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Old 11-06-2015, 10:01 AM   #15
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I swore our 2nd coach would be gently used for all of the reasons you are discussing. However we fell in love with the floor plan on the Forza 34t because of the drop down bunk and not having a dinette.
We found a used one but the man selling it could not recognize that his asking price was the same as the price for new ones of the same model and year, so we ponied up and bought brand new.
There have been a few trips to the shop but they have fixed everything with no hassles.
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Old 11-06-2015, 10:17 AM   #16
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I think the saying "Buy your last Motor Home First" was developed by a salesman who always tried to sell people the most expensive rig on the lot!
I think the saying was adopted from the housing industry. It does make sense in either market.

Many folks start with a basic model to "test the water" knowing full well they want more. In doing so they make do with floor plans and amenities that make them unhappy. Some will have such a bad experience they decide they do not want to do it anymore. Others trade up.
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Old 11-06-2015, 03:20 PM   #17
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I swore our 2nd coach would be gently used for all of the reasons you are discussing. However we fell in love with the floor plan on the Forza 34t because of the drop down bunk and not having a dinette.
We found a used one but the man selling it could not recognize that his asking price was the same as the price for new ones of the same model and year, so we ponied up and bought brand new.
There have been a few trips to the shop but they have fixed everything with no hassles.
I'm finding the same thing with coaches that are just a few years old. It seems folks are asking the same (or more!) for a coach with 5-15k miles and 1-2 yrs old vs. what I see for "never before registered" coaches (I won't call them "new" because most get driven to sales lots and already have 1-2k miles on them).

Since you have one of the coach models that I'm looking at, can you comment on your satisfaction so far? In particular, how is it for rattles/squeaks, any leaks, how are the slides working, etc.? I've come to realize over the years that reading threads on boards like this can be a bit misleading, because most folks that post in the owner's area are there to look for help with a problem, which can give the impression that there are a LOT of problems, so maybe it's not a great indication of actual reliability.....
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Old 11-06-2015, 06:12 PM   #18
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I think the saying was adopted from the housing industry. It does make sense in either market.

Many folks start with a basic model to "test the water" knowing full well they want more. In doing so they make do with floor plans and amenities that make them unhappy. Some will have such a bad experience they decide they do not want to do it anymore. Others trade up.

Unfortunately the above can happen. We personally purchased a used Class C first, a used good excellent condition TT years later, and recently purchased a used Class DP. I believe that we shopped wisely for all of them, we learned things from the first two that we used to hone our search for the Class A.

We enjoyed the first two immensely, we used them as stepping stones to the Class A, we sold the first two for significantly more than we purchased them for in the first place, even after several years of use each. Is our current Class A our end all? Probably not. Do we use it a LOT and have wonderful memories from it's use? Absolutely.

Hope the OP is able to find a rig that works well for them, and adds to their personal share of good experiences soon!
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Old 11-06-2015, 11:12 PM   #19
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I went the DP route for a better ride, less noise, engine brake (which is invaluable in the mountains in CA) and pulling power. But, the most important thing is really the floor plan that works for your situation. Our bath and a half is awesome for us. Their are quite a few state and federal parks that a 35-40 foot MH will fit it. But some parks you can't fit in. CA is slowly updating some of their SP to accommodate larger rigs and adding power and water. Places like Morrow bay SP has some 75 foot long sites now with power and water. Lots of BLM land out west for your boon docking pleasure.


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Old 11-07-2015, 07:11 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chiefly1 View Post
I went the DP route for a better ride, less noise, engine brake (which is invaluable in the mountains in CA) and pulling power. But, the most important thing is really the floor plan that works for your situation. Our bath and a half is awesome for us. Their are quite a few state and federal parks that a 35-40 foot MH will fit it. But some parks you can't fit in. CA is slowly updating some of their SP to accommodate larger rigs and adding power and water. Places like Morrow bay SP has some 75 foot long sites now with power and water. Lots of BLM land out west for your boon docking pleasure.


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Is there a web site that list all the BLM areas in the country?
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Old 11-07-2015, 10:30 AM   #21
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"I think the saying "Buy your last Motor Home First" was developed by a salesman who always tried to sell people the most expensive rig on the lot!"

Not always true. We researched used units settled on the Manf, layout, and accepted a few compromises.

Have owned only the one Motorhome and used it for almost 14 years. Not likely to replace it.

But.......we did not have to deal with teenagers that needed to sleep in privacy between 1AM and 12PM traveling with us.
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Old 11-09-2015, 02:53 PM   #22
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We love our coach. There were some pretty loud squeaks at first but the dealer lubed the slides and they are gone. I do hear rattling from the stove area but it's not enough for us to consider it a problem. It's the only class A DP I have been in. However it's a HUGE improvement over our class A gas, where we had to yell to talk to each other, and if we wanted to listen to the radio we had to turn the volume up to the point of distortion.

