Why did you buy your first RV and what mistakes were made in buying it?

[LandKO]

Everyone has a different reason for buying their first RV be it a desire to travel, working on the road or for whatever reason. I'm sure many, like us, made rookie mistakes in making this first purchase.
It would be interesting to hear the stories.

Our story:
We had talked for years prior to retirement, of selling the house and buying a motor home for full timing. We had both tent camped as kids, and when we got married and had kids we taught them to tent camp. We eventually bought a 1963 Apache pop up camper with an add-a-room in the middle 80's. when the kids grew up and went to college, we got away from camping.
Fast forward to 2012, and retirement. We found we had grown roots. Had a house that was paid for and grandkids that lived nearby. I also loved having my workshop and tools, which none of would fit in a MH. Also DW had medical issues that needed taking care of.
For years we had been taking two yearly one or two week trips from central Arkansas to Clearwater Florida to visit with my elderly mother. She owned her house, so we always stayed with her. In 2015, because of age and inability to care for herself, she had to sell her house and move in with my sister.
So, we had to find other arrangements for us to stay when we went to Florida.
The RV idea came back to us. We decided our best course of action was to begin looking for a Travel Trailer. We were driving a 2014 GMC Acadia Denali so we wanted to find something it could tow. The Acadia was rated for towing 5200 lbs.
We went to several local RV dealers but found what was light enough for us to tow, didn't meet our needs. Finally we went to one that showed us a 2016 KZ Sportsmen Showstopper Trailer. 26 ft long, dry weight 4480 , GVWR 6000, with slide out, outside kitchen, bunkbeds (remember grandkids) and power awning with LED lighting. And the price was reasonable.
My concern was the GVWR exceeded the max capability of my vehicle. As the salesman was taking us around to look at other possibilities, he spotted a used motor home that he said we might like to see. It was a 1992 Fleetwood Coronado. It appeared in good shape, only had 84000 miles on it and was supposedly a one owner vehicle. We drove it and it ran and handled great, and the price was "only" $12,000.
First mistake, we decided to buy it. The sales man "assured" me the Coronado was capable of towing my Acadia behind it. WRONG! After we got home, I researched the Coronado on-line (found an owners manual) that said the Coronado was only capable of towing 3000 lbs (less than half the weight of the Acadia). I appeared at the dealer bright and early the next morning with a printed copy of the Coronado manual and said I wanted out of the contract.
Of course he said he would have to talk to his management about it. He came back after 15 minutes and asked what I wanted.
I told him I wanted the KZ Showstopper, named what I thought was a fair price and told him that was the bottom line, which included any add on or setup costs. He went back to management and came back to say we had a deal. Second Mistake, almost (will explain later).
Two days later, took delivery of the new TT, minus WD hitch. Third mistake.
The Acadia pulled and stopped (I had added a brake unit) ok, but just barely.
I went back and had a WD hitch added. It improved handling some, but I was still not comfortable, but we did love the trailer (had to do some mods, like a bed extension because I'm 6'3").
Making a long story shorter, we ended up trading tow vehicles,twice, and now drive a 2016 Yukon SLT XL with the max tow package.
The Yukon tows the Trailer just fine and after numerous mods (I always have to be improving something) we are happy with the Trailer and have made several trips to Florida with it.
If I had it to do over again, I would use several pieces of advice I've seen on this forum.
1. Leave the checkbook at home.
2. Have a max budget in mind before you leave home
3. Don't believe what salesmen tell you, verify before making decisions.
4. Buy what your vehicle can tow, or buy knowing you will have to get a new tow vehicle.
5. Get emotions out of the decisions to buy.

What's your story?

[iamblum]

Finally talked the wife into letting me buy an rv. We had borrowed a tent trailer from her sister once and enjoyed it for the most part (axle broke 100 feet from the campsite for my company party&#128584.
So I started looking with a 5 k budget in mind. We had 2 kids and I have a daughter that would come stay summers with us so I needed a good size pop up.

After about 2 weeks of looking online I hadn't found one that I liked or suited our needs. So on the local app I was using (KSL classifieds, like Craigslist but better) I switched categories from pop ups to motorhome.

For 5k I could get a decent little motorhome, but for 10k I could get a better 1🤣.

Looked for about a month online, and then went to a couple small used rv dealerships. Still couldn't find what I was looking for.

So I figured for 15k I could get a waaaaay nicer motorhome, and after about another month of looking I found my current motorhome. Told the wife I found 1 but we needed to jump on it because it wouldn't last long at 19k😨.

We went and looked at it, and talked the guy down to $14,750. Wife said pull the trigger before we ended up with a second mortgage😂.

Have had our 99 daybreak 3270 with the super slide for about 4 years now and have lived almost every minute of it

[jacwjames]

Not really a mistake

We started looking for an RV. My wife wanted small, afraid of driving a larger one, so we were looking for ~24' Class C.

