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tmdekerr

New member
Joined
Jan 13, 2025
Posts
4
Location
Arkansas
Hello, everyone!

I'm excited to join this community and learn more about RVing. I haven't bought an RV yet, which is why I'm here. What better way to discover the pros and cons than by connecting with experienced RVers who are living the dream? I intend to gather as much information as possible about what to do, what to buy, and what to expect by exploring the forum threads.

My parents owned a Class A motorhome for years, but they recently sold it due to age and health concerns. My sister and brother-in-law have a fifth wheel. While I’ve traveled with a bumper-pull camper (a rental) from Arkansas to South Dakota and then on to Wyoming, I’m still new to RV ownership. My dream is to own a 45' diesel pusher. I’m three years away from retirement and plan to go solo, although I intend to travel in a convoy with my sister and brother-in-law.

With my kids in their last year of college, I think it’s the perfect time to start looking for what I want in an RV. I’ve had many people advise me against buying a diesel engine, suggest I shouldn’t choose a large motorhome, or warn me against a smaller option. However, I’m determined to buy what I want based on my own preferences and needs. I expect I won’t always be traveling alone; my kids will likely join me occasionally, and maybe even grandkids in the distant future.

After hearing and reading a lot about different manufacturers, I’m now turning to the true experts: fellow RV owners!

I’m glad to be part of this site and look forward to learning from all of you!

~Tracy
 
Welcome to the forum. You are doing the right thing. Get everyones opinions then decide for yourself. Everyone is different and there are a million ways to use and travel in an rv.

There are lots of threads here by pwople asking what to consider with a new rv so those might be a good start to gather info.
 
I’ve had many people advise me against buying a diesel engine, suggest I shouldn’t choose a large motorhome, or warn me against a smaller option. However, I’m determined to buy what I want based on my own preferences and needs.
If your budget will stand it, by all means get what you want! I had two DPs over the years, a 45' Beaver (5.5 mpg, 525 HP) and a 38' Newmar Ventana (9-10 mpg, 360 HP), both of which had hydronic heating systems (recommended), Aqua Hot in the Beaver and Oasis in the Ventana, air ride, and plenty of room for the two of us, as well as comfortable travel.

Of course the longer rigs mean a bit more care in maneuvering, and there are some campgrounds which may not easily accommodate them, but it was never a serious problem for us.

If you get a DP, spend a lot of time with the manuals learning the various systems on board before you do much traveling -- it took me the best part of a month of heavy reading (and a bit of practice) to get comfortable with the Beaver's systems. Thankfully most of what I learned carried over nicely to the Ventana, though there were a few differences to learn.

You might note that, at least partly due to less weight, the Ventana actually pulled my Jeep toad a little better up the hills than the heavier Beaver did (36K vs 50K lbs), as well as getting better mileage. Both could range 700ish miles with a small reserve, under most conditions -- 150 gal. tanks on the Beaver, 100 gal. tanks on the Ventana.

They were also a LOT less sensitive to gusty and cross winds than the gas Bounder I had.

So just be aware of the drawbacks, as well as the advantages of a large DP vs a smaller class A gas or a class C gas.
 
If your budget will stand it, by all means get what you want! I had two DPs over the years, a 45' Beaver (5.5 mpg, 525 HP) and a 38' Newmar Ventana (9-10 mpg, 360 HP), both of which had hydronic heating systems (recommended), Aqua Hot in the Beaver and Oasis in the Ventana, air ride, and plenty of room for the two of us, as well as comfortable travel.

Of course the longer rigs mean a bit more care in maneuvering, and there are some campgrounds which may not easily accommodate them, but it was never a serious problem for us.

If you get a DP, spend a lot of time with the manuals learning the various systems on board before you do much traveling -- it took me the best part of a month of heavy reading (and a bit of practice) to get comfortable with the Beaver's systems. Thankfully most of what I learned carried over nicely to the Ventana, though there were a few differences to learn.

