Please help us decide on our 1st Motorhome :)

[Rustysocket]

Originally Posted by MikeysNewRide

Jopopsy....cargo capacity are you meaning like passengers or what I can store underneath?

both. each reduces the other.

[Rustysocket]

Originally Posted by pconroy

So this is *just* me, but I'd never, ever, ever give anyone $$$ to "just hold it..."

I'd be thinking - "Well in the span of 24 hours, I just ran across 2 good choices. That's a choice popping up every 12 hours... I can wait..."

How long has that motorhome been on their lot?
If it's that great of a deal, there will be lots of interest.



We almost pulled the trigger on the 2014 because is was a great deal and "it wasn't going to be there long!" Well, then a better deal on a 2016 showed up.

That one we jumped on.
YMMV.

I might give them a couple hundred bucks... nothing more than I would walk away from.

Regardless, once they have your money they will tell you they can correct any defect you may find... the other will fall under the "i don't like it" category and you will lose your money.

[Bucket2]

Hi Mike,
I would just like to help you from another prospective. I retired from the auto parts business in 2004 and was always very active. We all need hobbies and continue with a purpose and a reason to get up in the morning, you on the other hand probably have a pretty busy life raising a family etc. RVing is great for the whole family. My advice is to not start too big to the point your finances & time are buried in a motorhome until you are sure you are going to like it enough to commit.Some of the motorhomes you see for sale with very low mileages are folks that couldn't handle it. They will require hands on maintenance, and driving skills as well.
I worked on motorhomes in my auto business for 40 years and saw so many folks that had no business owning them.I sold a lot of engines and brakes Etc.
I am very conservative so started with an $8,500 1994 26 foot coach that needed a lot of work but was capable of doing it myself, so laid out another $4,000 and made a top notch motorhome out of it. We did this to see if we enjoyed it. LOVED IT! We traveled 50K miles the next five years and now own a 05 Jayco 26SS Greyhawk with only 17,000 miles for only $30,000. I is such a nice motorhome.
I guess some of this is none of my business but just wanted to share my story. Believe me I wouldn't discourage you for the world. GO RV'ING!
Welcome to the forum.

[Rustysocket]

Originally Posted by Bucket2

Hi Mike,
I would just like to help you from another prospective. I retired from the auto parts business in 2004 and was always very active. We all need hobbies and continue with a purpose and a reason to get up in the morning, you on the other hand probably have a pretty busy life raising a family etc. RVing is great for the whole family. My advice is to not start too big to the point your finances & time are buried in a motorhome until you are sure you are going to like it enough to commit.Some of the motorhomes you see for sale with very low mileages are folks that couldn't handle it. They will require hands on maintenance, and driving skills as well.
I worked on motorhomes in my auto business for 40 years and saw so many folks that had no business owning them.I sold a lot of engines and brakes Etc.
I am very conservative so started with an $8,500 1994 26 foot coach that needed a lot of work but was capable of doing it myself, so laid out another $4,000 and made a top notch motorhome out of it. We did this to see if we enjoyed it. LOVED IT! We traveled 50K miles the next five years and now own a 05 Jayco 26SS Greyhawk with only 17,000 miles for only $30,000. I is such a nice motorhome.
I guess some of this is none of my business but just wanted to share my story. Believe me I wouldn't discourage you for the world. GO RV'ING!
Welcome to the forum.

Very sound advice! When the OP started talking about 20 year financing terms, I just shook my head. He will be buried in whatever he buys and unless there is other money coming in at some point it will be nearly impossible to unload when needs change or the floorplan doensnt work. The kids will be grown, the inlaws won't be able to go anymore and he will still be paying on it.

[MikeysNewRide]

Gotcha! Thanks for that info.

So let me ask you all this....I'm finding the more and more places I call the more they are starting to push there 2017 models of Thor Chateau's or Fourwinds because they said the 2018 are coming.

Is this the time to buy a 2016 "NEW" if I can find one or 2017 "NEW" ? Or at what time of the year do the real bargains happen in this industry? Especially since I'm in California?

I'm realizing I may have to buy outside of California because the deals seem much better in other states where RV'ing isn't really a year round thing like it is here in California. So dealers in other states seem to have more slow times just trying to figure out when that is?

[Tunce the traveler]

I too would ask for a $2,000 deposit to make you think people are knocking down my door to buy it right from under your feet. Hope it turns out to be exactly what your looking for and more.

[Bucket2]

I think the best time is Nov-Dec when sales are almost standing still, you are currently in the peak season for sales. I live in Oregon so our seasons are probably different than most other places.

