Willing to comment on 3 Class A models?

Given your budget, as well as plans for only keeping it for about 2 years, I would suggest looking at something that is 5-7 years of age, negotiate in a new set of tires if it still has the original tires, and invest in a good extended warranty to cover any expenses that come up.  I would say 8-10 years old, but that gets you into the 2009-2011 production years where companies were going out of business left and right, and many companies were cutting every corner they could find, resulting in sub par build quality in an industry not know for it at the best of times.

Having said that, buying the right motorhome is not easy, you may find a floor plan that you think you like, just to find things you absolutely hate about it after living in it for a while,  these may be things that never occur to you when you are shopping.  Let me give you an example of one of those things from my coach, it has top hinged cargo compartment doors, that I hate because, 1 I end up bashing my head on them when standing up, and 2, if they are wet or if it is raining they funnel water past the hinge and into the cargo compartment when I open them.  One thing my wife hates about our current coach is the shower, which is a 32 inch neo-angle shower, which is relatively spacious for an RV shower, what she does not like is the relatively narrow doorway and the cold metal trim when getting in and out of the shower.

As to market placement for any given brand this is a complicated issue, some brands only build mid to upper tier coaches, other brands have a wider spread, and on top of this over the years some brands, and even specific models have moved both up and down market.

Take Holiday rambler as an example, They have been on a near constant downward trend in the marketplace for the last 35+ years, slowly going from a premium brand, to a mid upper, brand, to a general mid range brand, though even 15 years ago they offered both entry level models as well as premium models (well at least mid-upper end).  Then you have specific models, take the Tiffin Allergro Bay for example, 20 years ago it was an entry level coach, that may have been slightly better than some other brands entry level models, but nothing special, today it is still Tiffins lowest tier model, but Tiffin as a whole has moved up market, making the Allegro Bay today line up with mid to upper mid range offerings from some other brands.

We’re happy with ours. It’s a first ever RV for us and I feel like our research paid off. If a king bed and washer/dryer are important to you, don’t settle on those points... we have both and wouldn’t be as happy without them. Our extended warranty has more than paid for itself. Would we choose differently if doing it over?  Probably; but we got it 97% right and have done some pretty extensive remodeling to make it work for us. (Remodeling would’ve been needed on anything we would’ve chosen... none of these come with office space for two.) 
As said before, you spend a very small percent of total time driving it, so find what you want to live in. (Averaged out, we drive 5 to 10 hours when we move (over one or two days) every couple of weeks or so. And, from talking with others, I think our driving to living ratio is higher than most, and it still only works out to 2 or 3 percent.)

Laura & Charles said:

We?re happy with ours. It?s a first ever RV for us and I feel like our research paid off. If a king bed and washer/dryer are important to you, don?t settle on those points... we have both and wouldn?t be as happy without them. Our extended warranty has more than paid for itself. Would we choose differently if doing it over?  Probably; but we got it 97% right and have done some pretty extensive remodeling to make it work for us. (Remodeling would?ve been needed on anything we would?ve chosen... none of these come with office space for two.) 
As said before, you spend a very small percent of total time driving it, so find what you want to live in. (Averaged out, we drive 5 to 10 hours when we move (over one or two days) every couple of weeks or so. And, from talking with others, I think our driving to living ratio is higher than most, and it still only works out to 2 or 3 percent.)

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What a lovely story. I do find humor in the fact so many newbys obsess over the length of their RV and end up living in a very cramped space so that they it is easier to find a parking space.

Thank you, muskoka guy and Isaac-1. That is incredibly useful information I can really put to work. It's difficult to do searches when you don't know what terms to enter, so I will now look for the NADA guide. I'm having a heck of a time finding review/comparison information that doesn't involve an investment, so I've held off until we have a better handle on what's available and what we like.

Isaac-1, your comments really help solidify a short-term plan. We've been thinking 5 years as a top number, but your comment about negotiating new tires opens that time frame up. I had no idea that was even a possibility. And while I've been reading about downturns in production quality during various years, it's been hard to turn that into solid information. I realize it's at least partly based on brand, but your inclusion of one of the brands we're looking at helped tremendously. We really couldn't tell where Holiday Rambler falls in the quality department. Newer Newmar, Tiffin, and even Winnebago motorhomes, in general, are more obvious. Holiday Rambler has been difficult for us to decipher. We're not put off by it being mid-range; we really like the floorplan and the added space, so it will stay on our list (for now). It just helps a LOT to know that it is mid-range, and our decision-making can progress with that in mind.

I fully take on board your comments about the little things that can (will) drive us crazy, that we're not thinking of now but will become painfully aware of once we're living with them. That's every house, car, and boat ever invented, too, and we can live with a margin of error. We just want to get as many of the big things right as we can. This is a one-and-done opportunity for us, and trading up isn't on the radar.

Much appreciated! That helps a lot.