You might note that, at least partly due to less weight, the Ventana actually pulled my Jeep toad a little better up the hills than the heavier Beaver did (36K vs 50K lbs), as well as getting better mileage. Both could range 700ish miles with a small reserve, under most conditions -- 150 gal. tanks on the Beaver, 100 gal. tanks on the Ventana.

They were also a LOT less sensitive to gusty and cross winds than the gas Bounder I had.

So just be aware of the drawbacks, as well as the advantages of a large DP vs a smaller class A gas or a class C gas.
Thank you for the information! My dad drove a commercial truck for a few years when his health forced him to close his own business. When he bought his motorhome (MH), he purchased a diesel pusher (DP) motorhome as well. He advised me that with a thorough pre-purchase inspection and proper maintenance afterward, I could potentially enjoy a great vehicle for many years—essentially a "one and done" situation. He mentioned that a well-maintained DP can last for over 500,000 miles, but he also warned me that repairs can be more expensive! (lol)

When I towed a bumper-pull trailer from Arkansas to South Dakota and Wyoming, I was using a gas-powered vehicle. In contrast, my sister and her husband were towing their fifth wheel with a diesel truck. I could never catch up to them; the take-off was slow, my gas mileage was poor, and I had to stop for fuel much more frequently than they did. That experience made me determine that if I ever purchased a motorhome, it would definitely be a diesel. I plan to buy used, as I want the best value for my budget. I'm not opposed to owning a used vehicle, and I hope my budget allows me to get what I want!
 
Welcome to the Forum. You may want to check out our "Resources" section. It's located at the top of the page on the red ribbon. Click on "Resources" and there will be a list of categories on the left side of the page. Lots of good info. I used it when I bought my first travel trailer.
 
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Welcome to The Forum.

When you start looking at different models and manufacturers of DPs, I suggest you Google the forums for the particular models or brands to check out what folks who own those models have to say about them. I did this before I bought my second motorhome, a one-year-old Georgetown, and the tips I received from the Forest River forum before I signed the deal for the rig saved me thousands of dollars in repairs that would've come down the road by having the dealer take care of known issues before the sale.

I wouldn't put too much credit to the statement that "DPs will last 500K miles". Maybe the diesel engine will, and at what expense, but the other systems on the rig probably won't. Also, when shopping for used DPs look beyond the mileage shown to gauge use and wear and tear. Folks who post up in Florida in their motorhome then drive it home and hardly use it the rest of the year will put more wear and tear on the RV than the common weekend warrior who camps three-day weekends and one week or two trips a season.

In regards to used motorhome (or any RV for that matter) pricing, I would guess about 99.9% of them will be way overpriced to start. For every RV you look at, first look at the rig for what it is, then consider the asking price, figuring it will be thousands over what it's worth. PPL Motors in Texas, and MHSRV also in Texas are two good resources to check on pricing. And, don't forget JD Powers & Assoc. who bought out the always trusty NADA resource. What's nice about JD is you can look up the original MSRP on their website for vehicles you are interested in.

Good luck with your search and don't be shy about updating us with your experience shopping for a DP.
 
Go buy what you want. It’s your money. Just do your due diligence checking it out. I currently have a 5th wheel, but would like a super C on a freightliner chassis. Just have to win the lottery first.
 
I would really stress your father's advise of a very slow, complete, picky, inspection of everything. One question to ask at the time of ordering is the amount of time that someone will spend with you during your inspection. Some dealerships will tell you four hours for delivery showing you everything about your new RV. That is, if you buy a new one. This person will try to rush through a few things and leave you. Ask when they will be back to finish if you haven't reached that amount of time.

Do NOT blindly trust what anyone tells you at a dealership that is not written in your contract. They will tell you they can't have this or that fixed for two weeks, for example. Tell them okay, call me when this or that, and by the way, everything else on this list, has been fixed and I'll be back. Then leave without the trailer.

Some dealers, maybe all, I don't know, will have you sign for the trailer before they will take you back for an inspection. That's okay, you can still leave without the trailer ready.

If you order a generator, listen to it. If they tell you there's no gas in the tank, that means they didn't do a final operational test of the generator after installation. Come back at them with both barrels. If they did test it, then start it. There would still be a little gas in the tank.

