Anyone own an RV..Need advice and opinions. (1 Viewer)

[Mike I]

I will try to make this as short as possable..I avoid flying at all costs, even before 9/11 happened..My wife and I would like to do some traveling and see this great country we live in ..I was born and raised in Florida and can count on 1 (maybe 2) hands, how many times I have been out of the state my entire life..We have looked at vacation property in the North Carolina Mountains, but it is a good 9 hours from Orlando and do not know if we would get enough use out of it..We now have been looking at motor homes or RV's, the class A entirely self contained type...
What I would like to get opinions from any of y'all who own one...Are the easy to maintain and Drive ?...What kinds of problems to you have with them??? I also am concerned with spending that much money on something that will depreciate like a car or truck does over time....Thanks for any input..

 

[Bill Slack]

My father has owned a couple RVs. It's pretty much just a big car, in terms of maintence. The gas mileage is atrocious, it's hard to back up.. but other than that, not really any problems, according to him.

An almost essential add-on, imo, is levelers, so you don't need to level the thing out with like ramps under a few wheels. That'll run a few extra bucks.

You can basically get a mortgage on them, as opposed to just a car loan. They maintain they value much better than cars, but still depriciate plenty.

Avoid ones with slide out rooms, despite the extra space. They can be a maintence nightmare, and often start leaking after a few years, though in your warm climate it might be less of a problem (no salt, or wicked temp. changes, etc.)

Around 50-60mph will be your top speed.

 

[Mike I]

I appreciate the response Bill.Thanks..Pretty much everyone we looked at has the slide out room...That is good to know..

 

[Ryan Wright]

I recommend a diesel pusher. For a few reasons, number one, with diesel you'll get better gas milage. For two, you can pull into any truck stop and refuel, and with a large rig, you'll want to gas up at truck stops. For three, I just like the idea of having the engine in the back. Seems like a good place for it, to me...
Driving, if you're a decent driver you will have no problem driving these. It's just a big bus. Almost all RVs have those little cameras in the back so you'll have no problems backing up after a little practice.
Top speed, I think 50-60 is unreasonable. Any motorhome worth it's weight should be able to cruise down the freeway at 70+ without a problem. Now, going up hills, well that's a different story. You'll be trudging up with your four way flashers on just like any other big rig.
I didn't know about the problems with the slide out systems, but personally, I wouldn't buy a new rig without them. Ask around to see if they really do have problems. Check with consumer reports/etc. Then, get yourself a good warranty that covers everything, so if you do have problems with them down the road, you won't have to pay for it out of your own pocket.
Get yourself a big gas tank. You're going to need it. These things really eat through the fuel. Still, when you figure in the cost of hotels and eating out vs. living in your RV and cooking for yourself, you pretty much break even on the gas. I can think of no better way to travel than in an RV. But I'm a personal kind of guy. I don't like hotels. I like the comfort and convenience of my very own bed. Your wife will REALLY appreciate the bathroom. I know mine does. Public restrooms suck, big time, and it's 100% worse for women.
My RV is a little different than most. I've got a '66 Dodge. She's a beautiful machine - Class A, 30' long with a big V8. She was one of the first motorhomes ever built specifically to be a motorhome. I've recently parked her and will be fully restoring her when my hovercraft is complete, hopefully sometime next year. I actually get about 8 miles to the gallon - the fiberglass body really saves on weight, and the whole RV weighs in at about 5 tons. That's a very light setup. I can cruise down the freeway at 80 if I want to, and have even been known to pass people on occasion....

 

[Steve Schaffer]

You'll definitely want a "dinghy" car/truck to tow behind for short trips once you reach a destination. That way you can leave the motorhome parked/leveled in nice park and explore the region at your leisure. I can't think of a better way to see this wonderful and widely varied country.

My folks used a Suburban/30 ft travel trailer for extended (3 months at a whack) tours all over the US and Mexico, Sorta one of those "we're spending our kid's inheritance" things and I could not be happier that they did!!!

