RVing And Fifth Wheel Blather
 

my wife and i will both be retired full time a year from now....

we think we want to buy a fifth wheel but my best friend has a diesel pusher motorhome...

so blather is in the title of this thread because we don't know what we want and don't know what we're talking about....


wifey has arthritis big time so air ride seats, air ride cabs, or air ride suspension is a must....

i've got a whole year to study up on all this stuff and maybe learn something. i'll try to keep this thread updated....

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we want our first rig to be as resalable as possible. we don't even know yet if we'll like RVing or if we can stand being together all the time...

we are interested in adding a $2000 air ride suspension to our existing 04 2500, but almost all the RV's we want will be too big for our truck.
the hauler industry is huge. there are too many different vehicles to choose from but i'm just learning. everybodys got a RV hauler, freightliner, peterbuilt, chebby/GMC, ford, and maybe dodge.


the pics below show that i'm still thinking about a diesel motor home.
it hasn't been ruled out...i'll cover my opinions on motorhome versus fifth wheel later... it's complicated and there's no perfect answer. both require some compromise...

If ya got the money get a big ol pusher and a lil pickup to pull behind it.................if not there are some real good truck/trailer combos out there

In about 10 years we wanna get a big ol Cummins pusher too

I know little about the motor homes like you showed in that piucture but you mentioned a diesel pusher which is a commercial bus converted to an RV and you mentioned a 5th wheel. I'll comment on these.
As I'm sure you already know there is a huge difference in RVing when your comparing a diesel pusher to a 5th wheel. A 5th wheel will never hold its value like a diesel pusher. You will spend alot more on a diesel pusher but you will have 10 times the ride, comfort and resale value of a truck trailer combo. 5th wheels are nice but put on a pair of work boots and gloves and you can walk right through the walls of one, not the case with a converted bus RV. Don't get me wrong, i just bought a medium line 5th wheel for my family but i can't afford a diesel pusher and I already had the rig to pull it but it is flimsy and I am seeing that more and more. It will last us for several family vacations i hope and when i am done with it, it won' be worth hauling off so its finacially not a good purchase but thats the price of having fun.
If you can afford it i would definately look into the Bus, they are designed to go a million miles without issues...be sure you get the 3rd "helper" axel thought.

to both chenry and whitmore,

we can afford a diesel pusher but we don't know if we'll like RVing or if her athritis will allow her to travel 3 to 500 miles per day....

this info is a very small part of what i've already learned....
but you can buy the best fifth wheel (Teton) used for about 40 to 70K.
i've already turned down 2 Tetons on e-bay both were 42 to 45K...(new value on the Tetons about 150K)
Or you can buy a cheap new pusher for 95K. (sportcoach-cross-country)

http://www.mhsrv.com/sportcoach-cross-country.htm


thanks for both of your comments clearly i need to spent more time studing about diesel pushers..

once we find out how much my wife can travel and if she likes it, our decision will become easier....

buy a real nice pusher and run it for 10 years then sell it to me.all will be cool :up:

With the 5th wheel your wife will be confined to the cab of the truck, in a diesel pusher she will be able to move around, get up and walk around, lay on the bed, sit on the couch, etc. Seems like that would be a better fit for the situation if she has arthritis.
In some states it s legal to ride in a 5th wheel camper while goin down the road but trust me when i say, she won't want to do that. Its very rough back there.

thanks again guys!

Economizing can be "penny-wise but pound foolish".

forgetting about this, could have been a huge mistake.
my first priority is to try to keep the wifey happy and traveling with me....

fifth wheel rvs with a hauler might be cheaper and offer better mpgs but i don't think she could or would stand for long trips with out being able to stand up and move around...

now that i've ruled out 5th wheelers,
my search will be for a motor home between 95K and a million.
i can rule out the 999K motor homes because i can't afford those....

they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks but i've learned something here.....a good motorhome really could last 10 years and throughout that period it would have a greater resale value as well...

first pic shows a 999k home
third pic shows the same brand in a 94 model for 150K.
second pic shows a medium priced home @245K http://motorhomespecialist.rvusa.com....asp?id=358687

i'm not interest in the rv below but just wanted to show the pic
http://imgplace.com/directory/dir432...12087_4407.gif

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whitmore,
wifey wants to go to the northwest first.

and since wyoming is somewhere between the NW and okie land,
we'll be coming to visit you and gf in a year or 18 months....

