What would you do different?

[xkimo]

Originally Posted by Kid Gloves

For our current needs, I wouldn’t do anything differently. We discussed everything from vintage trailers to 5ers to Class A coaches. Once we decided on a Class A the list of requirements was built.

Under 40’. We’re at 37’. This really narrows the search. This was a go, no-go for the wife. I was in agreement, of course.
Pre-DEF diesel. Yes, that means used.
Used.
Side radiator.
10K towing capacity.
Adequate CCC, we have more than 5000lbs.
2 or more slides. We have 2.
Mid-entry door. Preferred but not mandatory. Ours is a mid-door.
High quality manufacturer.
Adequate power.
Large capacity water and holding tanks.
Not all electric.

There may have been some other items. What’s important to understand is that those are important to us. It’s what we wanted 5 years ago and we found it. It will still check off all the boxes for many years to come. Some day things may change. I doubt we’ll ever go bigger. We’re active and enjoy the outdoors. It isn’t likely that we’ll sit in the coach and watch TV, even on a rainy day. We even removed the TV from the bedroom. Some day we may end up with a vintage TT or a 4x4 Sprinter conversion. Who knows?

Some good advise has been offered. Ultimately, you need to decide what features are important to you for the period of time you intend to use the coach.

Why not all electric ? Would a good inverter / charger with Li. batteries make a difference to you ? Why / Why not.

[Kid Gloves]

Originally Posted by xkimo

Why not all electric ? Would a good inverter / charger with Li. batteries make a difference to you ? Why / Why not.

It’s a personal choice. I prefer to minimize electricity demand prior to determining the amount of solar and lithium required to operate the devices in the coach. It’s my Rule #1 for going off-grid. We also prefer cooking with gas. We have a good inverter/charger and lithium is on the list this year.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Vato

plus...
..full body paint

Yup, that is my biggest regret. There's really nothing wrong with the partial paint, clear-coated gelcoat and decals but still...

Ray

[New2road]

to thine own self be true. find the coach that fits your lifestyle, camping preferences, and make your DW happy. Make sure it's in good shape and can last the lifecycle you have planned ( how much longer are you going to RV?)


trust your instincts. It gets very expensive changing coaches earlier than planned.


don't scrimp to save a dime and waste a dollar. some of those options people dismiss become must haves later ( in floor heating/ fireplace/ spare freezer)


Make sure you understand the whole rig before driving away. avoids that late night campground frustration when the tv wont work or the turbo charged macerating poop gobbler stops working.


cheers,
j

[Teamfoxy]

I guess that I did it all wrong.
1) 19.5" tires $200, 22.5" tires $500+ The ride is fine on 19.5".
2) Bought the 5 speed transmission, but have never had an issue. The 6 speed only uses 5 gears at a time.
3) We do have the 50 amp service.
4) I never buy extended warranties. They are just added profit to the dealer.
5) Do an extensive weight list on what you will carry and make sure that your OCCC is large enough to handle it. We have 3000# of stuff and and an OCCC of 4018#.
6) Buy based on what you want, not what a bunch of strangers on the internet tell you. We have a much larger travel budget that we we would have if we bought one of the brands people here told us to buy. And at the end of the journey, we spent less on our rig than the depreciation on those rigs would be.

Originally Posted by JohnGirouard

Hi all. This is my first post and second Class A, so I'm wondering what would you have done different when buying a class A? For me these are my first thoughts:

1. Make sure you buy with the larger 22.5 tires.
2. If buying a gas make sure it had the at least the six speed transmission.
3. Make sure you have 50 amp service( easy to adapt down to a 30 amp when needed).
4. As my CC was a 2006, the extended warranty price was not worth it....and yes I did use it, but 5k price for a 1.5k repair was not worth it.

Please let me and others know of anything to do different. This may help others from not buying the wrong unit at the start. Thanks