Researching

[Dermec]

So, as my wife is now 3yrs cancer free after having a lung removed she is still unable to venture too far and we need to take an oxygen generator wherever we go, went cruising several times as we do not live too far from Galveston but I told her I wanted to go see Mount Rushmore, Little Big Horn, Devil's Tower and other sights in this vast country, So, as we wanted to take our two aging dogs with us, it seemed a Motorhome might be the way to go.
After months of Research, research and then researching some more, I have gotten this far;
1) Don't go to Camping World, have not seen one good review and although I know most people only review when they have had a bad experience, one would think there would be at least one good or decent one, not sure about Holiday World, Ron Hoover and Demontrond here in the Houston area, maybe MHSRV in Alvarado.
2) Decided to go for Class A but somewhere around 30'
3) Watched and watching multiple You Tube videos, so thanks to RV Texas Ya'll, Gone with the Wynns etc.
4) Seems there are a lot of Thor's, started liking the ACE but then not sure about the step up into the cab area and not sure about curtains as I have to watch out for dust what with my wife's condition.
5) Looking at a Pursuit, Hurricane, Reno, Axon, FR3.......... so far
6) Wife likes the Axon because it is Red.
7) Went to Best Preowned in Houston but they do not have anything less than 34' at this time.
8) Haven't looked at the Thor's yet but the shower bothers me somewhat as it looks like there is a gap between the base and sidewalls.
9) Buy used, battling wife who only seems to look at new
10) Still have to check on Insurance rates
11) Got approval from HOA to park the unit in our driveway, but after I got that I started to think it might not be a good idea because people would know when we are not at home.
12) I do like the work table on the passenger side and separate Shower from Toilet.
13) Living in Texas I feel we need 15,000 BTU A/C, I know some trips will be outside this state but most will be weekend getaways and Texas can be a tad warm especially during July & August, after all we only have two season's, Hot and Hotter.

Well so far that is about it and besides it is Sunday and I have to finish off the cooking.
If you got this far, thanks for reading and any other advise is always welcomed.

Have a great day.
Derek.

[toolster]

I purchased a motorhome from MHSRV and were very happy with their customer service, They offer free full hook up camping on their property while you get used to your new rig and have both mechanics and other knowledgeable folk on hand to fix/explain any issues that may come up. We live in Maine so we stayed with them for 6 days, but had only one issue which was fixed on the spot. Also their financing resources were excellent.

[stuckinOH]

If I remember right PPL in Houston had a consignment lot with a lot of MH's on it when we were there 2 years ago. After picking out MH up in Houston (from a relative) and driving it back to Ohio we are about 11k worth of miles and did the Yellowstone, Devil's Tower and Rushmore last year and want to go back already. They are fun and sometimes frustrating to own.

[TonyMac]

Best of luck to you and the Mrs. New depreciates RAPIDLY, which is one reason I bought used. I also didn't want to deal with DEF, and we got so very lucky to find our rig. DW likes the floorplan (whew!!), loves her spot up front with the door midship, we love the side opening outside compartments, I love my CAT/Allison combo, I LOVE the price we paid for this, I could not have gotten a better deal without a gun!


Keep us posted on how the search is going. If you find a rig in Utah, I can run out to see it, but you'll owe me a beer. Others on this site are better and work cheaper.

[CountryB]

You may want to consider a coach with wheelchair lift. As your wife's health is not so good - and we are all getting older and those RV entry steps seem to get taller with every passing year. That might allow you to continuing RVing longer.

There is a sticky thread at the top of this forum on handicap access RVs.

[Yellowboat]

You might want to consider a coach that is slightly over your 30 foot limit.

Once you get over 30 feet the interior cubic feet is great enough for two air conditioners. Two air conditioners are a lot cooler than one.

I had a 29 foot 9 inch coach. I replaced it with a 34 foot 4 inch coach. The 29 foot coach was very difficult to drive. The 34 foot coach is much easier to drive. The 29 foot coach was two hand driving with a lot of white knuckle driving. The 34 foot coach is much more relaxed driving. I can drive with one hand but seldom do. White knuckle driving is greatly reduced. Both are on the F53 chassis.

I suggest you do an extensive test drive on any coach you are thinking of buying.

[Dermec]

I didn't think about a shorter vehicle being harder to drive, thought it would be the other way around, thought of keeping to about 30' because of reports about not being able to get into all National Parks with longer units.

[CountryB]

Shorter turn better and fit into more places.
Longer also means heavier. Longer wheelbase and heavier weight make coach much more stable on highway. It doesn't get "push around" by passing semi trucks and gusts of wind as easily.