Brand new - help us decide

Judybird said:

We drove a Tiffin Allegro red!!!!
DH in love, I say what about FREE one from cousin??
He said this one better,
I said which body part do u wish to sell??
This one 2014, we're renting a 2013, (salesman's personal)
And taking to savannah rv park tomorrow.  Can't wait.
Salesman not stocking with luscious foods, LOL,
so off to grocery store, we do have the fever.

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Sis - Are you excited?

wow, that is nice, looks like a bunk house one? Is it diesel?

Yes, it is a diesel.  I guess they've convinced DH that's what he needs.  He talks rv lingo now, diesel pusher, etc..  We've met some great people, many of them full timers.  We can see doing that, eventually.  We are 58 & 59 and expect to quit working maybe January, maybe not til June.  We are planning on leaving my niece to look after/live in our house and be gone from day after T'sgiving to day or 2 before Christmas.  We want to do the Appalachian mtns and all the way to key west, pulling a Honda CRV, 4 down, see, I have the lingo now

Next year, we'd like to go up the east coast and then Grand Canyon.  I think we should rent more, drive more, but DH is hooked on allegro.  It is very nice and he likes it more than the FREE one, sheesh.. my sweet cousin is even saying, take his and sell it or trade it for the allegro but we won't do that, I don't know why not, ego maybe? Cousin is ordering a custom kenmar soon and wants to travel with us, that will be loads of fun as they are well seasoned rv'ers and can teach us the ropes and we all get along great. 

Well, when you finally get a coach and hit the road, make a stop here on Smith Mountain Lake in Va and your DH can do a little striped bass fishing  .

We also plan to hit the road for months at a time when I retire next year.  We've already been blessed to see a lot of the U.S. in our TT's and motorhomes but can't wait to take off and not have to worry about getting home and back to work. 

Tiffin makes nice rigs and their factory is in Red Bay, AL so not too far if you ever need to go there. 

JudyJB said:

I've been full-timing in a 32' Class C for over a year without a toad.  I am mostly moving from place to place every 3-10 days, so I keep on the move.  I do my grocery shopping between campgrounds and can carry plenty of food for over a week.  I use a bike to get around the campground. 

I pack up and do sightseeing even while at a campground, but since I prefer state and national parks, I seldom have to do more than unplug electric and put in my slides.  It is a bother, but then so is hooking up and unhooking and hauling a car.  If I am somewhere I can't go with my motorhome, I rent a car. Renting a car is not possible everywhere, but it is a lot cheaper than the insurance and cost of a toad.

No situation is perfect, but you have to decide what style of travel is right for you.  If I stayed a month or more at one location, a toad would be more attractive to me.  Someday I might haul a toad, but for right now, this is best for me.

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I like enterprise.  I can't think of a single time when I've needed a car while traveling, either in the MH or by other means, that there wasn't an Enterprise around to pick me up.  And the nice thing is if I need a PU truck they have it, Convertible Sports car, got it, fuel miser, got it.  So I look at them as my personal fleet of toads that follow me where ever I go.  I pull my motorcycle behind me because they don't rent bikes.

He would love the striped bass fishing.  It would be so much fun meeting new people all over..

And I feel the same way about towing, but he is rv king now and I am a mere spotter.  He does feel like we'll need to park and sightsee out and about, visit friends, shop, but I agree with you, rentals are pretty much everywhere. 

...rentals are pretty much everywhere. 

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So long as you're near a city, and perhaps some major tourist attractions. Many state parks, some national parks, and a lot of BLM land are without rentals available. So it depends on where you're going.

We tried scooters, then rentals, and now we're on our second Jeep. Believe me, the rental theory rapidly becomes a pita, particularly in relatively remote areas of the Western US.

But you need to find what works for you, we can only try to help and make suggestions. It does sound as if you are doing it right and getting close to the finish line. Follow your hearts with just a modicum of practical input and you'll do fine.

Ernie

PS I'm not familiar with what you are looking at, but I would suggest you look at a Winnebago 34y. The full body slide opposite two smaller slides makes it really open up.

I'm new to this site also, and am doing research into buying an RV for the first time, too. I don't know too much about motorhomes yet, but I do know about transporting dogs, as my ex and I used to show dogs. Always, Always, Always have your dogs in kennels which are secure (preferably by seatbelts) when driving them anywhere, in any vehicle, even for short trips. A dog's kennel is its seatbelt, simple as that. Do you drive without buckling up?

I'm a retired paramedic who ran 911 calls for 25 years. I've  been to thousands of accident scenes, some including RV's with fatalities. All passengers - two legged and four legged - should always be secured with belts when riding in any vehicle; this is just common sense.

Always plan on what would happen if you were involved in a wreck before you depart. Loose objects can become flying deadly projectiles in an accident, etc etc etc.