[jvteach77]

Originally Posted by MikeysNewRide

Jvteach77...thanks for the reply. I don't know if it's the Greyhawk 31FS model I'm looking at because it has a bunkhouse or what, but there seems to be very few of them out there and the units I did find and called about already were sold....sold...sold...it's like I'm lucky if they last a few days.

I was thinking the 57k miles was a lot too so I'll be calling him today to let him know I'm going to pass.

Upon further research I found another 2014 Greyhawk 31FS bunkhouse model with auto leveling shocks etc.. for $59k at a dealer. It has 22,434 miles on it and looks to be in good shape. If everything checks out, does this sounds like a fair deal? All the Greyhawk 31FS that I'm finding online that are 2013 and above are all easily $65k -$79k easily.

Thanks again!

Buying a coach from a dealer would likely be a little more expensive than buying private. One thing they will push hard when you go to finalize the sale will be an extended warranty. I bought one myself when I got my Greyhawk. It was a complete waste of money. While a major repair could be expensive, it is not likely to be more than what you'd pay for an extended warranty, so you can always self-insure and put that cash in a bank account and let in sit in case you have a major repair. I saw in another post where you said they would come down to 57k. I suspect that they will come down even more if they want to sell the coach and it has been on their lot for a while. It is up to you how much you want to try to get them down to, but as for me, I bargain to the last dollar.

I still think that 57k is a little high. Remember that as soon as you buy it you won't be able to sell it for what you are paying. Also, I would bargain that all repairs that you find be done as part of the sale before you take delivery.

The on-line prices you are finding are the asking prices for coaches and not likely the selling prices. I've found that asking prices on-line, like at rvtrader or other sites, are not very realistic.

Another factor is tires. As a 2014, the tires could potentially be as old as mid-2013, which would make them 4 years old now. The usable life of the tire for an RV is measured in years, instead of miles. It is recommended that RV tires be replaced at 5-6 years of age. That could be reduced if the Coach was stored in direct sunlight w/o tire covers.

Hope this helps,

Jason

[Rustysocket]

Originally Posted by MikeysNewRide

Gotcha! Thanks for that info.

So let me ask you all this....I'm finding the more and more places I call the more they are starting to push there 2017 models of Thor Chateau's or Fourwinds because they said the 2018 are coming.

Is this the time to buy a 2016 "NEW" if I can find one or 2017 "NEW" ? Or at what time of the year do the real bargains happen in this industry? Especially since I'm in California?

I'm realizing I may have to buy outside of California because the deals seem much better in other states where RV'ing isn't really a year round thing like it is here in California. So dealers in other states seem to have more slow times just trying to figure out when that is?

Generally speaking your walking into the prime time for the dealers. Not speaking specifically of motorhomes but of RV's in general. The weather is getting better and people like yourself are getting ready to go. With that said, one could argue that the 2018MY rigs are coming out so dealers may be making deals on leftover inventory.

I really would get your financing in order and start looking for the right used coach and be ready to move on it. Retiree's situations change due to medical issues, or lifestyle changes all the time and I wouldn't be scared of an older, well maintained coach.

ETA: As another just suggested, unless you buy new, I would budget for new tires. A tire failure on a coach can total it. Tires that have sat are just as bad as those with miles.

[MikeysNewRide]

Wow wow wow...good info. I am a good bargainer when it comes to buy cars so good friends always drag me along to help them buy cars But Motorhomes seem like a whole different beast...I can't seem to gauge the flow of how fast/slow they move and with so many different model configurations it's hard to figure out which moves more than others...I can tell the Bunkhouse model that I'm looking at 31FS seems to move real quick and no to many out there.
I was looking for a newer year 2014 and up because I honestly want to be sure it has what the current years have such as Auto leveling jacks option added and LED lighting throughout. I'm a big LED light fan and anywhere I can save electricity load the better when running the Generator.
We orginally planned to wait until Winter Nov-Jan or so and start looking then but if the 31FS model is scarce now will it be more so in the winter is it likely that they usually flood the market too?

[jvteach77]

Originally Posted by MikeysNewRide

Wow wow wow...good info. I am a good bargainer when it comes to buy cars so good friends always drag me along to help them buy cars But Motorhomes seem like a whole different beast...I can't seem to gauge the flow of how fast/slow they move and with so many different model configurations it's hard to figure out which moves more than others...I can tell the Bunkhouse model that I'm looking at 31FS seems to move real quick and no to many out there.
I was looking for a newer year 2014 and up because I honestly want to be sure it has what the current years have such as Auto leveling jacks option added and LED lighting throughout. I'm a big LED light fan and anywhere I can save electricity load the better when running the Generator.
We orginally planned to wait until Winter Nov-Jan or so and start looking then but if the 31FS model is scarce now will it be more so in the winter is it likely that they usually flood the market too?

