Willing to comment on 3 Class A models?

[SusanV]

My husband and I are planning to spend a year or two traveling the US (including Alaska) non-stop, and are in the process of narrowing down our Class A choices. We?ve seen a few dozen models, and have found a small handful we really like, with floorplans that include the features we most want. However, we trust real user?s opinions more than the opinions of salespeople, so if anyone is willing, could you give your thoughts on the pros and cons of these three possibilities?

We?re not done shopping yet, but we?re having a hard time finding any useful information on where specific brands fall as far as quality and (especially) customer satisfaction with the purchase. In 1-2 years, we will likely purchase a 2016-2018 used and are aware condition will matter a lot, as will some of the technical details. Anyone willing to comment on these three?

Holiday Rambler Vacationer 35P, 36.25ft, gas: has a King bed, washer/dryer, and we like the entry into the (large-ish) bathroom from both the hallway and the bedroom.

Coachman Mirada Select 37SB, 37.4ft, gas: also has King bed, washer/dryer, with better placement of the main television, but split shower/toilet and sink (not a stopper, just different).

Newmar Bay Star 3401, used 2016, 34ft, gas: we loved the ?feel? of this, and the floorplan, but only a Queen bed and no washer/dryer, both of which we THINK we want.

Your thoughts?

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Without anything other than my own personal bias for brand quality, the order of my choice would be Newmar, Holiday, Coachmen.  Newmar is by far the better builder among those three. Not perfect by any means, but on average much better.


You didn't mention a model year for any of those, but the recent Holiday Vacationer is nowhere near the coach it used to be a dozen+ years back.

 

[SusanV]

I omitted the year, since the ones we looked at won't be the one we buy (we're 1-2 years away from buying), but we're pretty sure we'll buy something 5 years old or less (probably less; ideally 2 years, but again, it depends on the selection at the time we're ready to buy).

We did feel Newmar had a much more elegant, quality feel, but our price range will probably only put us in the smallest Class A Newmar makes, even as a used RV (we're thinking $80K-100K-ish). We're not sure if the quality makes up for the space, since we'll be in it at least a year, possibly 2.

 

[WILDEBILL308]

My rankings would be Newmar, Bounder. The Coachman would not be in my top 10.
Here is a good place to look at and compare floor plans. Newmar has models with king beads.
https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/used-rvs-for-sale/class-a
As long as you are looking in that price range I would look at some diesel pushers to.
https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/used-rvs-for-sale/diesel-motorhomes?sortBy=price+desc&startIndex=24
More storage more towing capasity and better resale.
Bill

 

[Seilerbird]

I agree with Gary that I would rank them Newmar, HR, Coachman. But none of that would matter in the real world. In the real world the best one is the one that passes inspection and has all the service records. I would not even think about the brand name because I feel that the badge is worthless in a used RV. What matters to me is floorplan, condition and price. Not in any order, they are all equally important in my book.

 

[Larry N.]

I agree with Gary, but note his comment about the Holiday not being what it used to be. So model year makes a difference -- things can change even from year to year, in terms of build quality. Tom's point about "floorplan, condition and price" is a major consideration, no question, but I'd modify his comments to the extent that better materials and amenities from a "higher end" coach, all else being equal, will make for a more satisfying experience, keeping in mind that rarely is "all else equal."

 

[kdbgoat]

I've owned a Coachman trailer, and still own a Coachman class C. They both have served us well, but Coachman isn't no where near the same as an older HR, or Newmar. As a couple of folks have already stated here, the new HR isn't anything like the old HR. They are rebadged Fleetwoods. Fleetwood isn't bad mind you, but their not Newmar either. Have you looked at any Tiffins? They may have a floorplan to suit you.

 

[SusanV]

Tiffin is on our list, as is Winnebago, but we haven't seen any floorplans yet that work for us. We've only seen a few, so we'll be going out again to look at more.

Our problem with the Newmar is completely cost-related. We'd be looking at a much smaller space (up to 3 feet less, which also means no King, no washer, both of which we would quite like to have) to stay within our price range. Would the quality over-ride the size, if you were making the decision? Or would you go with a step or two down and get more size for the same money?

 

[Seilerbird]

Tiffin is on our list, as is Winnebago, but we haven't seen any floorplans yet that work for us. We've only seen a few, so we'll be going out again to look at more.

Our problem with the Newmar is completely cost-related. We'd be looking at a much smaller space (up to 3 feet less, which also means no King, no washer, both of which we would quite like to have) to stay within our price range. Would the quality over-ride the size, if you were making the decision? Or would you go with a step or two down and get more size for the same money?

I would never shop for an RV with a particular make or model in mind. I shop by going out and looking and test driving RVs in my area that sound appealing. If you limit yourself to one particular model you may be looking for a very long time and meanwhile pass up some incredible bargains.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I would gladly sacrifice a couple years of age to get the better quality rig, all subject to condition, of course.

