Motorhome advice for a newbie

[Jeff Weston]

My dad is looking to pick up a second hand motor home which means one thing for me ... free motorhome use. Anyway, we've rented a few before but this will be the first owned one. Does anybody have any helpful advice to offer?

Basically, he's figuring it has to be at least 30' but not so large that he can't also use it for Yosemite and the like. Naturally, he'll want to be able to tow his Jeep with it. Being a larger man, an appropriately sized bed and bathroom is a plus as well. I think he's planning on spending up to about $25K.

So, any models to recommend/avoid, places to buy, things to watch for would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[John]

Class A or Class C? Most of them with gas engines (that price range) really aren't rated to tow something as heavy as a Jeep.

Look closely around every crack and edge of the roof for signs of water damage, check the windows too.

Definately sit on the toilet and make sure it's comfortable to the tallest person. Mine sits sideways in my little Class C (24') and I have to put a lift kit on the toilet so that my knees weren't digging in to the wall when I used it.

The bigger the fresh water tank the better.

[TObject]

Although he does not advertise it much, I beleive Joe is still looking to sell his motorhome:

http://www.jeepbbs.net/forums/showth...&threadid=5029

[Paradiddle]

I would get a class A for towing/adult motorhoming. They have a much better towing capacity, a longer wheelbase, and a wider track. They are a lot easier to drive then the Class Cs (van front) because of this. Additionally, Class A coaches have much larger water tanks. My old Class C has a 40 gallon fresh tank, my friends new Bounder has 100 gallons.

Get the V10 engine.

Buy the newest coach you can afford - and try to get a warrantee if you get one from a dealereship.

There are some great RV boards out there.

Check the rubber roof carefully. The majority of the new coaches have a rubber roof. They are supposed to be much better at keeping the water out, but you have to clean them at least twice a year and you are not supposed to walk on them. If you can find a coach with an aluminum roof that is fully capped it might be better and easier to maintain.

Water damage, as was said, is the killer of motorhomes.

Good luck.

Jeff

[Darrell C]

I'd second the vote for a Class A.

We've been looking for quite some time. Found Class C's are usually rated to tow 3500 lbs. Started looking at Class A's. Wanted something in the 28 - 30 foot range. After a while we realized the floor plans we liked (with decent size bathroom) did "show up" until we got upwards of 33-34 feet.

Finally found a used Dolphin (made by National). 35 feet long...a little longer than we would like, but otherwise just right for us. Plus, a 35 footer will still fit in our sideyard for storage.

And the 95 gallons of fresh water is a major plus since we plan to do lots of dry camping. It'll manage towing our Jeep, but just barely.

The best for towing capacities are diesel pushers. They are frequently rated to tow 10k lbs and have plenty of CCC (cargo carrying capacity). The problem with larger Class A gas rigs is the wet weight gets rather close to the GVW, leaving little CCC. It's all a trade off.

Edit: if your looking at mid to late 90's models, I concur the Ford chassis was preferred. However, if things change and you end up looking at late model, or new, the preference seems to be the Workhorse chassis with the GM 8 liter.

[Joe Dillard]

Hi Jeff,

As Sergey mentioned, I'm selling my RV. I took it off the market here locally for a while, but it is for sale again. It's truly a "must see to appreciate" item. The folks who had it before me kept it impecable & I have some records/reciepts.

I just got the registration renewal in the mail & it's $133.00. However, since I'm military & a non-California resident, the fees are ~$40 & could be paid for prior to sale & a simple transfer fee of ~$12 is all it would take for a new owner. Just something to think about. No new smog certificate is necessary this year.

I'm willing to let it go at any reasonable price.

[Jeff Weston]

Joe's does look nice and I'd gladly have it in my driveway if my wife wouldn't kill me.

Anyway, after looking at several this weekend with my dad, I think he's now leaning towards a class C for the sole reason of sleeping space (at the expense of storage). The extra bunk above the cab is starting to look like a necessity for him. Ultimately, in addition to being a desert toy, he's looking for something he could take to Yosemite and the like and be able to bring some of his grandkids and their parents. In other words, it would have to have at least two fullsized beds with the table and couch beds for the little ones. Also, it looks like the motorhomes have to be at least about 30' to get a full length couch (6'+) for sleeping. Most of the 25-27' ones seemed to have shorter couches (5'-6"?).

Thanks for the help.

[John]

That overhead bunk was what sold me and the wife on the Class C in the first place. We drive until we're tired and stop. Didn't want to mess with having to convert beds and such.

To make up for lack of fresh water tank size we carry a few 5-6 gallon water cans in the shower until we reach our camp site and then put it outside next to the fill spout for when we need to add it. If we stay longer then 3-4 days we just make a run in to town with Jeep and fill up the water cans

[Joe Dillard]

Originally posted by Jeff Weston
Joe's does look nice and I'd gladly have it in my driveway if my wife wouldn't kill me.

If you'd like, how about just parking it in your driveway & say someone left it there for you to use for an outing.

What I'm really hopeing to do is to find it a new home & get a full size camper for my Quad Cab 2500 Ram truck. I really don't need much space. I'm a single Dad & my son will be on his own soon. I'd be willing to trade someone strait across if things were suitable for both parties.

I hope your Dad gets lucky and finds one that suits his needs and has a good price.