Advice on a motorhome please

[daugen]

I appreciate all the good advice. Ok FarmGirl, the blue one really was in contention because it was kind of nautical and
I figured out how to have a picture of my wife's favorite manatee poster put on the side, or some cutesy fish addition.
But the blue one became chum when Nadene saw the king bed in the bigger one. We had a queen in the boat and she always wanted a king like
at home. Fine. This bed costs me 1mpg and that will be the last we say of that...

Turbys, the dealer told me this was the best riding suspension in the business. Though ride and handling can be two different things, hopefully
there is a good mix of both. I was also told there was almost two tons capacity for "more stuff" to be put on this motorhome, so I can imagine if one
can hold it down to say, a paltry one ton..., that in itself would be a big performance and economy issue.

 

[Turbys_1700]

To me a Spartan Chassis rides a tad softer than a Roadmaster...
The Roadmaster has the air bags out board of the frame rails and uses two per strut versus 1...
However they are smaller...
I or my dad never once had a handling issue with any of his Eagles...
They are fine coaches...

 

[ronjhall]

Nice choice for a motorhome. Hope you are going to take it out for a ride before you buy.

 

[CliffordK]

The final decision is up to you and your family.

I don't have a motorhome. My Grandparents had one for a short time, but apparently my grandmother didn't like the idea of travelling with the dishes and etc rattling a bit, so they sold the motorhome and bought a 5[sup]th[/sup] wheel. But, I think most people like the ability to easily move from the cab to the back of the motorhome.

After my father passed away, my mother bought a small motorhome that is like a glorified van conversion, but I believe with a toilet/shower, and small kitchen area. She really likes it, and tows her horse trailer with it. My aunt also had one just one step larger that she liked.

Anyway, I suppose it all depends on how long you are planning on being out, and what your idea of "camping" is.

Are you planning on mainly weekend, and perhaps a couple of week long trips? Or, heading out onto the road for a few months at a time?

 

[daugen]

because we lived aboard for three years in a boat about this size, I learned that there is no substitute for big when being comfortable for long stretches.
To begin with, just short trips, my wife is very sick and the ability to have the bed and bathroom with us is a big reason we are doing this now. Unfortunately her health does not allow us to go all through the West as we had hoped. But the day will come when I will, if only by myself, it's a big bucket list item for me. I also want to use the motorhome to explore the NC area to find a final retirement home, and perhaps buy some land and live aboard until a house is built, like many others have done.

I'm in my sixties, no kids, don't do bugs or foam mattresses any more. So for me/us, this is basically an inexpensive, sort of..., second home. A beach house up here starts close to half a million, totally out of our range, and our love affair with the water has been fulfilled over many years. Now I want to head inland. Head West young man...even if you aren't so young any more.

I've had two material things on my bucket list for some time, first was a tractor with an a/c cab, and that's taken care of. And the second was a replacement for my old boat, where being the captain and heading out in the morning for adventure sure was fun.

We have a neighbor with a similar motorhome, and I'm going to ask him to come along with us when we go for a test ride, and to check out the specialized stuff like slide mechanisms, auto levelers, etc which I simply have not used/seen before. Lot to learn, but not too bad; most of the appliances and gear are very similar to those on a boat.
Somewhere under the bed or rear stateroom floor is the engine, that for sure I'm going to take a close look at.

No matter what I get, I'll have it thoroughly gone over, change all the fluids, and I mean everything. Need to set a baseline for maintenance going forward. I am somewhat fussy about preventative maintenance; and try to avoid things breaking down in unpleasant times and places. I sure learned that in a boat when fifty miles offshore and one had to be totally self sufficient. Not that bad in a motorhome of course, pull over and grab the phone. This coach even has OnStar on it.

The real test will be this morning to see if my wife wakes up and says "can we go see it?" :thumbsup:

 

[daugen]

Of course there are many choices in toads but if your driving a DP toad weight is not usually an issue. I personally tow a CRV but Jeeps, GM products, some Fords and of course Hondas. Check out Motorhome Magazine for their Dinghy guide.

you know it's funny, I actually have that issue, about four years old, the last time we started to get serious about RV'ing.
Will get a new one, great idea.

why would a motorhome have stone chips on the rear of the unit? Not unrelated question, I'm wondering if this had something to do with stuff
ricocheting off the toad. Unless the prior owner went backwards, really, really fast....

