Thinking about a Motorhome purchase, anyone with first hand Knowledge please speak up

[Gary N.]

Hi Jay, sounds like you have already done a lot of your home work. An MCI bus or similar will definitely do the job you want to do. 400 + HP will be needed to pull that load. You will either be buying a stacker trailer or a real long regular one. Be aware of the length laws for the states you want to drive in. 65' is pretty common. Also if you plan to travel, it's not always easy to get pull through sites (especially in Florida) that will accommodate your RV and trailer. Some parks won't allow you to keep your trailer on site. Maneuvering a long trailer behind a long RV, trying to back into a site or storage yard isn't always very easy. I like to have my trailer handy to store the bike in and use as a shed/garage. We have an extra fridge in the trailer and I set up a work bench in there too. Also be aware of the towing capacity of the RV you chose. Most with a tag axle are 15000 lbs. My gas powered Winnebago has a 6000 lb. limit so I was restricted to an aluminum trailer and micro car (Mercedes roadster) to stay under that weight with my bike included. Good luck with your decision. Let me know if you have any other questions you think I could help you with.

I should also mention that the cost of camping has gone up significantly. Expect to pay $40/night plus at most KOA and $500 to $2000 + / month plus electricity. Here in Florida the further south you go the more they charge. And the price usually reflects the quality of the park. Older is cheaper. Some higher end parks have a ten year old limit on RVs.

Edited January 15, 2015 by Gary N.

[ragtop69gs]

Hi Jay, sounds like you have already done a lot of your home work. An MCI bus or similar will definitely do the job you want to do. 400 + HP will be needed to pull that load. You will either be buying a stacker trailer or a real long regular one. Be aware of the length laws for the states you want to drive in. 65' is pretty common. Also if you plan to travel, it's not always easy to get pull through sites (especially in Florida) that will accommodate your RV and trailer. Some parks won't allow you to keep your trailer on site. Maneuvering a long trailer behind a long RV, trying to back into a site or storage yard isn't always very easy. I like to have my trailer handy to store the bike in and use as a shed/garage. We have an extra fridge in the trailer and I set up a work bench in there too. Also be aware of the towing capacity of the RV you chose. Most with a tag axle are 15000 lbs. My gas powered Winnebago has a 6000 lb. limit so I was restricted to an aluminum trailer and micro car (Mercedes roadster) to stay under that weight with my bike included. Good luck with your decision. Let me know if you have any other questions you think I could help you with.

I should also mention that the cost of camping has gone up significantly. Expect to pay $40/night plus at most KOA and $500 to $2000 + / month plus electricity. Here in Florida the further south you go the more they charge. And the price usually reflects the quality of the park. Older is cheaper. Some higher end parks have a ten year old limit on RVs.

 

I have looked alot at MCI, Flxible, Prevost, Newell,, all have tag axles and higher HP engines. The one big drawback I've come across with those type commercial/ conversion units is No slides until they are up out of my price range. A tag axle is a must with what ever I buy just for the ride comfort and towing capacity. When in Florida I will have 2 places to park our RV. One is at a friends place, plenty of room there. The other is a gulf front lot that another friend owns and has setup for RV's with water, electric & sewer, he only uses it for 2 weeks every winter and I could use that for the cost of utilities and taxes but would have to move for the 2 weeks he comes down with his TT.

 

A short stacker would keep me under max length. The car is 18ft 3600# , the bikes 10ft

 

Randy, We do plan to have a home base somewhere, most likely a cabin in Tennessee or N. Carolina along the mountains.

 

Nothing is set in stone yet so who knows where we'll land.

[Gary N.]

When in Florida I will have 2 places to park our RV. One is at a friends place, plenty of room there. The other is a gulf front lot that another friend owns and has setup for RV's with water, electric & sewer, he only uses it for 2 weeks every winter and I could use that for the cost of utilities and taxes but would have to move for the 2 weeks he comes down with his TT.:

 

I wish I had friends like that.

[ragtop69gs]

I wish I had friends like that.

 

You do, you just haven't met them yet.

 

 

Still not sure where we'll park when we are in North Carolina

[rickardracing]

Ohhh Tennessee...me likey that state a lot. You may have a permanent house guest................................

