Posted: 12/4/2025 3:06:51 PM EDT
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I don't know shit about RVs but the wife and I think we might want to do a year trip around the country when we retire. I'm a tall guy so I like the idea of a Class A so we have some comfort on days we may want to be lazy (bad weather, etc.) Intention would be to have maybe ten stops over the course of that year, then use a small towable cart to strike out to do and see things. Where the heck do I start? I'm particularly curious about the buying and selling process, like how much can one expect to lose after selling after a year, all that stuff. Suggest some resources for me or share experiences please. |
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I’ve done a few trips, but a 20’ trailer behind a Expidition. Sometimes I wished for a class A, but it wasn’t in the budget. Good luck. Tons of resources on finding a camp spot, and we always preferred state/nat parks. So many commercial campgrounds pack you in tight. |
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There are many RV forums online and some have dedicated areas for Class A owners. Plus countless YouTube videos about the lifestyle to enjoy. The good thing about the RV lifestyle is that you can spend a lot or a little, travel every day or once a month, etc. I suggest doing some soul searching about what type of RVing you would like to do. Some folks like hiking and nature and I would suggest state and national parks. Some folks like city life so they stay in fancy RV parks near vibrant cities and drive their tow car around. If you are looking for super basic beginner answers like how do I dump the tanks or how do I get water I suggest finding a YouTube video about the basics. Know this- I think you need to be handy with fixing and repairs (or have lots of $) if you get into this lifestyle. RVs for the most part are maintenance intensive and it can be very frustrating when you have a problem on the road. Good luck. |
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yeah definitely seeing these things like to break. ideally, we'll buy a lightly used one and sell it after a post-trip clean up. we'd be doing a mix of country and city stuff. We're not avid outdoorsy people anymore so it'll be tourist stuff with the occasional city trip for museums and higher end meals. thank fellas |
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I retired in 2015. Bought a 24’ bumper pull that was maximum for my Yukon. Used it for about 6 months before deciding it wasn’t adequate for full time living. It would be ok living and cooking outdoors, but not not comfortable for most interior activities, ie watching tv or cooking inside. Bought 1998 40’ Foretravel diesel pusher. Older one, but well built luxury coach. We traveled until Covid hit. Decided our house was preferable with all the Covid restrictions. We took it back out for a few months a couple times after Covid died. It is sitting in storage now and will sell in the spring IRV2.com was helpful in early days Seems to be offline right now |
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We did our research 5yrs ago, spent a lot of time on Irv2.com as well, it’s still very active. We went the Class A gas route, it has worked well for us, but we have stayed local to our state. Our plan was to use it locally until we retire then upgrade to a diesel pusher and travel the country. I retire next month and the wife will retire in 12-18mos, so we’re beginning looking for a diesel now. We did opt to buy new & we ordered what we wanted, for our first we didn’t want someone else’s rig or problems. I anticipate getting screwed on the trade in when we buy our new DP. We’re looking at both new and a few years old now. We will go through a dealership, the same one we bought from in ‘19. While I am kinda handy, for more than basic stuff, I’d rather pay the shop to fix it and getting the rig from a dealer gives you a little better support from them when needed. Best advice I can give you is do your homework and buy quality. There are a lot of low cost junk out there that you don’t want. Also, avoid rigs, especially lower quality ones, build mid ‘20-‘22, they are called COVID Rigs and during that time workmenship and supply chain dwindled so manufacturers used any parts they could find to finish rigs, so quality dropped. Doing your research will quickly help you identify what is quality and what isn’t. BTW, now is a good time to buy, dealers have a lot of inventory and need to move it, but there aren’t many buyers. Ask any question you want and I’ll give you our experience. |
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. - Thomas Jefferson
| There is the option to rent one to get a low risk feel for what you like and what you don’t. I have friends that do 3-4 trips every year and have rented an RV for each trip. They have the process down and schedule well in advance. They used to own one and have stated they are much better off renting. |
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Originally Posted By MidMichHunter: We did our research 5yrs ago, spent a lot of time on Irv2.com as well, it’s still very active. We went the Class A gas route, it has worked well for us, but we have stayed local to our state. Our plan was to use it locally until we retire then upgrade to a diesel pusher and travel the country. I retire next month and the wife will retire in 12-18mos, so we’re beginning looking for a diesel now. We did opt to buy new & we ordered what we wanted, for our first we didn’t want someone else’s rig or problems. I anticipate getting screwed on the trade in when we buy our new DP. We’re looking at both new and a few years old now. We will go through a dealership, the same one we bought from in ‘19. While I am kinda handy, for more than basic stuff, I’d rather pay the shop to fix it and getting the rig from a dealer gives you a little better support from them when needed. Best advice I can give you is do your homework and buy quality. There are a lot of low cost junk out there that you don’t want. Also, avoid rigs, especially lower quality ones, build mid ‘20-‘22, they are called COVID Rigs and during that time workmenship and supply chain dwindled so manufacturers used any parts they could find to finish rigs, so quality dropped. Doing your research will quickly help you identify what is quality and what isn’t. BTW, now is a good time to buy, dealers have a lot of inventory and need to move it, but there aren’t many buyers. Ask any question you want and I’ll give you our experience. interesting, good advice on the covid era stuff, I hadn't thought of that. Already seeing some floor plans we like and some we don't. Right now, the slightly smaller 26-28 foot gassers are looking like they might be a good fit. Watching vids online and joined rvforum.net to read up and ask questions. |
