Which to buy???

[RobbieH]

Originally Posted by G Man

You have opened uo my mind about what to look for and get. Thank you. Can you send a pic of your Safari?

Here's a 40PBT like mine
https://www.guaranty.com/vehicle/200...lle-40-pm36441

Here's a 40PDQ
http://www.maplegrovervsales.com/inv...riGazelle.html

As much as I wish mine was that color scheme, it's not. Mine is Urban Oasis. I love that blue scheme though, it is nice to see that in the sea of brown and black RVs out there.




Mine has maple cabinets though, which I love. They are nice and bright, most RVs have dark cabinets. $5,600 upgrade on the sticker.

[Txice]

I live in Nacogdoches and own a Monaco Dip DP. We bought it from an individual and it had been well taken care of by a very competent owner. Motorhomes of Texas did our filter and fluid changes, went through the coach before our first trip, and installed our tow system. They did a good job and I'd recommend them for any problem you might have. I don't have any experience negotiating on prices, but they won't accept (on consignment) coaches that don't meet a high standard. Recently, I've taken my Monaco across the highway to Old Town Motorcoach. They charge $30 per labor hour less than MHT and do a great job. All these guys got their feet wet at the Foretravel factory so quality is in their DNA. It's ingrained. Old Town Motorcoach got started buying/selling wholesale and have steady grown into a full service facility. They have fewer consignments but what they have are very nice coaches. If you live close to Nac you can't go wrong at either place.

[Txice]

I'd like to add since you are interested in Texas locations that I had bad experiences in Houston at PPL. For one thing they don't plug the coaches in to shore power. Do not go there May - October to shop. Most humans can't stand to be inside the heat for more than a few minutes. Don't expect to go on a "quick" road test, it won't happen. For the most part you feel like you're shopping in a Sams or Costco only they are not as accommodating. If you don't whip out your checkbook in the first 15 minutes forget about it. Just saying!

[Smitty77]

OP - Between the two you specified, I'd also go with the Pace Arrow.

But, since you're also interested in other input. Here is mine:

>First, take some time to use the search features on this and other boards, looking for posts about good quality Class A's. Read a bunch of them.

>Have a budget price range in mind. Keep reserve budget for 'catch-up/baseline' maintenance, and possibly some alterations to make the coach your coach.

>Come up with a lists of 'Must Have's' and 'Nice to Have's'. We broke our lists up into 'Chassis' (Engine size, side vs rear radiator, air leveling, tag vs non tag, CCC (The weight you can carry above and beyond the coach.), etc. - 'House' (Number of slides, size of galley, kitchen slide or non kitchen slide, seating, cabinet storage, accessibility with slides in, etc. - 'Misc' (Fiberglass roof vs epdm, hung wall construction, basement storage, size of fuel/water/grey/black tanks, etc.)

>Go visit some dealers, and RV shows, go thru/under/over all kinds of coaches with your lists, and keep a score. (We each had five items that we could award up to 5 points. So default was 1 point if an item existed. But if it was an item real important to my wife, she could award that item 5 points. Same with me...). Start building a list of manufactures/models and year ranges that fit your budget and that score high on your check list.

>IMO, buy the highest quality coach that fits your budget. Drop years to remain within budget, while still purchasing a higher quality unit. Quality lasts. A higher end good quality coach, will provide a great foundation to make modifications to fit what you like.

>Also IMO, a 4-10 year old higher end good quality coach, will in another 5 years - be a better riding and enjoyable coach that may be newer, and of lesser quality. Quality lasts.

Some coaches to consider, not a complete list, and in no particular order:
-American Coaches
-Beaver (I liked the Patriot Thunder as the sweet spot.)
-Travel Supreme
-Alpine
-Wanderlodge
-Newmar (Dutch Star/Mountain Aire as the sweet spots)
-Monaco (Dynasty/Executive/Signature (Many Executives/Signatures came with either the ISM or in some model years, the big Detroit block engine. And they have a very respected Roadmaster Chassis.)
-Holiday Rambler - (Equivalent models as the Monaco, as Monaco made them in the later years. Look for the HR models that match those three above.)
-Entegra
-Winnebago - Vectra/Ultimate Freedom

Those are some of the higher end better made Class A's...

Take your time, go slow, try to buy your last RV as your next RV!

Happy hunting,
Smitty

[G Man]

Originally Posted by Smitty77

OP - Between the two you specified, I'd also go with the Pace Arrow.

But, since you're also interested in other input. Here is mine:

>First, take some time to use the search features on this and other boards, looking for posts about good quality Class A's. Read a bunch of them.

>Have a budget price range in mind. Keep reserve budget for 'catch-up/baseline' maintenance, and possibly some alterations to make the coach your coach.

>Come up with a lists of 'Must Have's' and 'Nice to Have's'. We broke our lists up into 'Chassis' (Engine size, side vs rear radiator, air leveling, tag vs non tag, CCC (The weight you can carry above and beyond the coach.), etc. - 'House' (Number of slides, size of galley, kitchen slide or non kitchen slide, seating, cabinet storage, accessibility with slides in, etc. - 'Misc' (Fiberglass roof vs epdm, hung wall construction, basement storage, size of fuel/water/grey/black tanks, etc.)

>Go visit some dealers, and RV shows, go thru/under/over all kinds of coaches with your lists, and keep a score. (We each had five items that we could award up to 5 points. So default was 1 point if an item existed. But if it was an item real important to my wife, she could award that item 5 points. Same with me...). Start building a list of manufactures/models and year ranges that fit your budget and that score high on your check list.