[Angelo]

I sell motorhomes for a living and I get a lot of people that are just starting to look and not sure what to buy. I'll tell you this, spend some time in a few of them until you can be petty sure of a layout you will be most comfortable with. After that pay attention to storage capacity inside and out, specifically where you'll keep your every day items. The most common RV I sell to people trying to replace one they have had for less than a year is one with more storage.

 

After you you find the right layout, find the right manufacturer. There is so much crap on the market that people frequently buy something because of the looks and don't realize what trouble they just got themselves into. If they have gone out of business recently, filed bankruptcy or been "acquired" by someone, stay clear.

 

Big comfortable diesel with as much room and power as you can get for the money you're willing to spend. If you find something you think you like, send me a message and I'll look up values for you and let you know about what you should be spending on it.

[ragtop69gs]

Thanks for your generous offer Angelo. Unless a deal to good to pass up comes along we won't be buying till summer. Is there a chassis platform I should stay away from?

[footsie]

Amen on the storage, truthfully the very first thing I looked at when we were looking was the basement.

 

Gregg

[Angelo]

Thanks for your generous offer Angelo. Unless a deal to good to pass up comes along we won't be buying till summer. Is there a chassis platform I should stay away from?

 

Almost everyone uses Freightliner chassis and Cummings engines with Allison transmissions so you won't have much choice there. Now depending on price point you are looking at, some companies have Freightliner build specific chassis for them. Winnebago has them build the Maxum chassis, Tiffin has an active ride suspension like your newer high end cars use. Monaco prior to going out of business had one of the best systems in the industry, 8 air bags at the corners and they bragged about it being the one motorhome that you could not roll over during high speed maneuvers.

 

If you can get a good deal on one of the above you will be happy going forward or as happy as an RV can make you. Fleetwood has some neat floor plans and they are one of the top selling but their quality control is lacking and I say that from the stand point of selling them and seeing some issues first hand. The one advantage of Fleetwood is that you get a lot of coach for the money. I personally try to push people toward Winnebago and Tiffin, those two have been the same companies since conception and make enough money from outside the RV industry to keep going and not have to worry about going out of business.

[Gary N.]

I was thinking about you today Jay as we visited the Tampa RV show. I'm really liking the Entegra line of diesel pushers built on Spartan chassis made in Michigan. I've been doing a lot of research on these and they have a really good reputation for customer service. They are the only ones in the industry offering a two year bumper to bumper warranty. Built by Jayco who have been around for many years. Personally I was very disappointed with Winnebago but Tiffin is also a front runner. I know you are maybe not considering a new unit but maybe a one or two year old unit might be worth looking at. Entegra can't build them fast enough for the demand right now and have a four to six month waiting list. They are building a new factory dedicated only to the Entegra line.

[CaptainJoe]

I prefer the Entegra Cornerstone myself but at $606,000.... I won't be buying one anytime soon...

 

Unless of course a major lottery win or rich uncle remembers me...LOL

[Angelo]

I was thinking about you today Jay as we visited the Tampa RV show. I'm really liking the Entegra line of diesel pushers built on Spartan chassis made in Michigan. I've been doing a lot of research on these and they have a really good reputation for customer service. They are the only ones in the industry offering a two year bumper to bumper warranty. Built by Jayco who have been around for many years. Personally I was very disappointed with Winnebago but Tiffin is also a front runner. I know you are maybe not considering a new unit but maybe a one or two year old unit might be worth looking at. Entegra can't build them fast enough for the demand right now and have a four to six month waiting list. They are building a new factory dedicated only to the Entegra line.

 

I have to agree with your comment about Tiffin but having been to the Winnebago factory and seeing what they do that no one else in the industry does as far as structural and safety construction I would have to ask what it is that you didn't like. They are certainly not as fancy as a Tiffin or Enter for the money, but with Winnebago you are buying the things you can't see which is why the trade in values are as high as they are. With Tiffin and Winnebago we go full book on trade in because we know that structurally we are not going to see a lot of the problems that are common to the industry. The last 2 Entegra motorhomes we took in we were 15 and 20% back of book and that is simply because of the reputation Jayco has. They are riding on the reputation that Entegra made for themselves prior to going out of business, same thing is going on with Monaco right now, what once was is no more my friend.

[Gary N.]

