New member looking for our first RV

[ludvball]

Hello!

We are a family of six. Four girls. Two of which are just out of college. My wife an I have been talking for years of getting an RV and just haven't been able to make the decision as to what type, how much we can afford......blah blah blah. Well, we finally decided to actively search for a Class A/C. We are looking for something a few years old due to budget constraints. We rented a 32ft Class C in early 2020. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

We are thinking that we would like to go with a Class A in the 30-33ft range, 2012-2017 if we can find one in our budget. I have not looked around the forum yet. I will as soon as I post this. I have so many questions, that I am sure can be answered by looking. I will start with a couple of simple ones.

Where is the best places to look for used RV's?
What are the things to look out for when shopping used?
What brands tend to be more reliable? I know this is a loaded question. It meant to be generally speaking.
Any spots on here that I should go to help get started?

Thanks for any advice!
Kevin

 

[Rosy]

Some may disagree but, in my opinion, these days the best place to look for used RVs is Facebook Marketplace/Craigslist/Auto Trader.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Well Kevin!
Look for threads that have a title with your questions in them! That is why many people put the questions they have in the title, so quick answer can be found without wading through the forum every time a concern comes up. Kind of a cataloging feature!

That's my answer to your last question!!!


Reliable is in fact a loaded question!

The answer is similar to the auto industry. If you don't like fixing drivetrains, then!!! Buy a trailer. If you dislike ford's buy a pusher or class b, or buy old enough to have other choices. In my often disputed opinion! RVs are much like houses, only much worse in the building department.

 

[Joe Hogan]

You may consider a Bunk Bed model, if you want to accommodate everyone, which can be a good buy used.
Depending on your planned usage, and duration of stops and frequency these parameters might drive your choices.
If you will travel infrequently, and go to a single destination or two, you might consider a 5th wheel. Lots of room, not too much in maintenance and can sit for long periods between trips

If you are considering long trips, many stops, frequently, a Diesel Pusher might make sense. Diesels do not like to sit around, they want to run.

Something in between, maybe an Airstream, or Gas class A.

Newmar or Tiffin Class As are good brands with reasonable factory support. Not familiar with all the other brands but you might get lucky.

As a first timer, look for a Brand that has good Factory Support, you will need it.

 

[ludvball]

Thanks for the responses. I surely have some research to do.

Some may disagree but, in my opinion, these days the best place to look for used RVs is Facebook Marketplace/Craigslist/Auto Trader.

I hadn't thought of those places. I will check them out.

Well Kevin!
Look for threads that have a title with your questions in them! That is why many people put the questions they have in the title, so quick answer can be found without wading through the forum every time a concern comes up. Kind of a cataloging feature!

That's my answer to your last question!!!

I'll search on some of the questions I have. That is what I used to do when I had my Jeep.

Reliable is in fact a loaded question!

The answer is similar to the auto industry. If you don't like fixing drivetrains, then!!! Buy a trailer. If you dislike ford's buy a pusher or class b, or buy old enough to have other choices. In my often disputed opinion! RVs are much like houses, only much worse in the building department.

I don't have issues working on the drivetrain. I don't have experience with Diesel though. For that reason I was considering a gas Class A.

You may consider a Bunk Bed model, if you want to accommodate everyone, which can be a good buy used.
Depending on your planned usage, and duration of stops and frequency these parameters might drive your choices.
If you will travel infrequently, and go to a single destination or two, you might consider a 5th wheel. Lots of room, not too much in maintenance and can sit for long periods between trips

If you are considering long trips, many stops, frequently, a Diesel Pusher might make sense. Diesels do not like to sit around, they want to run.

Something in between, maybe an Airstream, or Gas class A.

Newmar or Tiffin Class As are good brands with reasonable factory support. Not familiar with all the other brands but you might get lucky.

As a first timer, look for a Brand that has good Factory Support, you will need it.

We plan to use it for both long and short trips. Our children are into sports that will start to require some travel. We like the idea of turning a weekend into a week. My wife would like to do some trips that would take us a cross the country. I did see some Newmar and Tiffan in my search.

I started my search from 2012-2017 Class A, and wasn't finding much in our price range. So, I opened it up back to 2006. It gave me many more options. Some of the older ones actually look pretty good. The mileage was lower than I was expecting on them. I did notice the interior wear and tear though. So, it made me wonder what are the red flags for older models. I heard somewhere that one thing to look for is the roofs being soft and signs of leaks.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Also looks mean everything based on age limits on older rigs. If it looks well kept, should not be an issue.