New or Used

[becks]

Go used and if budget allows go diesel.

[rvtrekers]

Being new to RV'ing we went new purchasing a small class A that had minimal slide out and could tow our Honda Element. DW is retired and I am still planning to work for 3 more years. So short trips on weekends with longer two week trips a couple of times a year. We view this as our starter coach where we can cut our teeth and learn. The length is 27'10" and it fits on our driveway so we avoid storage costs. When it comes time to decide if we want to go full time then we will assess if another purchase will be in order or we will be able to make do with our Trek given our experiences with it up to that point.

[twogypsies]

Originally Posted by Roger G

Floor plan is the single most important criteria when choosing with budget being second.

I highly disagree about putting floorplan first.

The first thing you need to do is to zero in on a quality manufacturer. Then choose a floorplan from what it has to offer. An excellent floorplan will do nothing for you if the RV gives you problems.

For a first-time buyer I'd recommend going used. There's a big depreciation loss by going new, especially noticed if you turn around and sell it soon.

I can't help you with gas suggestions but again, gas is very doable especially for short, infrequent trips. Gas will have plenty of power to get you up hills. It won't be fast but you'll get there!

We had a diesel and absolutely loved everything about it. We chose a Newmar Dutch Star. Before buying we'd be in campgrounds and would walk around talking to owners about their motorhomes - what they liked or disliked about them. We didn't find a one Newmar owner who was dissatisfied. That sold us. Newmar also builds gas motorhomes. They don't mass-produce like some other manufacturers. They take care in what they build. You can notice the difference if you tour some plants.

How will you use the motorhome? In RV parks or public campgrounds? We full-timed and 90% of our stays were in public campgrounds. They are noted to have wonderful scenery - think trees. We purposely ordered ours with only two slides and both had to be on the driver's side. We wanted a big patio area and also didn't want to have to maneuver the motorhome to take into account positioning the slides between trees on both sides. Two slides were plenty. Slides only give you floor space and many times they take away from storage space.

If going for a used diesel I'd suggest looking at Newmar, Country Coach, Beaver, Alpine, Travel Supreme for starters.

Freedom RV in Tucson used to handle Newmars. Check them out. Good luck!

[BCooke]

Originally Posted by mjaffe

Newbie to the forum and looking to start learning before we make an initial purchase. We have decided on a MH vs 5th wheel. We would like something entry level and smaller than 40 feet, we wont be making very long drives to start out, under 300 miles hours each direction, but anticipate a couple of longer drives in the future. Questions that we haven't answered yet...new vs used, diesel vs gas, and which manufacturers to start with. We are located in the Tucson AZ area and any suggestions and feedback will be appreciated.

Regards, Mike

Wow, as others state, what a question....

First, Tuscon, was just out to see the parents in Benson in February, nice place.

Ok, my $.02,
Looks like part time to start.
New/Used. Depends. Most have or will upgraded (some get it right the 1st one), or changed to find out what they want. New now means a financial hit if you do not get what you want the first time. 1 year old used, from someone else that did it or decided not to do it, sweet spot. Did you pick floor plan? With Quartzsite not overly far away from you, if your timing works, visit there. (then you will be really clear or overwhelmed , we went to Hershey) There you are not listening to 1 dealer.

Gas/Diesel. Depends. Do you plan on fulltiming? Do you have extra money burning a hole in your pocket? In a hurry to get to campground? Anticipate many hills/mountains on your normal drives? Plan on many thousands of miles of travel (total)? If you answer yes to to 2 or more you might want to look at diesel.

Manufacturer. Sorry 5er here. There are better manufacturers out there, father has a Allegro by Tiffen (had good luck). They are all made up of sub components everyone buys, check fit and finish (look behind the curtain where you can), that is where my info on class A/C runs out.

Keep in mind towing a vehicle, if you plan to.

Good luck!

[MtnTrek]

Welcome,


You will probably not be able to research enough prior to your first purchase, but attempt to read, read, read.


Most wouldn't advise your going new on your first purchase. RV's despite their attributes are not great investment opportunities.
Almost everything about this hobby, sport, passion, lifestyle, adventure, (________), is a "compromise". So create & define some concrete priorities.


Example: One hard requirement I notice in your OP due to your location. Unless you only winter camp you might want to consider 2 A/C units? But then again, would you ever boondock in the desert in 108 deg.? Perhaps a 7500W diesel generator should be in your future? etc. etc.


Enjoy the adventure!

[B Dubya]

Originally Posted by BCooke

Wow, as others state, what a question....

First, Tuscon, was just out to see the parents in Benson in February, nice place.

Ok, my $.02,
Looks like part time to start.
New/Used. Depends. Most have or will upgraded (some get it right the 1st one), or changed to find out what they want. New now means a financial hit if you do not get what you want the first time. 1 year old used, from someone else that did it or decided not to do it, sweet spot. Did you pick floor plan? With Quartzsite not overly far away from you, if your timing works, visit there. (then you will be really clear or overwhelmed , we went to Hershey) There you are not listening to 1 dealer.

