We always buy used vehicles. They are a better bargin if you know what to look out for. Just like a car, check the condition of the engine, oil, coolent, hoses, transmission, tire wear, aliengment, electrical systems, etc. Then, just like buying a house, you need to check the roof, plumbing, air conditioner, heater, propane, and the house electrical.
Since people don't drive their RV to work every day like a car, you can find ones that are fairly old and still have very low milage.
Go to the gas station convienance store and look on the magazine rack for Auto Trader. Right next to it should be the RV version called, RV Trader. Buy that every week until you find the RV of your dreams, or check them out online:
http://www.rvtraderonline.com/
Many older class C motorhomes don't have slide-outs. In our mini winnie the TV is up in the cabover and we use the rest of the area for storage of things like dufflebags and pillows. We sleep in the rear bed which pulls out from the sofa. We can pull in and park. Put the shade on the front window. Pull out the bed and throw the sleeping bag on it and we are in bed asleep in ten minutes. No slide outs mean we can sleep in any rest area or parking lot without anyone even knowing we are sleeping inside.
Agree with the majority on here who advise you to get the slide. We didn't want to go too big or too heavy, so we bought a 27 ft. with one slide. As others have said, the slide is quick & easy and re-sale will be better.
I'd like to speak for what appears to be the 'no slide' minority:
TMBLSN wrote:
It's not too hard to find a floor plan that is fully functional with the slide in, yet much roomier with the slide out.
Yes, but it is just as easy to find a floor plan that works that doesn't have a slide.
Slide or no slide isn't (or shouldn't be) the only deciding factor for everyone. Personally, I had a length consideration when recently looking. And for me and my wife, the coach needs to function well as it drives down the road, not just at the campground. None of the units with a slide that were also with our length limit had workable interiors when retracted.
Hokie wrote: First of all, I'd say most people would want a slide out.
Is it that they really want a slide? Or is it just that those who have a slide picked that floorplan for it's overall features and appeal, not JUST because it had a slide.
Hokie wrote: Once you look at one pulled in vs. expanded out. You see why they are so great.
I would say that is a matter of opinion. Like I said, if the functioning of the interior as you drive down the road (or with the slide retracted) is of importance to you and the slide takes away from that, then what good is having the slide?
trnfla wrote: units without slides may be harded to sell later.
So what? If anyone decided to purchase a particular unit based on its POTENTIAL resale value, I'd say that was a poor selection criteria. Buy the unit that you think will suit you best today and tomorrow and in the future. Do you think that people who bought larger C's or A's 2-3 years ago thought they would hold their value better only to discover today that their value may have dropped compared to smaller units of the same model year? Buy it and use it now - worry about selling it later.
VernM wrote: As to slides. If you are going to spend a lot of time in the rig, they afford more room. They do so at the cost of more weight (less for your stuff) and more complicated if something goes wrong. And there are things that can go wrong with slides. Weatherseal leaks, mechanical breakdowns, adjustments and other things beyond most people's experience to fix themselves.
All the slide proponents - except for this poster - seem to have glossed over those potential issues with slides. All valid points to consider.
I think that most people have missed the original poster's statement that is is looking for a large B or a small C. I know that some of the larger more upscale B's have a small slide. But there are plenty of small C's that don't that are quite functional. I'd guess from the OP's statements that it is just him going solo. The extra space afforded him by a slide may very well be a waste in many different ways.
Personally. I don't want a slide. I won't have a RV with one. With a slide. You have to be so carful when getting on a site. Can I stop now? Will the slide miss that tree? What about the power pole. some rude folks even slide out into the site behind them.
Places we camp often have trees. I like being able to ease right up to one, and not worry about if the slide will come out or not.
INMOP. Just something else to break, leak, and pull leaves into your RV. And in the way more than anything else.
If you are looking at a "B" or small "C", most of this conversation is moot because your choices are going to be very limited when it comes to slideouts, diesel, Ford chassis, and so on. In fact, most of the smallest class C's were on GM chassis, although I understand they are pretty good as well.
That said, we started RV'ing with a 29' Class C that we picked up for $15,000 but the mechanicals were good, so we spend little on repairs. Did some interior work and two years later got more on trade than we paid for it. At a certain point, you can forget about big depreciation and such because they've leveled off where condition is the biggest resale factor. If you are a maintenance nut, you would probably loose very little even in this market since you will probably being buying low to begin with.
As already said, go to the PPL website and just look at what they have. I've not done business with them, so it's not a personal endorsement, just a good place to get an idea of what the market prices are and what's selling or not for that matter.
good advice from you all.. and I liked the post by martinandanne pointing out slide, no slide info.. and about the RV Trader magazine,,, never looked at one, I always thought those were out of date and pretty much useless, but will pick one up next time at the store.. Thanks.
The hunts continues,, or rather the looking and the dreaming,, Be glad when the Fort Worth Camper RV show gets here..
thanks for thinking of me and taking time from your RVing time to answer.
Try the RV Trader Magazine, you may find less pushy sellers who are more honest and you will definitely get a better price then buying used at a Dealership!
Subscribe to the thread to find it easy the next time. You can do this below the thread where it has the option to do so.
Personally I like having Slide Outs. As someone else mentioned, push a button and in mere seconds you have tons of space.
outdoorsman2007 wrote: Are you more confused now? The opinions you see here are just that. for that matter the opinions, by no means, even represent reality in some cases. Example: One person thinks that having slide outs means having to duck trees when they camp. We have 4 slide outs and have never had to duck a tree or anything else for that matter. Everyone's opinions are biased to their likes and dislikes.
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Actually one person KNOWS you have to work around trees if you have a slide. Maybe you haven't camped in CGs with as many trees as the CGs we go to. It is a reality. Camping friends have a superslide. We had to swap campsites. Because they couldn't silde out on the site they were given. I just backed in and setup. That's the reality. Another reality. At the beach. We couldn't have used a slide because of trees on the site. We often back in right up against trees. So you stay in your perfest CGs / resorts where trees are put just so. And I 'll stay in CGs with lots of trees. And I have seen rude people slide out into the site behind them.
As for resale value. I didn't but it for the next owner. I bought it for me.
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