Don't want to hijack Jay's topic so I'll keep it as short as I can. I have had a Winne for almost ten years and after the first two years of hell, working the bugs out it's been a pretty good machine. We were anxious to see the new grand tour and when we did we just didn't think the quality of workmanship and materials was equal to Entegra or Tiffin. I too have toured the factory and used their on site service center. I also heard some horror stories from others waiting for service there. Long story.

[ragtop69gs]

Don't want to hijack Jay's topic so I'll keep it as short as I can. I have had a Winne for almost ten years and after the first two years of hell, working the bugs out it's been a pretty good machine. We were anxious to see the new grand tour and when we did we just didn't think the quality of workmanship and materials was equal to Entegra or Tiffin. I too have toured the factory and used their on site service center. I also heard some horror stories from others waiting for service there. Long story.

 

Gary, please do not worry about Hijacking this thread. I started it to learn as much as possible so any discussion pertaining to Class A MH's is good.

 

That being said, I will most likely be looking at units 5-10 years old to begin with. Until we downsize the homestead that's how it's gotta be. Unless like Joe say's, then who knows.

[Gary N.]

Jay, if you haven't already done so you should check out iRV2 Forums Of course as with most on line forums you hear about a lot of the bad stuff. But there is a lot to be learned there too.

[b2dad]

Jay

Not sure if you remember, but the reason we are not doing our meet n eat anymore is because we are getting our house ready to sell this spring. WHEN that happens, we are going to purchase an RV and HIT THE ROAD!!! We have been planning this for a year now. We have been looking at RV's, floor plans, even went to the Knoxville RV show last weekend. Had a blast walking in an out of all those gorgeous NEW RV's. Unfortunately, we are not in the market for a new one, but wanted to see the layouts and see what we liked as we had mostly just looked online.

 

We have been "campers" ever since Don and I got together 40+ years ago, starting out with tents and going through the whole range of what was available, including a Class C and a Class A motorhome. We have kicked around what we really want now and have pretty much settled on a Class A. this is because we are getting old and want to be able to get up and walk around and grab a snack, use the potty, etc etc...

 

Our vision for the next 5 years is to travel. WE are not looking to "winter" somewhere or stay long in one place. We want to see / tour this beautiful country of ours. I have been jealous for some time of Aussie Annie and Alan...they have seen more of our country than I have and I want that experience. Don has been lots of places, but me...not as much. And the ones I have been to, we had deadlines to get there. I want to head in a direction and be able to stop and see that big ball of yarn or corn palace. If we only go 100 miles that day, so be it. that is also why we are selling the home and all the contents. I don't want to worry about it being broke into and what happens to my stuff.

 

I hope you and Jeannie realize your dream too. I got tired of the MIchigan winters and high $$$ living / taxes there over 30 years ago and we headed for TN. The thing with this is: if we find out we really don't like it, we can sell the rig and settle back down near one of the kids again. I want to be able to pick up and visit friends / family / places / this beautiful country we call the USA. I want to do it now while I still have my health and most of my mind. and if (God forbid!) something happened to Don; YES I CAN drive the MH. Not afraid of doing that at all. and HIM? he most certainly can carry on without me.

 

I have enjoyed reading all the posts here and appreciate too, everyone's opinions. Hope to see you on the road, maybe by this summer!

 

Patti and Don

[cowpuc]

This is a really fun thread, thanks for posting this up Raggy! Tip and I wish all you folks nothing but the best in the process of this stuff!!

Couple a thoughts that I am curious about.. Has anyone checked into the tax stuff about selling your home and capital gains taxes?? It seems like I had heard that you have 3 years to reinvest the cash from selling your house into another house or ya gotta pay capital gains on it?? I wonder if buying a Motorhome would be acceptable for reinvestment??

Another thought,, there is this place called "The Slabs" out in California.. Its an old Marine base that has been abandoned, buildings all torn down and nothing but slabs of concrete left there.. Lots and lots of hobo's, hippys and kids live there year around BUT,, there is also a HUGE community of snow birds that gather there.. The place is sectioned off in "communities" and TOTALLY free and off the grid.. There are even people who fly there own airplanes out there for the winter months.. If Tip and I disappear someday and go into hiding, that may very well be where you will find us,,, at least during the cold winter months!! It would be fun to have a huge "VR Geezer Meet n Greet" out there in the desert!!

