Aspect vs. Sightseer

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Sara

Sara

Member
Joined
May 12, 2009
Posts
20
Location
Modesto, CA
Hello Winnebago people! Please help! We have 2 teen daughters (fun, fun) and are trying to decide between the '08 Sightseer (great deal on 35J-but has 31K miles) or '08 Aspect (25'-new, loaded .also great deal). Both are about $65K. We'll need it just for weekend trips/pulling 2 dirtbikes/ cruising to a few nearby sites (Yosemite, etc), then in a few years just as a couple. Will our family be ready to kill each other after a couple days in tight quarters/no real door to master bed in the Aspect, or will we be more likely to use it more because it is small and manageable??
AAGGGG! Oh, and is buying a rig w/ 32,000 miles-lived in-asking for trouble??
Any advice is greatly appreciated! ::)
Sara
 
Hey again Sara - I just replied to your post in the "Introduce yourself" forum and gave my opinion about size.  The only new opinion I can add is about mileage.  Somebody else in a post was looking at several units, some were five and six years old with very low mileage and one unit he liked was three or four years (or whatever) but had 30 or 40K miles.  I would much rather buy a unit that had been regularly used compared to one that sat for long periods of time.  My Horizon has 44,000 miles on it and it is in pristine condition because I always make sure routine maintenance is performed on-time and anything that breaks gets fixed asap.

If you find a rig with 30-40-50K miles on it and the owner can produce good maintenance/service records, I would have no problem with a favorable purchase decision.
 
Sara I can't comment much on the Aspect, but I can say we love our 35J.  Having taken several long trips, 10 days x 2 and 16 days we haven't been on each other at all.  I find the ability to have three living areas to be wonderful.  Wife can rest in the back, youngest reading on his bunk and the oldest and I can be watching a movie.  We've also had 9 people sleeping in the RV and thought a tad tight still had enough room.

We have 13k on our Sightseer, but if we didn't live so close to wonderful camping in Oregon, Washington and Idaho we'd probably have even more miles, last summer fuel prices kept us a bit closer to home too. I would agree with John, the regular maintenance is more important then sitting around. 

We haul a trailer with 4 ATVs and the 35J Ford does a great job, took us to from Utah without a problem and takes us into the mountains to ride a couple times a month.

Quick NADA check put the 35J about in line on the used price 62-74k, the used price (yes I know its new) for the Aspect is 51-61k - so you'll see the deperication hit, the 35J has taken that hit already. I didn't put in any options and only the mileage on the 35J.  Have the engine inspected at a good shop and should keep running well I would think.
 
Commenting only on size - me, husband, and 85-pound labrador travel six months at a time in a 28-foot Sightseer. I can't even imagine adding two teenagers to the mix. Go with the bigger motorhome and you'll save a life or at least someone's sanity.

Wendy
 
As a newbie, I am not sure if I am supposed to reply to the replies (ha!), but I sure appreciate the advice given!! We will knock the shorter Aspect off our list and just look at 30' RVs and longer. Guess it's pretty important to have some space so we end our trips still speaking to each other.  ;D Much appreciated!
Sara
 
Sara, I would say read, question and challenge all replies.  None of us are in your shoes, none of us are experts, we are like you - users and campers, perhaps with a bit of experience sprinkled in here and there.  Bottom line is the decision is still yours to make.  Shopping is half the fun if you ask me, and a good source of daily aggravation at times too.  Take your time and enjoy it. 
 
Sara said:
As a newbie, I am not sure if I am supposed to reply to the replies (ha!), but I sure appreciate the advice given!!
Click to expand...

Yeah - it's good for the topic originator to stay involved for feedback purposes, and in some cases additional information or details will surface and the thread can take on a different twist.  Think of it like a conversation with a good friend and you ask them "what do you think about this.." and by virtue of the interaction, a more comprehensive discussion will occur.
 
You can put up with most anything for a couple of days - what would be inconvenient (or worse) in the long term can be part of the "adventure" in the short term.  But I think you will find that more space makes life easier and 4 adult-sized people can use up a lot of space if you all need to be inside at the same time, e.g. nights, bad weather, at least some meals, etc.

I would not hesitate at all because of the 32k miles on a motorhome, though that is a highly unusual amount for an 2008. You usually don't see that much mileage for at least 3 years and more often 5 years of use.  I wonder if it might have been a rental unit?  That usually shows up as a lot of wear and tear on the interior, though. Is it clean and in good condition?
 
RV Roamer said:
I would not hesitate at all because of the 32k miles on a motorhome, though that is a highly unusual amount for an 2008. You usually don't see that much mileage for at least 3 years and more often 5 years of use.   I wonder if it might have been a rental unit?  That usually shows up as a lot of wear and tear on the interior, though. Is it clean and in good condition?
Click to expand...

I found several 2008 35Js that were rental units when i was looking earlier this year. I suspect anything with that kind of mileage was in rental service. Rentals cut both ways. The maintenance was probably performed by the dealer and records should be available. As one dealer pointed out to me, though, renters are usually "amateurs," so it's hard to know just what the unit has been through. A close inspection can tell you most of what you need to know.

I'll put a plug in for the 35J too. We love ours. We have four children ranging from 15 to 3 years old and it works out very well for everybody to have their own bed and some personal space. I think it's a great family model. We are planning a long summer trip with the grandparents on board too. That will really put the 35J through it's paces, but I think we'll manage quite well.
 
