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Old 05-21-2021, 09:58 AM   #113
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I love my 2018 Winnebago Aspect 30J. I had a 2010 Itasca Cambria. I bought both used from people that took care of them. I've had no issues other than trying to quiet some things down while I am bouncing down our bumpy roads. Compared to some other Class C's and travel trailers, there really is no comparison in quality, fit and finish.
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Old 05-21-2021, 10:40 AM   #114
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I've owned a Winnebago, 1 Avion and 3 Terry trailers. I recently purchased a 2006 Alpine Apex 40FDQS diesel pusher.

My experience with the product quality of trailers tells me there is little quality difference in trailers. Most makers compete in a moderate price range and most use the same methods, materials, components and appliances. One exception is Airstream but their price point is much higher than the fiberglass and aluminum sided trailers.

I considered my smooth wall Terrys to be "better quality" but each still had a few issues within a year of delivery.

I recently ended a 2 year nationwide search for a "high quality" used 40ft diesel pusher. I wanted a high quality coach without the high price (400K+) so I eventually focused on several models from Alpine, Beaver, Country Coach, Monaco and Tiffen. The sooner you can identify your specific targets the sooner you will find what your looking for. I'm technically and mechanically capable so I'm willing to invest a little money and time to upgrade and fix an older coach.

Even though only two of the brands are still in business, all had a reputation for building quality coaches and all produced beautiful interiors. All but Tiffen were acquired by Monaco so I can still get them serviced through the Monaco network.

Overall my impression is the used diesel pusher market is filled with junk and dealers will sell you anything in any condition because they are short on inventory. For example I've had more than a dozen unsolicited offers to buy my "new" Alpine in the past 6 months. Condition "is not an issue".

Don't expect to walk onto a lot and find good running, well maintained used product where "everything works". Don't believe what they tell you. Get it inspected then make the hard decisions. If it doesn't feel right, don't buy it.

After 30 years of RV ownership you can expect all brands to have issues just as you can expect all boats to have issues. How much you choose to deal with is up to you.
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Old 05-21-2021, 11:09 AM   #115
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Consider Leisure Travel Vans

Quote:
Originally Posted by SWFL View Post
Are there any brands that are truly built to a higher quality?

I've been shopping for my first (used) RV and have been astounded by the poor build quality that I've seen so far. Rusty parts with sheets of paint falling off, sloppy/missing silicone, cabinets barely held together with staples and tacks, flimsy mechanicals, crappy components, and on and on.

It's really shocking to see something so expensive, cobbled together with the same level of quality as a Chinese barbecue grill.

Are there any brands that are truly higher quality and actually built to last?
The responses that I see appear all to be Class A motorhome. If you were interested in a full featured but smaller motorhome you should look at Leisure Travel Vans out of Canada. These are considered to be a B+ but, in my opinion, they are functionally closer to a Class C. These are most suited for couples. Mostly seniors but quite often young successful adults. They are pricy but the quality in material and workmanship is amazing. Read their blogs. The satisfaction of owners is off the charts. If these would fit your requirements, look for a used model. People who own these tend to be very fussy about them. You'll find many that are always stored inside. You won't hear anything about leaks or things like that. A 5-7 year model probably will still look close to new. They are really that good!
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Old 05-21-2021, 11:16 AM   #116
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We did our homework, and after looking at lots of brands and figuring out our purchase budget and maintenance budget (5-6K per year) we went with an older Alpine, 400 HP, 10K towing rating, and NO DEF, we found a 1 owner unit that came with all the owner paperwork and maintenance records, we tow either a 2016 F150 or a 4500 LB boat.
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Old 05-21-2021, 11:34 AM   #117
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All Motor Homes JUNK

Let me tell you this: We motor homed from 1970-2000 and owned many various motor homes. All turned out to be crap.........We even bought 3 Blue Birds and 2 Prevosts during that time......they were not much better, in fact, they required much more maintenance than your plastic box brand name motor homes.
So now, we want to do some more motor homing and were thinking about going with a Class C instead of the huge units we used to own. I absolutely cannot believe that the New Class C's today are made exactly like they were 30 years ago....terrible cabinets, cheap appliances, crappy furniture, thin exterior walls, cheap thin windows, practically no comfort systems like the bigger units have. In fact, if you compared a 2021 Class C with a 1980 Class C, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference (except for cab/chassis design).
There is no hope.
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Old 05-21-2021, 03:04 PM   #118
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A chinese barbecue?

We barbeque constantly year-round, so we prefer a chinesium grill because we burn 'em up.

Yep, that's us... helping de-evolve refined metals to their basic molecular structures, one roast at a time!
.
.
To a your q, we delivered RecreationVehicles manufacturer-to-dealer and dealer-to-shows.
We condensed decades of camping into a couple-three years and a hundred thousand miles.

Based on our experience with a vast variety of RecreationVehicles including BillionBuxBus conversions, we needed to build our ExpeditionVehicle from commercial components for durability and reliability.