[uncledj]

For what it's worth. I bought a 2001 Damon Challenger 34' class A a few years back and am quite pleased with it. Plane Jane, no slides, two rooftop a/c units, 5kw generator, Triton V10 with a Ford Workhorse chassis. I was looking for an intro RV, since I don't have the free time to travel as much as I'd like, and was thinking that I'd like to learn the tricks so that when I retire I can buy one to travel the country with. Still gonna keep the house, but I'd like to stretch my legs a bit.

All that being said, this basic RV has treated me well. I'm not sure how well it'd tow a car though. With a trailer with my bike on it, I was down to 55mph on some killer hills in PA on a trip back from Ocean City. Without the trailer, that little V10 keeps up the speed well. Don't remember ever falling below 70 on any hills if I didn't want to. Rolling on flat ground, keeping it at 65 I can get as much as 10mpg. Going through hill country towning a trailer, it's been as low as 7mpg.

I do disagree with the cliche' that the happiest days are when you buy / sell it.

I'm glad I bought mine, ....just wish I got to use it more. (Typically 3k miles a year)

I'm sure you'll enjoy yours. Just be ready for a bit of a learning curve. Good luck, and good travels.

[rickardracing]

Cowpuc.......you may want to read this entire article about slab city. Not a safe or very nice place to live.

Slab City California | Atlas Obscura

[BlueSky]

Can't you sell your home when you retire and not pay any income taxes on it? But maybe it you finance the MH and deduct the interest, it may be considered a home and treated as such for tax purposes. I've lost touch on what the tax law is now on homes.

[Angelo]

This is a really fun thread, thanks for posting this up Raggy! Tip and I wish all you folks nothing but the best in the process of this stuff!!

Couple a thoughts that I am curious about.. Has anyone checked into the tax stuff about selling your home and capital gains taxes?? It seems like I had heard that you have 3 years to reinvest the cash from selling your house into another house or ya gotta pay capital gains on it?? I wonder if buying a Motorhome would be acceptable for reinvestment??

Another thought,, there is this place called "The Slabs" out in California.. Its an old Marine base that has been abandoned, buildings all torn down and nothing but slabs of concrete left there.. Lots and lots of hobo's, hippys and kids live there year around BUT,, there is also a HUGE community of snow birds that gather there.. The place is sectioned off in "communities" and TOTALLY free and off the grid.. There are even people who fly there own airplanes out there for the winter months.. If Tip and I disappear someday and go into hiding, that may very well be where you will find us,,, at least during the cold winter months!! It would be fun to have a huge "VR Geezer Meet n Greet" out there in the desert!!

 

I'm sure not all states are the same but I know a few you only have to pay gains if you sell the house within x amount of years of purchase. That being said, tax savings and playing the odds on interest rates going back up soon are why a bunch of my normal cash buyers are financing lately.

[Gary N.]

We have met a lot of people who are full time RV'ers. Some good friends of ours are former military and tell us that a lot of the bases have camping available for cheap $$$ for former military people. Also the BLM offers very cheap camping in several places in the south west dessert and maybe other places too. So Cowpuc if you need to get off the grid just Google BLM camping.

I'm not familiar with US tax laws but it seems that a lot of our full time friends like to register their RVs in Montana for tax purposes.

B2Mom I wish you and Don good luck in your quest. We are still only snow birds and not ready to give up the home base. It's harder for us as we can only legally stay in the States for a few months a year and it's too darn cold up north to live in an RV.

Edited January 18, 2015 by Gary N.

[ragtop69gs]

Jay, if you haven't already done so you should check out iRV2 Forums Of course as with most on line forums you hear about a lot of the bad stuff. But there is a lot to be learned there too.

 

I've been registered there and reading for weeks.

 

Jay

Not sure if you remember, but the reason we are not doing our meet n eat anymore is because we are getting our house ready to sell this spring. WHEN that happens, we are going to purchase an RV and HIT THE ROAD!!! We have been planning this for a year now. We have been looking at RV's, floor plans, even went to the Knoxville RV show last weekend. Had a blast walking in an out of all those gorgeous NEW RV's. Unfortunately, we are not in the market for a new one, but wanted to see the layouts and see what we liked as we had mostly just looked online.

 

We have been "campers" ever since Don and I got together 40+ years ago, starting out with tents and going through the whole range of what was available, including a Class C and a Class A motorhome. We have kicked around what we really want now and have pretty much settled on a Class A. this is because we are getting old and want to be able to get up and walk around and grab a snack, use the potty, etc etc...