We had a few windshield leaks and bay leaks, but nothing that caused any damage and our dealer took care of both.

Our slides are fine. We've been out in the coach around 10 times and took a 2 week trip with different spots every 2-3 days, so they get plenty of exercise.

If you want to see positive comments mixed in with problems and owners sharing info on solutions, check out the FB page for Winnebago Forza/Itasca Solei owners. You have to ask to be added, but it's monitored often.
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Old 11-09-2015, 05:53 PM   #23
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My family and are in a similar boat. My kids are 11 and 6 and we so glad we bought a RV 2 years ago and did not wait. These are memories that will stick with you and your kids forever. Kids grow up too fast and camping forces you to spend time together.

Our budget was much lower and we purchased a gas class A coach (workhorse) on Craigslist. We were looking for a class C but could not pass up the deal we got and it's paid for.

My advice:

Unless your buying a million dollar rig, plan on stuff breaking new or used.

Getting an independent inspection is a good idea. (I did not)

I'd squirrel away 5 - 7k of your budget counting on repairs. (Not includeing tires). If you don't have any major repairs in a year spend some of that cash for a long trip across the country.
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Old 11-09-2015, 11:08 PM   #24
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We love our coach. There were some pretty loud squeaks at first but the dealer lubed the slides and they are gone. I do hear rattling from the stove area but it's not enough for us to consider it a problem. It's the only class A DP I have been in. However it's a HUGE improvement over our class A gas, where we had to yell to talk to each other, and if we wanted to listen to the radio we had to turn the volume up to the point of distortion.

We had a few windshield leaks and bay leaks, but nothing that caused any damage and our dealer took care of both.
Thank you for the feedback on your Forza. Very helpful.

I watched the YouTube videos of the Winnebago factory tour and saw how they made their walls, insulating them with styrofoam, and thought they might squeak like crazy with all that styrofoam rubbing against the metal framing.

I hear you (pun intended) regarding the noise of the gasser. No offense to anyone who owns one, but I've rented 2 and I'd much prefer the quieter cockpit of the rear diesel. They've done studies on airplanes re. how the constant engine sound can fatigue people, and I would bet if they did a similar study in RV's they would find the same thing. In the gassers I've rented, every day I would be worn out after only 300-400 miles, and I was only driving <30' class C's! I can't imagine dealing with a larger rig that's even more rolly/bouncy/squeaky and just plain loud up front. I'd be whipped before I got out of town!

Unfortunately the Forza and Solei are relatively new models, so buying used is proving difficult. First, there are very few of these on the used market. I guess that's a good sign and says folks like them. Second, the ones I do find are about the same price as what I can get a brand new one for given the discounting I'm seeing at many dealers ($160k for a new '15 seems to be the going rate). I'd much rather have the warranty of the new coach vs. the meager savings on the used ones, so I'm leaning towards new if I decide on one of these two models.

So, the search continues. I appreciate everyone's feedback as it has made me focus on floorplan first, everything else second.
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Old 11-10-2015, 12:48 AM   #25
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Buy quality and a company that will really stand in front of - not behind - their products. Really spend your time researching Tiffin (and purchase used!). If you can, go to the factory!! See what they do. Meet the Man and family. Legendary support even beyond the warranty when they didn't do 'it' right! Next, MH are fun AND costly indulgence if you're not using it for enough outings. They are like boats - a hole that you poor money into. Look and you'll find someone trying to get out of the debt of ownership. From reading your message, I hear the desire. Just make sure you aren't that guy poring water in a hole. I use mine six FULL months each year. You aren't there yet as a young family. A MH not used is lost money!! My two cents.


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Old 11-10-2015, 01:53 AM   #26
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Btw. If you have not done so, stop by the Owners Forum section and read some of the goodwill that Bob Tiffin brings to the table. I truly hope he and his family can stay independent and NOT become mindless soulless corporate drones. They've become as iconic as Airstream's designs via their unique service ethic.


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Old 11-10-2015, 10:38 AM   #27
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Btw. If you have not done so, stop by the Owners Forum section and read some of the goodwill that Bob Tiffin brings to the table. I truly hope he and his family can stay independent and NOT become mindless soulless corporate drones. They've become as iconic as Airstream's designs via their unique service ethic.


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Thank you for your thoughts.

Yes I really like Tiffin for the reasons you mention. My challenge with them is floor plan. I want to stay under 40 ft so we can get into the smaller spots that we've camped at. At that size the Allegro RED is the only one that has bunks but I prefer the interior and layout of the Phaeton 36GH.

I'm not going to make a decision until Jan when the big RV show is in town. Bob Tiffin will be there and is giving a talk and I'd like a chance to chat with him and see if they would do a custom drop down loft over the cab area on the 36GH (that is eventually removable). That would be my ideal coach and one that I think could work well for the kid years and beyond. [emoji3]
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