Def, we will be at the show also....we currently have a fiberglass roof, I have had rubber also. Fiberglass I believe is the easiest to maintain and the most durable.......G

Hi Scott,

Evin and I owned a 2010 38RESB4 DRV Mobile Suite and we will soon be taking delivery on a 2012 38RESB3 Elite Suite. We considered Carriage both times and have been to both factories. I spent all day today making last minute change orders on our new unit and have limited internet connection in my current location. For this reason it would be better if you sent me a personal email on the RV-Dreams site and give me your phone number and I will call you. I typed this reply once already and it was lost because of my week internet connection I assume.

We also changed tow vehicles this time out as there are several tow capacity changes for 2012. I will share this also.

Steve C

PS:  Terry and Jo (Mobile Suite owners), if you read this post, I sent you an email.

We really like the Carriage Carri-lite thus the question on roofing material, I am sure the Hershey show will answer many of our questions, the roof question is the big one as this will be our home for a long time, fiberglass is the safe bet and we do have one on our motorhome, but its downside is its noisy, so I am hopeful that others will also throw in to the question and make our choice of what we will purchase easier as so many of you have more experience and logged many more miles than we have.....

We have been FT in an Excel Limited for a year and a half. We love it. John definitely wanted the fiberglass roof and haven't had any problems with it. Have only had some minor issues and the company definitely stands behind its product. John did lots of research (he's an engineer so research is his thing) and many of the rigs you mentioned were in the mix at the end but this is where he landed. Enjoy the search!

Our motorhome isn't really suited for full-timing in our opinion, its a gasser , its a nice rig and works great for vacations and weekend trips we love it. but for full-timing we would prefer a diesel which is still an option for us, the downside is the costs for the rig, higher maintenence costs, now with that in mind I do 95% of that work myself on our current MH but I do that at home,once on the road it be a little tougher to do ,so a brand new top of the line FW and new diesel to tow it is more bang for the buck.

 

Hi everybody,
This is the wife of Defiant.
I have felt that a 5er has more for the money, and in the searching we have done so far, that seems to hold true. Especially with fulltiming being the main thing- I want a 5er that can withstand the unexpected: cold, wind, lengthy sun. Besides the roof, insulation is a factor it seems - the "R-factor" can make me nuts. Once that is met, then the floor plan we think we can live with will be priority.

Thanks for all your input. We look forward to the RV show to do some comparison shopping ~and meeting great folks!

Linda and Scott,

If you are really concerned with the amount of insulation in your RV, look at DRV Suites and another that I think is called New Horizons.  While I can't speak for the New Horizon, the DRV Suites (made up of Elite Suites, Mobile Suites, and Select Suites) are all built with 3 1/4 inch walls and have some of the best insulation "R" values.

The Elite is their top of the line with the Mobile Suites in the middle.  Both of those are built on 15 inch triple box frames.  The Select has a 12 inch I-beam frame.

Should you be interested in used fifth wheels, an outfit in Elk City, Oklahoma buys used DRV Suites models at auction after they have been repossessed.  The name of their business is "Rolling Retreats" and they just recently became official dealers for DRV Suites.

We went through two years of researching ourselves, looking at both motorhomes and fifth wheels.  Buying our truck used and our coach new let us save about half of the price of the 42' motorhome we were looking at.

Oh, welcome to the RV Dreams forums.  You will find mostly good friendly folks here that are willing to help.  Good luck with all the researching.

Terry

Thanks for sharing. Gives us something to think about should we decide to downsize our rig. We still want to travel and workamp in the summer and don't think we need a 40' coach to do that since we won't need to carry everything we own.

I'll second Steve's suggestion to tour the DRV plant. We had the opportunity to tour the Airstream plant, the DRV plant, and the Heartland plant this summer. The first two were in production when we toured, so obviously we couldn't get too close to certain areas, but it was quite educational. I'm thinking that we really need to spend a couple of weeks in that area, just touring factories.

We were very fortunate in the DRV tour to have only one other couple with us, so we could all get close enough together in the noisy places to actually hear the question and the answer. At Airstream there were 25-30 of us in the tour group, and I couldn't always hear other people's questions or the answers.

As Steve said, the people at DRV seemed to be quite willing to talk to the customers and explain the various options. For example, one can select the right options on a Mobile Suite and have it be an Elite Suite. The cost is about the same, but when you go to sell it later, you still have a Mobile Suite. Going the other way, by selecting the right delete options, one can turn a Mobile Suite into an Elite Suite (same money), but, again, you still have that Elite Suite logo on the front.

Overall, I was impressed with the DRV product.

SteveC, thank you for your offer of answering any questions we might have on DRV, and we will probably take you up on it after we get to touch and explore them at the Hershey show and get a better feel ,we have looked at so many sites and so many pictures I swear I am seeing double ! And now I can honestly say at this point "the pictures ain't cuttin' it anymore" LOL

Hey Scott,

I know how you feel. Our "new home" goes on the line this week and I still do not have answers to all my questions and concerns. Really struggling with the "should we or shouldn't we" go to the expense of having a residential refrigerator.

