Community Forums

Soon2Bretrd · 09-02-2019, 08:54 PM

New member here, havent even bought a rig yet. our plans are to take the entire summer of '20 and tour as many of the national parks as possible in about 2 months. I'm leaning towards a used diesel pusher, under $70k. Seems that the exhaust brakes, rear engine diesel benefits, and a completely self contained unit(for a few days at a time) are the features tht will serve our family of four well. Bunkhouse layouts seem out of my price range, so im accepting two foldout couches as the best way to sleep two eight yr old kids. Research so far has pushed me towards Tiffin and Winnebago or Itasca. So many questions going forward as we prepare for my retirement trip. Any advice from the experience on this forum will be appreciated!

saddlesore · 09-02-2019, 08:57 PM

1st.. View the "tag" lines at the bottom of the responding posters..
To give you an Idea of where they are coming from and the equipment they have.

Keep in mind..
You Do Not Know......What You Do Not Know..

Your 1st coach is a learning tool..
When You tour/view "In Person" any perspective coach..
View it First with all slides retracted,
If the coach is fully usable without the slides extended, then give it a second look.
(Think wally-docking,rest areas,truckstops...any where that you cannot/do not have room for the slides to be extended)

BUY USED! & buy one with everything you "think" you want and will need..
IF the perspective coach seems a bit small but still "DO-Able" .......REMEMBER!!!
What seemed small... becomes unbearably TINY after being Coop'd up" for a week or more due to weather...
(AKA.....Cabin Fever)
And.... You WILL make mistakes and have booboo's We all have.....(sometimes more than twice..)
Within a year or two you will discover..about the RV

What you love about the RV...
What you can kinda-sorta tolerate with the RV..
And what you absolutely hate about that !@#$%^%$#@! RV.
Then you can go get what you should have gotten in the first place..
Happy Hunting

Bahamaniac · 09-02-2019, 08:58 PM

Welcome! Where are you located? That will help us to suggest some destinations.

grindstone01 · 09-02-2019, 09:00 PM

You might consider renting a MH for a short vacation to give you a better idea of what you would like in a long term MH. A long trip is stressfull enough with out being in a new unfamiliar rig. There are a couple of RV comedy movies ( RV, Robin Williams and Vacation, Chevy Chase) that are actually close to reality for first timers taking a long trip.

Arch Hoagland · 09-02-2019, 09:02 PM

I'd suggest renting an RV for a week or so if you have never used one.

You'll gain some valuable insights that reading won't divulge.

twogypsies · 09-02-2019, 10:51 PM

To get an idea of floorplans and what you can buy for under $70,000, look at this site. I would also recommend that you add Newmar to your "looking list" for a used motorhome. We had excellent luck with ours. Be sure to have someone experienced look over a used RV thoroughly. Also, don't just buy and take off on such a long trip. Do some short trips to make sure you have everything worked out. You also stated "for a summer family trip". Do you only plan to use it for one summer? If so, I'd suggest tenting in the national parks. Or.... some national parks have cabins. That might be cheaper in the long run. Good luck!

These are diesel:

https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/used-r...rtBy=price+asc

These are gas models:

https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/used-r...rtBy=price+asc

D Gardiner · 09-02-2019, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soon2Bretrd

Bunkhouse layouts seem out of my price range, so im accepting two foldout couches as the best way to sleep two eight yr old kids.

Considering you have two eight year old kids. (Been there, have a teenagers now.) I will tell you they can sleep comfortably anywhere! Having two couchs is not a bad thing. Think level of separation. You and your wife on the other hand will want comfortable sleeping.

Be prepared to either get a brand new mattress or memory foam pad for you and your wife. My son can sleep anywhere. He has been that way since 3 years old, now 13. My wife and I are a different story, at age 52/53 respectively. My suggestion is buy a coach that will sleep you and your wife first.

Believe me when I say the kids will have fun, and make life long fond memories regardless of how or where they sleep. I have nothing but great memories of traveling and sleeping in a slide-in pickup truck camper, with my family.

