If you had to do over again on your first motor home

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I would make sure to have a sofa long enough to lay down on for lounging.  Ours is too short because I am tall and I would also want full paint and a convection microwave oven.
 
A TV I can watch when the slides are in. Pulling in someplace (rest area, etc.) to eat some lunch I like to catch up on the news even if just a local TV station. The TV in mine is hidden by the slide unless I level it and put the slides out. I never thought of that when I looked at the unit before buying. Just a pet peeve.

 
Not an option but  lesson learned on current coach. The black colors so prevalent really increase the solar load on the AC. So if you buy into the dark color scheme have plenty of AC capacity.
An option we have and almost never use is the outside TV. See a few people use theirs but not many.

Happy Shopping

David
 
I must be one of the lucky ones. Thanks to the PO upgrading and installing perks, I'm pretty much happy with mine. Had it 6 years and unless I hit the lottery, I'm good.
 
As you can see from the other replies, the desirability of an option depends a lot on your personal wants and needs. If you boondock a lot, features like extra batteries, an inverter, large waste tanks, etc. are really valuable. If you never boondock, they are largely superfluous.  TV or not is another big one. Some folks find tv reception, tv size, and tv viewing comfort to be a major factor, while others could care less. An auto leveling system is really nice and valuable if you aren't manually inclined, but some consider it a waste of money.  People who live long term in their RV often want to have a washer/dryer, but weekenders have little need for it.  And so on...
 
Nothing! But I bought the first one to see if we liked the life style so good condition and "throwaway priced". Subsequent mh's Gary covered it very well.

Ernie
 
As Gary said, it's highly subjective based on your needs and how you're going to use it.  We just bought our very first RV of any kind.  We're going to be full-timing.  We are right now on day three of our maiden voyage.
We opted for class A and I think that was the right choice for us. (May say different the first time our home is gone from us for service or maintenance.)
We went with a gasser because, for the price point we desired, a similarly outfitted DP would've been 5 to 7 years older. Be aware the older you go the older the technology will be.  e.g. Our 2011 has flat screen HD TVs, but doesn't have LED lighting.  I'll be converting our incandescents to LEDs soon. (Those incandescents put out significant heat and make the ACs work considerably harder/longer.).  I wish I would've negotiated that into the deal. Having said that, I can tell you already I have DP envy.  Even when the Saturn is not in tow, we don't have much giddy up on even small grades.  When dragging the Saturn, we crawl.  (Plus the engine noise is more annoying than I anticipated it would be.
We've committed to a year of full-timing.  If we decide to carry on, we may choose to trade at that time.  All things considered, we're very satisfied with our choice (at least, so far... a bit early in the game for us.)
 
We bought our MH brand new 15 years ago and now have 103,000 miles on it.  No slide-outs or levelers.  I'll have to admit that after 2 week in it the walls move IN a few inches each week. We've spent up to 2 months in it at a time.  We feel that this will be our first and last MH.  We plan to keep in another two or three years.
 
Decaturbob, We bought my first motor home, a used 32 foot Class A Winnebago Adventurer for very little money. We bought it to see if we would enjoy the RV lifestyle. After over 10,000 miles and great times, we decided ?yes,? so we considered what niceties were missing in the Winnebago that we would want if we looked for a second RV. We now have a used Pace Arrow that incorporates some of the things we wanted and not some others, but overall, we are happy with the ?options? included in our 2nd RV. The used market offers prices that make it quite easy to find compromises you can live with. A lot of motivated sellers are out there with good quality RVs at good prices.

First, the positives in the Winnebago that we wanted to have in a second RV:
- Large basement compartments with pass-through storage
- LP- and electric-capable water heater with ?motor-aid? heating while underway
- Tri-power refrigerator 120v, LP, & 12v (haven?t seen these around lately)
- North/South queen bed with useable nightstands on each side
- Dinette on the passenger side so we could look out over our campsite when seated there
- A voltmeter/ammeter display showing the use of shore power
- An easily accessible electrical outlet on the awning side of the RV
- A good sound system

Next, the options we looked for in our next motor home after 10,000 miles in the Winnebago:
- A slide in the living area. Yes, you will want this.
- Leveling jacks. It gets old driving up on Legos to get level and then crawling around in the sand and red ants or in the rain to put stabilizing jacks under the RV to keep it from rocking.
- A motor home WITHOUT a bedroom slide so the bed can be accessed without deploying a slide and nightstands that are not 4 inches wide
- More comfortable driver?s and passenger seats

We gave up some of the Winnebago?s niceties when we bought the used Pace Arrow, but overall the positives outweigh the negatives. The must-haves we wanted and got with the Pace Arrow:
- A living room slide and leveling jacks. (These made the sale for us.)
Some of the plusses we weren?t thinking about but have come to appreciate:
- An icemaker in the refrigerator
- 50 amp shore power
- Combination Microwave/Convection Oven
- A washing machine (This is a luxury, actually, but we have come to love it!)

The upshot is, it?s a crapshoot what is out there when looking for a used motor home. More likely than not, all the used RVs you find will need new tires, so plan for that and don?t let that sour you on an otherwise good deal. Think about your must-haves and don?t compromise on those. As many have said about buying an RV?it?s all about the floorplan and how it fits your needs. The other stuff?new TVs, sound systems, microwaves, etc., can all be upgraded over time as you go and get experience with the coach. Look for good mechanicals, good bones, and you will enjoy your RV. There are a lot of them out there, and one is out there for you. Good luck!
 
the things I desire are ...

1. more counter space.
2. bigger bathroom.
3. heated floors.
 
We just purchased our new to us 1996 Four Winds a month and a half ago.  It was super clean on the inside.  To get it ready for the first trip, (4000 miles) it was new tires and oil change, and flush the tanks.  We picked it up at a low price, no slides and 30' on a F53 Chassis.  Everything was in working order with the exception of the front TV (old 25" square view).  We got it to see what we liked, what we didn't like.  We will probably keep this one for a couple of years before we upgrade.  There are already somethings that we want to do different and a lot that we like.  Its a learning experience, but that's what keeps life entertaining.
 
My list includes, a queen bed that you can walk around, a shower I can stand in, without sticking my head in the skylight, enough seats in the living area for 6 to 7 people, and counter space for a coffee pot and waffle maker.
 
I think the biggest "option" we should have chosen in hindsight, was to buy it 10 years sooner! :)

Actually, we bought our first motorhome after many TT's and a couple of conversion vans, as a "fixer upper", and added pretty much every missing option we wanted at the time, including hydraulic levelers. Over the years since, our needs and wants have changed as we spend most of the year in the motorhome now, so what we had in the first one was a bit different from our current coach. Things like storage systems designed for easy transfer to or from the house are no longer needed. We do like our single super slide and automatic levelers, along with the single room bath. Our first motorhome didn't have any slides, but we did make sure the current one was fully functional with the slide in before buying it. All we lose is some floor space of course, and access to one little used outlet.
 
If your couch folds out to a bed for guests make sure you can still get past it to use the bathroom or go outside. Apparently stepping on the bed when someone is in it is frowned upon....
 
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