Anna Stone said:
Well, I've looked up Class C's and A's... The A's look so appealing, yet I can't imagine being at a left turn lane with traffic around me and not running into the median or another car...lol
Turning is actually very easy. The back of the RV still follows the front. All you need to know is pull into the intersection and start your turn a bit later than you would in a car. Actually right hand turns are the harder of the two. Just remember that 18 wheelers drive around towns and make those same turns.
What about Oregon and Washington, the mountain grades? How are they at handling this type of travel?
No problem. Like I said, all you have to do is test drive a few and rent one for a weekend or two and your fears will disappear. They really are a lot easier to drive than you think.
How do their brakes hold up?
Better than the brakes on a car.
Are there makes and models preferred over others?
Nope, any RV made in the last 20 years is a pretty good vehicle. There really aren't any lemons. There are some RVs that are better than others of course, but the better ones cost mega bucks. The condition, price and floorplan are way more important than the make and model. You want one that was well taken care of.
If I'm going to spend 120,000.00- 300,000.00, I want to be sure I am getting the best bang for the bucks!
The best thing to do is not spend that kind of money on your first RV. Virtually no one gets it right the first time. You really don't know what you are going to want until you have owned one for at least a year. Start out with a $20,000 used rig and in a year trade up to the one you really want. RVs depreciate like a rock so if you buy a pricey unit first when you trade it in a year later you will loose a lot of money. You can't loose too much on a $20K rig. And yes you can get a very nice class A for $20k. Here is an example of what I am talking about:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2001-Georgie-Boy-Pursuit-Series-M-3512-DS-Good-Condition-/310600095609?pt=RVs_Campers&hash=item4851355779#ht_500wt_1183
It's a good thing I'm not in a hurry! lol. Though I must say that once I made my mind up to do this, I'm more excited than I am nervous!
Great idea not to be in a hurry. I usually take three to six months of shopping for me to find my next RV.
I am going to test drive a couple and get a feel for them... But I would prefer to get my advice from people who have been there and done that.
Good idea to test drive a few. Let the salesman know you have never driven an RV and he will be very helpful showing you how to drive it. Remember, he wants to sell you an RV and if he has to help you learn to drive one he will. Just remember RV salesmen are used car salesmen and they will lie to their mother to sell an RV. And before you actually sign on the dotted line come back here for advise on what you need to know.