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Springtime

It's been an interesting weekend.
Tried to find Dreams RV in Uxbridge couldn't find it so phoned the bloke up.
He said people usually phone for an appointment he hadn't got much in but had six coming over on the ship. He sounded iffy to me - certainly not a dealer but trading from behind a farm. I decided to forget it.
Then went to Dudleys in Witney - good selection of different types to give me an idea if what's about.
1994 Safari Trek - I was shocked the walls had been badly emulsioned it looked terrible and they wanted 30k.
Generally the cheaper ones - sub 40k had hard lives - the interiors looked dated & unloved - fridges & freezers dirty/mould inside and rust on the shelves. Maybe I expect too much.
Also noticed that on a lot of them the oil pressure gauge were stuck midway & the engine temp gauges were the same!!
Did see an M plate Winnebago Itasca 34' with slide out in very nice condition but it was 42k.
There was also a nice 1996 34' Winnebego Vectra that was in Ferrari Red with the Logo's - I assume that it was once a support vehicle for the team - my other half was looking for Schumacher memorabilia. I don't think it was his as no slide out & the trophy cabinets weren't big enough Wink

Still, it would have been nice to turn up at the motor racing circuits in that Smile

Generally these were the negative points that my wife had about them.
Ovens too high and often in dangerous places - in the narrow corridor.
She felt that a lot of them were dark & gloomy inside - small or insufficient windows - dark interior wood & cloth.
Maybe my standards are too high or my wallet is too small but I'll keep on looking.

Steve

vicdicdoc

Heres one for sale on this website !
http://www.motorhomefacts.com/advert-view-details-465.html

RR

I had trouble finding Dreams but don't be put off by them being in or behind a farm as you are dealing with large vehicles and fancy showroom cost money to operate but was not impressed with Dreams anyway though.

Dudley's is our nearest main dealer and after a visit there came away thinking we couldn't afford a decent RV and not only found their used stock well worn but dirty inside as well.

Having had this experience toured around other dealers all over the UK and found better stock but in the end we imported our own.

Don't be put off theres an RV out there for you Wink

LC1962

We trade from a 2 acre site we call home, and it used to be a farm, doesn't mean we are not classed as "dealers".

Because we do not have the upkeep of glossy showrooms and suited staff we are able to charge our customers a great deal less than the likes of the big companies. Our only downfall is we are not able to stock vast quantities of vehicles, although what we do bring in is hand-picked and of good quality both inside and out unlike some who buy on the strngth of a phonecall from overseas.

Stock is low at the moment (one to be precise) but we could be making another buying trip very soon.

Springtime

kands

Hi Steve
I would think that now you have been to Dudleys and seen how NOT to present RV's for sale you will be thinking that they are possibly all the same. I have been to a number of dealers and never seen an RV that really struck me as well presented and in a condition that I would be happy to drive away in.... Is it me? was my first thought.... All the dealers claim that they will have the bus cleaned before delivery but....... My point is that most were in an awful state and you have to wonder how they were looked after by the previous owners.....
We have been inside lots of RV's belonging to friends and have never seen one in the state that dealers are happy to present them in, so why do they do it???
To be honest I would advise that you firstly decide what you are really looking for, ie what layout? As this will be the biggest deciding factor of them all it is important to get it mostly right first time. You will also need to make sure about the size and weight, below 7500Kgs lbs) if you have a standard car (C1 or C1+E) license and do not want to take a C license test. Budget is also very important... It is surprising how quickly just looking at RV's takes you from £25 -30K to £50K+, so you need to be pretty sure what you want to spend and do not be diverted into something hugely more expensive Laughing

The motor, petrol or diesel, will also be a factor. Older petrols will achieve about 10ish MPG and diesels about 13 - 15 MPG. The newer (post 2000 I think) petrol offering from Ford (6.8 Triton V10) should give you approximately 12 -14 MPG depending on RV size/weight and your driving style, and to be honest if you cannot live with this consumption then an RV is definitely not for you mate.
Servicing can be a bit more expensive than with a european MH but if you are careful about who services it then it should not be a significant concern. Longevity is the keyword for RV's, they are built to take the pace and withstand it well. If you see an RV that looks hammered it is because it has been, and unless it is priced accordingly will end up costing you a lot of cash to bring it up to your standard. I am speaking from experience here, we decided to try out the RV route and also decided not to spend a fortune, so we searched for a vehicle that was fundamentally sound and then invested (not a good word Laughing

) in bring it up to what we wanted. Just to show what can be achieved, we had new steering box and brake power booster replacements, a brand new awning, a new electric step, a reupholstery of the interior including all new materials and cushion pads to the latest fire safety standards, we imported new captains seats in leather for the front, we changed the cooker to a european one and lots more that I can't remember now, so as you can see, everything is possible, it just depends on what you want to do.
If I can offer any help or advice please PM me and I will help if I can. I have to say that I am no expert, but we have done lots of stuff with ours and are really pleased with the outcome. We recently helped a friend to find a decent RV to buy and most of the RV's that I went into (costing more than ours.....) I would not have swapped for, so please do not be disillusioned by your first attempt, as someone else has said, there is an RV out there for you, all you have to do is find it Laughing

Keith