travlinjayco
Arkansas
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Joined: 01/21/2008
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This is a very serious consideration for my wife and myself. We have raised our kids, live in a fairly large space, space we do not need or keep cool or warm. We have 8 kids together, scattered all over the United States. We are seriously considering living in a class A, being able to take off for which ever state that the kid begs the most. lol
We would like feed back on your experiences. Brands that seem reliable more than others. How loud is the interior with generator running, both diesel pusher and gas coach. We will be looking at used, noting condition of coach, how well kept and maintained. I have read the first buyer post and learned a lot. What I would like is personal experiences with engine choice, problems or brags on your experience. We will be looking in the 40 ft. range, since considering it our home, we are early 60's. We will probably look at slideouts as a preference if we make the well thought out decision to call it home. I know there are some who have tried the living route and may have major complaints, and then some who love it. Please comment on anything you want to say. Hope to get a lot of feed back on any subject. Thanks to all , help make our decision a more informed one, God Bless, Jerry and Colleen
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EndeavorV10
South Elgin, IL
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travlinjayco wrote:This is a very serious consideration for my wife and myself. We have raised our kids, live in a fairly large space, space we do not need or keep cool or warm. We have 8 kids together, scattered all over the United States. We are seriously considering living in a class A, being able to take off for which ever state that the kid begs the most. lol
We would like feed back on your experiences. Brands that seem reliable more than others. How loud is the interior with generator running, both diesel pusher and gas coach. We will be looking at used, noting condition of coach, how well kept and maintained. I have read the first buyer post and learned a lot. What I would like is personal experiences with engine choice, problems or brags on your experience. We will be looking in the 40 ft. range, since considering it our home, we are early 60's. We will probably look at slideouts as a preference if we make the well thought out decision to call it home. I know there are some who have tried the living route and may have major complaints, and then some who love it. Please comment on anything you want to say. Hope to get a lot of feed back on any subject. Thanks to all , help make our decision a more informed one, God Bless, Jerry and Colleen
Going a DP or class 8 diesel puller is the way to go if you're full timing. http://www.powerhousecoach.com/.
If you have the money you could full time easily in one of those.
1999 Class A HR Endeavor LE 36WGS - Ford Triton V10 - F53 Chassis - HWH Levelers
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ccxnola
Wherever the rig is - I'm there too!!
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Jerry and Colleen,
First, we are NOT full-timers as we maintain a 'stick & brick' home - but travel where and when we wish to do so.
Reading your post, I would think you would want to find a MoHo that provides the comforts you desire, does not require a lot of 'down-time' for maintenance and can be totally self-contained where ever you go. If you wish to spend some time in the driveway with kids, your rig should not place any demand on their facilities - just be there and give you the privacy you want when you need it.
What you do will depend on many factors - budget/investment in the rig, expected usage (with family and alone together to have new interesting and exciting experiences), where you plan to travel, and the items in the list are endless - you need to do it for yourselves.
OK - in your shoes, what would I do?? Here is my personal opinion - and it's worth what you paid for it - I would find a HIGH-END rig - Foretravel comes to mind (wish I could afford one) with one or two slides (and BOTH slides on the driver side AND NOT a kitchen slide) with full diesel capabilities including generator, aquahot heat & hot water, and thermopane windows (cooler in summer & warmer in winter and the features that 'she' feels are important! (When 'she' is happy, we are all happy!!!) PLUS a heavy duty chassis and CAT or Cummins diesel engine of appropriate size.
NOW - I have not mentioned the Prevost coaches from various outfitters - if you have those big $$$, you most likely would not ask for my opinion!!!
Whatever you select - PLEASE - be happy with your decision, do not look back and enjoy the time you have together and with your family!!
1997 Rexhall Rolls Air - mid-entry DP w/cummins c8.3
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hershey
Albuquerque,(fulltime) NM, USA
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Fulltiming is a decision that many of us have made and make every day.
First off, ya' kinda have to like the person your going to be cooped up with in a small confined space (no matter how big or how many slides).
Second, both of you have to be very receptive to the idea of fulltiming.
Third, you have to be able to afford the mode of which you choose to travel and live in.
Your health care has to be available to you regardless of where you are or have a need for it.
You need to setup a budget and be prepared to double it.
hershey - albuquerque, nm
Someday Finally Got Here
My wife does all the driving - I just get to hold the steering wheel.
Superman was an illegal alien.
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tahiti16
Camarillo, CA
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We have a 36' gas, see signature, and while it works well for us with this size coach 22k I don't think it would work well in a larger coach. So if 40' is your target size then personally I would stick with the diesel.
BTW I usually support the gas for us weekender's and a few week plus trip people a year. The maint and added upfront cost for that type of use and the 30-37' size doesn't make sense. For the bigger rigs though diesel is hard to beat.
