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Just to chime in, we bought a 24FT Coachmen W/O slides (new), and suffered the same regrets when we found out that the next production year included that option. Dealer said for the right price they could convert ours to include the slide. As I recall, it ended up being several thou$and per square foot added to the floorplan. We decided to wait and see how we managed for a year or two, then consider upgrading.
10 years later, and we still have it without the slides.


Since this is a new venture for you, get a log book and write in it every day you use the RV. Where you were, what you did, ect. Makes a great keepsake.
 
We are going to pull out in about an hour and I must say this has been great for our first outing with our new to us rig.

Met some really nice people and our  camping neighbor gave me a new tray that fit under the dain hose that keep the hose at a angle so that it drain better.

DW made a list of things that we still need to get to keep in the rig.

Think we are really going to enjoy using our rig and seeing things in the US that you have not gone to before.
 
We bought our first rig, 17 years old no slides but the interior was practically brand new.  We loved the heck out of that 30' rig.  We knew getting into the deal we would want something nicer and more money if we used it regularly.  Plenty of people use them 2 or 3 times per year or not at all.  I couldn't dream of a 3-400 per month payment on something that was never used.  Well it turned out we used that rig 15 times in the first year including a 20 day trip, putting around 4500 miles on the old gal in the first 12 months.  We lost a few bucks when we sold Penny, but I don?t regret finding out if it was right for us before blowing some serious money.  (At least serious money to us!)

Jeff
 
I hope y'all have a great time with your rig, it sounds like you're well on your way and already making lifetime memories. 
 
we got started with a TT about 4 years ago. We avoided a popup and went to a a hybrid (the next jump up). although we replaced the hybrid this year with a 5th wheel, it was nice buying an affordable unit and learning in it before shelling out more $$ on a larger unit. As you said, you might take a relatively small hit financially when you sell and upgrade but go out and travel in it. You will definitely learn more about what you want and what you need.
 
We are going again on the 23rd and made reservation for 4 days at a nice camp ground over Thanksgiving week-end.  Some will be just week-end get aways but still we love it so far.  :)
 
If I may add our story. My brother bought a 400,000 dollar rig with all the bells and whistles and 4 slides. He loved it and his wife hated it. They sold it this last year at about 3 years old for a HUGE loss. My wife and I bought a 1995 Damon Hornet Class C two years ago and my wife took to the RV lifestyle with enthusiasm. We use it year around not just for trips but also park it in the parking lot at work saving us a 56 mile round trip several days a week. No slide outs and we have had to put some money into the old girl due to previous owners bad habits. We love the lifestyle and every so often I get the feeling the wife would like to go larger and permanent RVing. :). I can only hope.
 
You've done a couple of smart things,  sold the boat and kept the MH to try it out.  I sold a houseboat and bought a 5er. Got tired of seeing the same shore line even if it was beautiful.  The acronym for boat is bring out another thousand.  Seemed rather true.  The boat ran $5000.00 a year for docking, storage, repairs, and fuel.  I buy alot of fuel and see alot of country for that amount.
 
WOW, $400,000, that a lot of MH.  ;)

So far we have really enjoyed ours but most likely will move to something a little bigger in a year. I think she really wants one with at least one slide out so we can have a little bit more room. With that being said, it WILL NOT BE a new one.  ;) 

Like most people have said, we did one we will find out what are needs and wants our so when we do buy another one, we will know what to look for.
 
Yeah, I wish my wife and I could afford one, though we probably wouldn't buy one that expensive for just the two of us. I am still learning even after two years with this one about likes, and dislikes, options I would like to have etc.... One day though after a respectable learning period I hope to move up to a nice Class A with at least two slides and hopefully a diesel engine. That much I know.  As for the rest I will wait for the DW input. ;)
 
hopefully a diesel engine.
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Why would you say that?  I wondering.  :)  I have heard that they have a little more power but heard that they are expensive to keep us compared to gas rigs. 
 