 

[Philip_G]

I'm kind of the opposite of bill's opinion.
when I was growing up in MT my mom and step dad always had RV's, started with a small 5th wheel, then a larger and a larger, and another larger, then a huge ass motorhome.
RV's are nice because they're a home away from home, when you're traveling you have your own bathroom right there, your own food and dishes, clohing, nothing to pack. but I never saw them as being trouble free, personally I think they're a bit of a PITA.
there are little things, making sure the water tank is full, making sure the grey and black water tanks are empty (never a fun thing to do, having the grey water back up into the shower while you're in it sucks) a new motorhome will probably have a generator, otherwise you have batteries to worry about and charge, water heater to light and shut off, refrigerator to light (when not on electricity, plugged in or generator running, they run on propane, though they light themselves mostly automatically) propane tanks to fill (MASSIVE PITA) and just general other stuff when you stop, unhooking the car, backing into your parking spot, hooking up to utilities etc. Usually 30 to 45 minutes each time you stop for the night, depending on what you're hooking up to, leveling the rv etc.
the better RV's we had were pretty trouble free (jayco) the cheaper ones we had (fleetwood brands) to start with were not, and always had little nagging problems, like the heater or something minor like that. I was really fond of the fiberglass sided type, because they don't get beat to crap in a hail storm like the aluminum, but I don't recall ever seeing a motorhome that wasn't fiberglass so I guess you don't have to worry about that. Living in FL you probably want a generator so you can run the rooftop AC without having to plug in to electricity, they get hot, FAST.
I like slide outs a lot, never had trouble with them, they REALLY make it much less confined inside, two people can walk past each other without one stopping to wait lol
overall my impression after the many, MANY years of dragging all over the country in one, for what you spend on gas, a camping spot, the RV itself, upkeep, your time etc.. I'd MUCH rather fly there, and stay in a REALLY nice hotel. Mind you I'm a pilot and I think that figures in, I'm a get there now person, not an enjoy the getting there person, so if it's something you might enjoy I'd start small, used RV's don't depreciate much at all, get a small motorhome and try it for a year or two, if it's your bag, jump in with both feet and enjoy, if not.. eh, oh well

 

[Bill Slack]

Slids out rooms certainly could have gotten better over the years. My knowledge is simply based on folks my parents went camping with; they liked having the slide out room (and it really does open it up, a lot!) but always had problems with them.
I would think a diesel would perform a bit better than an unleaded engine.
And of course, there are worries about maintaing the vehicle in terms of house-type stuff, I was just refering to the maintence as a car itself.
I don't believe I've ever seen an RV that isn't fiberglass either, in recent memory. A generator is a good idea in that climate, I agree.
If you are planning on going anywhere, defiantley tow. A stick is easy to tow, and automatic is a real PITA; although a Saturn is one of the very few cars that is designed to be towed (on all four wheels.)
I wouldn't recommend an RV as a money saving proposition, by any means, but it can be quite a nice well to travel.
I am planning on going up and visiting my Dad while he is camping at Hampton Beach next weekend. I haven't been in the old RV in many years, should be fun.

 

[Philip_G]

I don't believe I've ever seen an RV that isn't fiberglass either, in recent memory. A generator is a good idea in that climate, I agree.

I was thinking more in terms of 5th wheel trailers, a lot of them are aluminum skinned, but I agree, I can't ever recall not seeing aything but a 'glass motorhome.

as far as the mechanics, yah it's just like a pickup, same drivetrain mostly

 

[Mike I]

Wow..Great advice and info from all here...Thanks..

you are planning on going anywhere, defiantley tow. A stick is easy to tow, and automatic is a real PITA; although a Saturn is one of the very few cars that is designed to be towed (on all four wheels.)

I have and F150 automatic...Would this be a problem to tow as I planned to tow for the reasons mentioned above...

Thanks again y'all

 

[Ryan Wright]

there are little things, making sure the water tank is full, making sure the grey and black water tanks are empty (never a fun thing to do, having the grey water back up into the shower while you're in it sucks) a new motorhome will probably have a generator, otherwise you have batteries to worry about and charge, water heater to light and shut off, refrigerator to light (when not on electricity, plugged in or generator running, they run on propane, though they light themselves mostly automatically) propane tanks to fill (MASSIVE PITA) and just general other stuff when you stop, unhooking the car, backing into your parking spot, hooking up to utilities etc. Usually 30 to 45 minutes each time you stop for the night, depending on what you're hooking up to, leveling the rv etc.

I suppose it depends on your point of view. Here's mine:

Filling water: Hook a hose up to the side, turn it on for a few minutes, turn it back off. No big deal.

Draining grey water: Pull up to a drain station, get out, hook a hose up, flip a valve, wait. Repeat procedure in reverse. It's a bit of a pain, but you don't have to do it very often. Not a huge deal.