In 1997 I happen to see an add in the paper for an auction, RV dealership liquidating stock. I meant to go to the preview on Friday but got caught up at work. Wife was out of town.

I went early Saturday AM to see what they had. 1 Class A and 2 Class C's, and other 5th wheelers and TT's. Not many people around so I decided to stay and see what would happen.

The smaller Class C up first. Auctioneer couldn't get the price and it went unsold. The 2nd Class C came up and it got to $35K and the actioneer wasn't going to let it go and asked for another bid. I looked around and no one was making a move so I threw up my hand. Next thing I knew I had a brand new Class C Maverick 31'.

I called my wife that night and she was ecstatic, couldn't believe I bought a motorhome.

She drove the hell out of it for the next 11 years until I bought the next one.

[Fiesta48]

Bored around house, retired, and wanted to take one of my motorcycles further away from home. Wife finds 16' class B conversion van. After 6 outings, numerous head splittings and claustrophobia I'm out of here.
Go to Camping World find a 32' class A used rental for a really good price. Fix it up nice. But I've got no pride in it. Super low end cheap model Fiesta.
Go to local dealer, nice 1-2 year old 36' Bounder. Bought it. Gutless, still no class and amemities. On a return trip from CA go to PHX RV show.
Really nice NEW 41' Discovery, power, goobs of neat do dad's. Traded and lost mucho on Bounder.
Wasted 75 grand now on trade ins.
Went to another show, American Dream there. Did the math only another 300 grand.... Still have Discovery well for awhile...

[Dropthejacks]

The wife and I decided to try the RV thing in early 2015. All the kids are out of the house short of two slobbering Bulldogs and we both work 12 hour shifts which gives us extra days off to travel. We found a clean, used 2010 Starcraft that spring and away we went. By summer 2016, we found ourselves camping monthly and even pulling that thing all the way to St Petersburg, Fl from NC for a week and a half and loving every minute we got to camp. So as usually happens, we decided we were ready to step up to a newer, bigger unit. I was towing with a 2014 RAM CC rated at 8000lbs. So we decided on a new Open Range rear living that supposedly weighed in dry at around 6300lbs. I figured I'd never be hauling 1700 extra pounds, so we should be good, right?? Wrong. On the way home with the new RV in tow we were going through some of the foothills of the mountains (where we often camp). I was passing semi's going down hill only to have them roaring back by going up the next hill. To try and maintain an acceptable speed of around 60 in the 65 and 70 mph zones we were in, that 5.7 Hemi was roaring. I was watching the gas gauge of my truck going one way as the RPMs strained going the other. I knew also at this rate the longevity of my fairly new truck was going to be short-lived. Fast forward about 3 weeks and there was now a 2016 RAM with a Cummins diesel in the driveway and I was itching to hook them together. We made our first outing in the Open Range and, while the new truck preformed flawlessly, the RV started showing premonitions of things to come. Water leaks, loose panels, shoddy workmanship. You know, exactly what you expect to find in a brand new RV. Returned it to the local Camping World for repairs, with our next camping trip already reserved in 3 weeks. They kept it 2 1/2 weeks, fixed almost nothing. Brought it back home, loaded it up and headed to the beach. Made it about 45 minutes from home and the lower, front nose cap of the RV fell off going down the road. Drug what was left to the closest Camping World I could find and, after explaining the situation and offering to back the RV into the showroom so they could get a closer inspection, they bought the RV back from me and I left out with the Keystone Outback we now have. So far, with about 12 trips and roughly 6K miles (including a run to Key West) both the RAM and the Outback are preforming well, and we are enjoying every mile of it.

[jimcumminsw]

We our on our 5th RV. The first two were pop up trailers than we waited for 15 years between the pop ups and our first 5ER. Ten years later we our on third fiver now and never felt like we made any mistakes with our purchases.

My kids complained we waited until they were married and out of the house before up grading to the 5er's and they we're forced to live in the pop ups when we camped.

Each 5ER has severed its purpose and we learned what our wants and needs are and have graduated to what we have now. Enjoying the journey we our on and the different places we have visited.

[Murf2u]

I travel many times a year, at least monthly, to small & mid-sized airports where there's usually no place to stay nearby. So I thought a motorhome would solve the problem nicely. The DW, who as a younger adult camped a lot, promptly announced 'that's not camping'.

I found an older slightly 'worn' but mechanically perfect 24' C that a family friend was selling. I sent him the money, flew down to Tampa, tossed temp. tags on it, hit Wally World for the basics I'd need to make it home.

A few months later I had to fly my own plane somewhere and the DW volunteered to drive the MH and meet me there. She'd driven rental trucks a bunch of times so she was very comfortable driving it. She agreed it was nicer to drive, and having a bathroom and kitchen was dead handy.