Make sure the generator compartment hatch opens and closes properly and locks properly. The first thing I did when I got to the trailer was unplug the power cable and start the generator. I had a 7 kw gen set installed and did my inspection on generator power. That is, after the guy went to get a five gallon can of gas.

Run each awning all the way out and back in. You do this. Don't let someone they send with you do anything but answer your questions. While the awnings are out, go outside and stand off so you can see if they are relatively snug, straight. If they sag, water will collect there. This is not good for the awning material. If they try telling you it's because the trailer isn't level. Tell them to level it and then try the awning again. "Perhaps we need to go to the leveling system first?" The tension is adjustable on my awnings. I don't know how, but my RV mechanic told me it was when he replaced one for me. Mine might have to be done during installation. But if the awning sags, that is an issue. Write it up in your inspection report.

Just be very careful in dealing with anyone in the RV industry. They can't be trusted to have your interests in mind.

One more point and I'll get off the soapbox. When a dealership calls to tell you that your unit is in and asks you to make an appointment for delivery, ask some questions. "Your trailer is ready for delivery." does not mean your trailer is ready for delivery.

It could also mean they will deliver, and probably want to deliver, so they can get paid. However, you might get there and find a dealer installed option has not been installed. After giving you the run-around about not being able to get the hardware from the supplier and want you to take delivery and "we'll call you when the parts come in". Just tell them no, you keep the trailer until the parts come in. My trailer isn't ready for delivery after all. Call me when it is ready. And leave.

I was in Nevada when my dealer in Florida called me to tell me my trailer was ready and asked me to make a delivery appointment. Before I left Nevada, someone else called me to say it would be six months before they could get my generator. Well, cancel the appointment. My trailer obviously is not ready for delivery. They tried to persuade me to go ahead and take delivery and come back when they get the generator, and they would install it. "I don't think so, Tim". lol.

I also told them six months is just absolutely not acceptable. I canceled the purchase of the generator off the deal. I went online and bought it that evening and had it shipped directly to the RV dealership and then install it and call me.

As it happened, it still ended up taking almost two months before it was all ready to go.

Just be very, very, careful dealing with anyone in this industry. They only have your interests in mind if they think they can get your money. And don't buy anything from Grand Design RVs. Extremely poor workmanship and NO Quality Control!

Dave
 
I would really stress your father's advise of a very slow, complete, picky, inspection of everything. One question to ask at the time of ordering is the amount of time that someone will spend with you during your inspection. Some dealerships will tell you four hours for delivery showing you everything about your new RV. That is, if you buy a new one. This person will try to rush through a few things and leave you. Ask when they will be back to finish if you haven't reached that amount of time.

Do NOT blindly trust what anyone tells you at a dealership that is not written in your contract. They will tell you they can't have this or that fixed for two weeks, for example. Tell them okay, call me when this or that, and by the way, everything else on this list, has been fixed and I'll be back. Then leave without the trailer.

Some dealers, maybe all, I don't know, will have you sign for the trailer before they will take you back for an inspection. That's okay, you can still leave without the trailer ready.

If you order a generator, listen to it. If they tell you there's no gas in the tank, that means they didn't do a final operational test of the generator after installation. Come back at them with both barrels. If they did test it, then start it. There would still be a little gas in the tank.

Make sure the generator compartment hatch opens and closes properly and locks properly. The first thing I did when I got to the trailer was unplug the power cable and start the generator. I had a 7 kw gen set installed and did my inspection on generator power. That is, after the guy went to get a five gallon can of gas.

Run each awning all the way out and back in. You do this. Don't let someone they send with you do anything but answer your questions. While the awnings are out, go outside and stand off so you can see if they are relatively snug, straight. If they sag, water will collect there. This is not good for the awning material. If they try telling you it's because the trailer isn't level. Tell them to level it and then try the awning again. "Perhaps we need to go to the leveling system first?" The tension is adjustable on my awnings. I don't know how, but my RV mechanic told me it was when he replaced one for me. Mine might have to be done during installation. But if the awning sags, that is an issue. Write it up in your inspection report.

