Happy-motorhome owners -- let's hear it!

[billwild]

So Sean and Katy,
          Are you getting the responses you expected?


Bill

 

[WILDEBILL308]

"...a short trip this summer -- 5500 miles to 26 states and 2 provinces in about 100 days." A "short trip"... Okaaaaay! Ours will mostly be "momentary" compared to that!  ;D

Anyway, thanks all for the good info, and keep it coming. I guess thousands of motorhomes get sold every for some good reasons....

You have to start somewhere. If you are still working you have limited time to travel. I understand that.
A lot of RVs are sold by people who are still working and decide they can't or don't want to spend the money for the time they have available to travel and some people decide they don't like to travel after all. Some reach the age they can't travel anymore.
Bill

 

[MYRV2]

99.8% of you on here probably have more experience with motorhome ownership than we do. Since picking up our new Nexus Phantom last week (and of course in our research before buying), we're quite aware of all the things that can go wrong and people who've had to endure sometimes nightmare stories about RV ownership. But man, there has to be another side to all this, so if you're an owner who's overall been very happy with your ownership experience (which does not preclude minor problems, of course, because Stuff Does Happen), I'd love to hear about it. I know there have to be many on here who have had the positives FAR outweigh the negatives with their RV-ownership experience.... Thanks!

I've own'd rv's since I was 17, 65 now,... couldn't live without one or two.. owning the rv and liking rv'ing are two separate things..
I love the getaway feeling of RV's...but I don't do well with one I don't like.. hence why I'm on my 52nd new rig...not to count the unknown amount of used ones..
here's what I've found... people are real brand loyal, or don't know any better...here's the truth... all rv's ride good on smooth roads...none ride good on washboard roads... all rv's get good MPG down hill...none up hill...unless you are in a school zone... none have enough power...

so how do separate the two...rent one....and go have fun...

if you own one, you better like tinkering with stuff...for me ? guess I love that part..my newest coach is a 2002 sightseer work horse 8.1...I love it... bought it so I don't have to take the new dp out to the dunes... air bag coaches are not made for off roading?.

 

[MYRV2]

NY_Dutch
Where any of those sticks&bricks as young as your now 17 year old coach?

I would say they are equal...you just have to only use the master bedroom, put in a few walls so the bed has just enough room to walk around.. and if the bedroom is too small, get rid of the king bed and stuff a double in the corner..put a stacker washer/ dryer in the closet, and add a booth dinette that makes into a bed incase you get overnite visitors....put a sink in the corner , cut a piece of wood to cover the sink (so you have counter space)with a micro wave above it..figure about 5' total for clothes pole, divide it 20%80%..guess who gets the 80%..shut off the roof ac and get a window unit

 

[Isaac-1]

Overall I guess I have been lucky, with only a couple of breakdown issues, both of which happened close to home.  Last July, I blew a hydraulic hardline on the automatic parking brake 3 miles from home while taking it to the shop to get the dash air conditioner fixed, was able to limp it on 4 miles to the shop while spewing out my spare quart of transmission fluid, I just made it too as the parking brake re-engaged as I pulled into the shops parking lot.  Most recently I had an alternator go out about 50 miles from home, but was able to limp on home by running the generator and having it charge the chassis battery.

These recent experiences has me a bit paranoid taking it on longer trips, though that will not stop me from going.  With luck nothing else will fail in the near future, and my confidence in the coach will build back.

 

[decaturbob]

99.8% of you on here probably have more experience with motorhome ownership than we do. Since picking up our new Nexus Phantom last week (and of course in our research before buying), we're quite aware of all the things that can go wrong and people who've had to endure sometimes nightmare stories about RV ownership. But man, there has to be another side to all this, so if you're an owner who's overall been very happy with your ownership experience (which does not preclude minor problems, of course, because Stuff Does Happen), I'd love to hear about it. I know there have to be many on here who have had the positives FAR outweigh the negatives with their RV-ownership experience.... Thanks!

bought a 2008 32ft Tioga class c 30 months ago and have made trips to arizona, trips to florida and will return to florida in January.  Its my kind of life for sure, wife not too keen but she is always invtied

 

[NY_Dutch]

bought a 2008 32ft Tioga class c 30 months ago and have made trips to arizona, trips to florida and will return to florida in January.  Its my kind of life for sure, wife not too keen but she is always invtied

That's unfortunate your wife is not more on board for your travels, Bob. I feel very fortunate that my wife is very much into our travels, and in fact she's the one that found our current full time coach before I even knew we were looking for a different one.