And we think every RecreationVehicle -- irregardless of source -- is unnecessarily complex, requiring CertifiedSpecialists© to unravel their mysterious ways.
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Old 05-21-2021, 03:39 PM   #119
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2000 allegro bus ! Solid oak cabinets ! All furniture leather and it all still looks new because it was taken care of and quality built by Bob Tiffen ! Those days are gone forever !
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Old 05-21-2021, 04:00 PM   #120
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Originally Posted by Windsor View Post
Let me tell you this: We motor homed from 1970-2000 and owned many various motor homes. All turned out to be crap.........We even bought 3 Blue Birds and 2 Prevosts during that time......they were not much better, in fact, they required much more maintenance than your plastic box brand name motor homes.
So now, we want to do some more motor homing and were thinking about going with a Class C instead of the huge units we used to own. I absolutely cannot believe that the New Class C's today are made exactly like they were 30 years ago....terrible cabinets, cheap appliances, crappy furniture, thin exterior walls, cheap thin windows, practically no comfort systems like the bigger units have. In fact, if you compared a 2021 Class C with a 1980 Class C, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference (except for cab/chassis design).
There is no hope.
You're right, there is no hope for the Class C market, they're almost all exactly the same crap.

I started looking for a class C since i wanted three different, separate sleeping areas and didn't think I wanted/needed all the complexities of a diesel pusher. It didn't take much looking to realize that most are very poor quality. And the worst part is, they're priced like they are premium quality.

I paid about $16,000 for a new 20' Ice Castle fish house not too many years ago, it was basically exactly the same materials and components as what I see in the current Class C motorhomes. So I can't for the life of me see how they can cobble together this same Ice Castle shack on the back of cutaway chassis and slap a $150,000 price tag on it. Profit margins at the mfg and dealer level must be astronomical. Like 50% margin when it leaves the factory and another 50% margin to retail.

Maybe my complaint isn't really poor quality, it's that the price/quality ratio is so far out of whack. It's fine to build junk when it's priced as such I suppose.
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Old 05-21-2021, 04:02 PM   #121
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You get what you pay for. The more you pay the better the quality!

Actually… you may (or may not) get what you pay for but… if you don’t pay you sure as heck aren’t going to get it.
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Old 05-21-2021, 07:26 PM   #122
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I believe that it’s more about who the previous owner was. They are all mostly crap. But I you know how to maintain them and fix things yourself you can make them better than they came from the factory.
But if you can’t do things yourself it can really expensive.
I agree with this. Our first Windsor had numerous owners and unknown history. Being a rookie with DP, I assumed a lot of of things that worked( never trust anyone these days) but didn’t and there were some other quirks I fixed after purchase.Luckily I was able to sell it back to the person I bought it from and recouped all my investment plus some.( that is another story). Then when we started looking for another coach, I knew more about the DP and what we wanted that was in our budget to buy out right as we are not retired. We stepped down from the Windsor to the Knight, but it was a one owner, 46,000 miles, who actually purchased it new in 06 (it is an 04). He was a retired pilot and had ever record of everything that was done to the coach. Even each fill up. All books, documents and 1 1/2 year old tires. The only reason they were selling was age got in the way. Our second test drive was from Colorado to North Çarolina, 1500 miles, no toad, no tools. Needless to say, we are very happy with the coach. Previous owner also had trailing arms replaced and we upgraded to the ride enhancement kit from Source Engineering which was a great upgrade this year. Also had the engine oil analyzed and it came back with excellent results and no wear. We are looking forward to lots of miles in this coach and hopefully upgrade we we retire in 8 years. But who knows, we may keep it!
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Old 05-21-2021, 09:16 PM   #123
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Find a Newell built in the 80s. These coaches were only built for custom orders during this period. Newell’s are 100% built from the ground up , all in house. Newell used marine grade components so they are like a land yacht. This period Newell has no computers or emissions. Newell had standard equipment in the 80s that currently built motor homes still don’t have. In short you can have a completely refurbished used Newell for a fraction of any new coach cost and far more safe /dependable.
Newell’s are a million mile coach!!!
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Old 05-22-2021, 07:10 AM   #124
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A couple of observations; Prevost units are certainly impressive, but not every camper wants to spend 300 large on their motorcoach. And that is for a really old (15 years) one that some campgrounds won't even allow on their property!

All coach brands seem to have their good and bad points. Since they are all custom built, you will find human error in the form of defects.

That being said, do your homeowork and enjoy your coach (whichever one you choose). Don't listen to those who bury an entire brand. Do research on the make, model and floorplan you want, do a thorough inspection or hire someone who can and go from there.

I don't buy new. That's a whole different discussion.

Good luck and happy camping!
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Old 05-22-2021, 08:32 AM   #125
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That's one of the reasons I looked for a Newmar. Not perfect, but not bad.
I would just figure no matter what you buy (new or used), plan on spending time and money to go front to back and maintain, derust, paint, align, repair lots of stuff. Or plan on paying a handy advanced DIY'r to do this for you while you sit and watch.

The worst part is the lack of rust protection underneath. I powerwash, then sandblast, air blast, prime and paint and sometimes undercoat all at different points of time. So many folks post pictures of their RV underbodies that make me cringe. But maybe that's just my OCD.
You want to make sure you have the maintenance paper on it. It has to be maintained , otherwise things keeps accumulating.

We have a National Dolphin 2003 with 91.000 miles on it but my husband had maintained that RV . It was our 2nd home on wheels . We travel many times from Florida to NB, Canada. Never had a problem. Was ready for another trip up North but pandemic got in the way.
You just want to make sure you have the maintenance papers and if in good shape you can still have hours of traveling left. Good luck to you. It is a special kind of life. Happy Trails/
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Old 05-22-2021, 09:30 AM   #126
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Northwood and Outdoor are built with sturdier frames, better suspensions and solid wood cabinets. Heavily insulated for true 4 season use, heated fresh water tanks all tanks completely enclosed.

Look at some of the YouTube ideas of their manufacturing process. They are smaller sister companies based La Grand, Oregon so are lesser know. Especially East of the Rockies.
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