How do you know you have the right RV?

[skychs]

For our first Class A we went with a Ventana LE 3636. Its certainly entry level compared to the big 40'+ coaches but we really like the open layout and quality of the RV. The wife loves the full bath in the rear of the coach and having a half bath for friends and family when they visit. Since we bought it used we were not part of the construction but if there was one thing we could change it would be .... a King size bed. Other than that we have the perfect coach for us.

 

[bpaikman]

@bpaikman, the “nice to have” items I referenced are applicable to Newmar coaches as that is the only manufacturer I know.

1. No carpet anywhere.
2. heated tile floors
3. Sanicon
4. Articulating bed to get to rear bath without having to crawl over bed.
5. independent font suspension.
6. washer and dryer
7. table and chairs versus a dinette.

Ah, I see. Thank you.

 

[bpaikman]

I grew up in a family of 6, camping in a basic Coleman tent trailer. We roughed it all over the western US in that thing, and all the way to Fairbanks on the still-unpaved at that time, Alaska Highway. Family graduated to a small travel trailer when the 2 older kids were grown and gone, but Dad didn’t like it - only made one trip (I LOVED it lol). Hubby grew up similar, but with an all boy family, and more travel trailer experience, so he had it easier.
He and I bought our first rv when our kids were gone - DP - 2006 Winnebago Journey 36G - 350 hp, with a computer credenza table and chairs. We got it right the first time. I liked the home-like feel of its layout, and it had an unusually large bathroom area and a separate toilet room which we really liked. Plenty of storage. Bedroom was cramped, which wasn’t a problem ...Split windshield with a rattling TV overhead-ugh. Just for fun, we looked at one very similar to it this weekend, and hubby was still liking it very much. Me, too, except for the windshield and overhead TV. We sold it in 2017 Because we weren’t using it enough and we wanted to save for the next one.
It’s a shame that the later models don’t have as livable a layout. We miss our old “Tardis” , as we called it.
I can’t stand a potty room with no window - and that’s common in 34-35’ models. Except for some Tiffins.
My wish list includes many things, but that’s a dealbreaker and not really retrofit-able.
I’ve been researching for out next DP when hubby retires next year, but would you believe it... Covid!! We hope that we can find something reasonable next year - our savings and planning prepared us for almost anything, except a world pandemic.

 

["EZ"]

We went from tent camping off the back of a motorcycle to a 40' diesel pusher. Big difference!! We got a great deal on a used 2006 Holiday Rambler Ambassador. I flew to Dallas from Atlanta and drove it home. Bought it sight unseen. THAT is how good of a deal I got. I wouldn't recommend it to most people. ?

As most of you know, I told my wife we'd start with this one and if we liked it we'd move up to a new one. But after reading RV Forums for 3 years and hearing almost everyone talk about the quality issues we were having a hard time forking over an additional $250k for a new coach similar to ours. So we decided to spend about $15k to remodel our 2006. We got all new tile floors and new carpet on the large slide and new ultra leather covered captain's chairs but we also had them take care of every little thing that bugged my wife about ours that reminded her ours was not new. I had already swapped out the NeverCold RV 'fridge for a new SS residential french door bottom freezer unit. I also swapped out all those 80 pound TV's for new flat screen smart TV's. I also installed 2 new A/C units upgrading from 13.5K to 15K units with the new digital thermostat. I also installed a new designer kitchen sink faucet. I guess all in we've probably spent $20K on the upgrades.

Would I like to have a brand new coach? Sure!! I'd like a bath and a half or 2 baths. I'd also like the drop down bed over the captain's chairs for the grandkids to sleep in so we didn't have to use the sleeper sofa. My wife wants heated floors. But are we willing to go a quarter million dollars deeper in debt to get these things? Right now the answer is no. Besides we'd have to give up the pre-emission diesel we have which is a HUGE deal to me since I sell diesel engines trucks for a living and I know the life expectancy of the pre-emission diesels vs the new emission diesels.

So like Neal says, we've made this one "ours". It's comfortable. It has good bones. It has a great drive train with low miles. There's now nothing wrong with this coach. So, I think we'll keep it.................for a while anyway.