 

Our vision for the next 5 years is to travel. WE are not looking to "winter" somewhere or stay long in one place. We want to see / tour this beautiful country of ours. I have been jealous for some time of Aussie Annie and Alan...they have seen more of our country than I have and I want that experience. Don has been lots of places, but me...not as much. And the ones I have been to, we had deadlines to get there. I want to head in a direction and be able to stop and see that big ball of yarn or corn palace. If we only go 100 miles that day, so be it. that is also why we are selling the home and all the contents. I don't want to worry about it being broke into and what happens to my stuff.

 

I hope you and Jeannie realize your dream too. I got tired of the MIchigan winters and high $$$ living / taxes there over 30 years ago and we headed for TN. The thing with this is: if we find out we really don't like it, we can sell the rig and settle back down near one of the kids again. I want to be able to pick up and visit friends / family / places / this beautiful country we call the USA. I want to do it now while I still have my health and most of my mind. and if (God forbid!) something happened to Don; YES I CAN drive the MH. Not afraid of doing that at all. and HIM? he most certainly can carry on without me.

 

I have enjoyed reading all the posts here and appreciate too, everyone's opinions. Hope to see you on the road, maybe by this summer!

 

Patti and Don

 

We will always have a place to come back to. Not sure where that will be but a stick & brick home is a must for us.

 

This is a really fun thread, thanks for posting this up Raggy! Tip and I wish all you folks nothing but the best in the process of this stuff!!

Couple a thoughts that I am curious about.. Has anyone checked into the tax stuff about selling your home and capital gains taxes?? It seems like I had heard that you have 3 years to reinvest the cash from selling your house into another house or ya gotta pay capital gains on it?? I wonder if buying a Motorhome would be acceptable for reinvestment??

Another thought,, there is this place called "The Slabs" out in California.. Its an old Marine base that has been abandoned, buildings all torn down and nothing but slabs of concrete left there.. Lots and lots of hobo's, hippys and kids live there year around BUT,, there is also a HUGE community of snow birds that gather there.. The place is sectioned off in "communities" and TOTALLY free and off the grid.. There are even people who fly there own airplanes out there for the winter months.. If Tip and I disappear someday and go into hiding, that may very well be where you will find us,,, at least during the cold winter months!! It would be fun to have a huge "VR Geezer Meet n Greet" out there in the desert!!

 

There is a one time exemption on the sale of your primary residence and yes a motorhome does qualify for the same tax benefits as a regular home. After looking at some videos of slab city I don't think it's somewhere I'd want to live, but it would be an interesting place to visit.

 

For what it's worth. I bought a 2001 Damon Challenger 34' class A a few years back and am quite pleased with it. Plane Jane, no slides, two rooftop a/c units, 5kw generator, Triton V10 with a Ford Workhorse chassis. I was looking for an intro RV, since I don't have the free time to travel as much as I'd like, and was thinking that I'd like to learn the tricks so that when I retire I can buy one to travel the country with. Still gonna keep the house, but I'd like to stretch my legs a bit.

All that being said, this basic RV has treated me well. I'm not sure how well it'd tow a car though. With a trailer with my bike on it, I was down to 55mph on some killer hills in PA on a trip back from Ocean City. Without the trailer, that little V10 keeps up the speed well. Don't remember ever falling below 70 on any hills if I didn't want to. Rolling on flat ground, keeping it at 65 I can get as much as 10mpg. Going through hill country towning a trailer, it's been as low as 7mpg.

I do disagree with the cliche' that the happiest days are when you buy / sell it.

I'm glad I bought mine, ....just wish I got to use it more. (Typically 3k miles a year)

I'm sure you'll enjoy yours. Just be ready for a bit of a learning curve. Good luck, and good travels.

 

Your towing experience is why I'm looking at diesel power.

 

Can't you sell your home when you retire and not pay any income taxes on it? But maybe it you finance the MH and deduct the interest, it may be considered a home and treated as such for tax purposes. I've lost touch on what the tax law is now on homes.

 

Yes, but I'm not up to speed on the finer points of the tax code yet.

[BlueSky]

The big trucks have to slow down on the hills. Nothing wrong with a MH doing the same as long as the engine and/or transmission doesn't overheat. After all you are carrying your house with you.