Hi,
okay, apples and oranges have more in common than my comparison, but I am new to this and went to an RV dealer today to get a first impression. The idea was to figure out if there are decent used Class-A coaches around in a price range of about 60 thousand.
Two coaches I somehow liked today:
1999 National Tropical offered at the "manager's special" of 43,000 (I think it was about 34' with one slide). Well it is kind of old, but 27,000 miles I guess might be okay. What about Nationals in general, any advice on this model? How reliable can such a coach be, or do I have to expect a breakdown every 500 miles? Is the price in an okay range?
On the contrary, (two) quite new looking 2005 Fleetwood Southwind 32VS (I think one with 7,000 miles, one with 13,000 or so). Offered at 77,000 (down from 85,000 listed). Well, over my budget considering taxes and fees, but man, I like the high ceiling! I am tall and that couple of inches more makes quite a difference for how I feel in there.
The thing is, I am from Europe and I most likely have to pay everything in cash (no US credit history = alien from a different world). So, 50 all together compared to 85 makes quite a difference.
And, I am a newbie, and my wife and I we want to give it a try traveling the US for a year or so in that RV. But what if we figure out after two or three months that this isn’t for us? Selling the old National will cost me quite less in depreciation than the Fleetwood, at least I think so?
Maybe you pros can give me an advice if one of those mentioned RVs (in relation to the price, reliability, ...) would be okay, or what else to look for. I like a roomy feeling but I realized today that longer (34+) RVs often have just more furniture whatsoever which we don't need (and don't want), and the guy at the dealership told us that you run into troubles with coaches over 34' at many RV parks? I don't know if this is true (maybe some advice from you would help here too), and/or if you want to become a fulltimer you simply have to go for a 40' monster?
Thanks a lot,
Harry
okay, apples and oranges have more in common than my comparison, but I am new to this and went to an RV dealer today to get a first impression. The idea was to figure out if there are decent used Class-A coaches around in a price range of about 60 thousand.
Two coaches I somehow liked today:
1999 National Tropical offered at the "manager's special" of 43,000 (I think it was about 34' with one slide). Well it is kind of old, but 27,000 miles I guess might be okay. What about Nationals in general, any advice on this model? How reliable can such a coach be, or do I have to expect a breakdown every 500 miles? Is the price in an okay range?
On the contrary, (two) quite new looking 2005 Fleetwood Southwind 32VS (I think one with 7,000 miles, one with 13,000 or so). Offered at 77,000 (down from 85,000 listed). Well, over my budget considering taxes and fees, but man, I like the high ceiling! I am tall and that couple of inches more makes quite a difference for how I feel in there.
The thing is, I am from Europe and I most likely have to pay everything in cash (no US credit history = alien from a different world). So, 50 all together compared to 85 makes quite a difference.
And, I am a newbie, and my wife and I we want to give it a try traveling the US for a year or so in that RV. But what if we figure out after two or three months that this isn’t for us? Selling the old National will cost me quite less in depreciation than the Fleetwood, at least I think so?
Maybe you pros can give me an advice if one of those mentioned RVs (in relation to the price, reliability, ...) would be okay, or what else to look for. I like a roomy feeling but I realized today that longer (34+) RVs often have just more furniture whatsoever which we don't need (and don't want), and the guy at the dealership told us that you run into troubles with coaches over 34' at many RV parks? I don't know if this is true (maybe some advice from you would help here too), and/or if you want to become a fulltimer you simply have to go for a 40' monster?
Thanks a lot,
Harry