150k will buy you a VERY nice rig...theres lots on Ebay usually.

If your like me, once you hit WY and MT, you won't want to go any further....best place i have ever visited!

I'm thinking theres a Prevost plant in Miami, OK but i couldn't find it on Google. I'm almost certain its there though and if you could find it and take a day to go tour their facility, you would learn a buldle. Prevost is one heck of a nice rig.

i'm almost sure we will find exactly what we want on ebay....
i like ebay!

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but now i need to learn more about what i want in a motorhome

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it's newell in miami...they sell new for 2 to 3 mil

http://www.newellcoach.com/flash.html

today i rounded-up my 15 year old son and my wife and we when to the local new motorhome stealership.....
this sucker(5 slide-outs!!!!) is really nice.....our stealership salesman said he could get me real good deal on it @220K.
i found the same model number, same color scheme, same equipment package on the internet for 160K.

i might make an offer on the 160K home....

this is only a 40 foot home thus no tag axle....the biggest bus conversions are 45 feet with a tag alxe and at lest 500hp cats....
http://imgplace.com/directory/dir457...89777_5348.jpg
http://imgplace.com/directory/dir457...89780_4521.jpg

here's the option package:

Options
Interior
Cruise Control
Other
1.1 Cu./Ft. Convection Microwave
10 Gallon Gas / Electric Water Heater (2-Way)
2000 Watt (2KW) Inverter
27” LCD TV in Kitchen
32” LCD TV
350 HP / Turbocharged / Aftercooled Caterpillar C7
4-Door NorCold Refrigerator / Freezer
7.2L Caterpillar Diesel C-7 Powerplant
7.5 KW Onan Diesel Genset
7” Rear View Backup Monitor w/ 3 Cameras & Sound
AM / FM / CD Player in Bedroom
Air Horns
Air-Ride Suspension
Allison MH-3000 Six-Speed Transmission
Aluminum Wheels
Antilock Full Air Brakes w/ Automatic Slack Adjust
Automatic Leveling Jacks
Baggage Doors w/ Lights & Pass-Thru Storage
Bedroom TV
Black Tank Flush
Cajun Spice Interior Décor
Central Vacuum System w/ Toekick Dustpan Option
Ceramic Tile (Kitchen Bath & Entry Way)
Color-Matched Slideout Awnings
Custom Solid Cherrywood w/ Maple Cabinets &Accents
Dual Fuel Fillers
Electric Patio Awning w/ Remote
Electric Step w/ Powered Step Cover
Electric Sun Visors
Emergency Start Circuit
Enclosed / Heated Tanks
Exterior Shower
Fantastic Fan w/ Rain Sensor
FlexSteel Ultra-Leather Driver Seat w/ 6-Way Power
Fog Lights
Four 6-Volt Auxiliary Batteries
Freightliner Raised-Rail Chassis
Full Body Paint w/ Sunset Slate Scheme
Full Stainless Steel Stone Guard
Fully Ducted 35 000 BTU Furnace
Genuine Corian Countertops
Heavy-Duty 10 000 Lb. Hitch
Home Theater System
Jake Brake (Exhaust Brake)
Night Shades
Passenger’s Seat w/ Electric Foot Rest
Power Chrome Mirrors w/ Heat
Rear Ladder
Recessed Halogen Lighting
Refrigerator w/ Ice Maker & Raised Hardwood Front
Roller Bearing Drawer Guides
Separate Entry-way Awning
Tilt / Telescoping Padded Steering Wheel
Tinted Windshield
Triple-Hinge Locking Aluminum Exterior Bag Doors
Twin Euro-Recliners
Twin Fully-Ducted A/C units: 13.5KBTU Front & Rear
Twin Patio Lights
Ultra-Leather 6-Way Driver’s Seat
Ultra-Leather 6-Way Passenger’s Seat
Ultra-Leather Hide-A-Bed Sofa

