You don't need a Cadillac to get groceries and you don't need a high end coach to go camping a few weekends a year. We liked the Thor ACE and the Georgetown and if we weren't full timing, we could see ourselves in either.

But on the other hand, if you're not handy or willing to take care of the regular maintenance and repairs a lower quality rig will require, making an investment in a higher quality coach will make you happier in the long run, even for short trips and weekend use.

[Hrldavdeb]

We looked at the Thor Ace but ended up with a FR3 29DS. We liked the king bed, 2 air units and the large refrigerator. I really don't know much about the Georgetown. It does seem like all brands have their detractors and it seems to be the more units a brand sells the more complaints they have which just seems to be pretty logical. We had a thor quantum gr22 and traded it because of size. We only put on about 2000 miles but there were no real issues. I wanted to like the Ace for that reason as well as the pet stuff but we just really liked the FR3 better this time. We did not want to spend more for the most expensive units. This is not our full time home and is used for our vacation time and weekend trips. It seems like all brands have issues so pick what you like and can afford and enjoy. Things will happen so just stay calm, have fun and don't let all the complaints drive you nuts.

[grandmahoney]

Thank you all. It is so great to have this resource of information. I appreciate your time spent to help me. My best to you all.