Potential Itasca Owner from Denver

[rick_in_denver]

Hi.  Rick and Sharon from Denver.  Not RV owners yet but working on it.  Kids are grown, grandkids are 700 miles away, I guess that means we have to find a practical way to visit them and not stay in some fleabag motel, lol.

Anyway, we're looking at some diesel pusher Class A units, found a 2000 Itasca 36LD we like, now pondering how to pay for the rig and what to do (if anything) with the stuff we keep at home. 

I am looking forward to reading everybody's stories, how-to's, rants and raves and everything else on here.

God bless!

Rick_in_Denver (and Sharon too!)

 

[mrschwarz]

Welcome to the club. You'll find a lot of that here.

 

[John Canfield]

A big howdy to you guys!

 

[MARC and DEE]

Hi Rick and Sharon!!

Nothing wrong with Itasca. Well built and dependable for the most part and will last a long time if properly cared for.
Don't quite know what you are asking or expecting in the way of answers such as how to pay for the Itasca etc etc.

More specifics would be helpful perhaps.

Good luck!! ;D

Marc

 

[rick_in_denver]

Don't quite know what you are asking or expecting in the way of answers such as how to pay for the Itasca etc etc.

Thanks, Marc!  I see we have a number of Colorado residents here.  In any event, looking forward to learning more about the lifestyle, etc.

God Bless
Rick and Sharon

 

[cbeierl]

Assuming that's the Horizon, here's the Winnebago (Itasca) Brochure for the 2000 Horizon, just fyi.

 

[maverickbbd]

Welcome to the site.  Don't hesitate to participate.  Remember you are buying a 12 yr old rig.  Nothing wrong with that but be advised you will be busy.  Are you thinking of going full time?  Is that why you are asking about financing?  I hear it is very difficult to get loans for rigs if you plan to go full time.  The lenders want to be able to track you down I guess.

 

[Clay L]

Thanks, Marc!  I see we have a number of Colorado residents here.  In any event, looking forward to learning more about the lifestyle, etc.

God Bless
Rick and Sharon

We are SD residents but we own a 1/3 interest in a 3000 tree commercial peach orchard in Palisade and although we are full timers we are here for a few months each summer. We will head south in November.
Feel free to stop by if you get over to the Western slope.

 

[rick_in_denver]

Remember you are buying a 12 yr old rig.  Nothing wrong with that but be advised you will be busy.  Are you thinking of going full time?  Is that why you are asking about financing?  I hear it is very difficult to get loans for rigs if you plan to go full time.

Thanks!  After spending most of last night reading some of this forum and Jane and John's Blog, I know these things don't run without a lot of TLC and sweat equity, but knowing what I might be getting into is something I hope to gain from here.  I'm mechanically inclined but not anatomically shaped to work in "really tight spots," unfortunately.

As far as financing goes, my original comment was more "tongue in cheek" instead of a rant/rave.  I still work and have a "stick home" (as I saw posted somewhere else on here) so RVing is probably a part-time thing for the next few years.

Thanks again
Rick and Sharon

 

[Pierat]

Welcome and good luck in finding your new rig.

 

[goldwingerx2]

Welcome to the board and to RVing.  My only concern with a DP is the maintenance for the miles driven cost.  We only drive about 8000 miles a year and I do not feel I can justify the costs.  Itasca or Winnebago are great units we are on our 2nd one.  They have a ton of info on newer and older units on their website: http://winnebagoind.com/.  Good luck and enjoy your trips to spoil the grandkids, and don't forget to take them camping with you if you can.  They really enjoy it.  Again Welcome.

 

[JailHouseDwag]

RID, I hope great minds think alike. I just this afternoon started the papers on a Itasca Horizon 34, same age. It's a sweet looking unit and very well taken care of. It has 61k miles, but with that Cummings engine, Allison 6 speed transmission, I couldn't pass it up. My wife said she felt as though we were at home when she sat in it.

This is a move for us from a travel trailer, I'm excited and scared at the same time.

MaverickBBD, what all can I expect to be busy with?

 

[John Canfield]

You will be busy learning your rig's peculiarities.  You will find a lot of similarities with the house part compared to a TT, but you have the added complexity of the motorized chassis and the generator.

You might need to chase down some problems for a while (or not - depends on how thorough the prior owner was with maintenance and how frequently the rig was used.)

In spite of the complexity of the pusher, it's a Class A way to go (pun intended!)

 

[maverickbbd]

You will always find something to do and learn about your "new" rig.  It has been said that if a guy had two motor homes he would never need anything else.  He would have plenty to keep him busy.  Enjoy the journey.  Sounds like you are well on your way.

 

[W7NW]

We love ours.  I will say though when you put a house on wheels you get to do a lot of homeowner maintenance items.  It keeps your interest up.  This is a great place to come with questions for good insight into what is going on.  This site gave me the info and courage to retrofit my TV in the Meridian (about 90% done now) as well as some other things.  The other part is the people you meet down the road, great folks who are willing to help when you ask or even look like you need it.

 

[Wagonmaster2]

A person definitely needs to be mechanically inclined, mostly physically able, and somewhat intelligent to own one of these "hobbies on wheels".  I purchased a new Meridian DP in 2004 hoping to get a few years of trouble free travel (other than normal maintenance) before things started to crater, but no such luck.  Something breaks or needs replacing while on each of our 2 long trips each year or immediately after returning home.  The washer/dryer combo leaked and the leveling jacks wouldn't retract on the very first trip, on subsequent trips a couple of the  day/night shades broke the strings, the closet rod broke loose and fell done on the floor, I'm on my 4th water pump replacement that always either leaked or stopped working while dry camping,  the two sliding rooms would not retract, the rear view camera quit working, the water heater wouldn't heat on LP or electricity,  the top of the bathroom Fantastic vent broke and had to be taped down till a replacement could be mailed to us, the electric step froze in the extended position twice, and I'm sure there are others I can't remember. 

Being slightly mechanically inclined with a few hand tools I have been able to handle most of them myself.  Either this or a person must have a good reliable shop nearby they trust to do their RV work.  RVing in motor homes is great fun but be prepared for lots of work.  A co-worker once told me to be prepared to spend 2 hours working on it for every one hour of use, but I think he was definitely overly optomistic about the number of work hours.

Allen

 

[John Canfield]

...Being slightly mechanically inclined with a few hand tools I have been able to handle most of them myself.  Either this or a person must have a good reliable shop nearby they trust to do their RV work. ..

So true.  We made friends with a husband/wife that were down island on a large aluminum sailboat (60 foot range) and he apparently had no mechanical skills, so periodically he would arrange for mechanics to meet him somewhere or another to fix something.

 

[John Hilley]

RID, I hope great minds think alike. I just this afternoon started the papers on a Itasca Horizon 34, same age. It's a sweet looking unit and very well taken care of. It has 61k miles, but with that Cummings engine, Allison 6 speed transmission, I couldn't pass it up. My wife said she felt as though we were at home when she sat in it.

This is a move for us from a travel trailer, I'm excited and scared at the same time.

MaverickBBD, what all can I expect to be busy with?

That's a Cummins engine

 

[Jon Cuz]

Hi Rick, if you go ahead and get the Itasca you might want to consider joining our very active Winnebago Industries WIT club, the Colorado Columbines. If interested y0u can contact me at [email protected].

 

[rick_in_denver]

Hi Rick, if you go ahead and get the Itasca you might want to consider joining our very active Winnebago Industries WIT club, the Colorado Columbines. If interested y0u can contact me at [email protected].

Thanks Jon!  I definitely want to join some sort of travel club or owners club