Help picking a Motorhome (size)

[Dmars]

I just saw on the Tigard, Oregon Craigslist that there is a 2017 Winnebago Forza 38W bunk bed model with only 7,000 miles. Says it sleeps 10 and seat belts for 9. Private party. It appears brand new! $170K which doesn't seem bad to me. If I was looking for a bunk bed model I would jump on that deal. I just thought I would share that as I bet it doesn't last long.

Good luck,

Dennis

[YC1]

When we had a lot of extras, our daughter loved to spend the nights in a tent with her friend or friends.

Motorhome, cocktails for six, dinner for four, sleeps two.

But actually, we have traveled with seven. Four adults and three children. The showers at the campground kept the pressure off the bathroom and shower. The small washer dryer would not keep up so the campground once again was handy.

Sleeping was a bit crowded but using some pads for the kids we managed to have plenty of fun. Cooking for seven is no more difficult than for two. Just bigger pots.

[NCC-1701A]

My 2¢

6 to 8 is a lot in ANY RV. Everyone won't have "their own space" in the sense of having private space. Quad slide or full wall on one side and two on the other will help space in general when set up, but that doesn't make it private space.

Seat belt locations critical, so no table & chair floorplan for dining...you'll need a booth or U-shaped dinette for seating while in motion and sleeping short people. Two sofa floor plan, which are hard to come by in short models.

Unless you get full hookup sites, you are going to fill black and grey holding tanks fast unless everyone religiously uses the campground bathrooms.

If you are going to carry camp chairs and other gear like all those skis you'll need cavernous bays underneath...or the towing capacity for a pickup truck or other large SUV.

You are definitely in the used market at that price point for a diesel. Make your list of wants and start to visit as many dealers as you can to physically look at units. Look at a LOT of different ones...notice which brands, on average, hold up better. Even when my wife and I were in the new market, we walked through lots of used units to assess long term quality. Since you don't know enough to do your own inspection, plan to hire a certified professional inspector before signing on the dotted line.

It has turned very much into a buyer's market, especially since you aren't dragging a trade into the deal. You have power.

As an airplane owner you are already used to having a strong maintenance program and paying a lot of money, so welcome to diesel RV's!!! :-)

Good luck in your search.

[Shall36]

Traveling with five, especially if the kids are small, will be doable. The 36UA is a nice plan, but I’m not a fan of Tiffin’s overhead bunk. With two bunks and an overhead bunk, each kid will have their own sleeping spot without need to convert anything. Grandparents will need to use the dinette and couch beds for sleeping. Towing is limited to 5K. Supposedly, you could get a stacked washer and dryer. Don’t even bother with a combo unit if your need is to actually wash cloths on the road. You will be disappointed.

REV (FW and HR) has the 36H (older) and 36F plans. You will be at max chassis weight (24K) sitting in the driveway before you are fully packed and you’ll be over the RAWR unless everything is loaded towards the front. Don’t bother with the washer/dryer. It’s a combo unit located at the tail end of the rig. Towing is 6K, which you can actually do and stay within the combined 30K limit, at least on the Bounder variant. The front bunk is a Euroloft and it’s super functional and actually comfortable, just add a mattress topper.

All that said, if I were traveling out west into the mountains I would be looking diesel, especially if you are bringing a toad. The Discovery 40G is awesome but I don’t believe you could ever order that with a front bunk. The 38N superseded the 40G and has a half bath and a front bunk. There are some Excursion bunk models, but I never saw a bunk plan I liked. Tiffin has some diesel bunk plans, but that overhead bunk they use doesn’t seem as functional.

You’ll need to make compromises especially at your budget. I see propane as a plus, especially if you boondock. It’s not a big deal to fill up every once in a while. It’s not like you use a whole tank in one weekend.

I never saw a Thor (Tiffin excluded) that looked good after a couple years of use. The Winnebago Forza seems reasonable but research the bus door latch problem.

[KenJr]

We own a Tiffin 36UA. You should know that besides Tiffins poor quality the bunks in the 36UA are to short for most except children. The stackable washer dryer is a must for us and has been very useful. Bath and a half is very nice to have. The Ford chassis is almost bulletproof, we’ve owned several. The sofa airbed is very comfortable, kids fight over it. We’ve never setup the dinette bed so can’t comment on that. With sofa bed setup fridge access is tight and so is passage between bed and fridge. Traveling with 6 people will be easier than living/sleeping with that many. We do enjoy the rv as I hope we’ve fixed the MANY problems due to poor quality manufacturing and quality control. Ours is a 2019 so quality has nothing to do with Thor’s purchase.
Also the actual length is 38 feet plus ladder. Ours is built on the 26k chassis.

