What to buy

[big_bird_2]

If you had all the money in the world and wanted a 30 foot MH. What would you buy?

[pnichols]

Tom ... thanks for your post ... which kindof brought me back down to Earth.

What we have is a 2005 Itasca 24V we bought new from a dealer in 2006, and it meets an awful lot of the criteria on the long list I posted earlier in this thread. Just for fun I've kept up on what's been available in the Class C market since we bought and the exact build qualtiy, features list, and specifications of what we have cannot be duplicated today from any manufacturer - including the Coach House, Lazy Daze, and Phoenix Cruiser offerings. I guess Winnebago was in rare form back then.

P.S. My pre-retirement career work and retirement volunteer work have taken me to Asia and Europe, including such diverse places as rural Cambodia and the Switserland countryside, and FWIW .... I have no desire to visit places such as those as a retired tourist, in an RV or otherwise. It's pretty difficult to beat the good U.S. of A. when it comes to boondock RV'ing in the West on our spectacular public lands. (Well, on second thought, it would be nice to boodock RV camp in that incomparable 2 million acre Patagonia national park network - if could get my good old Itasca back in there!)

[tatest]

For reference, I currently have a 30 foot motorhome, Winnebago's Itasca Spirit 29B, 14 years old, and I am quite happy with it. In this size and motorhome category, it can be hard to do much better, but if I really wanted something in this size, and was willing to wait for it to be built, I would probably buy a LazyDaze, although for my current needs 30 foot is way too much RV, my next purchase would more likely be a Class B, more expensive than most Class C's.

But if I had "all the money in the world," I would not be driving a RV. If I wanted to travel on land, I would charter an entertainer traveling coach that matched the size of my party, and overnight at first class hotels or resorts. For most travel, I would probably charter a jet, if I did not have first class commercial travel available. "All the money in the world" totally changes the way one looks at everything, and buying a motorhome to drive myself goes totally out of the picture. If I had 20 million dollars instead of 2 million dollars, even that would change the way I approach things.

[stargirl96]

I would buy a higher end 30' MH that comes with a mechanic/maintenance person who is always available for repairs 24/7 and will fly or drive to wherever I am.

[pnichols]

Ignoring the OP's 30 ft length requirement, I'd buy a small as possible motorhome (hopefully way less than 30 ft long) with:

No slides.
A total coach height of no more than around 11'6".
Two queen size sleeping beds.
All Wheel drive.
A 1000 mile or greater range before refueling.
A fresh water supply of at least 60 gallons.
A grey water tank of at least 40 gallons.
A black water tank of at least 40 gallons.
Plumbing and tank systems that didn't care about cold weather.
A coach heating system adequate for any North American freezing temperatures.
A coach air conditioning sytem adequate for any North American scorching temperatures.
A single-door 3-way refrigerator of around 6-7 CF that was properly installed such that it didn't care about any North American scorching temperatures.
A built-in generator that could power everything and was installed properly such that you could hardly hear it running inside or outside and that used the same fuel as the main engine.
A dry shower and toilet area.
A coach ceiling height of at least 6'6".
A distributed ducts heating system.
A distributed ducts air conditioning system.
Several outside storage cabinets, including one for sewer hoses.
An automatic outside step for the coach.
A manually operated main awning.
Outside retractable awnings above all windows.
Double pane windows that would never degrade.
At least two coach chairs of the zero gravity lounge style.
Powered by gas rather than diesel (if for exclusive use in North America).
At least 600 amp hours of AGM or lithium batteries capacity.
At least 600 watts of permanently installed roof solar panels.
Around 160 watts of portable solar panels that could be used up to at least 50 feet from the RV.

IMHO, the above list is not "impossible". Some currently available North American built motorhomes include - or could be optioned to include - most of the capabilties shown above. But so far only one or two full-on expedition style motorhomes built in North America are capable of MAYBE meeting everything on the list ... with the possible exceptions of the very difficult small motorhome requirements of "two queen beds", "at least two coach anti-gravity lounge chairs", and "powerd by gas rather than diesel".

The "gas rather than diesel" fuel requirement is just one of my personal hangups. 😉

[ron_dittmer]

Big Bird 2,

At just under 30 feet over-all, the quality-made 28BR Tiffen Allegro Breeze would be my first choice. It is the only mini diesel pusher in existence with all the "Big Boy" features in a tiny package. The 28BR was recently taken out of production. The 31BR is still offered today, but I liked the shortest 28BR because of it's length.

CLICK HERE to read the specs and see the floorplan of a 2011 28BR posted on www.rvguide.com

I think the last year for the 28BR was 2015.

[Tripalot]

We had a 30 ft. Class A Holiday Rambler with a full wall slide. It had a great floor plan, lots of storage - we never were close to being overweight. We would travel for 3 months at a time without issue. The only thing we did not like was the TV mounted above the dash as it gave you a kink in your neck after watching TV for a while. That unit had a central vac and automatic levellers - both great features.

[pauldub]

I would buy a custom build.

[klutchdust]

gbopp wrote:
I would buy a 45' Prevost and hire a driver. 🙂

I would drive my own as they are fun to drive.

[PghBob]

I would not buy a 30 foot motorhome. For a Class C, the rig would be at the higher end of the GVWR weight, reducing the amount of people and stuff it could carry (OCCC). Options like slide outs, leveling jacks, and assorted eye-candy would further limit its ability to carry a load. Now, depending on how you plan to use it, the weight issue may not be a factor.

A 30 foot Class A does not offer much more room than the C, but *could* provide more weight capacity. But, one needs to be careful with weight in a short A as well. Our experience has been some of the A units we toured at an RV show would be overloaded with just the four adult members of our family on board, without stuff. A short A most likely will use the same engine and tranny as the C, so not much benefit there.

For me, I would go with a shorter C or a longer A diesel pusher. We like longer trips of multiple weeks and months, and need to carry a lot of clothes, food, and stuff. Decide how you will use the rig, then decide.

[T18skyguy]

I would order one from Australia, and have it modified so the hookups are on the left side. The diesel units I see there are superb quality but very pricey.

[gbopp]

I would buy a 45' Prevost and hire a driver. 🙂