How old when considering a Class A Motorhome?

[eldcas57]

I'm sure this will jinx me, but we purchased a '99 Rexhall Aerbus in July 2013

I had also purchased a 99 Rexhall Aerbus right around that same time frame. Except mine was a 35' with two slides and had 139,000 miles on it. the gentleman I purchased it from had taken immaculate care of and so have I since. though I have to admit, as a newbee I've had my share of Oops! It currently now has almost 160,000 miles on it. I've been west twice, Florida the last three years, and numerous local camping trips. We like the floor plan and I like the way it handles going down the road. Sometime in the future we will, hopefully, upgrade, but for we have we have been pleasantly surprised at our luck with this purchase and would do it again.


And just like 56Safari let me go knock-on-wood, cause I probably jinxed myself!!

 

[ricknc]

A lot depends on what cash and labor resources you have available .  For me I'm a better than average shade tree mechanic and fabricator with tools and shop equipment so I  am able to repair most anything I can find a manual and tool for. The choice we had to make was either borrowing money to get something relatively new or go with something much older we could pay cash for and then update and remodel to our wants. I looked for a  mid-90's chassis with TBI injection and OBD 1  diagnostics system.  The GM TBI system is reliable, simple and easy to find parts for.  The OBD 1 diagnostics is also simple and doesn't red flag minor emissions problems during annual inspections.

We ended up buying a 1995 Winnebago and then spending the better part of 6 months of weekends completely going through it and replacing  all the wear items on the chassis (belts, hoses, tires, brakes, shocks) then completely redecorating and updating the interior. To us it is now new and I'm not under the hood every week fixing something.  So we are into this about $16K at this point vs $50-80k for something newer.  If I had to pay someone to have done all of this work, I would be into this MH for double that.

IMO, If you want turn-key get the newest you can afford. If you have time and mechanical skills you can look at something older.
As for the 10 year campground rule it is a small percentage and a small percentage of those enforce it unless you look like a rolling meth lab

 

[garyb1st]

If you have Ricknc's skill set go for it.  Otherwise, make sure your bank account is able to cover the costs which could be significant, at least in relationship to the purchase price.