Anyone make a mistake buying first MH ?

[Dollar98]

Just curious.. No matter how much research you do , it seems there is no substitute for owning and using a MH.. Anyone buy one and then realize you made a mistake on the first one.. If so, how did you rectify it. I haven't felt this way yet and hope I don't.. With all that is involved, I could see it happening.. I believe the best advice I got was to buy an older one and then see what you really want by trial and error..

[Houndog101]

Wife went to see her Brother at work, Brooks Ramsey RV sales..ask about MH for dog showing, just curious.. He showed her around, she called me, I went there and we bought our first MH ever...
No mistake,,never looked back..

[carolrich]

I am curious to know how you finally decided on the Motorhome or 5th wheel that you bought. Was it price? Was it construction? Was it length? Weight? Also how long did you look at RV's before you actually purchased one? Who made the final decision? Husband or wife or did you both agree on the one you bought? Did you consider buying used or did you start out only looking at new? As I'm sitting here in the campground watching one beautiful RV after another come in and park, I can't help but wonder about these questions.

[kirbasauras]

Ray,
I am beginning to think we made a mistake with out choice of dealers. When we went to pick up the coach on Sat, it was not ready. They were supposed to do a walk through with us to show us how everything worked, well the generator didn't. They called in the tech and he decided that he needed to replace the voltage regulator? (very few hours on the gen) which meant pulling the gen and replacing the part...if they could get the part...on monday!!! SO here it is Tue, we leave Thurs morning and we are still waiting. They are supposed to bring the coach to us in Vista (they are in Riverside) tomorrow. I have asked for them to reduce the price for the inconvinence of taking 5 days from us, that is still under negeotion. I now will have a very short time to pack, I hope I remember everything I need 🙂
Wish us luck,
Jenni

[Yosemitebobr]

The biggest problem with buying that first "A" was it led to another and another.

[Hap_Trails]

Nope. If my TT doesn't work right. I untie it and get a new one. Much less worries. And a whole lot less money.:B Happy Trails

[Jim_Irwin]

Yes, I probably should have shopped around a bit more. We bought a new 2003 BT Cruiser, from Gulfstream. Our prior experience was with travel trailers, so we felt a small motor home was a step up for us. Unfortunately, the 2003 model did not have all it's bugs worked out. Examples being: 1. Television (RCA) quit after two months. The replacement TV is still under warranty, but it quit work also 1 month ago. 2. Lot of noise when driving...rattles and squeaks, most of it from the windows. 3. Water leaks from the roof. 4.leaks from plumbing under shower. 5. interior decorative trim peeling off. 6. Condensation water from AC in cockpit area leaks under firewall, producing wet carpet.

But I still like the motor home, and it's like anything else, not perfect but you make the 'shoe fit' as best you can. But, would recommend shopping around...getting user reports from websites like this helps.

[RayChez]

Jenni! That is a beautiful post you wrote. I like to read about people that are just getting into camping and really looking forward to taking their kids out and showing them that there is more in this world then just walking the streets of a big city. I showed my kids all about camping and boating, and they both turned out to be pretty good. Be sure to check your tires before the trip from Cal. to Oklahoma. Have a safe trip and enjoy it. Take your time and enjoy sights along the way. The kids will like that.

[grm77979]

We started wanting an RV after two travel trailers, but we were not sure how we would use it and home much. I still work and I only get two weeks vacation (and sick days etc) a year, so we didn’t think we could use it much. Two years ago we purchased a 1987, 33’ London Aire. Being an older unit we felt we would not be in over our head and we could see how much we liked it.

Within a year we moved up. I am still happy that we went the route that we did.

[Edouard]

We had rv'd for 25 years with trailers, great experience when kids were young, has got to be the best upbringing for them.

Big mistake, we bought a Fleetwood, never again, a 97 Pace Arrow Vision, what a beautiful unit, all the bells and whistles, but in 18 months, it was either at the dealer or the factory with issues for 10 of the months, including sidewall delamination and to numerous to mention other issues. Dealer was useless to fix anything the first time, let alone 2-3 & 4 visits, factory was heartless and uncaring, within 2 months of replacing sidewalls, it had to go back for new delamination. How did we solve it, we traded for what we have now, and will probally go back with Holiday Rambler.

