Chris Phillips
Spokane, Wa
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Joined: 05/07/2012
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A little background first:
My wife and I are avid campers and we have owned travel trailers for quite a while now. We have 3 daughters (ages 7/5/1) and have decided to make the move from our 06 Dodge diesel w/25 Ft. TT to a class C motorhome. My family resides back east in Pa. and we are Washington state residents. We would like to make that trip in a motorhome at least once a year.
In researching our next purchase I have become a bit overwhelmed at the many different makes and pricing. First and foremost I want to purchase something that is reliable. I couldn't imagine what could make a trip go from fun to a nightmare other than a catastrophic breakdown. Safety for my family is also a concern as well.
We have budgeted $45-50K for this purchase. And while there are options out there, we haven't found "the one" yet and I am still having doubts about buying used and what major issues could be waiting for us after purchase. I guess I need some helpful feedback from the experienced crowd here. We would like this purchase to be a long term solution. But I'm not sure if that is realistic if we aren't buying new? My concerns are all over the board at this point.
Should we be looking for a stepping-stone unit and save up for a few years down the road and chance some reliablitlty issues? Or up the budget and go for new? The higher finance payment does not look appealing.
What brands/models are better quality in our budget? Any maker we should stay away from?
We want a 29-31 foot with a bed over the cab (The wife wants to maximize sleeping area). A slide would be nice for more living room, but we really only sleep in our TT right now when we camp (which has no slide) so that is not a deal breaker.
* This post was
edited 05/07/12 12:42pm by Chris Phillips *
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NewsW
US
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Joined: 02/06/2012
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Given your capacity needs, and so on, if you can afford increasing the budget a bit, the Lazy Daze 26ft is the one I would point you to.
High quality, and great resale.
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ron.dittmer
Northern Illinois
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Joined: 02/26/2007
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I think your $45k-$50k budget can get you a 3 to 6 year old, decent lightly used rig.
I strongly advise to consider a seamless front bunk rig like the Tioga shown here. No leaks where leaks are most common with class-Cs. Don't shop by brand. Shop by the seamless frontal area. Not seamless? Don't consider it. (my appologies to so many of you on that comment) Anything seamless will cost a little more because the over-all rig will be a bit upscaled anyway, but well worth it.
Because you are looking for a long 29-31 foot rig, it will be on the Ford E450 with V10, a very reliable chassis & drive train.
2007 Phoenix Cruiser model 2350, with 2006 Jeep Liberty in-tow
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Joined: 12/18/2004
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Hi,
I'd go http://www.lazydaze.com/ myself.
Regards, Don
Kustom Koach Class C 28'5" 256 watts Unisolar, 875 amp hours in two battery banks 12 volt batteries, 2500 MSW watt inverter.
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NoRoomService
Kingwood (Houston) TX
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Joined: 10/15/2008
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I bought my 09 Jayco Melbourne 31' Class C with most options a month ago for $51,500. It has 11,000 miles and had always been stored inside. I got new tires & batteries for it included. Very nice rig and 1/2 the price of a new one. For the difference in price of a new one, I'll fix any problems. BUT there seems to be lots of problems with new ones, so someone has already fixed this one !!
09 Jayco Melbourne 29D 31' Class C
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NewsW
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Grab yourself a NADA book of values and get a handle on resales of different brands.
Some brands plunge like a stone.
If you took out a loan longer than 7 years, you will never be anything but upside down in those loans.
A consideration if you ever have to sell in a hurry.
31ft Lazy Daze is pushing $100k, is it totally out of your league?
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Chris Phillips
Spokane, Wa
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NewsW wrote:Grab yourself a NADA book of values and get a handle on resales of different brands.
Some brands plunge like a stone.
If you took out a loan longer than 7 years, you will never be anything but upside down in those loans.
A consideration if you ever have to sell in a hurry.
31ft Lazy Daze is pushing $100k, is it totally out of your league?
$100,000 is more than I owe on my house, so yes that is not even in our ballpark.
I appreciate the suggestions though!
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mm047
Green Valley, AZ
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Don't be surprised to see a nice rig with an asking price of $65 or $70k that you can make a $45k offer on and get it.
Good luck in your hunt!
Mile M.
2008 Winnebago View 24J
2010 Mercury Mariner
Ready Brute Elite and Blue Ox
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Jayco-noslide
Galesburg,Il., USA
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I don't have answers but just wonder if you have thought about depreciation. This is the biggest cost of RVing. That is, how the value of an RV will plunge over the years that you keep it. All RV's depreciate but new, expensive ones depreciate more.
Jayco-noslide
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Johnworth914
USA!
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Personally, I would look for a good , clean , well maintained two or three year old.
You will be able to get much more RV for the money, and someone else will have taken the huge depreciation hit.
It is amazing how many rvs of all types get traded in in one or two years.
Looking for a two year old, you will do much better looking for a trade in at a dealer rather than a private sale.
Most people are far upside own on ther loan to value ratio at 2 years and won't sell for less than they owe. But often the dealer will roll some of that negative equity on the trade into their new RV, so you can get it closer to "book"
Alaska is next! Still trying to fit the pontoons to the RV so We can get to Hawaii!
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