[Tov61]

WE have a 34' National Dolphin. We have had it for many years now. National MHs in their day were renowned for their quality and after all these years they still are. We believe a 34' is the ideal length for us. It is very comfortable but still small enough to visit many of the Park service campgrounds. Looking at your requirements I suggest a 36' MH. Large enough for a wash & dry combo while still sleeping 8. Just my opinion. Happy Trails.

[jbellarmada]

Note that Tiffin is now owned by Thor. They seem to own almost everyone. We were considering a Phaeton with bunks. What we found in our research is that most of the big Diesel pusher coaches are really not setup for large groups of people. Most have one good bed and maybe bunks. They all offer sleeper sofas and dinettes but once you use those things a few times you realize it is not ideal to make and break down beds each day. Then we found the FLeetwood 40G. That model comes with an optional drop down bed over the front seats. Perfect solution for guests as it is easy to drop down and put back up. You can still sit in the captains chairs with it down and watch TV while the kids are sleeping above you. The bunk is great on that floor plan because it can be closed off and the kids have access the the bathroom without walking through the coach or the master bedroom as many require. Overall very happy with the REV manufactured Fleetwood Discovery. Great value and quality is as good or better than any other brand we have had or been in. Be ready for costly maintenance and repairs once warranty is out. These are very complicated machines. I restore cars and have a lot of skills and can do almost nothing on this coach myself!

[RandDescape]

We have a Newmar Ventana 4310 bunk bed model with 2 full baths all electric. We had to special order the option to get 8 seatbelts. You may want to talk to a mobility upfitter who specializes in adding seatbelts after the fact if you need belts that didn’t come from the factory.

To properly add belts requires some steel plates with bolts through them and the load spread across a larger section of the floor. You can’t just add a seatbelt anywhere and screw it in to the plywood floor if you want a safe seat for use in motion.

We’ve successfully had 9 full sized adults (5 males 5’ 11” - 6’ 2”) and 3 dogs at one time and more routinely 8. But that involves some creative use of the dinette with an inflatable queen mattress hanging off the end supported by the ottomans which match the dinette seat height. We spent all of our time outside and the RV is only for sleeping/ meal prep on those trips.

You have to be really close to pull that off. Even with bunks once you get above 4 adults bed management (move/inflate/deflate) before bed and in the morning becomes necessary. Pillows and clothing and bathroom time are non trivial. We use the built in vacuum and extra large vacuum bags to shrink pillows and bedding for the non-permanent beds.

On our trip last year 4 adults made the whole round trip, 5 others joined us for a week mid-way through but we were stationary that week.

Good luck on your search

- Richard

[Bookmon]

Tiffin RV in Red Bay Alabama is royalty in our neck of the woods. Largely due to sons kicking for the UA football teams. (See 1985 Iron Bowl)
Quality. We love our class As. Have been in tents, pop ups, Class Cs.... As have it hands dow

[RVFunlovers]

Agree with starting with used.
More space the better. We like 45 ft coaches and would get a 50 ft if they were allowed in the USA.

If you want state parks / national parks then size limits you.

[F4Gary]

What about a toy hauler that you can convert the "garage" into a bunk house?
You might also consider a 5th wheel, those always seem to have way to much space for just the 2 of us but a 5th wheel toy hauler might work for you.

[Iceclimber]

Traveling with that many bodies sounds daunting to me. I like my family just not that much. One config that has worked for me for weekends is a big high quality tent and another vehicle for the extra people. My DP is not set up for additional proper seat belts anyway, they are still where the now replaced couch is - but the theatre seats are not legal for over the road. I don't think a cross country trip with a crowd is viable for my mental state.

[2cyber71]

Back in 2003
I took my wife and 4 nurse friends to a Penn State game and tailgated overnight.
Never again. I slept in my drivers chair.

[Iceclimber]

Originally Posted by 2cyber71

Back in 2003
I took my wife and 4 nurse friends to a Penn State game and tailgated overnight.
Never again. I slept in my drivers chair.

That sounds like a plot for a sitcom or other kinds of movies, except for the chair part. My rig was designed for a couple and since ditching the couch I have no second bed. Hence all guests get the tent.