You need to shed your car-buyer mentality that older is automatically undesirable.  Think instead of buying a house, where older is the norm and condition and livability is what counts.  Typically even a 10-15 year old RV has relatively few miles on it, so with reasonable care (maintenance) an older RV will still be mechanically sound.

 

[SusanV]

We haven't ruled anything out, including age or brand, but for the sake of our sanity and our ability to actually get some work done while we're diving into our RV research, we have to do this in stages, and the stage we're in right now involves getting a rough idea of which brands that offer what we're looking for TEND TO provide good customer satisfaction, and how reliable they are. We understand completely there is no one answer; we also understand condition is a huge variable. But we notice it's quite easy to get comments on which motorhomes fall firmly in the Budget category as regards quality, but it's much harder to decipher where the moderate to higher-end brands fall as regards quality and reliability.

Perhaps I'm asking for the impossible. I'm trying to work my way through the overwhelming decisions, and while I'm bearing in mind there is NO one answer, I seem to have wrongly assumed there are at least some guidelines that help differentiate one workable possibility from another workable possibility.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The quality waters get muddied because all brands and models suffer from a sadly high amount of chance assembly defects.  What you get in the more expensive mid & high end models is superior design quality and often at least some superior components.  The models at the lowest end typically sacrifice anything and everything in the name of low cost.  Some of them still turn out OK, but the odds are slimmer, especially under heavy use where greater wear & tear exposes minimum-standard construction.  Of course, even the upscale brands have an "entry level", but the minimum standards are higher.

Another major confusion factor is the wholesale changes in brand/model position in the market that occurred between 2009 and 2013 as major manufacturers bankrupted, sold out or consolidated.  Well-known names became mere clones of other brands, former low end models became more upscale, or a respected name simply got slapped onto another product altogether.  That makes any discussion of brands & models subject to caveats about the year of manufacture.

 

[kdbgoat]

I would gladly sacrifice a couple years of age to get the better quality rig, all subject to condition, of course.

You need to shed your car-buyer mentality that older is automatically undesirable.  Think instead of buying a house, where older is the norm and condition and livability is what counts.  Typically even a 10-15 year old RV has relatively few miles on it, so with reasonable care (maintenance) an older RV will still be mechanically sound.

Great advice there^. I used it when shopping for a fifth wheel. Ended up with a very nice 6 year old fiver that looked as good as the new ones. So far, the only true fault I have found is the connection for the ice maker behind the fridge dripped a drop about one a minute. Easy fix. I can do a lot of repairs/upgrades for the difference between used and new. Things like.... it had new recliners and couch in it. The couch is a residential couch, and is great. The recliners are rv recliners, and are terrible. DW and I just ordered two new recliners for $1,400 for the pair. We don't have recliners in our C, so the jack knife sofa will go out, and the rv recliners will take it's place. Eventually, we would like to install a residential fridge in place of the Nocold. 

 

[Seilerbird]

Perhaps I'm asking for the impossible. I'm trying to work my way through the overwhelming decisions, and while I'm bearing in mind there is NO one answer, I seem to have wrongly assumed there are at least some guidelines that help differentiate one workable possibility from another workable possibility.

You are asking for the impossible. It is impossible to predict how any RV will last considering how many variables there are in the equation. Most manufacturers offer several different lines of RVs from relatively inexpensive to expensive. Take Winnebago for example. It is impossible to say anything definitive about their RVs. They make them in all price ranges. A Bounder is no where near as high quality as an American Dream. If you have never owned an RV then buying one online is almost impossible. You have to go out and look at a bunch of them and drive a bunch of them to start to get an idea of what you really want. Most first time buyers get it wrong the first time. So my advice is to go buy an RV that is less than $20k and use it for a year. At the end of the year you will have a very good idea of what you want. Then you can trade it in and not loose too much money. If you try and figure out first what you want you will be wrong so if you buy an expensive one first you will loose lot of money on trade in or you will have a miserable time. The RVs you are thinking of will be well over $50k. I suggest starting with something like this:

https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/used-rvs-for-sale/class-a/2003-holiday-rambler-vacationer_rv-40820

 

[SusanV]

Respectfully, I don't see us getting into a $20K used RV just to figure out what we wish we had gotten in the first place. We're only doing this for a year, possibly up to 2 years maximum, but no more. It's primarily work-related, with a flexible end date.

We HAVE been going out to look at them, which is how we came up with 3 possibilities we really like, with the catch being we can't seem to find reliable information regarding how they compare to each other in GENERAL terms (beyond outside opinions being happy to say they're all a better choice for our needs than a Thor or Jayco made by Thor would be). Is there honestly no way to know what would be a comfortable fit for a year? Is it really that much of a crap-shoot? I'm truly struggling to believe that.

