Willing to comment on 3 Class A models?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Regardless of model or brand, it seems to me that RVs older than 10 years cannot be financed, so if you were to buy an RV that was 8 year old with the intention of selling it in 2 years  the available market for this will be restricted to those who can buy it self-financed.  For that reason I would buy one that would be less than 10 years old when you are planning to sell it.

Good luck to you.
 
I would not say can't be financed, just that it is more difficult.  I financed my coach when it was 14 years old, though I did it through a local bank that I have a substantial relationship with, and only financed for 4 years.
 
DreamChasers, that's very good advice. That's the premise we've been working from, and we've narrowed down our "needs" and "wants" considerably. We also live near Lazy Days, so we'll be going there to continue to see rigs, and to the big show in Tampa in January. We'll definitely spend a lot of time thinking about how we'd live in each option.

The trouble I think we're having is, we're pretty solid on what we won't compromise on, what has a bit of wiggle room, and what we don't like at all, but we're not overly sure on things like, do we get a bigger rig we really like that's less expensive but perhaps somewhat less well built than a somewhat smaller rig we really like that's more expensive but seems to be higher quality. As an example, a Jayco vs a Tiffin. Both have floor plans we love, but one obviously is better quality than the other. We'll sacrifice 2 feet if we choose a Tiffin, to stay within our budget, but the quality seems better. That's really the question, and without living in it for a year, we're hoping those who have will provide insights. For one to two year's ownership, will that two feet be important or will the better construction be more important. We don't know.

 
A very interesting point, JoelP, Isaac-1 and timjet. I hadn't thought about that.

We're probably looking to buy something less than 10 years old, and we'll pay cash. We do want to sell after 1-2 years, so your comments are appreciated.
 
Just a couple of more thoughts here, when it comes to features everyone has different concerns, there are also things that first time buyers may not think to consider, one is cargo carrying capacity, that is how many pounds of stuff can the coach carry.  It is easy to run into the cargo carrying capacity limit long before all the cargo bays and cabinets are full.  On my coach I seem to always be fighting weight distribution to keep the front axle from being overloaded, in fact this winter I plan to try to reshuffle things to move more of the heavy stuff to the back of the coach, even if it means it may not be stored in the most logical place for convenience.

As to must have features in a coach, take some time and ask yourself about each of your must haves, and your would like to haves, and ask yourself if you will really use them as much as you think you will.  A couple of examples of things people get that many never use in motorhomes are propane ovens, and combo washing machine / dryers.  When you are out shopping for used motorhomes, and see one with a propane oven under the stove, take a look inside it, there is a good chance it will have never been used.  This is not to say people don't bake, it is just they use the convection/microwave instead of the propane oven.  The same goes about those small combo washer/dryers, their load capacity is so small that many people end up just going to the laundry room at the rv park and using the big commercial sized units.
 
Funnily enough, a washer (not necessarily a dryer) is near the top of my Must Haves list. I have this thing about laundromats (bad experience in my past) that makes me go weak at the very though of having to use them for a year or more. It's a weird personal quirk, but I'm not sure I could do this if I had to go to a laundromat every week or so. That one is non-negotiable, even though I know it's not a very good use of space or weight. Other non-negotiables are not having the bathroom door open directly into the food prep area and not having the only exit door next to the passenger seat. My husband's non-negotiables are he wants a King walk-around bed and no offset main TV. We're pretty flexible on everything else.

That said, we haven't gotten into the mechanics of the thing. We're still on floorplan, so it's early days yet.

Interesting comments about weight distribution. I did wonder how that all works.
 
The same goes about those small combo washer/dryers, their load capacity is so small that many people end up just going to the laundry room at the rv park and using the big commercial sized units.

Funnily enough, a washer (not necessarily a dryer) is near the top of my Must Haves list.


We've got the stackable washer and dryer, rather than a combo. DW loves it -- do a load here, do a load there...
 
I did not comprehend that you were going to sell after one or 2 years.  While you have it, how much are you going to use it?  You might consider renting.  Being so close to Lazy Days, they might have an attractive rental program for you for the time you are actually going to use it.  Don't know rent with the option to buy is available, but worth asking the question.  Obviously you might have to sacrifice on what you want the coach to have.  Regarding the entry door.  As I said before, this is our first purchase, and what turned me off the diesels when we were looking was the entry door was next to the passenger seat, which really blocks the view to the side.  Especially if the awning support is in that area.  My wife has a great front and side view with our unit.  I see some diesel units that have mid doors now, but not many and floor plans that don't appeal to us.
 
We're going to use it full-time for one year, possibly longer, but no more than two years. We'll have a house (which our son will live in while he gets his career established) and we'll return to it when we stop traveling. We're downsizing from a 5 bed/4 bath home, so we'll pay cash for both to avoid tax issues and having a new mortgage.
 
Don't underestimate the usefulness of a combo w/d. The convenience of start it and forget it well outweighs the smaller load size for us.

Ernie
 
Ernie n Tara said:
Don't underestimate the usefulness of a combo w/d. The convenience of start it and forget it well outweighs the smaller load size for us.

Ernie

Agree^ We full-time in our fifth wheel, and I just bought one about a month ago. Very handy. DW has followed advice from others here and have little to no problems with wrinkles. Beats going to the laundromat and using wahers and dryers full of pet hair and who knows what else.
 
It's the "who knows what else" that stops me.  :eek:

Yep...a washer is a Must Have for me.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
131,749
Posts
1,384,212
Members
137,520
Latest member
jeep3501
Back
Top Bottom