Great point about rental units..we are not looking at any for that reason. This was bought new for a family that took a year off to travel across America (still..32,000 miles?? wow! and is fairly clean-we are freakishly neat, so it's not perfect...). We're mostly worried about trying to drive/park the thing. 35' seems long to us newbies!! I should probably find an RV mechanic to give it the once-over before buying, though, huh??
Sara
 
Take the whole family and go looking at RVs of different lengths. Sit in them like you would be at dinner time, where you will all sleep, dressing and brushing teeth in the morning, where you would all be and what you would be doing if it was raining outside. And see what size "feels" right to you.

Wendy
 
Sara said:
I should probably find an RV mechanic to give it the once-over before buying, though, huh??
Click to expand...

Absolutely get an RV mechanic to check everything out from the chassis to the house.  Here's a link to RV Service Reviews which could help you decide (and also there is a forum here dedicated to reviews.)

By the way, the 'house' sits on top of the 'chassis' - this is an important concept because if you have a chassis problem, the chassis dealer (Ford/Workhorse/Freightliner/etc) usually is the best place to have those repairs or maintenance performed.  Sometimes you will find a service dealer that can work on both, but never assume anything until you check out their capabilities.  My chassis is a Freightliner and about the only work  a Freightliner shop will do is strictly related to the chassis - engine/wiring/suspension/etc.  Owning an RV is a little more complicated than owning a car or light truck.  If you have a problem with a car, it can go to the dealer or independent repair shop and generally they have the capability to fix anything.
 
I'll put a vote in for the Sightseer also. More storage and carrying capacity likely as well. Take your time shopping, as there are alot of great rigs out there at a good price. Good luck.
 
Sara, having had our 35J since 2007 I can fully understand how driving it and backing it would make you nervous. Prior to the 35J we had a 39' Toy Hauler 5er, by comparison the 35J is a breeze to back in places.  The way you site in the RV, mirrors, windows and cameras rarely leaves me not knowing where I am at.  My wife will get out to watch but for the most part I can back it in to just about any State campground I've been to, and I haven't found a USFS one I couldn't get into either.  Key is to practice and have a spotter.  We've also taken ours on the rougher roads, which sometimes you need to take if you want to go off-roading. The rig has done fine on the dirt roads too, though I try to avoid those as much as possible. 

One thing to add like John said, your RV dealer may not work on the Ford/Workhorse chassis and don't assume that your local Ford/Chevy dealership will either.  Our local Ford dealer works on both, but the Chevy guys won't even take a look at the Workhourse. 

 
So how important is it to get the Workhorse? Everyone has told us to get the most power possible, but a great deal came up (in a Voyager) with the Triton v-10 and we assumed the Workhorse would be much better for pulling a frog/toad/whatever you guys call it. We are really only looking at those w/ Workhorse. Is that a mistake??
 
Sara I don't know the weights of the Voyager.  Things to consider are the overall weight and the CCC, you'll find a sticker in the motor home that gives this information.  Usually once you add up water and other weights you are left with the CCC or how much of your stuff and food you can put in the motor home as well as a hitch weight of your trailer.

We have the F53 chassis on our 35J and its been a great setup, have plenty of tow capacity and CCC as well as power.  As I mentioned before we camp mostly in the mountains, and I've never felt I didn't have enough power. 

When we were shopping the difference between the Ford & Workhouse was about $5,000 difference, enough that I went with the Ford.  No regrets that I have now either.
 
Sara said:
...would be much better for pulling a frog/toad/whatever you guys call it. ...
Click to expand...

If you pull a frog, I'll bet it wouldn't like it  :D

You might want to start a thread in the motorhome forum about advantages/disadvantages of Ford vs. Workhorse chassis's - you should understand the nuances of both which might influence your buying decision.
 
In a 2008 there is little difference between a Workhorse W22 & a Ford F53.  I'd give the Workhorse a slight plus for the Allison transmission but the Ford  has its own plusses, e.g. the extensive Ford dealer network for parts and service. In recent years, say post 2005, you could argue Ford vs Workhorse all day long and it would come out a wash. Now if you were talking about 2002-2004 model years, I'd have to give Workhorse a true edge in the competition.

Specifically as far as power is concerned, the late model Ford V10 is every bit the equal of the Workhorse's GM 8.1L V8.

For what it's worth, I am a former Workhorse owner (a 2002 W22 chassis).
 
Will our family be ready to kill each other after a couple days in tight quarters/no real door to master bed in the Aspect,

Sara:

I will try to be delicate here. The only thing a bedroom door does is prevent people from seeing into the bedroom. It will not provide any privacy to the activities that occur inside that room. People in the front of the motorhome will feel you move in the back of the motorhome. Leveling jacks will not stabilize you enough to prevent this. We can feel each other walk around from opposite ends of the RV. So, our feeling is that doors are not an issue for privacy. You generally do have a door in the bathroom area that you can use when dressing.
 
:D
ha! Actually I was asking about doors in the bedroom because my husband snores and the kids prefer to be as far away as possible from the "freight train".
On Saturday we chose!!! We bought the Sightseer 35J, so kids have bunks and we have a nice King bed!! It isn't even that hard to drive!! We are all so excited to head out on our first adventure! Well, 2nd adventure..first will be camping in the driveway.
Thanks to EVERYONE who gave tremendous help. We are thrilled with it!!
Sara
 
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