Just be very careful in dealing with anyone in the RV industry. They can't be trusted to have your interests in mind.

One more point and I'll get off the soapbox. When a dealership calls to tell you that your unit is in and asks you to make an appointment for delivery, ask some questions. "Your trailer is ready for delivery." does not mean your trailer is ready for delivery.

It could also mean they will deliver, and probably want to deliver, so they can get paid. However, you might get there and find a dealer installed option has not been installed. After giving you the run-around about not being able to get the hardware from the supplier and want you to take delivery and "we'll call you when the parts come in". Just tell them no, you keep the trailer until the parts come in. My trailer isn't ready for delivery after all. Call me when it is ready. And leave.

I was in Nevada when my dealer in Florida called me to tell me my trailer was ready and asked me to make a delivery appointment. Before I left Nevada, someone else called me to say it would be six months before they could get my generator. Well, cancel the appointment. My trailer obviously is not ready for delivery. They tried to persuade me to go ahead and take delivery and come back when they get the generator, and they would install it. "I don't think so, Tim". lol.

I also told them six months is just absolutely not acceptable. I canceled the purchase of the generator off the deal. I went online and bought it that evening and had it shipped directly to the RV dealership and then install it and call me.

As it happened, it still ended up taking almost two months before it was all ready to go.

Just be very, very, careful dealing with anyone in this industry. They only have your interests in mind if they think they can get your money. And don't buy anything from Grand Design RVs. Extremely poor workmanship and NO Quality Control!

Dave
A lot of good advice there, but do note that the OP is looking to buy a used 45' DP, not a trailer.
 
This is a little off-topic, but DMW...Dave brought up "Don't buy Grand Design." Last night (01/18), my wife and I went to the local WNY RV show. Dave was right—what junk the Grand Design products have become. On some of the Imagine TTs, they not only had stapled-on drawer fronts, but they also stapled the pull handles on! Overall, the fit, finish, and use of materials were terrible.
 
Not my intention to be a downer but, don't let the excitement of buying an expensive to buy and expensive to own depreciating motorhome take you on a journey you may regret.

I very conservative when it comes to money. To me, buying a 45' diesel pusher and checking the budget to see if it's doable doesn't compute. There are too many things that can go wrong that may not be included in your budget.

If you're looking at 45' diesel pushers, you are not looking at entry level motorhomes. They are full of features that you will not find on an entry level diesel, gas motorhome and most trailers. They are not only expensive to buy, they are expensive to maintain.

Things to consider that will need to be replaced and or serviced.

Tires. On a 45' motorhome, there are 8 large tires. Most informed RVers will replace them every 5 to 7 years. On my gas motorhomes I have replaced tires 3 times. The last time, the cost was about $2300. Expect to pay up to $1,000 a tire on a 45' motorhome. That could be $8,000.

Annual service. The diesel owners can tell you specifically but expect to pay 3 or 4 times what it costs to service a gas motorhome. My gasser costs about $225 a year for Oil and Lube. If you're not a DIY type and have experience with diesels, expect to see hourly rates of from $175 to $250 plus parts.

Then there are the big ones. Many years ago, a new RV Forum member had just bought a used diesel pusher. The owner was quite excited to begin their journey. That was until they had a blown engine. The fix was about $25,000. But that was maybe 10 years ago. That's the one thing I always think about whenever I look for used diesel pushers. More recently I read a story on a different forum of a man have a similar story with a newer gas motorhome. Short story, a catastrophic loss to the engine resulted in several months of living in a motel and between the cost of the repairs and living expense, it almost bankrupt him. First engine to a month to get to him and it failed out of the box. Next engine worked but by that time he was ready to quit. All this after he sold his home, bought a new gas motorhome and started living his dream. After the loss he needed to go back to work.
 
