Which Class A to buy for full time use

[NJ0F]

My wife and I (and our two french poodles) are in the process of scaling down and going full time RV'ing in the next 12 months. Since we do not want to enter into a loan, we will be purchasing cash so decided on trying to find our dream RV from private buyers. We recently purchased a new truck cash from a dealership only to learn that we were penalized as cash buyers due to incentives paid to dealerships if they get buyers to finance.
Long story short, here are a few questions we have: (For starters LOL)
1). We are looking at a 2017-2019 40 plus feet Class A diesel with less than 25K miles. We will be towing a RAM 1500 truck. Single or double rear axles? Any pointers what to look for?
2). Is there a way to tow a car hauler instead of towing the truck and have it accumulate miles while in tow?
3). Will the trailer be a problem at camp sites?
4). What happens to the refrigerator while driving the RV? Is is still running and keeping stuff cold and frozen?
5). I work part time remotely in the engineering field so will need to find some space for a desk and PC. How hard is it to for example remove a couch and replace it with a desk.
Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Andre

 

[John&Andrea]

Welcome to the group. We have camped and owned different type of RV’s over the years. There are several in this group that will have good information on your questions. We have never been FT on the road.

 

[NJ0F]

Welcome to the group. We have camped and owned different type of RV’s over the years. There are several in this group that will have good information on your questions. We have never been FT on the road.

Thank you for your response! We look forward to the advice on this forum as we start to plan our coming adventure. Being a rookie at this, we have many questions.

 

[Neal]

My wife and I (and our two french poodles) are in the process of scaling down and going full time RV'ing in the next 12 months. Since we do not want to enter into a loan, we will be purchasing cash so decided on trying to find our dream RV from private buyers. We recently purchased a new truck cash from a dealership only to learn that we were penalized as cash buyers due to incentives paid to dealerships if they get buyers to finance.
Long story short, here are a few questions we have: (For starters LOL)
1). We are looking at a 2017-2019 40 plus feet Class A diesel with less than 25K miles. We will be towing a RAM 1500 truck. Single or double rear axles? Any pointers what to look for?
2). Is there a way to tow a car hauler instead of towing the truck and have it accumulate miles while in tow?
3). Will the trailer be a problem at camp sites?
4). What happens to the refrigerator while driving the RV? Is is still running and keeping stuff cold and frozen?
5). I work part time remotely in the engineering field so will need to find some space for a desk and PC. How hard is it to for example remove a couch and replace it with a desk.
Any information or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Andre

Welcome Andre,

FLOOR PLAN is the most important, you have to love your house/home.

Check tow rating on the Class A and make sure it can pull the weight required such as you car hauler, which some people do use.

Trailer at campsites, I'm sure it adds to the requirements and something you'll have to work out but I have no experience with it. Typically I book a campsite based off of my coach length and not worry about the toad but the trailer is a little different story I believe. Maybe others that use them can answer. You may have to park it at another location on the campground?

The inverter stays on (for me at least) which means my frig never turns off. My personal opinion is turning things off/on is what causes failures so I prefer to leave things like this on all the time.

Office in a RV is an art and challenge. Many different ways to do this. I've removed a couch and installed a desk (which has been reverted back) which was highly functional but it removed the social. I now use the dinette. This is where your creativity will need to come into play. Some use a laptop in the front seats, some coaches like mine have a laptop desk on the passenger seat.

 

[NJ0F]

Welcome Andre,

FLOOR PLAN is the most important, you have to love your house/home.

Check tow rating on the Class A and make sure it can pull the weight required such as you car hauler, which some people do use.

Trailer at campsites, I'm sure it adds to the requirements and something you'll have to work out but I have no experience with it. Typically I book a campsite based off of my coach length and not worry about the toad but the trailer is a little different story I believe. Maybe others that use them can answer. You may have to park it at another location on the campground?

The inverter stays on (for me at least) which means my frig never turns off. My personal opinion is turning things off/on is what causes failures so I prefer to leave things like this on all the time.

Office in a RV is an art and challenge. Many different ways to do this. I've removed a couch and installed a desk (which has been reverted back) which was highly functional but it removed the social. I now use the dinette. This is where your creativity will need to come into play. Some use a laptop in the front seats, some coaches like mine have a laptop desk on the passenger seat.

Good morning Neal. Thanks for your reply and advice. It is greatly appreciated. I was thinking to go laptop only eliminating a desk but I need a bigger screen given the type of work I do ( lots of drawings and diagrams). We are not big TV watchers so one thought was to replace the main slide out TV with a large high resolution monitor. I just don’t know how much it will entail. We are happy to hear the inverter takes care of the fridge!
Andre

 

[Headhunter]

I would look at Newmar, & Tiffin as starting points for your A Class. Just some food for thought. You can usually buy a new motor home cheaper, than a used two to three year old one.

But you will have to work all the bugs out of it coming from the factory. Plus if you do buy used there is no guarantee the old owner worked the bugs out and took care of the maintenance.

This is a big step do your research.

Good Luck

 

[BGMAC]

I’m not sure what Ram 1500 you have, but some are not flat towable if you decide to look at that again.

 

[Scotttkd2]

If your Ram can be towed, it shouldn't be racking up odometer miles but you will rack up wear and tear miles on the tires, suspension, etc.

 

[NJ0F]

I would look at Newmar, & Tiffin as starting points for your A Class. Just some food for thought. You can usually buy a new motor home cheaper, than a used two to three year old one.

But you will have to work all the bugs out of it coming from the factory. Plus if you do buy used there is no guarantee the old owner worked the bugs out and took care of the maintenance.

This is a big step do your research.

Good Luck

Thanks for the info. From what I have seen so far, buying a 2019 with less than 25K miles saves us $100K+ from a 2022 looking at RV Trader. Plus like you mentioned the bugs were hopefully sorted out. We hope.

 

[NJ0F]

I’m not sure what Ram 1500 you have, but some are not flat towable if you decide to look at that again.

2022 RAM1500 Laramie. 4X4 The salesman told me it is towable by doing some sequence on the shifter that puts it in a towable state but it will take up mileage. I will call to confirm.