Barry, I have owned gas class A?s before and this last Jan we purchased our first (used) 36? DP. Living in the NW with lots of mountain passes I will never look back. The better suspension, air brakes, exhaust brake, and climbing passes at 55 mph where I used to be lucky going 30 with a smaller rig. I also get better mpg but only slightly. I will admit I was looking for gas when I started but got such a good deal on the DP I went for it. Overall costs are a bit higher but I do all my own maint. so that is not really an issue. I?m talking hundreds of dollars per yr difference, not thousands. Where the big money comes in is if you do not take care of them properly as they are different than gas engines for sure. It?s really a personal choice as you will hear arguments both ways but if you are looking for a larger MH (32? +) with slides I feel it is the only way to go. JM2C.
 
I for one after driving a rig fell in love with diesels. Once you know how to drive one you can get better mileage (depending on gearing), maintenance is a little more expensive, but the engine can last as long as a million miles. Yup, you read that correctly, A million miles. That is changing oil and filters, fuel filters and getting the requisite tune ups when they are due. Use the best oil you can afford. A true diesel (Cummins,Cat,Detroit) will normally be about 10,000 miles between oil change. I am going on when I drove truck back in the 80's. If driven correctly you can take a hill as well if not better then the same rig with a gas engine and the diesel wont overheat. The engines we had in the trucks seemed to dig deeper the more load you put on them up to a certain poundage. Driving a Cat is different then a Cummins, is different then a Detroit. Cat's you act like you have an egg between your foot and the accelerator and are trying to not break the egg. (At least that was the way you drove the older cats.) Detroits you drove like you were mad at them. Cummins you pretty much drove like a gas except your rpm range was different. Just feeling that tourque and power under your foot was enough to make you drool. I now own a 1985 Mercedes 300sd turbo diesel just so I can scratch my diesel itch without going back on the road. :)
 
It's been fun to read through this thread!  Like so many, we bought a fairly inexpensive MH for our first.  It was a 22' B+ and while cramped with 2 people and 2 boxers, we enjoyed it for 1 year.  DH had never camped as a kid but I had camped from KY to CA a couple of times as well as in local parks.

After a season in the "Short Bus", we decided it just wasn't going to work for the traveling we wanted to do and we began researching new Cs last fall.  We researched, went to shows, researched somemore, went to dealers and wound up with a 29' Class A with 2 slides.

We left on Sept 2 from southern Indiana and are pulling out of Ruby's at Bryce today headed for Zion.  We love our rig and so do the boxers!  It sounds like you guys are having fun with yours too and that is what is important.  There will always be something bigger & flashier and have options you might use if you had them!
 
Karen,  Your signature says, 2011 Georgetown 280DS. I sure like that floor plan as I have looked at it.

Have a safe travel and have fun.
 
JohnnyBgood, I just read this on another tread.

Routine maintenance on a gas chassis coach isn't too bad. Oil changes & filters aren't real expensive and you don't have a lot of other components to maintain. Get an annual chassis lube, change the tranny fluid every 5 or so years, coolant about the same, and you are in business. Diesels tend to need more maintenance, and what you need is much more expensive. I just put an air filter in mine myself and the filter alone was $120. Oil chnnges are 28 quarts, fuel filters are an annual expense that runs $25 each (I do it myself), etc.  Plus it has a hydraulic system that needs filters and occasional changes, an air system that needs $225 routine service every 2 years. etc. I just paid $2000 for 4 tires and they weren't even top of the line. You get the picture.  There is a thread here somewhere that discusses the cost of ownership/maintenance of a diesel coach and it is eye-opening.
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The above is why I am thinking of a gasser over diesel. Not really worried about putting a lot of miles on the MH, with a car, maybe. :)

 
Some of that (hydraulic system?) I have never heard of. Yes they cost a little more to maintain but a diesel rig properly maintained is going to keep more of its value over time. If you decide to keep it, while the gassers will need an engine change every 150,000 miles or so you are still driving yours. Taking hills can be very hard on gassers while diesels take it without problems. Some of your older rigs with the smaller 6.2 liter diesels were underpowered and didn't last as long. The newer diesels are right up there with the truck engines, because they are the same.
 
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