Just adding to the above, Laura & Charles, your situation sounds a lot like ours. We'll both be working in the RV, and we're in the process of seeking out ideas for making the space work-friendly, relatively speaking (we're used to a huge office space and two large desks). A dinette isn't going to cut it for the two of us, two laptops, and piles of paper. We aren't likely to remove furniture, so we're looking at options that give us more room without being permanent, since we'll have to re-sell. There seem to be countless ways to solve that problem.

We're still in the process of figuring out how much time we'll spend driving the RV and how much time we'll spend driving the toad, since we do have a huge area to cover but we're also willing to make daily 200 mile round-trips in the car. We're not that far along yet, but however long RV driving ends up being, we know we have to be comfortable when we're stationary, and that, for us, means a King bed and never setting foot in a laundrymat (my issue, not my husbands, but it's a BIG issue for me). Most other things are relatively flexible.

I'm encouraged by your story. If we can get the big things right, we'll be happy. If we can get 97% right, we'll be delirious! Well done, you!

I can't think of any HR model in the last 5-7 years i would be willing to own. The entire line-up has been cheapened since 2008.


Tires  should not be a decision factor except for determining a fair purchase price. Tires are easy enough to replace, and you may be better off choosing your own brand of tires than relying on a dealer to simply "put on new tires".


The most common error for first time buyers is to under-size & under-equip.  Since you basically have only one shot at buying the RV you will live in for 2 years, err on the side of larger & better equipped.

The remodeling we did can either be reversed or won’t be a negative.
We took the table and chairs out and stored them and they can go back where they were. In that space, we had a cabinet maker put in a two drawer pullout pantry with a hinged desktop on the side. He did a fantastic job of matching the style and color of our existing cabinets and we gained a ton of storage from a 9X36 footprint. If the table goes back, you just don’t have the hinged desk.
We also had him remove the TV over the cockpit and make that space into a cabinet and moved that TV to replace the tiny one in bedroom. (Saw no good reason for two TVs in the salon... recently replaced the remaining one in that space with a much larger one.)
For the other office space we removed one (of two) sofas and added a kitchen cart two drawers and a cabinet in a counter height cart, removed castors and screwed it to the floor. Next to that, we installed a small desk with a keyboard drawer. Both of those will remove easily and sofa can go back when need be.

More storage

Gary RV_Wizard said:

I can't think of any HR model in the last 5-7 years i would be willing to own. The entire line-up has been cheapened since 2008.


Tires  should not be a decision factor except for determining a fair purchase price. Tires are easy enough to replace, and you may be better off choosing your own brand of tires than relying on a dealer to simply "put on new tires".


The most common error for first time buyers is to under-size & under-equip.  Since you basically have only one shot at buying the RV you will live in for 2 years, err on the side of larger & better equipped.

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Gary, I think we are being trolled. Any one who would say, "we're also willing to make daily 200 mile round-trips in the car." is pulling your leg.
I posted a link to several nice gas coaches and some diesel coaches in their budget but they apparently have their mind made up. Just for grins hear is a "DEAL" in their price range. Lets see what they have to say about this quality coach that is better than any they have looked at.
  http://motorhomesoftexas.com/coachrv/newell_coach/1999--newell--45--C2053A
Bill 

Sorry, why is that trolling? I don't mean every day, but I most certainly do mean day trips. Our work often involves long round-trips in a day. It may not be your thing, but we're not opposed to it. This isn't going to be a vacation for us, nor is it retirement. If work requires it, we're absolutely not opposed to 200 miles round trip in a day.

My apologies if you're upset that I didn't jump on the suggestions you made, WILDEBILL308, but as I have stated many times, we're in the beginning stages of this process. All ideas are appreciated, but not all ideas will be met with joyful clapping of hands and hugs around the neck. I'm sorry you felt slighted.

That Newell does look great, every time I look at a Motorhomes of Texas coach, I am impressed with the lengths that they go to in staging the coaches for sale, the pictures are always well laid out, just the right amount of personal touches are placed around the coach (book on the table, vase on the counter top,  robe draped across the bed), and the coaches are cleaned to perfection.  Having looked at coaches on their lot I wish I could hire whoever they have that cleans the shower just to make mine look brand new with no water spots on the glass, etc.  This is not to say the coaches they sell are flawless, just that they have been well cleaned up and presented in the best light.

I don't think Susan is trolling, she sounds too confused. Like most beginners she is approaching buying an RV like you would approach buying a car. She will eventually see the apples to oranges of that.

Congrats, SeilerBird. You got around to insulting me. ;D

SusanV said:

Congrats, SeilerBird. You got around to insulting me. ;D

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I am sorry Susan I was trying to say something nice about you.

SusanV said:

Sorry, why is that trolling? I don't mean every day, but I most certainly do mean day trips. Our work often involves long round-trips in a day. It may not be your thing, but we're not opposed to it. This isn't going to be a vacation for us, nor is it retirement. If work requires it, we're absolutely not opposed to 200 miles round trip in a day.

My apologies if you're upset that I didn't jump on the suggestions you made, WILDEBILL308, but as I have stated many times, we're in the beginning stages of this process. All ideas are appreciated, but not all ideas will be met with joyful clapping of hands and hugs around the neck. I'm sorry you felt slighted.

