RV Recommendations

[Adventurous Traveler]

Mmm? Just asking opinions. This will be our first MH, there is a lot to learn.

Yes, and if it's your first motorhome the only way to learn is to go out and kick some tires to see "what you like", which is different from "what you think you'll like". That's the best way to get an idea of your wants and needs because buying a motorhome is going to involve a whole lotta compromises, compromises that can't be realized sitting in front of a computer. What Joe Blow or Jane Ditch like and recommend might be 340 degrees different than what will fit your "adjusted" needs. Walk, talk, touch and feel, evaluate, and you'll have what you want and what fits your budget.

 

[Isaac-1]

The problem buying a first motorhome is you don't know what you don't know, I suspect there are numerous debates we could get into on here as experienced motorhome owners on topics that you have not even considered, such as twist vs slam lock latches, side or top hinged cargo compartments, not to mention ever popular ones like DC / Absorption / residential refrigerators, heat pump or just air conditioner, all electric vs propane RV's ...

 

[Squeeto]

Just working out if 28' could make the corner without ending up in the ditch.

 

[Isaac-1]

Assuming flat land, that looks like it should be do able, how wide is the street? The big thing to usually worry about is off tracking and tail swing, with driveways that usually means not clipping mail boxes. This is also something to keep in mind at gas stations, when possible always turn towards the pump island when departing so you don't clip it with tail swing.

p.s. my 28 ft (29'5" bumper to bumper) class A has a 178 inch wheel base, which is fairly common for 28 ft models, 29 ft models mostly have a 192 inch wheel base, though some are also 178ish. By comparison a long bed crew cab 2500 / 3500 pickup truck will tend to have about a 170 inch wheel base, crew cab short beds are often about 154 inch. So if a crew cab pickup can fit a 28 ft class A should too, assuming there are no tail swing obstructions.

 

[Larry N.]

Just working out if 28' could make the corner without ending up in the ditch.

Before I bought my 45' Beaver I made the salesman let me take it (with him along, of course) to my house to see if it would fit backing into my driveway. It did, just barely, so he made the sale.

 

[Squeeto]

Assuming flat land, that looks like it should be do able, how wide is the street? The big thing to usually worry about is off tracking and tail swing, with driveways that usually means not clipping mail boxes. This is also something to keep in mind at gas stations, when possible always turn towards the pump island when departing so you don't clip it with tail swing.

p.s. my 28 ft (29'5" bumper to bumper) class A has a 178 inch wheel base, which is fairly common for 28 ft models, 29 ft models mostly have a 192 inch wheel base, though some are also 178ish. By comparison a long bed crew cab 2500 / 3500 pickup truck will tend to have about a 170 inch wheel base, crew cab short beds are often about 154 inch. So if a crew cab pickup can fit a 28 ft class A should too, assuming there are no tail swing obstructions.

The street slopes down toward the bottom of the pic and it is not wide. Cars need to slow and pull to the side to pass. The wife was looking at an older P30 frame but I don't know the wheelbase.

 

[Squeeto]

Before I bought my 45' Beaver I made the salesman let me take it (with him along, of course) to my house to see if it would fit backing into my driveway. It did, just barely, so he made the sale.

Do you need air brake license for it? That is a big rig.

 

[Isaac-1]

One of the bad things about the P30/P32 chassis is the ridiculously large turning radius, though even with that I pull ours out of our perpendicular concrete driveway onto a reasonably narrow 1960's residential street, though I come I have to make the turn just right so as to not take out either our mailbox or the mailbox that belongs to the neighbor across the street (I have to swing as far left as possible in our driveway, before turning the steering wheel hard right). Here is a google street view image of our street, our driveway is the one on the right by the black mailbox, the one I barely clear is the silver one on the left when turning in the direction the camera is facing.

 

[Isaac-1]

Do you need air brake license for it? That is a big rig.

Only about half the states require any sort of special license for motorhomes over 26,000 pounds with or without air brakes, as long as it is for private use.

 

[Larry N.]

Do you need air brake license for it? That is a big rig.

Not in Colorado, though you will need some knowledge of some of the systems on board. When I first bought the 2007 Beaver I spent a lot of the first month studying the manual* to learn the various systems on board, not just air brakes. The air brakes, the air suspension, the Aladdin® system (electronic monitors for many systems), the Aqua Hot, the Smart Wheel and more. I'd driven a truck when I was young, so was familiar with air brakes from back then, but the rest I had to learn. That study sure paid off.

So the legal requirements will vary from state to state, but prudence dictates learning the systems.

But the actual driving of it was fairly easy, just needing to keep the various dimensions in mind and take some care maneuvering. Over the road, especially, was a piece of cake and less tiring than the Bounder I had before it.

---

* Monaco (who made the Beaver then) produced a beautiful manual for their coaches that thoroughly covered every system in the coach, in addition to the supplied manuals for all the appliances, electronics, etc. I still have electronic copies of that manual, but the physical copy was something like a foot and a half wide by just under a foot tall and several inches thick.

 

[Squeeto]

Hit a private sale and open RV dealers today. Saw the diesel Itasca Navion, a diesel Gemini ~24' and a 24' Bigfoot gasser.
We will probably look at the 28' next but it is a bit of a drive away.

 

[Squeeto]

We booked a flight for later this month and will pick up an older Safari Trek.
I will post a pic then.
It is in good shape and should be presently reliable.

The only real concern is age discrimination at some sites. But she will win them over with cuteness!

 

[Isaac-1]

What year and model of Trek, mine is a 2002 model 2830, if the one you are looking at falls through I know a guy with a 2008 Trek for sale near Dallas, TX, 2008 was the last year Treks were built, I think only 17 were built as 2008 models.

 

[Onyrlef]

What year and model of Trek, mine is a 2002 model 2830, if the one you are looking at falls through I know a guy with a 2008 Trek for sale near Dallas, TX, 2008 was the last year Treks were built, I think only 17 were built as 2008 models.

Is the 2002 what they call a “slopey”?

 

[Squeeto]

Oh a little bit older!
A '92 Isuzu diesel 2830.

 

[Isaac-1]

Is the 2002 what they call a “slopey”?

Yes the 2001 and 2002 were the slope nose years, you can see it in my avatar photo when it was parked backed into a parking space at the Blue Bell icream creamery visitor center in brenham Texas

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

The owner of the campground we stayed at last month, gee April already, or was it February, in New Orleans Judes RV Travel Park has a very nice looking Trek. Now owning a campground she uses it for out-of-town guests.

 

[rbrdriver]

My name is not Bird. If you don't like what I have to say then ignore me. You are not my editor. In fact you just got put on my ignore list.

Ouch

 

[Onyrlef]

My name is not Bird. If you don't like what I have to say then ignore me. You are not my editor. In fact you just got put on my ignore list.

I suspect putting a site team member on the ignore list didn't work out that well for him.

 

[Squeeto]

We brought the Safari Trek home.
Got her from a very nice couple.