KristinU
Connecticut
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We’re venturing off the rental topic, but I’ll chime in to further the discussion: Our son watches DVDs all the time while we’re going down the road – no problem. We did get him a set of wireless headphones so we’d be able to listen to the radio or chit chat without having to listen to the movie du jour for the umpteenth time. Yes, it is louder in there than in a passenger car, but no so much that we can’t hear each other or the stock radio. We also play games and cards at the dinette table while going down the road. A big help here is a big table-length hunk of that non-skid shelf liner. We play Bananagrams (with Scrabble-like tiles) and cards with little problem, though card games that require stacks are a little more of a challenge and we’re on the lookout for some sort of card stack holders for the coming season. But with the non-skid stuff I think your daughter should be fine with a laptop on the dinette.
As for rattles and such, what we did is the first few trips out we’d take turns getting up out of the passenger seat to determine the source of a rattle then problem-solve to get rid of it. That non-skid shelf stuff is great for between pots, in the silverware drawer, between glass bottles, between plastic shoeboxes… just about everywhere. It doesn’t take much – just a little hunk. For the stove we have a large cutting board that is backed with, you guessed it, the non-skid shelf stuff (glued on with contact cement) and weight and friction keeps it on the stove grate and keeps it nice and quiet when going down the road.
Do a search on cold weather camping - lots of good info out there. If we camp in cold weather it is usually en route to somewhere warm, so it is only the first night or two, in which case we use bottled water and keep the pink stuff in the lines until we're out of freezing temps. But I know there are folks who truly cold weather camp with a lot more insight than I have ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile")
Cheers!
Kristin
2008 Winnebago Chalet 31C
My camping party: me, DH, DS, and 2 DK9s
Our Blog: www.winnieadventures.blogspot.com
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Wolfeman70
Wandering
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Thanks for the information KristinU. I put this here because I was assuming that rental units while built a bit more solidly overall would use cheaper material and insulation resulting in more road noise. I was looking for information from rental owners. Internal rattles and noise I can deal with and repair with suggestions like yours. However, if vehicle and external road noise and shaking make sitting at the dinette and watching a DVD school lesson or writing out her spelling words and math problems next to impossible then I lose a lot of what I was hoping for in an RV.
Cost and overall simplicity (comparatively) of the used rental units (as well as maintenance records) have really pushed me towards them as what I'm looking for. I'm just not sure if what I imagine is what I will be getting. With this being a thread directed at rental owners and their experiences I thought this would be a good place to ask the rental specific questions I'm getting from my other thread.
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KristinU
Connecticut
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Wolfeman70 wrote:Thanks for the information KristinU. I put this here because I was assuming that rental units while built a bit more solidly overall would use cheaper material and insulation resulting in more road noise. I was looking for information from rental owners. Internal rattles and noise I can deal with and repair with suggestions like yours. However, if vehicle and external road noise and shaking make sitting at the dinette and watching a DVD school lesson or writing out her spelling words and math problems next to impossible then I lose a lot of what I was hoping for in an RV.
Cost and overall simplicity (comparatively) of the used rental units (as well as maintenance records) have really pushed me towards them as what I'm looking for. I'm just not sure if what I imagine is what I will be getting. With this being a thread directed at rental owners and their experiences I thought this would be a good place to ask the rental specific questions I'm getting from my other thread.
Gotcha Wolfeman! Ours was a previous rental, and after looking at both rental and non-rental Winnies as well as visiting the Winnebago factory for a tour I wouldn't say that the build itself is any different than a non-rental, but the interior and finish stuff can differ slightly. Some of the things that we've noticed in ours are the shower door is accordian fold heavy duty plastic and I think on a non-rental it would have been glass. We also don't have a mirror on the wall, which is pretty standard on our model when not a rental. I know that the upholstery we have was standard in the non-rental units of our model in the previous year (and is wearing like iron), and access to the water pump under the foot of the bed was screwed down and not hinged. We also didn't have a ladder and had one installed as part of our negotiated purchase. Otherwise I think the rest is pretty standard...so I'm not sure if the sturdi-ness that we see in our previous rental is due to the rental status or due to the quality of Winnebagos. And an FYI as you research: Winnebagos with the name Chalet are rentals. You'll see class A Chalets and Class C Chalets, so it isn't necessarily the model.
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Mocoondo
Chicago, IL
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Wolfeman70 wrote:Thanks for the information KristinU. I put this here because I was assuming that rental units while built a bit more solidly overall would use cheaper material and insulation resulting in more road noise.
Commercial rental units are structurally no different from their consumer grade counterparts with a few exceptions. You will not see things like retractable steps on most rental units. Some rental companies do not use slides. You will also see things like more robust hinges on exterior hatches. Two piece rear bumpers are rapidly becoming the norm, as is LED lighting throughout. The main differences you will see is in the systems and the interior furnishings. The systems are designed to be idiot-proof, easy to operate and easy to work on. The interiors are fitted out with more robust interior components but less overall "frills". Linoleum instead of carpeting. Zippered fabric seat covers instead of faux leather. Basic window treatments. No fancy valances. Appliances are all standard grade. You get the idea.