>IMO, buy the highest quality coach that fits your budget. Drop years to remain within budget, while still purchasing a higher quality unit. Quality lasts. A higher end good quality coach, will provide a great foundation to make modifications to fit what you like.

>Also IMO, a 4-10 year old higher end good quality coach, will in another 5 years - be a better riding and enjoyable coach that may be newer, and of lesser quality. Quality lasts.

Some coaches to consider, not a complete list, and in no particular order:
-American Coaches
-Beaver (I liked the Patriot Thunder as the sweet spot.)
-Travel Supreme
-Alpine
-Wanderlodge
-Newmar (Dutch Star/Mountain Aire as the sweet spots)
-Monaco (Dynasty/Executive/Signature (Many Executives/Signatures came with either the ISM or in some model years, the big Detroit block engine. And they have a very respected Roadmaster Chassis.)
-Holiday Rambler - (Equivalent models as the Monaco, as Monaco made them in the later years. Look for the HR models that match those three above.)
-Entegra
-Winnebago - Vectra/Ultimate Freedom

Those are some of the higher end better made Class A's...

Take your time, go slow, try to buy your last RV as your next RV!

Happy hunting,
Smitty

Thanks Smitty.
We did what you suggest for our first coach.
Quality used or new Pace Arrow?
What is your opinion?

[G Man]

Originally Posted by RobbieH

Here's a 40PBT like mine
https://www.guaranty.com/vehicle/200...lle-40-pm36441

Here's a 40PDQ
http://www.maplegrovervsales.com/inv...riGazelle.html

As much as I wish mine was that color scheme, it's not. Mine is Urban Oasis. I love that blue scheme though, it is nice to see that in the sea of brown and black RVs out there.




Mine has maple cabinets though, which I love. They are nice and bright, most RVs have dark cabinets. $5,600 upgrade on the sticker.

Very nice!!
It would be perfect if it had a drop down bunk over the cockpit.
Thanks also for those links.
We need to stay at under 39 ft. for parking purposes.
Any other suggestions?

[G Man]

Originally Posted by RobbieH

When your brand new coach spends 172 days in the shop during the first 11 months of ownership because the full wall slide keeps breaking, you will come to hate them too.



2014 Thor Four Winds 33SW Super C, with a purchase price of $115,000 plus TT&L, about $123,000 out the door. I swapped titles (even trade) for the coach I have now and could not be more happy. The dealership had it undervalued. I did some shopping yesterday and found 2005 Safari Gazelles for sale ranging from $99,000 to $125,000, and none of those had AquaHot ($11,200 option) or HWH Active Air ($9,300 option).

Not all coaches come with side radiator. Monaco made a huge number of different models, some with side and some with rear. I can tell you all Safari Gazelle models have side radiators, but that limits it to just one particular coach.

Motor Homes of Texas is in Nacogdoches, the same city where the Foretravel factory is. That's the extent of what I know about them. I got my new 33SW from MHSRV (horrible service) and traded it at a nearby used dealership after three years of ownership.

I am starting to learn the truth about you all have said.
I am stilling having a hard time deciding btw a quality older pre 2008 coach and a new quality 2016, 2017 coach. Both are in our budget, the older used coaches are and maybe a lower cost, but we are not afraid of using our budget in full to get what we want.
We did a great job of buying our Thor Hurricane in 2015, and fully expect we can do the same if buying new now.
What is your opinion of Forest River products, specifically the SPORTSCOACH SRS CLASS A MOTORHOMES. Do they build quality products? Btw them, Thor (which we have an entry level gaser), Holiday Rambler, Fleetwood which has the best build quality reputation?
Thanks.
G Man

[RobbieH]

Originally Posted by G Man

Very nice!!
It would be perfect if it had a drop down bunk over the cockpit.
Thanks also for those links.
We need to stay at under 39 ft. for parking purposes.
Any other suggestions?

Is 1' going to be a deal-breaker?

The couch has a very nice air-based mattress in it. I'll mention it is an option, so you'll have to check for this when buying.

I don't think any of the older ones have the drop-down bunk, but I could be wrong. If this is a requirement, you may be stuck with new.

[G Man]

Originally Posted by RobbieH

Is 1' going to be a deal-breaker?



The couch has a very nice air-based mattress in it. I'll mention it is an option, so you'll have to check for this when buying.



I don't think any of the older ones have the drop-down bunk, but I could be wrong. If this is a requirement, you may be stuck with new.

No one foot is not a deal breaker but we started at 36 and now it's 40 and growing.
Home parking is an issue at over 40.

[RobbieH]

We bought a brand new 34' and decided pretty quickly that buying new wasn't the best, and that we liked 34' but wanted more.

Once you go over 40' though, some national parks don't like you.

[G Man]

Originally Posted by RobbieH

We bought a brand new 34' and decided pretty quickly that buying new wasn't the best, and that we liked 34' but wanted more.

Once you go over 40' though, some national parks don't like you.

I thought from my research and talking with other RV'ers that the limit in National Parks is 34 ft.

G Man

[mikeezezez]

I vote for the Pace Arrow.

[G Man]

Originally Posted by mikeezezez

I vote for the Pace Arrow.

We just ordered a new 2018 Thor Aria 3901.
Can't wait!!!