Community Forums

Nasdaqsam · 05-02-2017, 05:05 PM

A little back ground. We have done a lot of RV'ing when the kids were young but got out of it when sports hit. Have had 4 coaches 1 Class C and 3 Class A's. 2000 Bounder 36S was our last one. As retirement nears the urge to get back into has hit. It started with just looking for something small maybe a small C to go back and fourth from NY to FL homes with the odd trip thrown in. As the process continued the thoughts of doing some cross country trips has us thinking going Class A for size. After thinking of all the things we liked but more importantly did not like we are thinking this time we are pretty sure we do not want new and really leaning towards an older pusher for various reasons. Really want a lot more power to start with. The quieter cockpit is a must and no gen set under the master bedroom is a want. But also really want to keep this one on a budget. Thinking we want to be under 75k this time. I have always liked the looks of the Beaver coaches around the mid 2000's era. There are a lot of them across the country in the price range with fairly low mileage.

The "wants":
400hp or more
36'-40'
Slides at least 2

We have a local couple selling a 2004 Beaver Monterey, low mileage, new tires in generally good shape this one is of interest and the price seems ok but as it has been stored outside in upstate NY I am concerned with the paint even though it looks good right now my fear is it takes a turn soon. I have done a lot of detailing through out the years so no issue buffing it out but that's a big rig and I am not 25 anymore, lol

The questions.
What other coaches similar to the Beaver should we be looking at?
Preferred engine/transmission?
If we do go with a mid 2000's Beaver or similar coach what do we need to look for with issues? Roof leaks, rot, rust etc are the basics I am thinking more stay away from this engine they are an issue type advise.
Any other advise is greatly appreciated.

Regards
Scott

tom chelbana · 05-02-2017, 07:13 PM

We have owned two Newmar's in the last 20 years and have been very pleased with both. Our first was a London Aire with 1 slide and now a Essex with 4 slides, 45 foot and 500 engine. Check out the Newmar forum on irv2 and see what other Newmar owners are saying. You really need to get to around 2002 and up for 2 or more slides. Newmar was the one who first put slides in class A motor homes so they have slide thing worked out. Have been to the factory 9 times in last 20 years and most on the line are Amish built.

Nasdaqsam · 05-02-2017, 08:15 PM

Tom, Good advise we will look into the Newmar's also. Scott

**TonyDi** · 05-02-2017, 08:46 PM

Glad to have you here in the forum with us.

I agree if you are looking at Newmars you can't go wrong. You should be able to go to mid-late 2000s and find what you need.

Happy Trails!!!

Golfer Guy · 05-02-2017, 09:30 PM

I traded my 05 Newmar for the 06 Beaver. Really glad I did. It is outside and still looks great. Inside it is beautiful. If you find a Beaver of that era you like go for it. Newer Newmar's are fabulous too don't get me wrong if I were to buy a newer coach it would probably be a 2015 Newmar 4018.

Mr_D · 05-02-2017, 09:51 PM

We traded an '02 DSDP for the present Magna. The late DW would have rather kept the Dutch Star as it satisfied her and was the most reliable, cheapest to run Type A rig we've ever owned.
The Magna is a great rig but has been a money pit. $22,000 in engine repairs after Cummins picked up $10,400 of the cost. 8 new tires and TPMS sensors about $8,000. Four new batteries at about $300 each, new front shocks at $250 each, new drive axle shocks about $400, new door window to replace the fogged one, about $550 and I now have two more to replace.
What I (we) put out could have bought a nice lot in the sunny south!

twogypsies · 05-02-2017, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nasdaqsam

It started with just looking for something small maybe a small C to go back and fourth from NY to FL homes with the odd trip thrown in. As the process continued the thoughts of doing some cross country trips has us thinking going Class A for size.

Since you have two homes and will only do occasional trips, I'd suggest you go with a 30' Class C. It can be just as comfortable for traveling as a DP and a lot more reasonable in price with not as much maintenance. You'd also be able to see it easily.

Nasdaqsam · 05-03-2017, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Golfer Guy

I traded my 05 Newmar for the 06 Beaver. Really glad I did. It is outside and still looks great. Inside it is beautiful. If you find a Beaver of that era you like go for it. Newer Newmar's are fabulous too don't get me wrong if I were to buy a newer coach it would probably be a 2015 Newmar 4018.

Thanks for the reply. One of the reasons we started looking at the Beaver coaches was a lot of the ones we have been seeing still look great. Not sure if that is because they were so expensive when new that might have gotten a little better care or just better paint jobs but even the one up here still looks very good. I have to spend a little more time really looking at the paint yet. That's my biggest fear of having to have one painted in a year or two. That and want to be sure there are not any inherent problems I am not seeing in researching them. Thanks for the reply

Nasdaqsam · 05-03-2017, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D

We traded an '02 DSDP for the present Magna. The late DW would have rather kept the Dutch Star as it satisfied her and was the most reliable, cheapest to run Type A rig we've ever owned.
The Magna is a great rig but has been a money pit. $22,000 in engine repairs after Cummins picked up $10,400 of the cost. 8 new tires and TPMS sensors about $8,000. Four new batteries at about $300 each, new front shocks at $250 each, new drive axle shocks about $400, new door window to replace the fogged one, about $550 and I now have two more to replace.
What I (we) put out could have bought a nice lot in the sunny south!

Sounds like a lot of issues with this one. What do you attribute all this too? Was it new when you got it so just poorly built or lack of maintenance up until you bought it? Thanks for the reply.

Nasdaqsam · 05-03-2017, 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by twogypsies

Since you have two homes and will only do occasional trips, I'd suggest you go with a 30' Class C. It can be just as comfortable for traveling as a DP and a lot more reasonable in price with not as much maintenance. You'd also be able to see it easily.

The Class C was one of our original plans. It has been a while since we owned a Class C but from memory a few things were of issue. Back then we had a Shasta with a 460 Ford engine. It was a screamer and ran very hot. All I recall for the most part was my right leg on fire all the time. I recall driving with the cruise on all the time and having to turn sideways to cool it off even the air directed there did not help. We had the insulation pack but that did very little. The 460 was impossible to talk over especially when climbing a hill or passing. I know most come with the V10 now so a little bit quieter engine. I never had any issues with the 2 V10's I owned maintenance wise. If I had a complaint it would be a slight lack of power when towing something heavy. We will also be flat towing a Jeep unlimited and recall from my Bounder days the V10 did struggle a bit on the big hills towing a small car at that time. Of course that was also a 36' Class A so a much heavier coach. We have not eliminated the Class C's just yet for exactly the reason you are giving. We will have to try one out but that will still be with out a tow vehicle. I would assume a Class C with the higher HP V10's that are out now being lighter than the old Class A should have no issue flat towing the Jeep. Thanks for the reply.