 

[3930dave]

I haven't driven class A's, the following comments come from seeing units being repaired at my buddy's shop:

At least here (central Ontario, Canada) some of the 10 year old class A's are seriously rotted out underneath. I've seen 25 year old class A's around here that are in way better shape underneath (meaning chassis corrosion). Just a guess, but I think that time frame probably coincides with *@#!&!!!!! Chinese steel flooding the market. I'm an older car owner, and being Canadian I'm used to seeing rust under vehicles - these 10 y/o coaches were seriously trashed - to the point where all the angle iron framing supporting the side storage compartments had to be replaced.

If you are buying fairly new and/or out of the SouthWest, it may be a non-issue, but I wanted to mention the chassis corrosion as it was way beyond what I expected to see on a 10 y/o seasonal/limited use vehicle.

You sound maintenance aware Daugen, so you know the rest of the drill...... I always like to have a good look over the wiring, to see if/what extent it has been butchered up. The sites that have been listed should give you plenty of reading material - given the # of low end class A manufacturers that have come/gone in the last 20 years, I'd prefer one of the higher end manufacturer (still in business) units, even if it is a bit older for the same money....... Just my :2cents: ......

Good luck in the search, let us know what you select.

Rgds, D.

 

[daugen]

I always like to have a good look over the wiring, to see if/what extent it has been butchered up.

good advice. This was an identical concern with boats. It's how the wiring and plumbing have been mucked with, added to, customized, etc after the coach was built that would worry me. I will ask if there is anything that is not bone stock on the coach, will see what they say.

We have an appt. Monday morning to see the coach, first time for my wife. Just a short visit, see if she can "nest" in it, then I come back with a neighbor who owns a big rig and take my test drive, slide underneath on a creeper, etc. Most importantly I told them I wanted a cold engine that day, so I can inspect the engine room from above I assume and not get toasted. I also want to see what the cold start smoke is like, though in this hot weather, it's not much of a challenge on an engine. All four slides have to come out and I want to listen while they operate for unhappy noises.
And I will ask for the water tanks to be filled so we can test all the plumbing. There are a lot of systems to test, and I need to go through them carefully. The dealer has promised an extensive training session with the coach both before and after the sale.

I hope to have a fun time tomorrow, will report back

 

[Gunny]

The dealer has promised an extensive training session with the coach both before and after the sale.

That right there indicates that you're working with a good dealer, if he follows through with it. I could go on for hours on the horror stories I've run across at different campgrounds where people were simply sold an RV or camper, then shoved off the lot with little to no training on their new toy. I've seen two people that didn't know where the electric switch for the water heater was located, one that didn't know he had two blackwater tanks, etc, etc.

Of course, those problems could also have been alleviated if the new owners had taken the time to read their owners manuals, but the dealers should do a good run through of the entire RV before it leaves the lot.

 

[daugen]

Gunny,
the salesman talks the talk just fine. I just don't know how he walks...
Never dealt with these folk before, at least they've been there awhile.
And since there seems to be almost zero consumer protections here, unlike cars or boats,
I have to be a little more wary than normal.

yeah, there are a zillion switches, knobs and levers to learn.
Particularly for me the waste disposal, making sure which lever stays closed when so as not to cross
contaminate tanks. Lots of youtube videos on this.

I am keeping several thousand in reserve for surprises.
This coach has hydronic heating, which I think means the equivalent of baseboard heating, heated water tanks, etc,
Probably a lot of piping. Probably a lot of connections that simply need a wrench put on them to snug up.
Everything vibrates loose over time. Everything...not if it will break but when.

Over the years I had to swim many times in basically pitch black water under my boat to unclog the a/c intakes which would get clogged with everything from
simple vegetation to my favorite, jellyfish. Imagine yourself in pitch black water, truly zero visibility, holding your breath, feeling along the bottom of a boat trying to find the suction intake. It was really, really spooky to do even though I knew the outlet pretty much lined up with this cleat on the outside. But try to find it... I'm figuring if I can do this on a boat, the RV should be a piece of cake.