She soon decreed hat if 'we' were going to use it very much it needed to get bigger. I explained the short wheelbase was perfect for getting around and towing disassembled aircraft, I didn't want bigger.

Shortly afterwards she found our new motorhome. A 32' Itasca Sunrise A.

Now we're a 2 MH family and she often takes the 32'er out by herself to go visiting when I'm away, or like last month, drove it to Osh Kosh while I flew out and met her.

[WorldCat25]

Visited Alaska in 2000 and met a couple, originally from my hometown, but retired there. Ended up becoming great friends to this day. My son and I spent arrival and departure days with them. They had a truck camper they used a lot in Alaska and also trips "outside". He invited me back the following year to bird hunt. We used his truck camper on this trip and I loved it. Bought my own truck camper and Chevy Duramax to put it on with the goal to take it to Alaska some year. We used camper for a lot of trips (Disney World, several trips out west, bird hunting trips to South Dakota). It was OK for us as a couple or 2 guys but not great for our family (we'd take a tent for the kids). Made my 4 month long trip to Alaska in 2005. Best experience of my life. Just my 2 year old lab and me except for the week my wife flew up. Finally had to give camper away in 2010 due to water damage. I don't regret it at all.
Our next Super C is currently under construction. We hope to make some long trips to see all the wonders of the United States. It's big enough that our whole family can fly out to spend a week with us.
Hopefully I won't have any regrets about this one.

[monkey]

Several years ago we started talking of a MH, so we (us and two Great Danes) could travel from Arkansas to Arizona to visit her family. We found a 95 class A , in pretty good shape, a Europa, 27' . I did many mechanical up grades, u joints, fuel pump, belts hoses, etc and it performed great.. Well maybe "performed" is not the word, as it had a Chevy 350 ,, but it got good gas mileage (11-12 mpg) and Never let us down. I just let it slow down on hills, never really pushed it. BUT,, as we learned, (as others) it was very limited on space. (no slides)
Forward to today, my 04 Grand Cherokee was problem prone, house is paid for, and I wanted my "last" vehicle. Sold the mh, started looking for a 5th wheel. several months and we found what we thought would work for us. I bought the truck I wanted, looked over several hundred miles every direction, and I love it. As in my sig its a 2015 Silverado 2500HD, (new) , Duramax/Alison . Our 16 Cougar 5vr has 3 slides, opposing in the rear living room gives us and (now one Dane, recently lost our boy) lots of room. I miss the built in genny, we don't boondock but that thing saved us a few times. I do have 2 gennies to pick from and will find a way to take one, for emergencies. I can see someday "maybe" going back to a mh, but it will be able to tow her little Honda car. For now we are Happy Campers... Oh, the rv had to fit in our new garage, 12' high doors. The cougar clears it by about 4"... Nice to have it inside out of the weather... We still get 11-13 mpg, and its a pleasure to drive.
Monkey

[Jim28730]

The only mistake I made was not buying my last motor home first!

[Mr_D]

Why? Because I wanted to!
When? 1967
Used 16' TT, pulled by a 1967 Camaro, 4 sp, 396 ci 425 hp engine.

[nothermark]

Our last camping vacation turned into a real mess. Snow in July in the Adirondacks. Bathrooms messed up. Several other issues that got us thinking there had to be a better way. I was an old trailer camper so we looked at trailers but did not want a truck. That got us looking at motor homes. Ended up with a newer high milage unit at a low cost as a break in unit. Did some work on it, used it for 6 or 7 years and traded it on our current C. Learned a lot about systems and what we liked and did not like. Second unit bigger and significantly different from the first so we learned some more. We talk about swapping again now that we are retired. We have not seen anything enough better to make it worth doing.

[monkey]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Why? Because I wanted to!
When? 1967
Used 16' TT, pulled by a 1967 Camaro, 4 sp, 396 ci 425 hp engine.

Oh Man,,,,, you put a TT behind a 396 Camaro ???? SHAME SHAME !!!!!

[4x4van]

For us, no mistakes at all. I grew up camping in a TC, wife tented. When we got married, I had a 1984 Toyota van that I converted for camping. Worked great, but when our first child came along, knew we needed bigger. At that time, everyone in our "group" were making the move from TCs to class C's, and since I didn't own a truck, a C was the logical choice. Looked for awhile, found an older unit ('79 Roll-a-Long 23') that had a great layout, hitch (for the ATCs), awning, and generator. Drove it for 12 years without a single major problem.

After 3 kids, needed more room. Really liked the 26' open "party plan" layout that Tioga and Jamboree made; found a clean '88 Jamboree, bought it and drove it for 15 years mostly trouble free.

Last year, we found a nice '04 Itasca class A with slides, and are loving life!