PatAbago said:
Hello Folks!
We are about to buy our first RV and have several questions:
1- What is the ideal length to navigate across the US without problems (including national parks)?
2- Diesel or GAS and why?
3- Are slideouts to be avoided or no known problems?
4- Ford or Mercedes?
5- For the same price, brand new Thor Axis 24.1 2018, or used Forrest SunSeeker 2800 GTS 2018 (2800 Miles) and why?
Thanks a lot for your help and hope to see you soon on he road!!
We really need more information on what your needs are, how many people, length of travel, towing a car, etc. Having said that I will try to answer, based on what you have asked.
1, This is a trade off between living space, cargo capacity, maneuverability and handling. Bigger diesel pushers give more living space, and generally handle better on the open highway, by contrast the smaller the coach, the more campgrounds you will fit into. Given question 5, I will say that if you stay under 30 ft you should be ok in most national parks, though number of sites you will fit into may be limited in some places.
2, For anything under 34-35 ft I would say gas, it is cheaper to buy, cheaper to maintain, and easier to find shops capable of servicing.
3, Some people feel they need the extra floor space, others feel they are one more thing to maintain. Some brands of slides have better / worse reputations than others.
4, Not sure how this differs than question 2, though I will point out MB Sprinter service centers can be few and far between, I have read that some states don't have any MB Sprinter service centers (not all MB dealers will service Sprinter vans, and many corporate Sprinter operators do their own fleet service)
5, Personally I would not own a Thor, there are just too many horror stories out there. If money is an object, I would opt for an older higher quality well maintained coach vs a newer Thor of the same price.