I just looked on rvtrader.com and I saw five 2014 Jayco 31FS's for sale. I know the feeling of thinking that you're letting a deal go by, and it is always possible that you might miss a deal, but at the rate RV's are being manufactured and sold, there will likely be even more coaches for sale in the future.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by Rustysocket

Very sound advice! When the OP started talking about 20 year financing terms, I just shook my head. He will be buried in whatever he buys and unless there is other money coming in at some point it will be nearly impossible to unload when needs change or the floorplan doensnt work. The kids will be grown, the inlaws won't be able to go anymore and he will still be paying on it.

This is 100% true and - full disclosure - I'm in that boat.
I know I'm wedded to this doggone thing with the note I'm carrying on it.

I liked the advice of "start carefully" as we too started with a 2008 model, three years ago. That was a great way to learn just what the heck we were getting into.

Yep - lost money on that one, but it was a learning experience.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by MikeysNewRide

I'm a big LED light fan and anywhere I can save electricity load the better

Just anudder data point - LED retrofits are dirt cheap and super easy to do.

I did it on our 2008 - swapped 'em all out for LEDs.

[MikeysNewRide]

Pconroy....just want to know what is considered dirt cheap? $1,000 may be dirt cheap to some but very expensive for others lol. Just want to gauge what we are calling dirt cheap.

[pconroy]

Originally Posted by MikeysNewRide

Pconroy....just want to know what is considered dirt cheap? $1,000 may be dirt cheap to some but very expensive for others lol. Just want to gauge what we are calling dirt cheap.

Mike - LED lights that fit into existing fixtures range from $1 and change (on eBay) to $4 to $5 from Amazon to $10 each from Camping World.

I did the cheap eBay ones.

It'll depend on what kind of lights are in the coach you look at. When you're in there, just pop the plastic housing off and look.

Most (if not all) of the non-LED bulbs are standard 12V automotive bulbs. "921" is the extremely common socket/base number.

Just as an example, you can get a 10 pack of those for $25:
LED 921 RV Light Bulbs 10 Pack



I'm about as cheap of a ^%$%# as they come, so cheap to me, means a few bucks.



Oddly enough - our 2016 Jayco has LED fixtures built in, but I hate them. Jayco bought a set of LED fixtures that are hardwired. So when they failed (as about 1/3rd of them did!), I couldn't replace just the bulb.

I had to go out with wire cutters, wire nuts and snip out the old fixture, the wire in the new.

Geebus - what were they thinking?

[MikeysNewRide]

Ahhh yes the famous 921 bulbs I know exactly what those are! Thank you! The more and more GREAT info I get on here from everyone the more calm I feel and better about waiting until Fall/Winter to find a great deal! Like I mentioned before I'm not in a hurry just want a great deal!

[Subaru297]

Not all trailers/RV's use those bulbs though. Don't buy any until you get a MH and can verify what bulbs you need.

Have you ever rented a MH? This will tell you a lot over a weekend on what you want or need in a floorplan or if you even enjoy it.

Cheers

[Rustysocket]

Another thing to mention is not to get too hung up on "Autolevel" as it sometimes isn't as Auto as you might think. As long as the rig has hydraulic leveling jacks that you can run from inside the coach you will be good to go.

What I mean by that, is that if you can save ten to twenty thousand dollars purchasing an older, but well maintained unit with hydraulics, I'd not worry too much about the Auto part.

Get your feet wet.... you might find that RVing isn't for you. Or you may love it and find that the perfect unit today doesn't meet your needs in a few years.

[MikeysNewRide]

Thanks all for the great info!

Ok let me ask you all about this one. She was asking $59k but seems to be in a hurry because they are leaving the country. Not sure if it has jacks on it or not as I'm waiting for her call still, but below is the details and price. This is a private seller:

GOOD ? BAD ? WAIT?

2012 Jayco Greyhawk 31FS that I have for sale. First a few words about the camper, it's a 2012 Jayco Greyhawk and although it's the 2012 model, it has only 8400 miles and it's in great condition. This beauty is extremely clean inside and has been well cared for. The camper is being sold as described, no mechanical or electrical issues, everything is in great condition and has been recently serviced, never abused, non smoker, runs and drives perfectly. You can buy it for the price of $45,000.00. I know the price is under market's value, we have tried to sell it at a higher price but we are in a bit of a rush since my husband got a new job and signed a contract for 5 years in Italy, Europe.

If you have any question or need any info please let me know.

[jschulz1720]

MikeysNewRide, don't know how far you want to travel, but we just traded in our 2016 31FS on a new Seneca. It's here in the Chicagoland Area. Call and talk to Brian Pilon. Let him know Jamie sent you.

2016 JAYCO GREYHAWK 31FS