 

[skychs]

EZ ..... Thanks for admitting you bought your coach sight unseen. We did the same thing. It was a gamble but like yours the deal was too good to pass up. I actually flew out to Spokane WA to pick ours up. 2,700 miles and 4 days later I arrived in Richmond VA. It was a solo trip and my first adventure driving a 36' Class A motorhome. Talk about a break in. .

It was the wife who sealed the deal. After several phone calls the two wives got together for a chat. When my wife hung up she said "they are good people" and she put a deposit on the coach. Call it luck or intuition but it all worked out. We still chat with them monthly and plan to go back over to visit.

We went from tent camping off the back of a motorcycle to a 40' diesel pusher. Big difference!! We got a great deal on a used 2006 Holiday Rambler Ambassador. I flew to Dallas from Atlanta and drove it home. Bought it sight unseen. THAT is how good of a deal I got. I wouldn't recommend it to most people. ?

As most of you know, I told my wife we'd start with this one and if we liked it we'd move up to a new one. But after reading RV Forums for 3 years and hearing almost everyone talk about the quality issues we were having a hard time forking over an additional $250k for a new coach similar to ours. So we decided to spend about $15k to remodel our 2006. We got all new tile floors and new carpet on the large slide and new ultra leather covered captain's chairs but we also had them take care of every little thing that bugged my wife about ours that reminded her ours was not new. I had already swapped out the NeverCold RV 'fridge for a new SS residential french door bottom freezer unit. I also swapped out all those 80 pound TV's for new flat screen smart TV's. I also installed 2 new A/C units upgrading from 13.5K to 15K units with the new digital thermostat. I also installed a new designer kitchen sink faucet. I guess all in we've probably spent $20K on the upgrades.

Would I like to have a brand new coach? Sure!! I'd like a bath and a half or 2 baths. I'd also like the drop down bed over the captain's chairs for the grandkids to sleep in so we didn't have to use the sleeper sofa. My wife wants heated floors. But are we willing to go a quarter million dollars deeper in debt to get these things? Right now the answer is no. Besides we'd have to give up the pre-emission diesel we have which is a HUGE deal to me since I sell diesel engines trucks for a living and I know the life expectancy of the pre-emission diesels vs the new emission diesels.

So like Neal says, we've made this one "ours". It's comfortable. It has good bones. It has a great drive train with low miles. There's now nothing wrong with this coach. So, I think we'll keep it.................for a while anyway.

 

["EZ"]

EZ ..... Thanks for admitting you bought your coach sight unseen. We did the same thing. It was a gamble but like yours the deal was too good to pass up. I actually flew out to Spokane WA to pick ours up. 2,700 miles and 4 days later I arrived in Richmond VA. It was a solo trip and my first adventure driving a 36' Class A motorhome. Talk about a break in. .

It was the wife who sealed the deal. After several phone calls the two wives got together for a chat. When my wife hung up she said "they are good people" and she put a deposit on the coach. Call it luck or intuition but it all worked out. We still chat with them monthly and plan to go back over to visit.

Hahahaha!!! Yeah, me and the widow we bought our coach from are friends on FB. We still talk. I could tell she was "good people" when I talked to her on the phone. The Sales Manager of the company I work for was the one that hooked me up with her. He said it was a friend that died in Dallas and his wife couldn't even drive the RV. She paid someone to drive it to the closest dealer for her to put it on consignment. It was at the dealer for a year and she was making payments on it. She was in her late 70's or early 80's and VERY motivated to sell this thing. She made me an incredible deal and I said "Can you pick me up at the airport?" She did and I drove it home from Dallas. It was my first time to drive a 40' diesel pusher so it was an experience!!! Now 3 years later the lanes on the roads seem so much wider than they did on that first trip home. lol.

 

[Dan-DS]

@bpaikman, the “nice to have” items I referenced are applicable to Newmar coaches as that is the only manufacturer I know.

1. No carpet anywhere.
2. heated tile floors
3. Sanicon
4. Articulating bed to get to rear bath without having to crawl over bed.
5. independent font suspension.
6. washer and dryer
7. table and chairs versus a dinette.

Those are some of the reasons why we went with the Newmar DS.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

I know I have the right RV when the Key fits the door.?