SOOOO excited !

[rwcamping]

Hello everyone ! My family consisted of me ( the Captain) , my husband, my daughter( will drive ONLY if she need to ) , two grandson( Sam and Nicolas 7/4 who said I should buy a brand new RV- will travel when they can / or better said when parents allow) and 3 dogs: Apollo- the senior, Lola-the lady and Max- the hyper !.
We have been researching a lot, and we are still on the search for The One. My heart is so settle in doing it , because I'm tired of been jealous ( in a good way ), I'm eager to go out there and explorer, learn mechanic( so afraid to be stuck in the woods ..lol). As you can figure out by now , I'm  new on the RV world...

 

[darsben]

What kind of an RV are you getting? Have you done any camping before?
Also you should consider used units a few years old. The new ones sometimes have a lot of kinks to be worked out that are usually taken care of by the second or third year after manufacture. It is not uncommon to hear of a NEW rig being in the shop almost immediately for 30-45 days for repairs.
Quality control is IMO non existent on some rigs and you never know which one it will be. There are very few remedies for RV buyers it is not like buying a car and getting a bad one. 

So many people trade after a few years for many reasons that you avoid that big initial hit in depreciation.
Some trade because they bought to small or wrong kind of rig.
Some trade because they found they do not like the lifestyle
Some cannot afford the payments.'
Some have great ideas about what they are going to do but never do it. It's like a gym membership where people buy in but never get up to go. The unit just sits in the driveway after 6 or 7 months

 

[rwcamping]

Thanks for your input. I love the comparison of gym membership...so true! I love the class A because of open space and the huge front window..but I read that the class C is more safe than an A. We are more going into the C also because of sleeping area.  Do the forum has a state section ?

 

[SpencerPJ]

My family consisted of me ( the Captain)

I love it, still smiling. 

Don't buy too old, or you won't like the $$$ to pour into it.  Don't buy too new, you'll probably want something else in the near future.  Keep looking until you find one 'Just Right'

This forum has people from all areas of the RV world, and all over the world.  Ask questions, you'll get plenty of feedback, good luck.

What do you mean by a 'state section' ?

 

[Seilerbird]

Thanks for your input. I love the comparison of gym membership...so true! I love the class A because of open space and the huge front window..but I read that the class C is more safe than an A. We are more going into the C also because of sleeping area.  Do the forum has a state section ?

Welcome to the forum. It is not a good idea to use your email address as your handle. Your email address will be harvested by spam collectors. I have never heard anything about a class C being safer than a class A. Sounds like bull to me. I have owned several of each and cannot think of any reason one would be safer.

 

[darsben]

I see no reason to think that the Class "C" is safer than an "A", Could that be salesman's talk?
I assume you like the over the cab sleeping arraignments when you say that you "going into the C also because of sleeping area"

 

[Arch Hoagland]

I'd suggest renting an RV for a week or so. You'll learn a lot. 

 

[rwcamping]

It pop up on my OfferUp feed a 1999 Jamboree 24D !! they are asking $14,900 it has 30 k miles one owner. I went to see it and I like for being our first RV . The side could be better but the grandsons will not be with us all the time . RV size to me is important as you are in the road or time to sleep. Otherwise your butt must be out there enjoying nature! It is in very good condition, carpet got go but it is for later . The awning I think is not working as the seller said cant open because is too much work to put back ..hum that mean . not working.  Outside and inside look good. He had it posted as 2000 but I saw the title looking for the VIN and it said 1999.
What you guys think ?

 

[Seilerbird]

It pop up on my OfferUp feed a 1999 Jamboree 24D !! they are asking $14,900 it has 30 k miles one owner. I went to see it and I like for being our first RV . The side could be better but the grandsons will not be with us all the time . RV size to me is important as you are in the road or time to sleep. Otherwise your butt must be out there enjoying nature! It is in very good condition, carpet got go but it is for later . The awning I think is not working as the seller said cant open because is too much work to put back ..hum that mean . not working.  Outside and inside look good. He had it posted as 2000 but I saw the title looking for the VIN and it said 1999.
What you guys think ?

The average retail on NADA is $6,370.

https://www.nadaguides.com/RVs/1999/Jamboree/M-D24-Chevrolet/3018322/Values

 

[SpencerPJ]

What you guys think ?