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i forgot,
we'll also get an in motion satellite tracking receiver (will only cost me 5 bucks a month more because i have dish at home)
also a washer/dryer (it's already plumbed for the washer/dryer in the back bed room....

cool...we will be here ...spare room ifin ya need it too man...yer always welcome

Hotdamn.thats nice right there...fancy ass rig fer sure

I dont see how you could go wrong with it

That'll get ya there in first class alright! :up:

We can probably find a way to bomb it too since it's got a C7. MUHAHAHAHAHA!

ts mp8...hehehehe

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In this concise, but important book, Randall outlines the specific ways a dealer earns his profit. He furnishes exact percentages. He shows how much leeway a dealer has to work with on different types of RVs, from folding camping trailers to high-end diesel motor coaches. He explains why a first-time buyer can have an advantage buying one with a trade in. And he offers advice to those buyers WITH a trade in. Is it better to sell their old rig themselves or use it as a trade? It's not as simple a choice as it may seem, and Randall explains why. Buying Your First RV?

we're sure now that our furure RV will be a motorhome. we went to a RV show in oklahoma city to learn a little more. we're going to a big rv show in dallas the end of september to learn more and maybe buy one.

the coach below has a MSRP of about 250K, with a 25 to 30% show discount if can be bought for 175K. minimum discount on mohos is 25% if the dealer won't give you that then WALK away..... you have to buy these dumb things as cheap as you can, because they loose 10 to 15K in value each year.

Tour Master 2008 link

DESCRIPTION
2008 Gulf Stream Tour Master 42' W/3 Slides. Model T-40A. Optional equipment includes: 400HP Cummins diesel engine with side mounted radiator, aluminum wheels, fold down 20" LCD TV in outside basement ,15" LCD TV, surround sound stereo in bedroom with 20" LCD TV and DVD player, (3) Fantastic vents, heat pumps, exterior slide-out cargo tray, air horns, power cord reel, 2-tone power seats with power footrest on passenger seat, stack washer/dryer, slide-out freezer/refrigerator in basement, rear rock guard, fully automatic leveling jacks, pull out gas grill and high polished full body exterior paint. The Tour Master also features, possibly, the most impressive list of standard equipment on any motor home in the industry. Standard features include: Residential refrigerator, G.P.S Navigation System, MP3 Player, 8KW diesel generator, (3) roof A/C units, king bed with power recliner, 3-Camera back-up system with color monitor, automatic satellite dish, E.M.S, fiberglass roof, 7' 6" ceiling heights, 32" LCD TV in living room with surround sound and DVD, power awning, thermal-pane windows, keyless entry, full ceramic tile flooring in entry, kitchen and bath, Corian counters, hardwood cabinets, day/night shades, power heated mirrors, 10,000 lb hitch, water manifold system, power front shades and privacy curtains, slide-out room toppers, power step well cover, air and water in basement, exterior trash and recycle bins, 2000 watt inverter, central vac, hide-a-bed sofa/sleeper, convection/microwave, 3-burner range with oven, water purifier, attic storage and much more. CALL 800-335-6054 OR VISIT www.MHSRV.com TO GET COMPLETE DETAILS AND THE UNBELEIVABLE SALE PRICE THAT CAN ONLY BE FOUND AT MOTOR HOME SPECIALIST. "Where Your Money Buys More."

i don't know how long that link will work here's an outside pic that i saved.

here's guesses or estimates on how fast a mo ho with depreciate.
175K @ purchase
in 3 years it might sell for about 125K
in 10 years retail value will drop to about 35K to 50K.....

I've never seen a clean 10 year old one that cheap...

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So in 13 years it should be almost free? I"ll take it it 13 years....

[QUOTE=CHenry;39017]I've never seen a clean 10 year old one that cheap...
[color=grey][size=-2]
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you might watch diesel pusher motorhomes on ebay.
i have for the last couple months, none of the old ones are getting any bids and the ones with no reserve that do sell, sell for 35 to 50K for 10 to 12 year old models.... these old ones that are selling now were not as expensive as the new ones today nor were they ever equipped with as many luxuries....
so maybe todays mo hos with be worth more in 10 years...
i'm sure tho, you will lose about 50K on a three year old moho...

the price of having fun i guess...