I know you will enjoy the Hershey show. DRV is coming out with some new design features that I think you will like. I hope you are also attending the RV-Dreams Rally. You will meet some great people there and make lasting friendships. We often see, talk with and are in contact via email with RV-Dreamers we met at the two rallies we have attended to date. We are going to a "mini-rally" with RV-Dreams friends later this week in Cheraw, South Carolina.

Please remember that it is one thing to see an RV "after" it is built and another to see it "BEING" built. Seeing what is behind the walls and the process and care taken in how they put one together will give you a much different perspective than just walking through a finished RV. Had we not gone on the factory tours, we would have bought an entirely differnt RV. We had been to several large RV shows and thought we knew what we wanted and what was a quality RV. The factory tours opened up our eyes and changed our minds -- BIG TIME!! Again, we took the tours while the assembly line was "in" operation. 

Have fun!!

Steve

Hi Jack , New Horizons is also on our list of "must sees" hopefully we can get a few minutes for any questions we might have , i'm sure its going to be a packed house in Hershey , we will mention that you sent us for sure!

Hi folks, We did get to the RV show & looked around for the day. We did not see New Horizon's present there. However, we saw the Carrie-Lite and the DRV Elite & Mobi suites. We have fallen for the DRV at this point. But, we have a few years to look & compare & start our process of what we would like. It was great to see the rigs and really get a feel for them. It'll be interesting to watch how they change over the next couple of years.

We learned that Carrie-Lite will not put residential fridges in their rigs, whereas DRV will. Big point for dear hubby.

We hope to get to a rally or two. Also get to factories as well.
Thanks for all of your help!

New Horizons was there. They brought one unit. It was located behind the park models. Nice unit with a Honda Goldwing mounted on the rear.

James

We saw the New Horizons too.  Really nice unit, and I was shocked to see the Goldwing on the back of it! It was a very busy unit and we didn't want to stand around and wait to ask questions, since there was only one there. 

I was also impressed with the Mobile Suites and how they added the closet-sized chest of drawers inside the closet.  Loved it.  The cut down on the cedar lining, didn't they?  Or maybe there was no cedar in there at all....I really can't remember since we were in so many. 

The only Carri-lite there (that we could find) was such a dark unit inside.  I could not live in dark surroundings (floor, cabinets, furniture and even the countertops) like that.  Oh it was very pretty, but not my thing.  However, someone must have loved it, because it was sold by Thursday! 

We also checked out the Heartland Landmark.  WOW!  Now we have added that one to our top 5.  Of course, we only have 4 in our top 5. 

The RV Dreams rally was fantastic and we learned a LOT.  The Hershey RV show was great.  It was easier for us this year, because last year was our very first year at this huge show andwe were totally confused at the end of the 5-day show.  After doing our homework and attending the RV Dreams rally that same week, it was much MUCH easier going into the RV Show knowing what we wanted to look at and compare. 

Attending the RV Dreams rally solidified our resolve to full-time after our daughter graduates and we can sell our home (hopefully 2013).  Until then, vigilance is key in research.  After all, there is so much to learn before we "get outta Dodge" !  It's so good to have you all here to answer questions and point us in the right direction. 

(Bob and) Kathy

 

 

We are looking into the new design from Drv. Keep in mind Drv is one of the few who will customize. You have to ask they want volunteer figure out what you want and call Kyle Miller at Drv... Will do more research in the next few months. Its possible we will sell the Stick house and go back to full timing... And if we do we may just be in ordering another Drv Mobile Suites.... The new floorplan we are looking at is the 38PS 3. Happy Trails.....

Cheryl,

I won't have all the answers for you, but others here have purchased RV's outside of their home states.  I'll try to give you a bit of information that I recall them talking about.

A lot of times, if you buy out of state, you can get a temporary tag that is valid for something like 30 days or so to let you get home with your RV.  You'll need to tell them at the time that you will be licensing in another state.  It may be you will have to sign some documents or something indicating that so that you don't have to pay the sales taxes of the state where you are buying.

As for delivery, if you don't have a truck of your own to pick it up at the time of purchase, look into finding an RV hauler that will do it for you.  They will be licensed for such things as well as being insured.  You will just want to make sure to travel to the location of the RV and inspect it before purchasing.  I'm not sure a selling dealer would want to deliver an RV very far from their location, but you can always ask.  If they don't, they might be able to recommend an RV hauler.

If you are unsure of what to look for, consider hiring an RV technician to inspect it for you.  They know what to look for and can give you ideas as to the RV's soundness and whether or not it may require expensive repairs.  A few hundred dollars for the tech will save you a lot later on.

Also, consider your purchase time to be when you are ready to set your domicile in another state for full-timing.  I don't know what New Jersey's taxes are, but taxes in your new "domicile" state may be cheaper then New Jersey.  If you buy before you set a new domicile, you will have to pay New Jersey's taxes.

Hopefully, others can chime in and give you more details.

Terry