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Originally Posted By stevec223: I retired in 2015. Bought a 24’ bumper pull that was maximum for my Yukon. Used it for about 6 months before deciding it wasn’t adequate for full time living. It would be ok living and cooking outdoors, but not not comfortable for most interior activities, ie watching tv or cooking inside. Bought 1998 40’ Foretravel diesel pusher. Older one, but well built luxury coach. We traveled until Covid hit. Decided our house was preferable with all the Covid restrictions. We took it back out for a few months a couple times after Covid died. It is sitting in storage now and will sell in the spring IRV2.com was helpful in early days Seems to be offline right now that's definitely where I'm at space-wise, more so than my wife. She's 5'1" so she doesn't really grasp how uncomfortable it is for me to be in small spaces. While I don't think we'll go 40', I'm definitely looking more closely at the 30' range than say the Class C. |
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You might fit into the Mercedes high top, OP, which would give you a B up to 22-24'. That's a big B that gets decent milage and fits in parking places an A won't. RV.net is the forum you're looking for IIRC. |
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Originally Posted By DV8EDD: interesting, good advice on the covid era stuff, I hadn't thought of that. Already seeing some floor plans we like and some we don't. Right now, the slightly smaller 26-28 foot gassers are looking like they might be a good fit. Watching vids online and joined rvforum.net to read up and ask questions. Just our opinion, 26-28’ will become very cramped very quickly if you’re spending more than a few weeks in it. We began looking at, and did a lot of researching, on similar lengths and we ended up with 36’. Long enough to be comfortable short enough to get into the majority of RV lots. Two pieces of advice we received while looking, few people wish they went smaller and buy your 3rd rig first. Not sure we agree with the first, but we’re living the 2nd as we’re looking at 40 & 44’ers now. One other point, smaller rigs often have smaller engines which impacts carrying & towing capacity, especially in the lower end rigs. While a lot of people ignore the gross weight ratings, it’s not advisable for safety and if you happen to be in an accident and your rig is overweight, things can get ugly fast. |
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. - Thomas Jefferson
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Originally Posted By MidMichHunter: Just our opinion, 26-28’ will become very cramped very quickly if you’re spending more than a few weeks in it. We began looking at, and did a lot of researching, on similar lengths and we ended up with 36’. Long enough to be comfortable short enough to get into the majority of RV lots. Two pieces of advice we received while looking, few people wish they went smaller and buy your 3rd rig first. Not sure we agree with the first, but we’re living the 2nd as we’re looking at 40 & 44’ers now. One other point, smaller rigs often have smaller engines which impacts carrying & towing capacity, especially in the lower end rigs. While a lot of people ignore the gross weight ratings, it’s not advisable for safety and if you happen to be in an accident and your rig is overweight, things can get ugly fast. well said. i gotta say, I've seen a few 35' floorplans that I like quite a bit. |
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Originally Posted By DV8EDD: well said. i gotta say, I've seen a few 35' floorplans that I like quite a bit. One of the main reasons we went 36’ was the wife wanted a bath and a half floor plan, we’re glad we did that. Also, we opted for a fireplace after talking to a couple at an RV show. At first we thought is was a cheesy option we didn’t want, but that couple stated they use their’s often to warm up the rig in the mornings; we found we do the same and we would not get a rig w/o one now, unless it has heated floors. Also, you said you’re tall, I suggest you go to RV shows &/or larger dealers and get into the shower and sit on the toilet in many rigs as those are areas RV manufacturers save space on. I can deal with a tight shower, but my wife likes space, and can’t deal with a tight toilet area, that’s not a concern for my wife. |
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government. - Thomas Jefferson
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For the buying and selling point, you are going to take a big hit unless you're buying a older unit that the depreciation has already bottomed out on, which I definitely don't recommend for an RV newb. There are several RV specific forums that you'll find all kinds of information on the RV life. irv2.com is pretty popular and once you narrow down which make and model you're interested in there are brand specific forums that are helpful in figuring out issues that are unique to your specific RV. The forums are also a good source on how to fix the things that break, and things are going to break. I'm a mechanic and my wife worked construction, between the both of us we are well equipped to handle many of the issues that pop up. If you're the kind of person that is intimidated by replacing a wall outlet or other simple repairs you're going to find ownership expensive with lots of down time. You may be thinking, a new(er) RV may still have a warranty or I'll purchase and extended warranty to cover repairs. Unfortunately you'll find you can be waiting for days/weeks to get into a shop and months waiting on parts, learn to DIY as much as you can. For what size RV to look at, the longer you live in one, the smaller they feel especially when the weather turns bad and you can't use the outside space to stretch out. Larger RVs are more comfortable but then you'll find there is going to be some places you're just not going to be able to fit a bigger rig. My 5th wheel toy hauler is 44' in length and 13' 5" high, it's roomy and comfortable once set up but because of the size there are many places I just can't go, I'm barely smaller than a semi truck when hooked up. |
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"My center is giving way, my right is falling back, situation excellent, I attack." —Ferdinand Foch
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Originally Posted By stevec223: IRV2.com was helpful in early days Seems to be offline right now They had a 5-day maintenance thing. They're back up. |
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