To add some clarity to Gary B's post I bought six tires in 2023 for my "small 36' DP", 22.5" and the total was just under $3000. Now, I purchased Hankooks for the front and Sumitomo's for the rear and both are about half the price of Michelin's (which I would never buy, past RV experience with them) or Goodyear. I'd say Gary's estimate to change the oil is just about spot on. For maintenance that needs to be done at a diesel repair shop, I pay $25 more per hour of labor ($165) versus working on a diesel truck. The RV work costs more per hour because of the lack of uniformity with motorhomes.

Like many diesel motorhome owners, I started with two gas motorhomes before the DP. And, like most who have taken the same motorhome journey gas to DP, my DW and I would not go back to a gas rig unless we downsized to a Class C or something like the new Coachman Euro style 28' A on the Ford F53 chassis and shortened our trips.
 
Welcome to The Forum.

When you start looking at different models and manufacturers of DPs, I suggest you Google the forums for the particular models or brands to check out what folks who own those models have to say about them. I did this before I bought my second motorhome, a one-year-old Georgetown, and the tips I received from the Forest River forum before I signed the deal for the rig saved me thousands of dollars in repairs that would've come down the road by having the dealer take care of known issues before the sale.

I wouldn't put too much credit to the statement that "DPs will last 500K miles". Maybe the diesel engine will, and at what expense, but the other systems on the rig probably won't. Also, when shopping for used DPs look beyond the mileage shown to gauge use and wear and tear. Folks who post up in Florida in their motorhome then drive it home and hardly use it the rest of the year will put more wear and tear on the RV than the common weekend warrior who camps three-day weekends and one week or two trips a season.

In regards to used motorhome (or any RV for that matter) pricing, I would guess about 99.9% of them will be way overpriced to start. For every RV you look at, first look at the rig for what it is, then consider the asking price, figuring it will be thousands over what it's worth. PPL Motors in Texas, and MHSRV also in Texas are two good resources to check on pricing. And, don't forget JD Powers & Assoc. who bought out the always trusty NADA resource. What's nice about JD is you can look up the original MSRP on their website for vehicles you are interested in.

Good luck with your search and don't be shy about updating us with your experience shopping for a DP.
Great advice all around! Thank you! This is exactly why I'm here!
 
Not my intention to be a downer but, don't let the excitement of buying an expensive to buy and expensive to own depreciating motorhome take you on a journey you may regret.

I very conservative when it comes to money. To me, buying a 45' diesel pusher and checking the budget to see if it's doable doesn't compute. There are too many things that can go wrong that may not be included in your budget.

If you're looking at 45' diesel pushers, you are not looking at entry level motorhomes. They are full of features that you will not find on an entry level diesel, gas motorhome and most trailers. They are not only expensive to buy, they are expensive to maintain.

Things to consider that will need to be replaced and or serviced.

Tires. On a 45' motorhome, there are 8 large tires. Most informed RVers will replace them every 5 to 7 years. On my gas motorhomes I have replaced tires 3 times. The last time, the cost was about $2300. Expect to pay up to $1,000 a tire on a 45' motorhome. That could be $8,000.

Annual service. The diesel owners can tell you specifically but expect to pay 3 or 4 times what it costs to service a gas motorhome. My gasser costs about $225 a year for Oil and Lube. If you're not a DIY type and have experience with diesels, expect to see hourly rates of from $175 to $250 plus parts.

Then there are the big ones. Many years ago, a new RV Forum member had just bought a used diesel pusher. The owner was quite excited to begin their journey. That was until they had a blown engine. The fix was about $25,000. But that was maybe 10 years ago. That's the one thing I always think about whenever I look for used diesel pushers. More recently I read a story on a different forum of a man have a similar story with a newer gas motorhome. Short story, a catastrophic loss to the engine resulted in several months of living in a motel and between the cost of the repairs and living expense, it almost bankrupt him. First engine to a month to get to him and it failed out of the box. Next engine worked but by that time he was ready to quit. All this after he sold his home, bought a new gas motorhome and started living his dream. After the loss he needed to go back to work.
That’s an eye opener and solid advice. Some I was prepared for, others I had not thought of. Thank you for the reality check. Again, great advice and exactly what I’m here for!
 
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