Finding the right RV is a very personal decision. No matter who you ask you will always get different answers to the same question. And I think there are some brands that, for one reason or another, stand out from the rest. Some brands are built to withstand the abuse of full-timing and others are built for the occasional weekend camper. If it were me I would try to narrow the field down, maybe 3-5 brands, and concentrate my search on just those brands and rigs that fit your budget.

Here's a link to the FAQ that Howard posted about RV selection...http://www.rv-dreams.com/type-of-rv.html. It contains some good info and is worth a read.

FWIW, we also purchased what I refer to as our "trainer" RV. Since we weren't sure if full-timing was for us, we decided to purchase an older used rig to test the waters. I didn't plan to keep it for very long so I made sure that the rig was in good shape so I would be able to re-sell it when the time came for us to upgrade. We ended up using it for 2 years, but we knew we wanted to full-time after our very first trip, but it took the better part of 2 years to shop around and find the replacement RV.