 

[decaturbob]

That's unfortunate your wife is not more on board for your travels, Bob. I feel very fortunate that my wife is very much into our travels, and in fact she's the one that found our current full time coach before I even knew we were looking for a different one.

She actually does pretty well. Overcoming her notion of "RV people" and she puts up less resistance all the time. Me, I could travel 6-8 months a year and never tire of it.  I do need my homebase and would never go fulltime.  There is nothing I enjoy more than hitting the road on a new (or old) adventure

 

[thelazyl]

This summer we put down a deposit to rent a Class A.  We had never motorhomed as a couple and wanted to try before we bought.  We didn't consider out pets and we were breaking in a puppy.  A few weeks before the trip the owners became flaky about liability insurance.  We couldn't get insurance through our carrier.  That, and the desire to take our dogs gave us the inspiration to take purchasing more seriously.  My wife had done background research and we shopped for diesel pushers online.  We cancelled the rental and purchased a 37' DP.  We purchased based on our first visit and before anyone inspected it (and, our ONLY hands on visit with a test drive).  This was a dumb move but we got away with it - the RV is in perfect working order and very good shape.  Our first trip was through Eastern Oregon's painted hills and Columbia Gorge.  It was the most fun as a couple - way better than we expected.  We are glad we got the DP because the travel is so nice (smooth, quiet).   

 

[A Traveler]

We own a 2006 Thor Mandalay 40E. We bought it used in 2012 with 36,000 miles on it. Today it has 106,000 and counting. It has been well cared for and I?ve got every maintenance invoice for the coach from day one. We?ve had to fix things from time to time, but that comes with the territory.

Beyond the hardware, my wife and I truly enjoy traveling in this motor home. Some of the most pleasant experiences of our lives have been enjoyed in that coach.

We really enjoy exploring this wonderful country of ours by highway. Our most recent trip was to drive US Route 1 from milepost zero in downtown Key West all the way to Augusta, Georgia. US 1 goes right through downtown Miami. What a sight that was, and I?ve got great dash cam video to remember it by. We?ll eventually run US 1 all the way to Fort Kent, Maine, but not in the winter!  ?

 

[Mooney 78865]

We bought a 2001 34' Four Winds Infinity as a project 2 years ago to see if we would like RVing. Re did the interior and the exterior to make it "ours". http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,110457.0.html
We were shopping at Camping World and the dealer next door had a number of Class A's opened up to walk thru. The wife wanted to get some "d?cor" ideas, and off she went.  Two weeks later we were driving a 2014 Georgetown XL 378! We bought it with 7,500 miles on it and now have 12,000.  Pretty good in three months for a couple empty nesters who work fulltime.
Biggest problem was learning all of the in and outs of a late model coach.  Haven't had any real issues other than the learning curve.  We love our coach!

 

[Bill N]

Sure looked like a nice job on that Infinity.  Any real sore points with it that prompted the trade?

Bill

 

[ricknc]

We went the opposite way of most,we went smaller instead of larger We started out with rentals and shares for ~8years. Great experiences but we both longed for something smaller more suited to the backroads and older/smaller campgrounds we prefer. Planned to wait a few years longer (~2020) put some more cash aside and get a Class B but then we saw this small late 1990's Winnebago Brave 23'  class A parked at the beach. The owner was with it and showed us the inside he had completely redecorated. Wife loved the layout and the diminutive size. I liked the simple mechanicals (454 TBI) so we decided that was what we wanted to do. Spent about 9 months looking for one. Found a 1995 from the original owner with low miles and full documented maintenance history. Spent some time and money making it our own. Couldn't be happier with this choice. Put about 12,000 miles on it so far.

 

[Mooney 78865]

Sure looked like a nice job on that Infinity.  Any real sore points with it that prompted the trade?

Bill

No, not really. It's a good coach.  I was actually the voice of reason for a change.  It was paid for, we had done everything to make it as up to date as possible, new tires, batteries, interior, exterior looked great.
But when she saw the Georgetown with the porcelain tile floor, 40" TV, residential refrigerator, she was pretty taken.  The 3 slides and fireplace sent her over the edge.  I really like the full body paint and late model engine and transmission with "tow/haul" mode. Doesn't hurt we got a REALLY good deal as well.