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And if you drive it much, you may spend about that much putting fuel in it over 3 years! :eek:

my friend who owns a motorhome says that the annual service of all systems costs him 600 bucks a year.... also tires need to be replaced every 7 years because of dry rot.... all batteries replaced every 3 to 4 years costing about 1000 bucks....

Maj, my family is comtelplating an RV purchase as well, and here is a suggestion that we are using....

Why not rent a few different units before making a major purchase like this? So far we have rented a fifth, 2 different bumper-pull models, and have likely ruled out the motorhome idea after spending some time in a friends unit. This is allowing us to experince the different models without the expense of purchasing, and then having to resell if not right...

Just an idea that seems to be working for us right now....Good luck!

Great idea!
we've called a local RV rental place to get rates and availability....

i'll drive anything, live or camp anywhere, and i know i like to travel....
so i'm easy to please... however this whole motorhome thing is to try to offer my wife the most comfortable traveling and camping experience possible.
based on my friends experiences he thinks that the motorhome is the way to go, and luckily we can afford it..

what are some of the bad experiences you've found in your friends motorhome unit????

It was very simple for us, but our situation is much different that yours (at least I think so..), for us we have too many kids!! I have 3 girls and most motorhomes, even though they are as big as a house, dont have convenient sleeping arrangements for 3 seperate beds....Yes the table and such, but we are after something that doesnt interfere with the living area. We have now found a 5th wheel with a seperate bedroom in the back with 4 bunks...very convernient for our situation. Also, this unit was about 6 years old, but the fuel mileage was horrible, and the power was terrible. It averaged about 55mph flat out and was getting about 6 miles/gallon. For us, we like to travel fast, set up then do a bunch of local travelling so not having a vehicle was another issue. But where it might be great for you and your wife is that you can get up and move around in it while travelling, the kids DID love this part about it....

For us, a 5th seems to be the answer so far.....the search continues!!

http://www.lloydbridgestraveland.com/

check here also they sell quite a few pushers new and used allover the USA

ask for jerry

A really "HOT" moho rig for me will currently have these options:
1. 7.5 ceiling height
1a. one full wall side-out
2. central heat and air plus dash mounted A/C from the engine.
3. side mounted radiators for the engine
4. smart steering wheel with as many buttons on the wheel as possible.
5. smart tire pressure sensors for each tire with heat sensors and audible alerts
6. some sort of little office table or cubby hole with computer key board pull-out. (wi-fi) is now available at almost all RV resorts and truck stops....

a sale is pending on this one, so this link won't last long.
http://motorhomespecialist.rvusa.com....asp?id=369889

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what happened to the ability to "EDIT" a post ?????

7. aftermarket extra cool air-ride seats in leathe matching the decor of the living room for pilot and co-pilot....

thats a nice unit right there man..............you goin for it or waitin for the sale pending to maybe end?

edit post clicker not back yet?

"sale pending" in this case means the unit is almost sold and somebody dropped a chunk of change to hold it until their financing comes through....

there will be a good selection of these mohos at the dallas RV show at the end of september.... show discounts will be huge, i expect a discount of at lest 25% maybe 30% off of MSRP at the show

thanks for info on the edit post clicker.

be careful ya dont buy one that got flooded

I've kinda liked the pusher motorhomes and we even found one that would be able to fit the family and everyone would have their own dedicated bed. Too bad I don't have my airbrake license endorsement and really don't feel like doing a re-cert on it every couple of years.

So we settled on a nice 32' travel trailer with more than what what we would ever have wanted.

