Retiring Looking for Class A Motorhomes

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magngreg

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Joined
Oct 12, 2005
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Hi,
We have been reading a looking at RVs and narrowed it down to Class A RVs.  Two that we are considering are the Coachman Mirada 32ft and the Fleetwood Terra- same length.  Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks!
 
The only reports I have heard on the Mirada were negative ones, but then you often do not hear from satisified owners.  The Mirada is an entry level model and not the most well-constructed rig.  Haven't heard anything bad about the Terra.

If you are lookiin at 32 footers, may I suggest the Winnebago Journey 32 (a nice diesel rig at a mederate price) or the similar sized Adventurer if a gas rig is more within your budget range.

And if this is your first motorhome, may I also suggest buying an older, used one first so you can learn what you want to have in floor plan, amenities, etc?  Then you can trade for what you really want without taking such a terrible hit from new coach depreciation. Almost nobody gets it right the first time...
 
RV Roamer said:
The only reports I have heard on the Mirada were negative ones, but then you often do not hear from satisfied owners.
.....

Gary,

Just to balance the negative reports on the Miradas  ;D  we have a 1999 28ft Mirada on the P30 chassis, third owners, we got it a year ago.  So far we've put about 15000 miles on it, with no particular problems except ground wire came loose on the generator this last trip.  It is our first Class A and just as you suggested we got it to get our feet wet, confirm we really liked this as much as we thought and get a better idea of what we may eventually want to get, so far it has served us well.  We are not full timing yet, but have been out as long as 4 weeks at a time so far.

We have to keep this "fair and balanced" ya know    ;D 

Howard
 
You can definitely buy a used MH about 3 to 5 yrs old for a heck of a lot less $ and get many more amenities on it.  Besides, the big spender has already gotten the bugs out and made all the adjustments.  I'm on my 5th used and don't think I would ever buy a new unit.  I do the same on our cars.  I buy 2 to 3 yr old on them.  Besides saving $ up front, when purchasing from an individual in many states, no sales tax, only use tax, which is much much less. Damon,Bounder, and Mirada are all entry level. PaceArrow and Journey as previously mentioned are a little better quality.  Final $ not that much diff. Just remember that when buying new the diff between gas and diesel is 15G to 35G.  If you are not positive of what you definitely want, those thousands will buy a lot of gas as an experiment. Whatever you decide, good luck and happy motoring.
 
I'll readily agree there are some good Miradas and some crappy Winnebagos, Fleetwoods (and others too). On balance, I would choose the Winnebagos over the Coachmans, though.  Bounder is an excellent entry level rig, new or used, and should be superior to a Terra as well.  It's all a matter of $$$, though.
 
Whatever you end up getting, I strongly recommend a diesel pusher.  When I first started looking i got this advice from Bernie Dobrin, and it served me well.  We spent two years researching motorhomes before we mande a decision.  Take the time to do LOTS of test driving.  We found our opinions on the various makes and models changed drastically after we actually got behind the wheel.
 
Thanks everyone for all the suggestions!  We have been looking at used motorhomes and they are more affordable  and probably have some of the bugs worked out. 
 
We also decided to buy used, wife didn't want any extra payments, so we bought older than I would have really liked.  The Bounder was well taken care of mostly.  Our next door neighbors bought their Terry a month before us, it's a 2000.  I think the Bounder is better equipped even though it's 11 years older.  The neighbors father bought a Bounder last month.  It's a little weird pulling into our culdesac with 8 houses and four motor homes parked out beside them.

Mike
 

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