Advice please? Forums

olley · Campsite DB Admin

Get an RV Hugh "You know it makes sense" Laughing

its a man thing, we all have big ones, RV's I mean Laughing

Olley

kands · Account Deactivated

Speak for yourself Olley... My RV is not that big Wink

, well not as big as Jims Laughing

Good advice though, you only live once Hugh and there is nothing quite like piloting an RV down the road mate, great experience, luv it Laughing

Keith

BERTHA

You see, I have never driven one and, if I am really honest, we blew a lot on our new Burstner 747 so we can't afford a brand new RV and will have to rely on P/X.

So, if I do go for one its going to be 2nd hand and I have been looking at models, particularly the Winnebago Brave's that seem very clean with about 30,000 ish so if I have to spend a bloody lot fixing etc then I would rather stay with my nice 5 Year warranty on the Burstner.

However, we have used the Burstner much more than we thought we would and, the size is not a problem and my wife likes them big and also what the RV's have is comfortable lounging.

You know, since we purchased our motorhome at last Years NEC and then meeting some you mad lot and this bloody web site, we have debated everything from Water Filters, Sat TV, ECU chip and now RV's.

What is it, I always seem to want to change, modify add that something extra.
My old man reckons I have lost my marbles, he spent his time travelling around the UK in a small VW Devon with pop up roof with no water tank, no toilet, no hook up and when my mother made the beds we all at to stand outside.

And look at us now, shall we put in a nice water filter, shall we use LCD or Plasma, shall we buy a bloody big house on wheels call an RV - we are mad, damn well mad

Hugh

des

Hi Hugh. You have made the most important point - the depreciation is the biggest hit, so the more money you spend, the more you stand to lose if you get it wrong! So my advice is - continue doing your research until you have overwhelming evidence you are making the right decision. Your Burstner is not going to depreciate much (after the initial cost of driving it away from the dealer) so there's no hurry. We spent a year looking, looking again, and then some more before deciding. And believe we got it right (although would love to swap for a 12m Allegro Bus - but who wouldn't - if we had that sort of money). I would recommend making a list of "must have" items, and don't under any circumstances compromise on this. Then keep a written record of strengths & weaknesses of the RVs you see. All this to avoid making a snap decision which you might later regret. Sorry if this is all obvious stuff - I am great at giving this advice to others, but still get carried away and buy on impulse. Just can't afford to do it as the price gets towards 6 figures! Good luck, and happy hunting.

kands · Account Deactivated

Hi Hugh
I wouldn't worry overmuch about the "fixing" side of things mate...
By the sounds of it your van must have quite a value to it now so you will not be looking at the sort of RV's that we have been discussing here.
The lower the price of the vehicle the more (potentially) you will need to spend to replace the things that will go wrong or have worn out due to age + mileage.
If you type "american rv" into google and look at some of the dealers it throws up you will see a huge variety available for a huge variation in price. As Des has said, you need to establish how much money you want to throw at this, what layout, what engine / chassis etc and dont dither with minutia.... When you see the RV that ticks all your boxes you will know that it is the one for you, then haggle the price to one that you are comfortable with, and don't go over it.....
You will need to have it serviced like any other vehicle, so keep some cash spare for that, and shop around to get a price first (we paid about £2K for a full service and I think that was a little on the high side, so I will be looking for someone else to do the servicing from now on.
Take your time, good advice above, and get the one you want, it is out there.....

Good luck

Keith

olley · Campsite DB Admin

Hi Kieth £2000 for a service Shocked

they charged me £500 last year while they were doing the gas con. did it myself this year. 5L of oil, oil filter and grease up, you would need to add fuel filters.

You had an awning party, what about a servicing party Laughing

Olley

kands · Account Deactivated

Hi Olley
yes I think the big neon sign on my forehead is starting to wear off mate Laughing

Shall not make that mistake again Rolling Eyes

Servicing party hmmmmm sounds like a good idea Laughing

I just hope that it was the only mistake I will make with it, and that did include the time for them to diagnose the leaking power booster Rolling Eyes

and the leaking steering box Rolling Eyes

, must have been hard to find eh???

Never mind we all live and learn, and you can't take it with you........

Keith

BERTHA

Hi there, some very good points made.

We have our eye on a layout that we saw in Newbury, it was in a 32ft Brave.

It does not seem, from what some of you say, a lot of difference in he service, Insurance area to what one would pay for my Burstner and I only get around 19mpg so not a great deal more.

I heard somewhere, that the big diesel engines found in some of these RV's are no more or give worse fuel consumption than some of the petrol units (V10) is this true.

There is a Brave in Dudleys that has LPG tanks fitted under the rear bed, what sort of milage can one expect per Ltr/Gal of LPG>

Questions, questions, questions

Many thanks
Hugh

artona · Moderator

Hi Hugh

You mention 32 foot, maybe the RV boys will put me right but I get the feeling that campsite owners seem to have a magical 29/30 foot as being the biggest they want to take.

We have a 28 foot Euromobil and have no problems at all gettng onto even the smallest sites but at 32 foot you might

stew