Ray, Cheryl, Cory & of course Miss Molly the four-legged child
2006 Dolphin 36' F53 V10 5 speed auto 2 slides 7.5 KW genset
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bill h
coastal reconquista
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hershey wrote:
First off, ya' kinda have to like the person your going to be cooped up with
Well, they did have 8 kids................
travlinjayco wrote: How loud is the interior with generator running, both diesel pusher and gas coach. We will be looking in the 40 ft. range,
Not many gassers in that range. Slides add weight, too.
NOTE: Any incorrect spelling is intentional to prevent those annoying popups.
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louiskathy
Oregon (presently)
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We have a 37 ft Winnebago Adventurer V-10 with Banks. We tow a jeep or a cargo trailer depending on what we're doing and we make it up and over the passes ok. Not great but ok. We only travel 1,000 miles a year and we full time.
I think 37 ft is the minimum needed to full time in. (JMHO)If you are going larger than 37ft, don't go with gas. You need a diesel. Keep in mind that if you like camping in the woods in USFS/BLM areas, you'll be limited as to the number of campsites you will fit into once you get beyond 30 feet. You'll always find a spot but it might not be the "choice" spot.
I would be very unhappy if I didn't have my stackable washer/dryer.
Hubby would be very unhappy if he didn't have heated bays.
Our RV has the "house" type funace/air conditioner in the basement. We don't have A/C units on the roof of the coach. We really like it. I can turn on the fan and it circulates the cool air from the bay area without running the a/c 90% of the time. Just makes the coach more of a "home" instead of an apartment with window units. But we do give up a chunk of basement storage area to have it.
We bought this rig used...and it came with tinted windows that keeps the rig much cooler than without it BUT it's like living in a dark room quite a bit of the time since we winter in the NW and seldom see the sun five months of the year. My eyes are sensitive to sunlight anyway so it's a good thing for me in the summer. If you get tinted windows, make sure you have adequate lighting.
We've full-timed since 2005. Before that we went on four six-month trips. There was never a time we longed to get back to the house. But there got to be a time that we realized that we needed a PURPOSE to being on the road. Volunteering has filled that void nicely.
Kathy
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Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
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Joined: 07/22/2007
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Get you the newest and nice MH that is a steal for $20K before you sell the house. Over the next year make runs to see the 8 kids and try to be gone a few weeks or longer to see how low your burn out factor may be. After a year you will start to have a better idea what is and is not for you.
The MH will still be worth about the same in one year and you still will own your home. Mainly you will have gained a better understand of what you want and will still have your wealth intact.
None of our advice may work for you and I asure you NONE of us will make good on any advice that turned out to be wrong for you. 
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Ron Butler
Federal Way WA.
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Joined: 02/29/2004
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We leased our house 5 years ago and struck out on the road. We have loved it! Here's some of the things we have learned in that time.
We have been very satisfied with our 33' gas rig with one slide, but I know that some people feel they need more room. This is spacious compared to the 31' sailboat we would spend 2-4 months at a time on, so we are used to the size. We find it easier to fit into most any county, state or national parks as well, which is our first preference.
DP is generally quieter (engine in the rear) and more comfortable riding, from what I have been told and read here! We were just unwilling to dig that deep into cash reserves 5 years ago for the price difference. However, we would probably have looked at a DP with todays prices!
Kick LOTS of tires! I don't know how to emphasis this enough. Go through as many rigs as you can and then drive even further to find more to go through!! Don't get carried away with the first few rigs you see. There are far more sellers out there than buyers, especially now! Take your time!!
If your going to fulltime, you will want as much cargo carrying capacity (ccc) as you can get. The more the better. DP will generally have the most, however, I have seen and been on some that don't have as much as a gas rig.
Size? I would say that that would depend upon how and where you want to travel. If your going to 1 place for a period of time, 1-3 months, and just stay there in a full service resort park, you will probably want to go larger with more slides. If you want to do more in county, state or national parks, probably smaller, with fewer slides. You really need to decide on the amount of travel and type of "camping" you want to do.
Good luck and enjoy the hunt. Ow, did I mention that I recommend that you kick a LOT of tires!!
Ron & Carolyn
Sadie - Irish Terrier
Happy - Lakeland Terrier
From sailing yacht to land yacht
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Come join us at the NW Spring Rally, May 18-20, 2012.
GO HUSKIES
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B Bob
USA
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Joined: 05/07/2003
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You are in a similar situation to my wife and I. Our last one is about ready to leave (at last). And we are planning to live in the motor home 5 months or so during the year. At this point I have no desire to live year around in a motor home. But we are going to sell and downsize our house. I spent a lot of time figuring out what motor home to buy for this purpose. I would make the same choice again with regard to our motor home. Ours is a VERY comfortable and easy to drive motor home that I consider our magic carpet ride to see America and Canada. I purposely picked a higher end used coach over a lower end newer / new one. I would recommend buying the RVCG disks to help you figure out who makes the best motor homes.
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