Few questions from the future RV-er

[Polonus]

I am a truck driver, planning to retire in about two, or three years. I know I'll miss my driving, so I am thinking about buying an RV, preferably class B, or small class C type. However I don't know nothing about makers of those things, what reputation they have, why similar looking van could cost twice more then its competitor, or why class C van, bigger and better equipped then class B, cost much less then smaller vehicle.

I was looking at Jayco Redhawk SE 22A, which I like a lot - from what I see on YouTube - specially the price, but I read some bad reviews about the quality of it. I'd rather have something smaller, more nimble, like Sportsmobile vans, but they cost 50% more. Other class B vans can cost twice, or 3 times more than Jayco. Why?

Which company makes best quality RVs, and best features for the money? Is it better to pay extra for a Mercedes Sprinter, or Ford Transit would be sufficient? How about the RAM van? Is the FWD any good idea for an RV? Or maybe 4WD is a must? What about a diesel or gas dilemma? Any opinion would be greatly appreciated.

[Bob Denman]

Welcome to the Forum!
Asking questions at the beginning is a VERY good thing, and I applaud your sense of planning.
Class B rigs probably cost more due to extra cost in engineering all of the "smallness" into them...
Best quality, and best for the money questions are actually pretty subjective: you'll have to decide what tickles your fancy the most, and then make your decisions.
(For the record: I no longer own a Thor RV. I now own a Tiffin... )

[paulwadley]

Welcome to the forum. You ask some good questions. All manufacturers will have some form of issues from the factory. I am on my 2nd motor home. In 2015 I bought a class B Winnebago ERA. I had many issues with it from the beginning. I was thinking when I bought it that Winnebago made high quality units since they have been around so long. We had many issues with it from day one. A large part of the issues had to do with the actual dealership. It spent more time in the shop than on the road the first year. I had a large learning curve to understand about RV service centers. It is not like an automobile dealership. The motor home (once repaired) worked great but is was too small for us. It had a wet bath and not a separate shower and was too narrow and we decided to trade it in for a larger motor home in 2018. We went with the same style Mercedes Benz Chassis with the diesel which is what the Winnebago had at the time. The diesel ran flawlessly and strong. The Thor (2018 Siesta 24ss) has two slide outs and much more room. It also has a regular bathroom with a separate shower. It has regular beds and not a sofa bed which is what the Winnebago had inside. We had much less issue with the build from the beginning compared to the Winnebago plus we were working with another dealership that showed more customer service than the first dealership we had with the Winnebago ERA. With all makes and models there will be initial issues to deal with and if you are handy, most can be done by you. Also these are not like cars in that you usually only get 1 year of manufacturer warranty unless you buy additional warranty items from the dealership. Before buying the first motor home, we rented a couple to see what we might like before deciding on the smaller units. My current Thor Siesta gets around 13-14 mpg( I do drive it a bit fast) on our last cross country coast to coast trip. I have done many upgrades myself to make it more comfortable. We are preparing for a 530 mile trip from Calif to Arizona (Tombstone) in 2 weeks for 5 days. Then off to Yellowstone National Park in early July for 10 days. What ever you decide upon, let us know if you have any questions or concerns. Someone here will either have an answer for you or can point you in the right direction.

Paul
2018 Thor Siesta 24ss, Good Sam Member, The Equalizer Level System, Sumo Springs

[Bob Denman]

I would say that it comes down to finding the floorplan that will work best for you, and then comparing the different manufacturers...

[The_Breeze]

Not that you necessarily have to divulge it here, but think about how you're going to use. If you're going to maintain a home base and do a few jaunts a year, it'll be very different if you plan to ditch the sticks and bricks and take your retirement on the road.

Either way, Paul probably hit the nail on the head when he suggested you rent a few to help you decide. You have 2-3 years to play around with finding out what you like and don't. You're going to have problems with one, hands down. If you don't, you'd be about the only truly blessed person on the planet. Take it in stride. If you're an OTR trucker, I'm sure you're aware of the possible roadside headaches.

If you do wind up buying, do it a year out from retirement if you can and shake the RV down to it's bones. Wring it out silly and get all the problems fixed before you take any extended trips. Hope that helps.

[saddlesore]

Also was a truckdriver (retired after 50 years, 5+ m miles)did the "super sized" loads nation wide...

This observation is only worth what You paid for it...
Your 1st rig (Of ANY configuration) is simply a tool to learn what You love about the rig.........
What you can "kinda sorta" tolerate with the rig " ....
And what you absolutely Hate about that $%^&*((*&^%$ damn thing.