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Wolfeman70
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Mocoondo wrote:You get the idea.
Yes sir. That's exactly part of the attraction for me. I'm fairly handy with most things and can figure stuff out pretty quickly. Idiot proof / rental means it should be fairly easy to fix/replace. Since we only plan to own the vehicle for a year or two then sell it or give it away, we aren't too worried about all the fancy stuff. We just want a reliable and sturdy vehicle that will give my wife a place to nest, my daughter a place to do her school work and get us around to our meetings while saving us on motel fees.
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Schooner
Florida
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I'm looking at a small former rental Class C primarily because of the savings. The ones I'm seeing in the 2006 age range can be had for around $20K vs $40 or $50. That's a lot of budget left over for the fun aspects of full timing. Newer means more modern floor plans and savings which can go toward customizing for my use.
My first RV was a 26' Class A. At the time I bought it it felt huge compared to my small sailboat. Space is a relative thing. My 2nd RV was a beautiful DP with two slides, but I had a lot of money tied up in it and and there is a big depreciation hit.
It is all a compromise. Full timing in a former rental will provide the same experience as paying double for a non rental. As far as maintenance issues go, the rental company has a interest in maintaining these vehicles and a well maintained gas unit should be capable of 200K miles with routine repair and replacement. When I sold my 26' Chevy 454ci we checked compression and with 126,000 it was still like new.
One of the rental companies claims to have sold 120,000 former rentals and if there were problems specific to them, it would be showing up.
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KristinU
Connecticut
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Schooner wrote:
One of the rental companies claims to have sold 120,000 former rentals and if there were problems specific to them, it would be showing up.
Very true. Lots of opinions out there on "I'd never buy a previous rental" but few owners, which I believe is why IAMICHABOD started this thread.
10 pages long and I don't recall reading any posts saying they were hosed and wished they hadn't bought one. I'm sure they're out there, but unhappy owners are out there with brand spanking new units as well.
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Mocoondo
Chicago, IL
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KristinU wrote:Schooner wrote:
One of the rental companies claims to have sold 120,000 former rentals and if there were problems specific to them, it would be showing up.
Very true. Lots of opinions out there on "I'd never buy a previous rental" but few owners, which I believe is why IAMICHABOD started this thread.
10 pages long and I don't recall reading any posts saying they were hosed and wished they hadn't bought one. I'm sure they're out there, but unhappy owners are out there with brand spanking new units as well.
You will generally find that most of the people who talk negatively about retired rental units have never owned one and therefore have no clue about what they speak of.
You will rarely hear someone say, 'I bought this ex-rental unit and really got screwed. I'll never do that again.....'
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IAMICHABOD
Sunny So Cal
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Mocoondo wrote:KristinU wrote:Schooner wrote:
One of the rental companies claims to have sold 120,000 former rentals and if there were problems specific to them, it would be showing up.
Very true. Lots of opinions out there on "I'd never buy a previous rental" but few owners, which I believe is why IAMICHABOD started this thread.
10 pages long and I don't recall reading any posts saying they were hosed and wished they hadn't bought one. I'm sure they're out there, but unhappy owners are out there with brand spanking new units as well.
You will generally find that most of the people who talk negatively about retired rental units have never owned one and therefore have no clue about what they speak of.
You will rarely hear someone say, 'I bought this ex-rental unit and really got screwed. I'll never do that again.....'
It is true that I started this thread to get to the real owners of Ex Rentals and hear their stories and not just hear from the ones that have never owned one and therefore have no clue about what they speak of.
So far I think there are about 26 or so on this thread that have had positive things to say about their ownership, and not one that said 'I bought this ex-rental unit and really got screwed. I'll never do that again.....'
I have also heard that number of 120,000 Ex Rentals sold but I have never seen it in print, so I don't know if it is true but with the amount of rental RVs out there they have to go somewhere when retired. I would really like to know that number. I bet it is huge.
2006 TIOGA 26Q CHEVY 6.0 WORKHORSE VORTEC
Former El Monte RV Rental
Retired Teamster Local 692
Buying A Rental Class C
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Mocoondo
Chicago, IL
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IAMICHABOD wrote:
I have also heard that number of 120,000 Ex Rentals sold but I have never seen it in print, so I don't know if it is true but with the amount of rental RVs out there they have to go somewhere when retired. I would really like to know that number. I bet it is huge.
I wouldn't know the exact number, however, I do know that one rental company likes to run their units three years before retirement. Some run their units on a 5 year retirement schedule. One of the larger national brands has about 5,000 units in the fleet on a 3 year schedule. This means that, on average, they retire approximately 1,600 units per year.
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