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You keep changing your parameters. You talk about a 200 mile daily COMMUTE and when called on it it is a ocashinal 200 mile road trip, For your mysterious work.
You NEED huge work areas but want to get a small RV. You must have a washer dryer but want a small gas coach. I bet you never looked at the last coach I posted a link to.
I also think if you were as smart as you think you are and you saw you needed to be in a town or place 200 miles away you would be smart enough to drive the coach and position it so you don't not have the 200 mile commute.
Bill

Back to topic, looking at coaches far in advance of being ready to buy is fine and the best way to zero in on what are your ‘wants’ and ‘must haves’ and ‘wish list’ features. I think it best (as others have indicated) if you don’t give much attention to brands at this early stage. Look at as many as you can. (Things we looked at and ruled out—but might work for you—included toy hauler and bunkhouse floor plans; using the garage or remodeling the bunks as office space.) As has been said, level of quality changes over time. Our coach was Fleetwood’s top of the line gasser when it was made.  But since all the higher end coaches are DPs, that made ours, in the bigger picture, midrange at best.  (At least that’s how I see it... others may not agree.) You can do this... just be patient and the right coach will find you.
(Among other things in your future questions are bound to be about reliable internet and phone service, but you’ve still plenty of time for those...  )

Thank you, Laura & Charles. We know we have a long way to go, and that this is the phase (for us, anyway) when it's all about finding out what's possible. We've only ruled a few things out, as they really don't work for us at all, and we've moved fairly steadily in the direction of a few brands we've consistently liked, while remaining open to others. Nothing is written in stone this far out. That's why people who are new to this ask a lot of questions, right? Of course we don't know where we'll end up. That's why it's a process, not an event.

We did find one coach we had that "you'll know it when you see it" feeling in, but for the sake of civility I'll just write that one down rather than type it out here.

Much appreciation to you and to others who have offered helpful advice. I am taking it all in, and I'm grateful for the chance to ask questions. Those internet and phone questions you mentioned are on our list!

Susan at this stage in your decision tree, I would suggest you take some time to do hands on shopping at a big used motorhome dealership, not to buy a specific coach, but to get a feel for the range of what is out there.  New dealerships will tend to carry 2 or 3 brands, and that is it, however a large used rv dealer may have coaches made by 30 different brands.  Some place like PPL in Texas or perhaps Lazy Days in Florida would be ideal, Motorhomes of Texas is another good used dealership, though they do tend to specialize in used upper tier diesel pushers.  Not only will this give you a feel for layouts and little features that may matter to you (style of door latch, ...), given some time and it will let you focus on things like build quality, and condition, and not on things that are easily changed like the color of the curtains.

One day last spring I was on the south side of Houston, it was a nice day and had some time to kill, so I spent a couple of hours walking the lot looking at used coaches at PPL, just to see what was out there.  I walked away with 2 thoughts, first my coach is in really good shape for its age compared to what they had on the consignment lot.  Secondly most of the other people there walking around the lot looking for a first RV were focusing on all the wrong things.  As an example I saw one retirement age couple debating between 2 class C coaches that happened to be parked side by side, one a 7 yer old diesel on a Ford e450 Chassis priced at about $70,000 the other a 4 year old gas Ford E350 chassis priced about $45,000 and the decision was coming down to the one that the wife liked the curtains in best.  Note there were lots of other differences between the coaches, different brands, floor plans, size of slides, as well as that 2,000 pound difference in GVWR, but in the end the decision was being made based upon a fabric pattern.

Thanks, Isaac-1. We spent about 3 hours at Lazydays last week (it's less than an hour from our home), and we'll return again in another month or so. We've also visited 4 smaller dealers within half an hour of our home, will visit the remaining 3 we haven't yet seen, and will be going to the big shows coming to the area next year.

The onsite visits have helped a lot, and it's out of those visits that I asked the original question. Dealers seem to have their favorites (Lazydays dealer was better, but I think he was also relatively new; might have to ask for someone else next time), and while three of the five were pretty honest about a few flaws here and there, my original question here came from the obvious fact that they were more focused on the price than they were on the use. To his credit, one salesman did say the 30-foot Newmar would ride better and hold its value due to the quality, but the 37 foot Holiday Rambler will be more comfortable space-wise for the time frame we're looking at. Obviously, it's far more complicated than that, and with only 25 or 30 forays inside motorhomes under our belts there are plenty more to look at, but it was useful food for thought, comparison-wise. That's all we're looking for right now.

Can't imagine caring much about things that can easily be changed, but we do care a lot about things we can't or won't change. We're unlikely to rearrange the walls.

Curtains match cabinet grain matches tile pattern/color matches paneling  ...  We got no further than heads in the door on many coaches and my bride said, “nope” and we’d move on... great timesaver.
Once you get the floor plan basics set (wish list, wants, must haves); stuff like curtains becomes important. Laura really didn’t like the dark tile/cabinets/carpets/paneling/curtains that seemed so prevalent in the model years we were shopping for. Once we more or less knew what we wanted, it really was a time saving barometer.