Class A 32 to 34'

[pmf]

I posted a few days ago about older diesel pushers. We're full timers in a 43' 5ver pulled by A Ram 3500 which kills my wife when traveling.

We've decided to buy a house and get a class A gasser about 5 to 7 years old. The main reason after buying a house we wont have the money for diesel. I know a lot of the mfg's like Jayco, Forrest River, Winnebago and Thor have major quality problems now. Were they having issues 5 to 8 years ago, we saw a 2011 32' Forrest River Georgetown with a V10 vortex, low mileage and appeared to be in awesome shape. We'd like to stay around 32' but I'm of the quality back thenure.

Any advice would be appreciated. Sorry for the long post.

TIA,
Pat

[kenandterry]

I would double check your engine design. Ford makes the V10, but I believe the designation Vortex signifies a GM engine.

That said, I have a 2010 Georgetown, and it’s had it share of problems. However, when I hear of some of today’s horror stories as it relates to quality, I prefer to stay with the older model. I can update/modify as needed.......and I have.....believe me I have. Can’t leave well enough alone.

[pmf]

Originally Posted by kenandterry

I would double check your engine design. Ford makes the V10, but I believe the designation Vortex signifies a GM engine.

That said, I have a 2010 Georgetown, and it’s had it share of problems. However, when I hear of some of today’s horror stories as it relates to quality, I prefer to stay with the older model. I can update/modify as needed.......and I have.....believe me I have. Can’t leave well enough alone.

Your probably right about the Vortex but it is a Ford. What's the length of yours and how does it ride?

Thanks

[Teamfoxy]

We are pretty happy with out pre-owned 2011 Coachmen Mirada 32DS built on a Ford
F-53 20,500# chassis with a 228" wheel base. It drives well and there have been no suspension "upgrades" that many people seem to think necessary with the F-53. I attribute that to 1) Having a wheel base to overall length ratio of 56% and 2) The fact that we work very hard at keeping the weight distribution well forward and even from side to side. We are running about 1,400# below GVWR fully loaded and 1,000# light of our rear GAWR.
I am pretty good about keeping up with routine maintenance and we have had no major repairs. Maybe all the build issues were dealt with by previous owners, but I have not seen any. The wiring and hydraulics are all neatly run and chafe protected where they need to be. Everything stays together as it should. We previously had a Jayco and two Winnebago's. I would rank quality of this Coachmen well above the Jayco and somewhat better than the Winnebago's. I did find that Winnebago's documentation was very good.

[wildtoad]

Take a really hard look at some of the Newmar’s Bay Star, or Canyon Star. Both are good units built on the F53 chassis and normally have a great build quality. Go for the ones with a 22 inch tire versus the 19.5. Mine is a Bay Star Sport on a cut down chassis with the 19.5’s. I find it a decent ride, but not great, and definitely not what you’re used to. Like you we wanted a 30ish length and it’s 31. We chose the Sport due to the existing limitations on the carport we store it under. On good roads it does just fine, on less that good roads can be a little rough.

[pmf]

Originally Posted by wildtoad

Take a really hard look at some of the Newmar’s Bay Star, or Canyon Star. Both are good units built on the F53 chassis and normally have a great build quality. Go for the ones with a 22 inch tire versus the 19.5. Mine is a Bay Star Sport on a cut down chassis with the 19.5’s. I find it a decent ride, but not great, and definitely not what you’re used to. Like you we wanted a 30ish length and it’s 31. We chose the Sport due to the existing limitations on the carport we store it under. On good roads it does just fine, on less that good roads can be a little rough.

Thanks butt there a little out of our price range.

Thanks.

[momdoc]

IF in your price range look at some of the Tiffin Open Road models. Cannot beat their service.

[pmf]

Originally Posted by pmf

Thanks butt there a little out of our price range.

Thanks.

I really meant but.

[davidki]

Have you set a price range you are comfortable with.... that may be a good start....

[pmf]

Originally Posted by davidki

Have you set a price range you are comfortable with.... that may be a good start....

Since we're buying a house our budget will around 50,000 to $60,000 maybe a little more if we find something we really like. We're no financing and being retired on a fixed income I don't want to dig to deep.

Thanks,

[davidki]

At 50,000 to 60,000 you should be able to find a unit that fit's your needs. you didn't say where you are located, so, you might want to do that.



I often just got to RV Trader and do a search, I set parameters and limits to help reduce the list to be manageable to my search... Just beware of all the scams that are out there on the internet and if your buying from an individual I think everyone would suggest you get a pro inspection company to check out the unit.


Take your time and ask lots of questions and ask for documentation of service.... a used RV can eat your budget up quickly on repairs.

[robertkathy]

i sold my home to go full time looked at class c wife wanted bigger, so then i wanted a dp but budget said no.

ended up with a 2006 adventurer 38t and could not be happier.

budget check
power 8.1 (added banks power system 5k) check
space/floor plan (larger then what you are looking for 39 ft) for my wife check
handling/towing w24 chassis check

reviews

https://www.rvt.com/blog/trends/rv-m...s-and-reviews/

[Excesses]

1) Biased for my Motorhome choice. Triple E. You’d be hard pressed to find anything negative about build quality. They are super insulated, on top, the sides, underneath and in the doghouse. They are built for winters and hot summers by craftsmen from Winkler Manitoba. If you can find an Empress model or a Commander, you’ll be mightily impressed with the attention to detail, fine woodwork and the many features. Usually just with one large slide, but some later models have east west bedrooms too.
Built in the F53 chassis.

2) Wrongly informed in that as per numerous posters here, the build quality of post 2008 entry level models is often suspect and rife with problems. When the monetary collapse happened around that time, numerous Motorhome companies either collapsed or were bought out by larger manufacturers.
Layoffs and the push for quantity rather than quality led some manufacturers to cutting corners and using some inferior products.
But that is only MY understanding. Others may refute or support that understanding, but when we were looking within our budget, we looked for a quality build made before 2008. Looking at sites like RVT and RV trader, we read numerous reviews by previous owners and took them into consideration.

That’s how and why we went with a Triiple E, and we’ve not regretted it in the least. Although made in Canada, a Motorhome is a Motorhome until manufacturers get into huge production numbers. Triple E was not a huge assembly line manufacturer and that fact allowed the Mennonite craftsmen to do an incredible job.

Check one out if you can find one.

Just my humble opinion.

Read lots, do your due diligence. Happy hunting!

Cheers & 🍺🍻

DJ

[Teamfoxy]

Originally Posted by pmf

Since we're buying a house our budget will around 50,000 to $60,000 maybe a little more if we find something we really like. We're no financing and being retired on a fixed income I don't want to dig to deep.

Thanks,

You are in very similar circumstances we were in when we bought out Mirada. We already owned the house, but our budget for the motor-home was $50K+/- on a cash deal.
We after we had agreed on a price, the dealer asked if we wanted to trade our 2005 Itasca class C. I had been planning to sell it myself, but the offer was for more than I had planned to sell for and I said yes.
There are many good class A gas coaches in your price range. I do not think one needs to stay with the pre-2008 manufacture date suggested by some. Our 2011 Coachmen has been very good so far and we are both happy with it.