OK, off my soapbox! But  buckle up - in a kennel - your four legged love ones!

Judy, I was new to RVing in 2008. My sister and brother-in-law have a Class A 36' Tiffin. We went off with them for a week and enjoyed it very much. We stared by going to alot of shows. 1st was the Tampa show. We though we wanted a Class B. After looking at them we found out that they were just too small and did not have a fixed bed. So we started looking at the Class C's. We were thinking that this would be a forever RV. After looking at alot of floor plans we selected a few we liked. I also went on-line and started checking for quality of the different brands. I decided that Winnebago and Tiffin seemed to me to be the best (my opinion). I went to alot of dealers so I could drive the ones we were look at. We finally bought a 2008 Itasca Cambria 26A. It seemed to be big enough for us and the two cats. I didn't need to tow a toad. It was great and we did alot of camping. After a while we realized that there was some areas where we needed more space. In 2011 Winnebago emailed me about there new Class A 2012 Itasca Sunova 30A. We found a dealer that had one so we looked at it and drove it. It gave us the extra space we were looking for and it drove so much better than the Class C we had. We bought the 2008 Class C new and the 2012 Class A new. We went to the dealer the middle of Dec. 2011 to work a deal. I had put in the 2008 alot of after market add-ons. To start with since it was near the end of the year the dealer gave me $20K off the price of the 2012. Then he gave me more than I paid new for the 2008 plus all the add-on costs. We ordered just what we wanted with colors and options. It came in mid Feb 2012. It is great, more space, I think easier to drive, and gets about the same mpg that we got with the Class C.

1. Go to alot of RV shows.
2. Do your homework on-line.
3. Talk to other RVer's.
4. Select the floor plan you like and that meets your needs.
5. Drive the RV.
6. Work with more than one dealer.
7. Work out your $$$$$$$.
8. Now work your deal and find the salesman that wants to sell you a RV.
9. Don't be in a hurry.

Happy RVing,
    Ron

That is great info!!  We have driven many now, have had several trips, such fun.. We are so excited to have decided to quit working in DEC, also decided we don't need bunk beds, nieces and nephews won't be with us that much, certainly not on long trips.  It is a happy time and DH is a kid again

elrupp said:

I'm new to this site also, and am doing research into buying an RV for the first time, too. I don't know too much about motorhomes yet, but I do know about transporting dogs, as my ex and I used to show dogs. Always, Always, Always have your dogs in kennels which are secure (preferably by seatbelts) when driving them anywhere, in any vehicle, even for short trips. A dog's kennel is its seatbelt, simple as that. Do you drive without buckling up?

I'm a retired paramedic who ran 911 calls for 25 years. I've  been to thousands of accident scenes, some including RV's with fatalities. All passengers - two legged and four legged - should always be secured with belts when riding in any vehicle; this is just common sense.

Always plan on what would happen if you were involved in a wreck before you depart. Loose objects can become flying deadly projectiles in an
accident, etc etc etc.

OK, off my soapbox! But  buckle up - in a kennel - your four legged love ones!

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then let's take it another step, and start wearing wear full face helmets, Hans device's and Kevlar chest protectors...  in your motorhome?

there has always been some risk of injury in most things that are "Fun",..... motorcycles, bicycles, skateboards, skydiving, roler coasters etc

I think you should never let your fear of dying, become a fear of living........life should be fun, R/V's should be fun. 
and yes I do drive my old Chevy pickup around most times without a seat belt on and I enjoy a  ride on my motorcycles without a helmet on too.

that's just me, I also believe when your numbers up...it's up.

This makes me wonder if a retired gynecologist would never want to have sex . 

Well, you need to wear your helmet and seatbelt.. You won't always need them but good to have on your bod when you do

We've met with a cabinet maker about building 3 very beautiful kennels for the mutts.. About where you'd expect bunk beds, above will be cabinets for everything dog.  Soooo much fun figuring out what we'll need.  We went to the beach again, great times.

Ms, Judy, we bought our first last year in march, she's a 24 ft southwind A class, we love her, however we thought it would be more than big enough for just us two. now we wish we would have got a 30 or larger, go around to the dealers walk in them both of you and then make up your mind,

Judy,  Make sure you get good air condityioning circulation where the kennels are, your dogs will love you for it.

rsnyde11 said:

Ms, Judy, we bought our first last year in march, she's a 24 ft southwind A class, we love her, however we thought it would be more than big enough for just us two. now we wish we would have got a 30 or larger, go around to the dealers walk in them both of you and then make up your mind,

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Yes, mine is 37.5' and after going to several tight CG and being turned away from a couple as they didn't have a space large enough.  So I'm thinking that a 34'r with a couple of slides, is the optimum size.  Does anyone know of a CG that limits size to less than 34'?  I haven't seen one yet, and I was a little agitated when 3.5' is all that kept me out of the CG.