A rig that is "too big" only lasts for a few weeks until You get used to it...One that is "too small" lasts forever..example.. converting dinette to couch to bed to dinette..rinse and repeat.. everyday gets damned old.. damn fast...


Our 1st class A was a 34' Thor gasser...
rough riding (steel suspension)
the "House" was too heavy for the chassis it was on
No matter what "improvements" made still was a bugger to keep in your lane, and mileage sucked big time..

AAAAAAND for full timing, was just too damn small for 2 people, then the issues of bathroom & shower sizes, , Fresh/black/gray tank capacities, bedroom & galley space and lack of storage inside and out...

We stepped up in coach size and build quality (used 40' w tag, single slide (SOB) DP on air, has everything except a dishwasher (DW says I'm it).
Yes even used.. it was several times the price of many new motorized RV's, but We went back in years to meet our budget comfort zone while paying cash.


Last.. When You retire ..try to be free and clear of any debt..
(With a "fixed income" there always seems to be too much month remaining at the end of the money..)


Happy hunting..

[Polonus]

Thanks for all of your advice. I think I'll travel 2-4 months a year, visiting the National Parks and then coming back to my house. I was driving cost to coast for many years, often weeks outside the home, so I know what I can expect there. Also we took twice long vacation road trips with my wife, driving our car and sleeping in motels. And if I keep my present house, I'd have room to park a van, but class C motorhome may have a problem with our rather steep driveway. So many things to consider...

[JamieGeek]

Welcome.

Sometimes the price difference is down to the chassis: Something built on a Ford chassis will be a bit less expensive than a Mercedes chassis.

Another option to consider: Rent one or two in the size/floorplans you like and use them for a weekend. That will help you determine closer to what you want instead of considering the first one a "throwaway".

[Pete'sMH]

Ford makes good stuff and stands behind it. F-53 chassis (most entry and mid level Class A’s) is pretty crude but gets the job done. Looking at class B and smaller Class C you’ll be looking at Ford Transit or Mercedes Sprinter although Dodge Ram is represented as well. The newly updated Sprinter looks like a nice platform but, of course, service can be expensive and harder to find. The Ford E cutaways are newly updated for 2021 and folks seem to have high hopes for it though, truthfully the old one isn’t half bad. Generally, you’ll have more problems with the house part than with the chassis. These things are built light and, frankly, to a price point. Truly the best advice is to take your time shopping and get what you like. What you enjoy driving, what suits your life style and your budget. Good luck! Have fun!!

[Solanopete]

We spent 20 years with three different travel trailers, two Northwood Nash and one Winnebago. Two years ago we decided we had to move up to a smallish Class A. Started with a used '17 Vegas 25 then up to a new '19 Ace 27. This week we will write a BIG check to bail out of motorhomes forever and return to a new travel trailer. Why, you ask? Engine and contents noise at highway speed is horrible in a low-end gas MH. Quality problems and long delays for service. Many Ford car dealers will not touch an E450 or F53 chassis sitting under a MH. You need to be willing to deal with many coach maintenance problems on your own to keep your MH going. We're looking forward to returning to a comfortable, well-designed pickup cab after suffering two years in MH's.

Lots of folks like their Class A's but count us a much happier in our TT.

[Mygirlscats]

Try before you buy is a great idea...but I find the rental prices are so flippin’ steep that I can’t go there! My best advice would be to buy your first unit used rather than new. That way, when you find things about it (yeah, it’s “when not if”) you won’t be in for quite so much money.

I did not follow my own sage advice. Our first rig was a 32’ gas motorhome and we absolutely loved it...except when filling the tank and trying to drive it in town to get groceries. Or when it was getting late in the day and we couldn’t find an RV park that had big enough spots left. Or when it was time for lunch but we couldn’t find a place big enough to pull over on the side of the road. Or when we were going up a really steep hill and wondering whether the engine was going to overheat. Stuff like that.

So approaching retirement, we bought a 24’ Class C, a Thor Citation on a Sprinter chassis. The mileage is better, diesel gives us plenty of power and we can go anywhere...including in town, grocery stores, small and inconveniently designed gas stations etc. We still admire other folks’ Class As, but having been there makes it much easier to know when we’ve got it good.

Class B units are terrific, but we couldn’t get past the lack of storage space. And as we live in an area that tends to rain, we wanted a little more indoor space for those kind of days.

All told, every unit will have pros and cons. The perfect unit for you might not be the perfect unit for me, but give some thought to what stuff you will carry with you and how you will use your rig. As to quality of build, I’ve heard tales of woe regarding every brand you could think of. Get the one that speaks to you and works for your budget, get the best warranty coverage you can find, and test the living hell out of it before your coverage expires!

