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07-07-2015, 05:50 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Tiffin Owners Club Coastal Campers Freightliner Owners Club RV Trip Wizard
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Live Oak, Florida
Posts: 698
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RV Research - Purchase of Class A
I just found your blog.
I have been researching class A manufacturers, chassis, engines, and floor plans for the last 3 months.
I would appreciate your opinions and advice based on your purchase decision. Did you make the right decision? Looking back is there anything you wished you should have done differently? More options? Bad floor plan? Who builds the best quality coach? Who has the quietest riding? I hate rattles or noises. Which manufacturer should I stay away from?
I know there will be many opinions. These questions are not meant to start any arguments. I am looking for the facts. I will be buying a class A motorhome within the next 3-9 months and I want to make a fact based decision. So far here are a few of the things I have gathered:
I do not want a table and chairs for my dining room... I want the booth or u-shaped one.
I want a coach that is at least 32-36 feet long with either a full wall slide or 2-3 slides.
I am leaning toward the following manufacturers:
- Thor (windsport)
- Tiffin
- Newmar
- Fleetwood
- Coachman
I am looking to get a pre-owned between 2010-2015 model years.
I want the Ford V10 engine and chassis.
I prefer a separate shower and toilet area.
I don't know much about the RV seal and windshield issues.
Who is the best company to finance with? best for insurance? warranty?
Is it even worth buying a warranty?
I know the good folks on this forum can help me out.
Retirement is only a few years away but I want to start playing early.
Thanks in advance for all your advice!
Adam
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07-08-2015, 12:05 AM
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#2
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Moderator Emeritus
Damon Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Lone Star State
Posts: 19,203
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Best luck on your search.
Many folks (including us) say, pick your RV based on floor plan.
Take your time and you should be able to find that perfect RV.
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07-08-2015, 01:16 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Winnebago Owners Club
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: FTer Class of 2015 Origin: Evergreen, Colorado
Posts: 1,565
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Welcome Aboard. Sorry I can't offer any opinions on the Ford chassis, or any of the brands that you have listed, but a lot of people here, can. We picked a diesel chassis due to the increased weight we wanted to lug around. I agree with the floorplan criteria you have listed, however. Slides are slides ... they all have nuances and everybody seems to have their own way to maintain them and keep them working well. Can't help you with the financing question, but I hear the interest paid on the loan is deductible like mortgage interest, so that is prolly a good way to go. An extended warranty was included in the deal when we bought ours [a previously-owned coach] but we never had to use it; in our case, that would not have been a good deal. Talking to a lot of people and asking a lot of questions is a great way to narrow down your choices. And buying a year or two before retirement is also a great strategy -- it will take you a while to learn all of the systems and features and to get comfortable with driving it. In the end, have fun and make the decision that keeps your spouse happy! \ken
__________________
Ken, Deb, & Gadget (WIT Club, FMCA, SKP, and grateful volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and SOWERs), traveling in a well-behaved 2005 Winnebago Vectra 40FD w/1100w solar, some gee-golly-whizbang, and a TRAILERED 2015 Cherokee TrailHawk toad.
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07-08-2015, 01:28 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Roaming Fulltimer
Posts: 406
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Lurking on this one...
__________________
Sidelined Full-timer
Motorhome/Toad Totaled by Harvey; Wings clipped by Eldercare Requirements
Pondering what the next chapter holds.
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07-08-2015, 05:47 AM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Conway, SC
Posts: 2,557
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I would definitely not put Thor at the top of that list. Newmar, Tiffin yes, but I don't believe the others match the quality. Price wise go with Thor, but you get what you pay for.
__________________
2000 Dutch Star Pusher
2009 Saturn Vue Towed
Full timed for 6yrs.
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07-08-2015, 06:57 AM
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#6
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Senior Member
Winnebago Owners Club
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 157
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scarab0088
Best luck on your search.
Many folks (including us) say, pick your RV based on floor plan.
Take your time and you should be able to find that perfect RV.
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Could not agree more with Scarab0088. Floor plan will narrow you choices down quickly then decide based on your other criteria, IMO.
Sent from my iPhone6 using iRV2 mobile
Robin, Carolyn and Maggie the Schnauzer - 2015 Winnebago Vista 30T, 2014 Smart Car Toad
__________________
Robin, Carolyn and Maggie the Schnauzer - 2015 Winnebago 30T, towing 2002 Jeep TJ
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07-08-2015, 08:30 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Tiffin Owners Club Coastal Campers Freightliner Owners Club RV Trip Wizard
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Live Oak, Florida
Posts: 698
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Thank you for all of the replies so far. The manufacturers list is not in any priority order. I really like Tiffin and Newmar the best so far but my budget is another issue. My budget for my first class A RV tops out at $60,000.00.
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07-08-2015, 08:40 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: San antonio, TX
Posts: 624
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You don't indicate what type of research you have been doing, but the best way is to go out and kick some tires. Look at as many motorhomes as you can access, and don't worry about asking for a test ride. Sit in the coaches--get rid of the salesman--that is just noise anyway--and think about how you would use a particular coach. We looked very carefully when we bought this coach, but when we saw it, we knew this was the coach for us.
