Ford Chevy.....Apples Oranges.....i would not let that make or break a deal......A or C Size and Storage of an A VS Reliabilty and ease of maintenance of a C.....hit a few shows, start looking, you will quickly start to discover what you like......welcome to the Forum.....

We just purchased a copy of "Buying A Used Motorhome" from Amazon and it came in the mail yesterday. It would be an excellent resource because it is so simple and to the point from someone that has bought and sold a few motorhomes. When we started RVing we had bought an old pop-up from someone in the neighborhood which we thought was the best thing on 2 wheels. We drove by a dealer and he had an old Minnie Winnie and we stopped to "just look". So, it had over 90,000 and mice had nested in the engine at one time but it was the best thing on 4 wheels. We had no idea what we were doing when we purchased but we ended up being lucky with several minor repairs and drove it many miles on vacations and used it when relocating. Even if someone is buying a new unit, it really pays to understand used units. It is an education in itself to go through several used units especially of those manufacturers that you might be interested in because you will see the difference between "abuse" and some that just fall apart. The book gives a checklist of things to look for in the right motorhome and helps you sort out which would be the better fit.. The author seems to have no bias when discussing the choices and lists both pros and cons. He also lists resources for finding a used RV, advice on feeling out a scam, figuring out what a unit is worth and making the offer. I was impressed and, frankly, not much impresses me anymore. Easy read and also available in a Kindle version. I wish I could find an equally good book for trailers.

Edit by moderator: Cleaned up link to Amazon.  Terry

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Thursday 19th of September 2013 10:46:47 AM

Good ...Better ...Best...Worst!!!

Get out the easy chair, plenty of Coffee and a good set of glasses because this is one of the dreaded million answer forum questions.......there is no right answer some will have bad others will have good all on the same type..

you have to go out there and find something that fills your needs....See it ,Feel it, Imagine what it is going to be like in the long run......lay down ....sit....stand in the shower.....look in cabinets.....start it... drive it....tow it ...Rent it ...borrow it...look for another just like it, change your mind and look for another nothing like it and do it all over again!!!!

What makes me happy does not in most cases make you happy.....

and if it wasnt for opinions....the Bible would not have over a hundred versions


Lots of looking....shows , rallies , dealers....private sales....and in the end , a good education as you pull off on your first journey!!!.........it has to be all you want, you will know it when you see it!!

Welcome, Tim. Only you can pick the right RV for you. Since there are so many available it would seem that picking the right one would be easy. It is, and it isn't. The easiest way is to try to focus on what you need and want first, looking at how you will use it (full-time, several months at a time, weekends, one two-week vacation per year) and whether you are going to be moving from place to place fairly often, or whether you are going to settle in for months at a time. You have already taken some of those steps, so on to the next section.

ANY motor vehicle, whether a car, truck, RV, boat, or airplane, needs to be used frequently. That doesn't mean firing up the engine once a month, letting it idle for five minutes, and shutting it down. It means driving it until it has reached operating temperature. That exercises not only the engine but also the transmission and suspension. Same with the generator - run it under load.

Unless your plan is to drive to a campground and stay at the campsite until you pack up to go home, you are going to want to drive around a bit. That means towing something behind the motor home, either a car/truck of some sort or a trailer with motorcycles. At this point you are going to need to start checking the weight information on the rigs you are considering. Many Class C coaches are close to their gross weight even without much stuff in them, and the GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating) is pretty close to the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). The difference between the GCWR and GVWR is what you can tow. GVWR is the most the rig can weigh, including people, food, water, pets, tongue weight of the trailer/toad, etc. Just because there is room to put stuff doesn't mean that you can carry it.

We settled on a diesel pusher (DP) motorhome, so we didn't spend much time looking at the Class C rigs. High quality DP coaches include Bluebird Wanderlodge, Foretravel, Newell, Prevost. Tiffin and Newmar are also mentioned, but we found them to be somewhat below the four others. Others will disagree. Yes, all motor homes like fuel. Some of the smaller and lighter Foretravels are getting 12-14 mpg. We get 7-8, but that's with the generator running. 'Birds usually are getting 5-6 mpg.

If you are looking at gasoline-powered rigs you can generally figure that it ought to show 5-10,000 miles per year. Less than that and it has been sitting too long. Seals will have dried up and you will spend lots of time fixing small things. More than about 150,000 and I'd start to get worried. Coaches with diesels in them have engines that are designed to run for many hundreds of thousands of miles. Again, low miles are more of a concern than high miles. No matter what, maintenance is the key. You want something that has been cared for properly.