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Polonus

I am a truck driver, planning to retire in about two, or three years. I know I'll miss my driving, so I am thinking about buying an RV, preferably class B, or small class C type. However I don't know nothing about makers of those things, what reputation they have, why similar looking van could cost twice more then its competitor, or why class C van, bigger and better equipped then class B, cost much less then smaller vehicle.

I was looking at Jayco Redhawk SE 22A, which I like a lot - from what I see on YouTube - specially the price, but I read some bad reviews about the quality of it. I'd rather have something smaller, more nimble, like Sportsmobile vans, but they cost 50% more. Other class B vans can cost twice, or 3 times more than Jayco. Why?

Which company makes best quality RVs, and best features for the money? Is it better to pay extra for a Mercedes Sprinter, or Ford Transit would be sufficient? How about the RAM van? Is the FWD any good idea for an RV? Or maybe 4WD is a must? What about a diesel or gas dilemma? Any opinion would be greatly appreciated.

Okay, everyone has given you some good advice, but here is the right answer

Focus on the Jayco Redhawk SE 22A; You like it a lot for a reason. Ignore most of the bad reviews as a lot of uninformed people buy a coach and then berat Dealers and Mfgs unmercifuly when things, or a service job didn't go their way. For the legitimate reviews that you validate. Address with dealer before buying or move on to next coach.

It took us 18 months and here is summary of how our plight went

Like you... we wanted smaller C class. We zero'd in on Thor Four Winds because of price, but after seeing a few we wanted more luxury; so we then move up to the Quantum. About $10k more, but despite it being an upgrade over Four Winds, we didn't like things like wallpaper to be fake tile etc.. We felt A class was too big, but C Class was not what we really wanted, then came the ACE 29.3. It was A Class and C class rolled into one. We found what we thought was the perfect coach. We would spend the next 6 months trying to find a brand new one with decent price and no major issues. We never did. We got close twice, but never pulled the trigger due to quality issues that I could not live with. Thor quit making the 29.3. Then we learned of the Hurricane / Windsport 27B. It was true A Class and a even bigger upgrade from where we started. We are now looking at spending $30k more than where we started We tried to buy a Windsport 27B twice, but ran into issues with the Dealer. i.e. they once asked us to make an offer, we did and they would NOT accept. We moved on, but 2 weeks later I see the coach listed online for $2,000 less than our offer!!!! I go to back to buy; but they said it was sold They try to sell us another (that we really didn't like) but not at that price; but at the price we had made in offer earlier!!! Then the Winnebago 29VE popped up seemingly out of no where. We think we had not seen before because we use to search on price? Anyhow, we fell in love with the 29VE and it features. Every 29VE we saw seemed perfect on the lot, so we gambled on the right color, features, and price combination on a unit in Florida, 2 one tickets Port St. Lucie and 1,500 mile shakedown trip back to Dallas, and the rest is history. It has been 7 months and we are just ecstatic with it. I now feel that all of our initial choices would have been mistakes. Yes we spent more than originally planned, but it is night and day differences.

[Muggs]

We bought a Thor Vegas 4 years ago. Was our first unit. No disappointment yet. We did consider going larger during 1st year, looking back was right move.

We have 28,000 miles now. 80 to 85% towing a open trailer and Camaro drag car.

The overall utility, simplicity and ease of use makes unit stand out. It has never sat more than a couple weeks. Maintenance easy, repairs all wear/use related. Factory did solid job on this unit.

Find what you like and inspect carefully. Everything loosens over time with bumps. Being retired now, I inspect hitch quarterly, all accessories three times a year. I change oil at 4,500 miles or 6 months and grease steering linkage.

Good luck and this forum is a great resource.

[Solanopete]

Glad to hear you got a good one and there are plenty of those out there but shoppers, like boxers, need to protect themselves at all times. MH shopping looks to the uninitiated pretty much like buying a car but, in reality, its much more like buying a boat or an airplane. You need to be willing to invest time and money to learn how to maintain your MH. I'd rather take a whippin' than read manuals and search for answers 'cause whatever years I have left are for travel, fishing, hunting, and other stuff that's none of your business. I worked all those years partly so I can pay somebody else to sweat the small stuff.

[Mr Sunshine]

Jayco 22A? Beware the corner bed! If I took Mrs S somewhere in a coach with a corner bed, it would be a short trip that wouldn't be pleasant for me!

Some good comments here. I look at RVs like shoes, we all prefer different styles and our preferences can change over time and depend on where we are going and who we're going with.

We are happy we downsized from a 33' Class A to our Vegas. For us and the way we travel, fits us just right. If we were full timing, we would want something bigger with more storage in and out.

Renting ain't cheap, but a bargain compared to trading off a coach that doesn't fit.