Water heater/fridge/etc: These things light themselves any more. You don't have to worry about them. They pretty much just work.

Filling propane tanks is a massive pain? Funny, I always thought it was pretty easy. You just pull up to a gas station, hop out, flip a couple of valves and the tanks slide right out. They fill 'em up, you pop 'em back in and go on your merry way. 15 minute procedure, tops, and most of that 15 minutes is spent standing around waiting for the gas station people to finish helping other customers.

30 to 45 minutes to hook up to utilities? It takes me 5. You park, get out, plug in the water hose, plug in the electricity and you're done. RVs have automatic levelers nowadays. You push a button and it does everything for you. I've never spent more than a few minutes futzing around with parking and hooking things up. The most time consuming task is loading and unloading your stuff at home, and you can cut that in half by buying extra items (silverware, etc) that are just for the RV. We only have to unload our clothes, any leftover food, and our dog. Everything else stays in the RV. We even bought extra card games and such just to leave in there.

 

[Mike I]

The most time consuming task is loading and unloading your stuff at home, and you can cut that in half by buying extra items (silverware, etc) that are just for the RV. We only have to unload our clothes, any leftover food, and our dog. Everything else stays in the RV. We even bought extra card games and such just to leave in there.

That is a good point Ryan..I would even have some extra close to keep in the rv so there was not even too much of that to pack and unpack...
What model of RV do you have..I have been reading everything I can get my hands on, on the net..It gets pretty confusing after a while...

 

[Philip_G]

30 to 45 minutes to hook up to utilities? It takes me 5. You park, get out, plug in the water hose, plug in the electricity and you're done

Ah and run the nasty sewer hose to the sewage hookup, hope the blackwater valve didn't leak a little inside the cap so when you pull it off there's a nice surprise, or PRAY to god you didn't forget to close the valve last time you dumped it (seen it happen, never done it myself)

drage out the lawn chairs, roll down the awning, if you have dogs along set up the tie downs for them, slide the slide outs.. etc. The point is it varies from person to person, 5th wheels take longer because of unhooking, but motorhomes have their own little quirks

 

[KyleS]

Ahhh here is my thread
I actually work for Monaco Coach Corporation and we are the number 1 manufacture of Class A motor homes in the world.
Mike,
If you want to know any information and can get you most anything on all the products we sell from the Monaco, Holiday Rambler, Beaver, Safari, or McKenzie lines.
Yes slide outs do have a tendency to leak more then coaches without slide outs... GO FIGURE One has a hole in the side and another doesn’t. Personally if I were going to buy a coach I would be purchasing AT LEAST a double slid out and if I had the option I would get the triple slide out. When you pull in somewhere the living space is what’s important and slide out add a tremendous amount just go look at the same coach with the slid outs in or out and you will see what I am talking about. The slide out have been improved upon each year and are pretty good, most even have awnings that pull out to keep water from getting in the slides.

I don't believe I've ever seen an RV that isn't fiberglass either

I am sure that you actually have they are the Prevost bus chassis. They are the shiny ones that a lot of singers/celebrities have and there is a reason that there are not a lot of them on the road. We sell them in our Royal coach line and the other main manufacture of them is right across the street from us Marathon Coach. Of course they start out around 650,000 and that is for a strip down model. For a decent one you are talking right around the 3/4 to 1 million mark.
Like I said if you guys have any questions please email me I am more then happy to help you in any way that I can.
PS. I work in the computer department and in no way work in sales so I am not trying to pitch you guys here.
I will be gone this weekend but send me a Personal mail and I will get back to you as soon as I can. [email protected]
KyleS

 

[Ryan Wright]

drage out the lawn chairs, roll down the awning, if you have dogs along set up the tie downs for them, slide the slide outs.. etc.

Electric slide-outs, electric awning, dogs that don't run off and thus don't need tie-downs... what's that leave? Oh, lawn chairs. Stick the key in the side of the RV, open the panel, pull them out and flick your wrist. Done. Total time invested: 30 seconds. 40 if you include pushing the buttons to deploy the slide-outs and awning.
Of course, my RV doesn't have slide-outs, and the awning is manual (and as such, I rarely use it; it's a pain in the rear). Mine does, however, have a classic charm, which attracts all sorts of people wherever I take it. Bonus: It didn't cost me $100k. It was purchased from my grandparents, who have owned it since I was a child, for a "family" price. And I've never seen another one like it on the road - ever.