Finally we went to our first RV dealer.... come on in -

The "Toad".....

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For all of you sharp eyed observers, I know the tow bridle is not level. It made this trip ok but I was worried the entire time. As soon as I got back I installed a 6" drop hitch and everything is correct now.

Love those diesel pushers, maybe my next one. Of course I have to find a used one that fits our budget. Then I could tow a trailer with the motorcycle in it.
 
Good luck and what a journey you are about to start on. We bought our 5th wheel in Jan. 2019, ordered it in Dec. 2018 and it was delivered end of Jan. That was pre-Covid though so it was easier. We took an entire year looking and researching. We went to every dealer in Atlanta, a few in Ringgold (we live in Athens) Lazy Days in Tampa, General RV in Tampa. We did the Georgia ones at least twice, some three times. We watched lots and lots and lots of UTube. We did spreadsheets and took pictures of every one we thought we might want. We bought new because we weren't worried about depreciation since this is going to be the only one we buy, we paid cash and bought a brand new Ram dually diesel to pull it with, paid cash for that too. Hubby says most of the time he can't even feel it behind him when he's driving. The one we bought is just at 35 feet, we didn't want anything longer so we could fit in most places. The best part for us has been that this year hubby has had to travel a lot for clients so we pack up the dog and off we go. The dog and I stay in the RV park while he goes to the office, we walk or hike a lot and just enjoy not being at home. He doesn't have to worry about a hotel. We made sure to get one that the bathroom, bedroom and at least fridge could be accessed with the slides closed. Frankly, I'm small enough I can crawl under the dining room table to the living room area so the entire thing is accessible for me. Here is our Hannah the Montana and the beast 534953
 
You can look at large gorgeous RVs and say, hey that's for us, but remember you are going to be driving that thing to wherever you decide to go. So are you going for long trips? short trips? How many a year? Seems like a lot of folks I know that end up big, are snowbirds, or ones that travel and they stay put for a while. Snowbirds means folks that go to a warmer area and stay for winter. Or like my nephew who we used to bring with us in our smaller RVs we prefer, who now has a large one, thought larger the better and has traded in a couple, now parks it one place for the entire summer season bc he admits that towing it can be a drag and now again wants to trade for a smaller. So that is also something to think about. We like to tour, we like to travel about all over, so for us smaller and simpler works better. We have a Class B, definitely not for everyone but works great for us, we don't even need a toad but have electric bikes to tour around, or sometimes will bring a scooter on the back. But for us it's just us, no kids, and we aren't retired yet, tho we will always be pretty small, just how we roll. Finding the right RV for many may be better by actually staying in one and driving it also. We do have our e bikes, a blow up kayak we manage to fit, small grill and chairs, that's it.
 
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My advice to anybody thinking to purchase a camper or RV is to rent one first so you get an idea what it's all about then decide if this is the life style that's for you. We have been camping in a RV for almost 30 years and this type of vacation and traveling is not for everybody, And don't be fooled in to thinking that these things don't break or need maintenance some more than others....I have never met anybody who has ever owned a camper or RV who has purchased one out of the gate and driven down the road problem free!! This even goes for the high end RV's they all have there problems. You should subscribe to Motorhome or Trailer life Magazine both excellent sources of information and great articals and places to visit. You will learn very fast how to repair these things when something goes wrong or you will be opening your check book to do so. I'm not tying to burst your bubble here just trying to get you informed about this life style we lead and keep you from making a very expensive mistake. And one more thing Diesels are great but just like everything else they need maintenance and break and when they do there very expensive to repair and if you don't own a Diesel for 10 or more years you'll never get your moneys worth out of it as they are built for the long haul (look at the rigs next time your on the interstate most if not all are Diesels) Again not trying to talk you out of the RV life style just trying to give you strait info as others have done here. Also you may want to visit the RV super show in Tampa FL. if your in the area in January great show (we go every year) they have every thing open and on display from $8,000 to 2.4 million and higher RV's. Please keep us informed as why and where you purchase your next home on wheels and hope to see that new rig on the road some day! As others have said information here is the key to a very important and expensive decision. And above all have fun as that's what its all about! K.
 


It appears that you are looking for rigs through dealers in the Florida area. Do a bit of research on the service departments before you make a purchase. We have purchased 9 camping rigs and can say the service department of dealerships can make or break your ownership experience. We can absolutely say that we will never, ever purchase another unit from Gerzeny's RV World (specifically Nokomis). They misdiagnosed, refused to complete warranty work and outright lied about service concerns on our last Class A (which was a lemon from day one). That was our third purchase from them and luckily, the first two had minimal warranty problems. Their sales department did a great job with competitive low pricing, but in the long run, we lost out.
As far as recommendations, here's another vote for a Super C. We've just pruchased one and we'll never go back to a Calss A.
 
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We had a small Class C years ago and did a big trip east coast to Yellowstone and down through the southwest along with a trip to FL and several smaller trips. We bought a three year old RV with about 4000 miles on it for half of retail. We kept it in perfect condition and sold it two years later for $500 less than we paid.

It was a great way to travel and we planned it to be a short term purchase. Thankfully, we never had any big issues with it. We cleaned it thoroughly after each trip, no smoking and no pets. IMO that makes all the difference in resale.

RV's are sold out everywhere now. In a year or two there will be lots of barely used rigs on the lots from people who found out it wasn't for them. Only buy new if you don't mind the huge depreciation. A lightly used rig will already have the "bugs" worked out. Try EVERYTHING, open every cabinet, have a mechanic inspect the engine, take it for a ride and trust your gut on the purchase.

Think seriously about how you will fill up the gas or diesel tank at a station. Many stations on the east coast are small and getting to a pump is impossible. Can you back up and turn the rig around if you end up in a weird spot? DH can drive anything thankfully, but I'd have a meltdown for sure! The convenience is incredible but the daily upkeep is a trade off. As OP's mentioned, renting to see if it is for you before you put down big $$ is a good idea.

Good luck!
 
If you can swing it, The Florida RV Super Show in Tampa in January is one of the biggest, you can check out just every type and make in person. Do 2 days if you can swing it, it's that big. https://www.frvta.org/show/florida-rv-supershow/. Even if you can't go, a lot of the big RV You Tubers will be there and posting extensive walk throughs; my favorite is Traveling Robert and he's always there. They get media credentials so they can go a day early when there are far fewer people to shoot their videos
 
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