We want to get the best experience within our price range, and talking to people who own or have owned various brands and models we think would suit us seems like a very reasonable thing to do. I'm not looking for guarantees, I'm just looking for generalities. It helps to hear if a 2016-2018 Holiday Rambler in the same condition as a Coachman Mirada Select is, IN GENERAL, a sound choice, or if losing 3 feet off the length of a better brand is, IN GENERAL a better choice than going longer with a brand that's a step down.

I'm afraid this isn't a question of being able to play around with trading up. We're prepared to invest $80-$100 in a one-off Class A purchase, so we intend to get it as right as we can for the time frame we'll be using it. I can't think of a single website I've read that suggests extensive research and asking for opinions is wasted time.

 

[Seilerbird]

We HAVE been going out to look at them, which is how we came up with 3 possibilities we really like, with the catch being we can't seem to find reliable information regarding how they compare to each other in GENERAL terms (beyond outside opinions being happy to say they're all a better choice for our needs than a Thor or Jayco made by Thor would be). Is there honestly no way to know what would be a comfortable fit for a year? Is it really that much of a crap-shoot? I'm truly struggling to believe that.

Very few people have extensive enough experience with a lot of different brands to be able to come to the conclusions you are looking for. If you want a generality then a more expensive RV will generally be more reliable than a cheaper one.

We want to get the best experience within our price range, and talking to people who own or have owned various brands and models we think would suit us seems like a very reasonable thing to do. I'm not looking for guarantees, I'm just looking for generalities. It helps to hear if a 2016-2018 Holiday Rambler in the same condition as a Coachman Mirada Select is, IN GENERAL, a sound choice, or if losing 3 feet off the length of a better brand is, IN GENERAL a better choice than going longer with a brand that's a step down.

Most people spend 95% of their time living in the RV and 5% of the time driving it so generally I would choose the longer one. Three feet is a lot of space in an RV.

I'm afraid this isn't a question of being able to play around with trading up. We're prepared to invest $80-$100 in a one-off Class A purchase, so we intend to get it as right as we can for the time frame we'll be using it. I can't think of a single website I've read that suggests extensive research and asking for opinions is wasted time.

It is not wasted time. But the questions you are asking generally don't have an answer. In the used RV market brand names are pretty worthless in my book.

 

[Wbonsell]

Keeping in mind that many RV components are sourced and therefore found in a wide range of motor homes, ultimately it will come down to floor plan, features and that special "feel" when you find the right one. While some manufacturers have a bit better reputation, all rv's both new and used can and will have issues.

As you've stated there are a few "must have" options. While we are perfectly happy with a queen bed, we bought our unit because of the full size range and huge double stainless sinks. We like to cook. Have been very happy but still have had a few issues recently. Occasionally we will go look at newer units and find some of them pretty flimsy. Spend a great deal of time looking at coaches and you'll definitely know when you've found the right one.

 

[Seilerbird]

Spend a great deal of time looking at coaches and you'll definitely know when you've found the right one.

Bingo  ) ) )

 

[thelazyl]

I can share our thought process as we purchased our first RV 2 months ago.  There are a few things we would do different in hindsight - but in general we are thrilled with our purchase.

The first barrier for me was to shed my perception that buying an RV is similar to a car.  The varying brands all share similar chassis and components.  The floor plan and care of maintenance became more important. 

We avoided the temptation of "easing into" an RV by starting with a smaller RV.  Since we believed a larger Class A would be our end game - we shopped for larger Class A's.  We also narrowed our list to diesel pushers due to the better ride, less noise and vibration, and more suited to crossing the mountain ranges in the northwest.

We were concerned about a high dollar purchase that would depreciate rapidly.  Therefore we looked at RV's at least 5 years old and ideally closer to 10 years old.  In the end we purchased a 15 year old diesel pusher at 40% of our budget. My wife loved the interior and floor plan - and the maintenance was done regularly.  We had financial "wiggle room" to cover routine maintenance, repairs, and upgrades such as new satellite TV.  Incidentally, in our first 2 months of travel we met 2 different families that regretted their purchase of a new RV.  The initial quality was poor.  Even though repairs were covered by warranty the RV spent too much time in the repair shop - often repeating a fix for the same defect.

We enjoying RVing more than expected.  We have enjoyed our vacation tire more than expected. 

I hope this helps. 

 

[winniman]

If you use the NADA guide to look up different models, you can compare initial purchase price. This will give you an idea as to which was more expensive when new. I have found lots of motorhomes in the 70 to 90,000 dollar range that were close to 100,000 dollars difference when new. This would lead me to believe the higher initial price would indicate a better quality unit. Better mhs will have things like 50 amp service, battery monitoring systems and tenders, auto leveling jacks, electric awnings, power seats and mirrors, bigger motors, day/night shades, corian counter tops, bigger fridges, washer/dryer, Propane/electric hot water, propane and electric heat, one piece fibreglass roofs, more lights etc., better systems for draining and maintaining, and many more I cant think of right now. They just have better thought out designs.Something as simple as being able to look at your water tank to see the actual level.  If you have never had a rv, you wouldnt know the difference between having these and not.