__________________
USAF Retired
2000 Prevost Marathon H3-45
Towing 2019 RAM 1500
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07-08-2015, 08:45 AM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Southern New Jersey
Posts: 389
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I have a 2013 Fleetwood Storm and love it. Went cross country last fall and it ran great and loved the ride. It has bunks which works well with the grandson and daughter and son in law. I agree that layout is very important. Determining where you intend on going (ie. state and natl pks or private campgrounds) can help whittle down your choices. Sizer of sites in state and natl pks can be a determinant. Are you going to tow and what are you going to tow? Mine is the Ford v-10 and avg 8mph with no toad. Someone I met in Asheville,NC with same model and lite toad got the same mileage. Since this is my second MH and started with popup and trvl trl many years age I've been around rvs for a long time and agree with you about buying one a couple of years old. The kinks get worked out. Good Luck with your search and above all have fun with the search.
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07-08-2015, 08:59 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Rexhall Owners Group
Join Date: May 2011
Location: South Central Ohio
Posts: 458
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A lot will depend on the intended use of your coach. For the wife and I, using ours to live in for extended snowbird trips, with the long winter nights, the location of the television was important. We wanted it across from where we were sitting, not on a wall at the other end of the room, or up over the windshield where you have to look at right angles to where you sit. That narrowed it down a lot for us. Many of the new expensive coaches have that feature, with tele-vators, etc.. but only a very few of the older ones did.
Bob
__________________
2003 Rexhall Rexair, 3550 Ford V10 with Banks
2014 Honda CRV-AWD via Blue Ox
Travel with SWMBO and Golden Doodle co pilot
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07-08-2015, 09:11 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Southern New Jersey
Posts: 389
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A couple of things I just thought about. Financing, credit union is probably cheaper than a dealer and yes the interest is tax deductable as a second home. I use the Tobin Agency, I believe they have a website, and have researched direct from insurer and they have done well by me with the best prices. Internet is a great resource. If you have an affiliation with vet organizations or aarp there are some possibilities there for cheaper ins. You can always get an extended warranty either sold by the dealer or free standing, like Good Sam or other companies. If you get it with purchase from the dealer it then becomes part of the overall cost of the unit that you are financing. I forgot to mention mine is 32ft long which is fine by me. If you were living in it full time you may want a larger unit for more room and storage. Personal preference.
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07-08-2015, 09:13 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Newmar Owners Club Freightliner Owners Club
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Today? Clayton, North Carolina
Posts: 5,093
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam1219
....I really like Tiffin and Newmar the best so far but my budget is another issue. My budget for my first class A RV tops out at $60,000.00.
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You haven't described your planned usage. Fulltiming? Snowbirding? Occasional camping? It will dictate your minimum standards. I suggest you subscribe to the RV Consumer Group, www.rv.org and make use of their ratings snd evaluations.
To reconcile quality with budget, select from the high quality builders, then back off in age until your budget matches the price. If you're buying quality, a little extra age won't matter. Quality lasts.
Fulltiming since '12
2002 DSDP 40, FL, Cat 3126
__________________
John and Diane (RIP Lincoln, 21 FEB 22) RVM103 NHSO
Fulltimers since June, 2012
2002 Dutch Star 40, Freightliner, Cat 3126, 2004 Element
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07-08-2015, 11:32 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Oak Creek, WI
Posts: 1,141
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I'll take a crack at this...
First and foremost... the best advice is HAPPY WIFE, HAPPY LIFE....
That said.. the key ingredient to any RV purchase is floor plan.. everything else is small potatoes.. the only way (for my money) to make that decision is to walk into as many RV's as you can.. kick tires until your foot falls off..
To answer your questions directly... here goes
Did you make the right decision? It was the right decision for us.
Looking back is there anything you wished you should have done differently? No, we are very happy with our decision.. we know this wasn't going to be our last purchase, it serves us well during this period in our life (weekend warriors)
More options? Ha, is there such a thing as not enough options?? question is, how much are you willing to pay?? staying within the budget is difficult
Bad floor plan? Personal decision.. only you can answer that..
Who builds the best quality coach? Loaded question.. I can say we have been very please with our Itasca.. answers on this will vary from experience to experience... too subjective to answer
Who has the quietest riding? Just about any DP riding on airbags..
I hate rattles or noises. Don't buy a gasser
Which manufacturer should I stay away from? Again, loaded question with no correct answer.. but ultimately, like someone said above, you get what you pay for..
I know this doesn't answer everything the way you want.. unfortunately, there isn't a "Consumer Report" type publication that really breaks down all the aspects of each model and/or manufacturer..
Best way I discovered to purchasing the perfect RV is.. buy one.. and figure out all that you don't like and what you might like, so the next one has everything you want/need/like...
Good luck..
__________________
Eric & Denise
2012 Itasca Sunstar 35F W/ 5-Star Tuner
2017 Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited
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07-08-2015, 12:11 PM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 8,055
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FWIW start a spread sheet. I have one going on ~30 ft class A's. As you start seeing the differences in things like wheel base, tire sizes, tank capacities, and anything else you want to list then you can compare. Floor plan counts as much or more than the chassis unless you plan on spending all your time driving. Can you see the TV, is there room to make a meal, can you get away from each other or the kids? How will it handle a rainy day?
Almost everything you look at will be on a Ford F-53 chassis but there are several versions of that chassis. Figure than out too.
Ignore the DP folks unless you want to get into that cycle. It is a different world.
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