Hi Roadkill,
there are a lot of new motorhomes for sale without air brakes, so if you ever become interested in one again there will be a lot to choose from....



monday my wife and i stopped by our local RV stealership because an internet search suggested that they might be a dealer for a new front engine diesel coach acronym (FRED). darn!, they had one, and 3 hours later i was the new owner of it....
it's much smaller than what we thought we wanted originally, but here's our situation, our 15 yr old son has 3 more years of high school and because of this, even if we retire we won't be able to make extra long trips..... so having a small inexpensive motorhome for the next 3 years makes some sense to us....

i won't get delivery on the new moho until thursday, then on thursday we will be leaving for st. louis, in it, trying it out..... and seeing if we can learn how to enjoy RVing.... we'll also be pulling my wifes front wheel drive car on a master tow dolly....

i'm mad at myself because i don't even know for sure if it has a 5.9 cummins or if it has the new 6.7 ISB.... they gave me a few manuals to read and it doesn't say which engine i have, and i don't have the build sheet yet....
even with a build sheet from the moho manufacturer i still might not know the engine..... one thing i know for sure is it on the freightliner chassis called FRED.... and it drives like a dream and the engine is super quiet cummins with a new 5 speed overdrive allison.....

the moho is called a Tiffin AllegroBay model #32ba (32 feet long)
MSRP list price was 124,853, we bought it for 100,853.00 and financed it at 6.9%....

i've got to go to kansas tomorrow and won't be back until late, then i'm looking forward to 4 day week-end vacation with wifey, kid, and FRED....LOL

here's some pics:

here's why i don't know what engine i have. the coach is a 2008 and FREDs are supposed to have the new 6.7 ISP engine.

more confusing pics:


the last pic is not my coach but this is why i got interested in the FRED chassis....12mpg.

this old press release suggests the mid-range cummins will be the 6.7 ISB.
Cummins Announces Midrange On-Highway Engines For 2007

i've read in chat groups that the 6.7 weights about 1400 lbs. while 5.9 still weights only 1000 lbs..... (that info is untrustworthy and not verified)
however if true i wouldn't care which engine i got...

both engines have the VRT variable ratio turbos, i know that for sure because mine has an exhaust brake...

good job way to go....looks great

I dont know which Cummins ya got either.....wait and see tomorrow I guess

review of our first motor home trip.
we logged about 1100 miles. first 600 miles we got 8.6 mpg, second 500 miles we got 10.1 mpg. the reasons for the poorer mpgs on the first tank is because we ran our generator at least 18 hours, we idled the engine a lot, and we drove at about 65 to75 mph on most of the tank..... the second tank of fuel has almost no generator time on it and our mph averaged about 62 mph.

it was 93 degrees in st.louis when we arrived and with these higher temps i don't expect any better mpgs... ambient temps play an important part of mpgs with this motor home because if the engine gets a little hot it triggers a fan clutch that robs engine power big time, when the fan kicks-in it's also is loud.... this fan is so powerful that it even forces a little warm air in the cab at your feet.... thankfully it doesn't run very long, like maybe only half way up a hill.... the fan will also run if you restart your engine, after having it turned off too short a time..... this is not good if you've just pulled off the highway for some icecream to go, because you then need all the power you can get to regain highway speeds... future short stops for me will involve leaving the engine running...

i'm just guessing, but i think cooler temps and an engine that's more broken in will get maybe 11 mpgs..... i don't think i'll ever get 12 mpgs because i'll almost always be pulling a car or some kind of (toad) vehical....

at the RV park where we stayed 3 out of 4 toad vehicals had 4 wheels down...
one of the reasons for this, is that mohos have extra compact extra cool tow bars that tuck away into the coaches rear bumper when not in use.... so the master tow dollie users like me are in a minority.... for me to tow with 4 wheels down on my wife's car would require adding a continous duty transmission fuild pump and messing up her front bumper by attaching the tow hooks.... she'd never go for it, plus if we had 4 wheels down on her car, it's logged miles would increase by the amount of miles it was towed....

my wife, son and myself are newbies to RVing but we had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the moho. our satelite-tv is not yet hooked up, but we had more dvds than we had time to watch, plus we had local tv and had i brought a cable we would have had cable tv.

are we happy with our new 32 footer????...... yes
do we wish we had a moho that had costs twice as much??? yes
are we happy that our moho monthly payment is half as much??? yes

we got such a good deal on this 2008 that if we wanted to upgrade, we probably could without losing too much..... but we all feel like this one will be just fine for the next 3 years.... plus this one is small enough that i could pull and launch a boat with it... wifey said she would follow us in her car to the lake.

when we're all together in the moho i never want to come back home....