[kirbasauras]

Goldye,
Rather than waiting till you find friends who have their own MH, take some of your daughter's friends with you on short trips. Once the little ones catch the camping bug, the parents always remember how much fun it is.
**************************************************************************

We just purchased our first MH 2 weeks ago, we pick it up tomorrow. It is a '95 El Dorado/Honorbuilt Outdoor Inn 29' Class C. My parents have been full timers for about 4 years now and they love it in their 40' American Eagle DP w/ 1 slide. My boys and I have gone on several trips with them (longest being 3 weeks with G-ma, G-pa, mom, 2yo boy, 2 week old baby and 2 yorkies...boy was it crowded!!) My hubby and I looked for about 6 months before we made our choice. We started looking at pop-ups and then realized that our vehicle was not rated to pull anything more than 2K#. So that put the pop-up and a TT out. Next started looking at CHEAP old MH's and finally decided to dip into savings and pay for a newer one. Still went with a 10 yr old one, but I think we will be happy. Bought it from a Toy Hauler manufacturer who sells bank repos on the side for what is left on the bank note, so we got a REALLY good deal. The Outdoor Inn has the walk around queen in the back, dinette/sleeper, sofa/sleeper and the over-the-cab full size. This will do nicely now that we are up to 3 boys...they will each have their own bed. 6 days after we pick it up, we will set out for our first trip...from San Diego to OKC, OK to visit great g-ma for 2 weeks. I'll post how it went once we get home.

Jenni

p.s. we insisted on the extended warranty.

[raincity]

grm77979 wrote:
I did make a mistake buying my first RV, I should have bought it sooner.

Same here!! We are still newbies (got our first RV in April) but have 4 trips in so far (long weekends, 400 to 800 miles R/T) and a 5K trip planned in two weeks.

So, yes: Why didn't I do this sooner ???

[goldye777]

hi all.... i just bought my first MH.... on Ebay (laffing)..it's a 76 class c itasca....gosh it needs a lot of interior work BUT... my daughter and i (single mom here) have gone on 2 trips in it and have had a great time. I just need to learn how the heck to maintain it...etc... but i can learn and i figure i only invested 2700... to find out if we liked it and to learn...
i just need to find friends that like doing this too so my little 7.5 year old will have friends to play w.... .. Mom here is happy just being out and if the little kiddo is happy makes mom even happier..
i'm having fun looking thru the posts.. trying to find 'advice' on things....
y'all seem great so thanks in advance...i'm a young 48 with my first mh... we call him speedy..... then engine started spurteriing on the way back saturday and the drivers door flew open and we had to bungee it closed but what an adventure.....
see i didn tknow what the heck i was doing..... lemonaide anyone!!!! goldye

[RayChez]

Tracey & the guys! I love your post. That is what RVing is all about. It does not matter whether you have a million dollar coach or a entry level, as long as you are having a good time and enjoying life.

2002 38' Gulfstream Scenic Cruiser
Caterpillar 330 hp
Six speed Allison
Toad: Ford Ranger

[Tracey_theguys]

I don't know if there is any right answer to what to buy the first time. We were so broke, I just knew that I didn't want to mop up 4" of water at 4 o'clock in the morning from the bottom of a tent and spend the next hot and humid day doing all of the clean laundry over again! (All of this while hubby took the kids out on the lake boating and asked for lunch and dinner!) -(He never got it!)
We started with a tent and van, then an older class C, two 5th wheels, and are just now selling our bounder and going to a new 06' Challenger! I just love this camping life! As long as you are with friends and family and have great food, what you really want will present itself in time!

[mcpdjohn]

My first RV was an '85 Mallard class C. I didn't have a clue what I was doing when I bought it, but it was a great coach over the 9 years I owned it. That one was just luck. My second coach was an 05 Bounder which I bought in March of this year. This purchase was the result of many, many hours of research on this and similar web sites. This web site is an extremely valuable resource. You learn how to sort out the legitimate posts from the "flamers" and you benefit from the experiences of others. If you spend enough time researching your purchase, I think you can significantly decrease the chance of having buyers remorse with your first coach.