MSHappyCampers · 09-03-2019, 11:06 AM

Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

You might want to look at the mid-2000's Monacos!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

Divingbiker · 09-03-2019, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saddlesore

1st.. View the "tag" lines at the bottom of the responding posters..
To give you an Idea of where they are coming from and the equipment they have.

Keep in mind..
You Do Not Know......What You Do Not Know..

Your 1st coach is a learning tool..
When You tour/view "In Person" any perspective coach..
View it First with all slides retracted,
If the coach is fully usable without the slides extended, then give it a second look.
(Think wally-docking,rest areas,truckstops...any where that you cannot/do not have room for the slides to be extended)

BUY USED! & buy one with everything you "think" you want and will need..
IF the perspective coach seems a bit small but still "DO-Able" .......REMEMBER!!!
What seemed small... becomes unbearably TINY after being Coop'd up" for a week or more due to weather...
(AKA.....Cabin Fever)
And.... You WILL make mistakes and have booboo's We all have.....(sometimes more than twice..)
Within a year or two you will discover..about the RV

What you love about the RV...
What you can kinda-sorta tolerate with the RV..
And what you absolutely hate about that !@#$%^%$#@! RV.
Then you can go get what you should have gotten in the first place..
Happy Hunting

Soon to be retired,
This a excellent response to your question. Read and reread it!

When I bought my first AND SECOND, (and now third) RV, it was a evolution in thought because I learned so much from mistakes and successes. It is so true that there's so much that you don't even know to consider when you start the process of making your first purchase.

Always consider the advise from others as their OPINION. Meaning there's no absolute right or wrong. If there were, we would only have a few choices in RV designs as opposed to the huge variety of choices currently on the market.

Here's the good news, Looking is LOTS of fun and should be an enjoyable experience for you and your wife. Have fun and let us know what you come up with.

dbfrv3 · 09-03-2019, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soon2Bretrd

our plans are to take the entire summer of '20 and tour as many of the national parks as possible in about 2 months.

Summer in the National Park system? If you're thinking about the big name places, that means you better be making reservations now.

Don't let your summer trip be your first trip in a new (to you) rig. A shakedown cruise, even a long weekend at a local state park, is a must.

Jay D. · 09-03-2019, 09:27 PM

are you going to tow a car? if not its going to greatly reduce the fun you can have. just a thought you could probably buy a nice used crew cab and travel trailer for the 70 k your going to spend. then you would have a vehicle that could be used during and after your trip.
Jay D.

txcpl · 09-04-2019, 04:48 AM

For our first RV, we purchased a used tent trailer, or pop up, and ended up driving the wheels off of it. Then purchased a second one. These little trailers are great learning trailers. While you are at campgrounds, visit with folks and as what they like and dislike about their respective RV's. You may find that the expense and capital outlay for a MH is not what you want to deal with. Selling a good well maintained tent trailer is relatively easy when compared to other RV's. In our neck of the woods, they don't stay on the market very long at all. Our kids(now grown and with kids of their own) still talk about some of our travels in our tent trailer.

Big Dude · 09-04-2019, 08:20 AM

It would be easier to make recommendations if we knew your starting point but where ever you are, after getting your rig I would do this: make a three day trip a short drive from your home to get used to driving, get some knowledge of the coach and see what issues it might have (I went about 50 miles). Then make a further (couple a hundred miles), week long trip to do even more of the above and get familiar with all of the on board systems, how and where to fuel up, things you need to have with you, etc. Then you should be ready for your extended trip.

Soon2Bretrd · 09-04-2019, 05:46 PM

Thanks for the advice thus far. We plan to buy this winter and break in our family and the new-to-us RV on short trips around the southeast this coming spring. After school gets out, we will hrad west and plan on hitting up key parks in AZ, California, Utah, CO, and Yellowstone. The size of the rig might prohibit some of the parks, but we will just go with a public/private park outside of the NPs and make use of the tow vehicle to travel inside. Trying out the floorplans with the slides retracted is something i havent thought about. Thanks.

Obtw, im booking thr parks as soon as each website allows me to do it. Im getting a little worried about not being able to keep to the plan. What sort of fudge factor should i plan on? Major repair delays scare me.