Longer Haul Travelling - Best Motorhome Type?

[docj]

Not sure this will help much as I have no experience in motor homes other than the 40' DP I purchased almost a year ago and have put 8000 miles on. I don't have any of the issues you experienced in your previous coach. My coach has a quiet ride, plenty of power and doesn't get pushed around much on the highway by passing semi's.
I opted for a slightly higher end but older coach and am very satisfied. My budget allowed for fixes on the older coach and I'm using it.

We did essentially the same thing.  We had experience with a 27' Class C and didn't find that particularly pleasant (noise, poor fuel economy, limited storage) so a Class A DP made sense to us.  We also bought a higher end, older model--ours was 10 years old when we bought it and is now ~18!  But, to my surprise my insurance company was willing to provide me an "agreed value" policy at 70% of our purchase price 8 years ago.  Yes, we've put a fair amount into redecorating and modernizing it, but nowhere near the cost of having bought a new one of lesser quality!

As for ride and handling, we have put nearly 60,000 miles on ours all across North America.  Even though people claim "you need a tag" I think that is far too broad a generalization.  There are brands of MH's that are known to drive better than others and ours is an especially sweet example.  On the highway at ~65 mph it drives like a dream and winds or big trucks rarely cause any concerns.  Ours happens to also have a greatly over-sized 12 liter engine (CAT C-12) which allows it to pull away from stops nearly as fast as many cars and it hardly notices hills other than the steepest ones.

If you expect to take long trips in it for multiple years, I strongly encourage you to consider an older DP.

Joel (AKA docj)

 

[timjet]

I noticed in your signature you owned an American Tradition MH. I have not heard of that brand so looked it up on RV trader. That's a really nice unit. I don't know what you paid but the one I looked at was a 2007 40Z with 57,000 miles and a price tag of $127,000. It's amazing how much they depreciate. I can see why most on this forum advocate buying used. I know you are having a great time in that gorgeous MH. Happy Trails!

You're description pretty much mirrors our coach, year, price tag, and model. We're very happy with it and being a tinker, I'm always finding projects to fix or upgrade on it. We'll probably put another 8000 miles on it this year.

 

[nmakarewicz]

Thankyou all for all the feedback and experiences.  Over the last several weeks we have looked at and driven quite a few various motorhomes and types.  I think my ultimate goal is to get into a DP.  After further investigating cost of plates, insurance etc. I also decided it was best to somewhat lower our budget for now. We also talked with a long time RVer who told us to stop treating it like we were looking for our "final" RV, because you are probably not...that took off a lot of pressure...and made a lot of sense.  Long story short after all the guidance and experience you all have provided, I thought it only fitting for me to share with you all that we decided to purchase the 2017 Thor Miramar 34.1 at the link below.  While it is not my favorite driving motorhome it is indeed far better than our experience with the 2008 Mirada, and all things considered at this moment it seemed to be the right fit for us, particularly knowing it will likely not be our last.  Now we are turning our attention to planning some trips, and figuring out the best way to bring another vehicle along with us.

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2017-Thor-Motor-Coach-Miramar-34.1-122091243 

 

[timjet]

Congratulations!

 

[WILDEBILL308]

Thankyou all for all the feedback and experiences.  Over the last several weeks we have looked at and driven quite a few various motorhomes and types.  I think my ultimate goal is to get into a DP.  After further investigating cost of plates, insurance etc. I also decided it was best to somewhat lower our budget for now. We also talked with a long time RVer who told us to stop treating it like we were looking for our "final" RV, because you are probably not...that took off a lot of pressure...and made a lot of sense.  Long story short after all the guidance and experience you all have provided, I thought it only fitting for me to share with you all that we decided to purchase the 2017 Thor Miramar 34.1 at the link below.  While it is not my favorite driving motorhome it is indeed far better than our experience with the 2008 Mirada, and all things considered at this moment it seemed to be the right fit for us, particularly knowing it will likely not be our last.  Now we are turning our attention to planning some trips, and figuring out the best way to bring another vehicle along with us.

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2017-Thor-Motor-Coach-Miramar-34.1-122091243

Congratulations!!!!
The best way to bring a vehicle along with you is towing 4 down, less easy is with a dolly. I have done both. I am now towing 4 down. Look at Remco industries, if they can't or don't show something to be towable it isn't. They have made their money making things towable for years.
http://www.remcoindustries.com/product-pages/towing/
Any questions just ask.
Bill



.

 

[scottydl]

Glad you found something that fits your needs!  Just remember, that brand new RV will depreciate like crazy in the next 4-5 years... you'd be lucky to get back 40% of what you paid.  If you can afford the financial hit and you'll get full enjoyment from the rig, then go for it!  But if not or the finances are questionable, trust that there ARE good used RV's out there that could meet your needs.  It can be a long shopping and research process, but it can be done... I'm living proof. 

 

[MYRV2]

You can get a really nice "previously owned" DP for $100k.

that's what I got for my alpine...400hp 1200tq, all remodeled

 

[Craigt61]

How has your experience been with the Miramar.  Looking at first time purchase and looking for feedback

 

[WILDEBILL308]

You might try contacting the OP directly as the last post was over a year ago.
Bill

 

[Willandgiselarv]

Sure would really want to know if he is truly
Enjoying driving his MH...essentially bought the same MH but newer...