Gas/Diesel. Depends. Do you plan on fulltiming? Do you have extra money burning a hole in your pocket? In a hurry to get to campground? Anticipate many hills/mountains on your normal drives? Plan on many thousands of miles of travel (total)? If you answer yes to to 2 or more you might want to look at diesel.

Manufacturer. Sorry 5er here. There are better manufacturers out there, father has a Allegro by Tiffen (had good luck). They are all made up of sub components everyone buys, check fit and finish (look behind the curtain where you can), that is where my info on class A/C runs out.

Keep in mind towing a vehicle, if you plan to.

Good luck!

That's an excellent response. Look look look. It's free!

[montyhp]

Originally Posted by twogypsies

I highly disagree about putting floorplan first.

The first thing you need to do is to zero in on a quality manufacturer. Then choose a floorplan from what it has to offer. An excellent floorplan will do nothing for you if the RV gives you problems...[snip]

Except most motorhomes are built on one of a few chassis (freightliner, spartan, roadmaster, workhorse...), and most have similar motors (cummins, cat, ford v10...) so from that standpoint, the differences are mostly floorplan and fit and finish. I understand Newmar is a great coach, but when it comes time to buy you need to take into account a number of variables. A 10 year old Newmar that has not been maintained will not be a good coach.

We looked at several Dutch Stars and they were very nice. However, a 10 year old Fleetwood Discovery fell into our lap. Maintenance records, cosmetic condition, floor plan, and price were all right for us. Other than continual maintenance (which is required of all coaches) we have had no problems in the first year. I expect to have relatively trouble free service for another 15.

[plasma800]

Originally Posted by rvtrekers

Being new to RV'ing we went new purchasing a small class A that had minimal slide out and could tow our Honda Element. DW is retired and I am still planning to work for 3 more years. So short trips on weekends with longer two week trips a couple of times a year. We view this as our starter coach where we can cut our teeth and learn. The length is 27'10" and it fits on our driveway so we avoid storage costs. When it comes time to decide if we want to go full time then we will assess if another purchase will be in order or we will be able to make do with our Trek given our experiences with it up to that point.

Oh my gosh, the trek is SO CUTE!! That's a new one for me, had no idea they were even out there.

[TMan59]

Just my opinion, take it for what its worth.
Remember its free....

If its your first class a, you really have NO IDEA what floor plan you really like until you've lived in one for a few weeks.

I am sure there are some things that maybe important but really, the first one is a learning curve for most of us.
Learn all you can about brands and issues with certain years.
Narrow it down to 1 or 2 brands and models.
Then what years you are considering price wise.
Find the best deal you can on the cleanest coach you find.
Travel.
Then and only then you will know what you want.

What we didn't know and were lucky we got with our first class a:
We want the kitchen on the drivers side. (Big deal for us)
This puts our table on our camp side, not the neighbors camp.
We like windows. We like to be able to see outside. (So many new coaches are caves when inside. One small window on a whole wall.)
We like a coach that is usable with the slides in. Ours only has 2 slides so that works great.
Want auto leveling. (Didn't get that YET!)
Want king bed. (Queen is decent).

We were lucky that somehow we knew we wanted a dp so we skipped one step there.

Having the 2001 Monaco Windsor for 3 years now, knowing what we really like and what is a "kinda like", we now know our next coach will be a Newmar Dutchstar 4002.

Hope that helps.

[SunnyAZgirl]

Great suggestions! We are also in the preliminary stages in looking. Class A for about 125,000 or less for FT Living. Thinking of about 2 years from now as I plan to semi-retire in Dec 2018. DH is already semi retired. I work in the medical field and hope to do travel assignments 6 months of the year, Christian volunteer work 3 months of the year and just travel the country the other 3 months.

Hoping for a 36 - 40 footer. DH can do minor repairs, but not sure on new, used, DP or gasser. Just starting to visit dealers and shows. Planning to go to the Quartzsite show this winter! In the meantime, we plan to lurk around here as much as possible. 😊

[mjaffe]

appreciate your thoughts

[mjaffe]

ty ty ty

[mjaffe]

thank you very helpful

[pismocouple]

We have bought 2 RVs - both new...starter RV was a 2000 Coleman Tacoma pop up...pulled it all over the California central coast for a decade...Bought from a large national dealer. Very little trouble...biggest thing was a water leak that warped the galley - happily repaired by the dealer under warranty without issue. Still have it, but now it occupies a backyard camping spot in our yard on a permanent basis - super fun to camp out in between our current trips. Photo below...current rig is a brand new Trilogy 3850D fiver - it sits in a storage facility on the central coast, and they tow it for us to any number of pismo area parks...bought it new from CW for 80K out the door (list was over 100K)...in our 4th year in it...first weekend out the themostat quit...storage facility fixed it under warranty, no issues...since then, no issues or worries at all - photo below.

I like new...sure, I like a "deal,". But there is something reassuring about "new with warranty..."