I think you should RENT a RV for your first trip and see how it goes.  I think that would be the BEST start to your decision. 

And a 99 Jamboree 24D for $14,999, sounds very high for that old of a unit.

 

[RVMommaTo6]

I wouldn't trust a word out of their mouths if they start out by listing the wrong year.
And like Tom said, NADA is like Kelly Blue Book for RVs, a general starting point, not God, but that's a big difference.

 

[Seilerbird]

I wouldn't trust a word out of their mouths if they start out by listing the wrong year.
And like Tom said, NADA is like Kelly Blue Book for RVs, a general starting point, not God, but that's a big difference.

Amanda, the wrong year is not the fault of the dealership. Many RVs have chassis that were made a year prior to the coach being built. I did a tour of the Winnebago factory in Forest City Iowa (which I would highly recommend you add to your trip) and they had a large parking lot filled with chassis of all kinds. The chassis has one year and the coach has another. Very confusing but understandable.

 

[Alfa38User]

I wouldn't trust a word out of their mouths if they start out by listing the wrong year.
And like Tom said, NADA is like Kelly Blue Book for RVs, a general starting point, not God, but that's a big difference.

It is very common that the VIN originally created by the chassis maker, be 1-2 years older. The RV model year is created by the RV manufacturer when the "house" portion is built. Seilerbird has given you the reason why this is so.

Even the DOT for some states have gotten it wrong when establishing the title, they are supposed to use the year of completion of the RV itself and not the year as shown in the chassis VIN.  Hmmm, that can't be right, our gummints don't make mistakes, do they???

 

[RVMommaTo6]

Ohhhhhh that makes sense, I assumed they were doing it to make it look better. Lol, learn something new every day!

 

[rwcamping]

I checked NADA but for some reason did not allow me to enter that it only had 30k miles , one owner and bunch of maintenance paperwork.  I don't have a doubted that this  is want I want- do purchase RV. I have been a main driver of a Ford 15 passage van for over 10 years( ok it does not have a kitchen/ bath etc etc but you get my point) Im, point of my life that I can do this. I have thought about it a LOT! on fact that I cant count on my husband for driving , read the map ( bad sight). I have done many things in my life for others, believe me. THIS is for me. It is very expensive to take your dogs (which we love to do) with us to trip as logging get to the roof.
I have read many post ... don't buy new -waste of money- don't buy old/not used- the parts get rotten...I know  I know I'm a very impulse person!!! that is way I NEED all of your folks guidance. I CANT mess up.. sorry for a long post .and I have change my mind in be open to a class A too ! After all , I will be the driver a better have the best seat on that thing !lol

 

[John From Detroit]

Biggest advantage of a "C" over an "A".. it is smaller
Biggest advantage of an "A" over a "C".. It is larger

I used to have a friend back in the Compuserve days who wrote what he called the law of Requisite variety (You live only so long as total choices exceed fatal choices)  Man had a point. alas he ran out of choices.

Though that is not an issue here the point of it is Choice is good. thus you have  a choice.

Bigger takes a bit of getting used to if your's is the "Seat" in the driver's position.

 

[Alfa38User]

I checked NADA but for some reason did not allow me to enter that it only had 30k miles , one owner and bunch of maintenance paperwork

.

It seems that NADA has changed their approach and no longer considers mileage on an older gas powered RV to be a factor, the others were never a factor at NADA. Low Mileage used to be one factor that rated the particular unit a higher value. BUT in this case, in my mind anyway, low mileage on a 19 year old vehicle is not a good factor. It means that the unit was not used much and the engine, transmission, seals etc.  could have suffered quite a bit from just sitting around and rotting away. It could well become a money pit.

 

[rwcamping]

"It means that the unit was not used much and the engine, transmission, seals etc.  could have suffered quite a bit from just sitting around and rotting away. It could well become a money pit."
How should I approach this then... I need something reliable that will not break down on the road of "no where". I will not buy new because depreciation... I cant buy old because is a money pit..I know you guys have an answer for it ..got to be something between .. shoot me your thoughts..

 

[Seilerbird]

A 24 footer with all those people and three dogs will never work. You need to go to at least a 32 preferably 35 foot class A at the minimum. What is your budget?

 

[rwcamping]

15K.