2 feet

I know nothing about RVs except we need one. My wife sings and we travel with a 4 year old and a 15 month old. I have found a 1992 Winnabago Suncruiser with a Cummins and I think an Allison. RV has 70k miles. How much hp did those Cummins have. Onboard Onan propane. I can get it for $9500, anything to look for, stay away from, Winnabago any good. Any help with be greatly appreciated

FiverBob

Boy, you just asked the wrong guy about Winnebago. I had a 36er, their best model. It had 12,000 miles on it when I bought it and was spotless. It was a piece of junk - - constant problems, no help from the company, required a complete roof replacement at my expense ($11,000) because I had "pierced" the roof putting on a roof top carrier. It had developed a leak in the front right behind the driver's seat - - how can "piercing the roof" in the rear of the rig cause a leak 25' away - - the roof started delaminating from the front back and had to completely be pulled and I don't mean the roof surface - - I mean I was standing in the RV looking at the sky. The rooftop carrier could be reached from the rear ladder. That was only the tip of the iceberg. I won't bore you with more things like front end problems, frame problems, floor buckling, etc etc etc.

I would definitely look for something else. If you have diesel, why have a propane generator? The diesel genny is the best. You will run that genny all day long while driving to run the overhead AC - -the engine AC will not cool the unit by itself. Propane is the most expensive genny to run and your propane tank is not all that big. Second thing you WILL want to have is at two (minimum) slides - - I don't think that model had any slides.

A motorhome is a neat way to travel with kids - - but you will have to decide whether or not you need to pull a small car behind. If you have not driven a larger truck it will take some learning to drive the motorhome, then the car added makes it that much harder.

Look around - - there are some people out there that really need to sell.

Bob

Jim W

I would look at these two site for information on RV's and what to buy and not buy. One is an on line community for RV's from class A to TT trailers. The members will cover everything and are just as helpful as this site. I am a member on this site also, I use this for asking about where to camp. The other site is an RV consumer Group and they rate the worst and best RV's for use.
http://www.rv.net/community/
http://www.rv.org/thanks_rvrep.htm
Good Luck.

ramcneal

Are you dead set on getting a motorhome? If not, I would look at travel trailers as well if you have a vehicle which could tow something. Motorhomes have their benefits, but also have their down sides as well. Something to think about is that a motorhome has an engine which needs its own maintenance. Unless you go camping and don't move while at the site a motorhome is a pain unless you tow along a second vehicle.

You're doing the right thing by asking questions first. My family started out with a popup trailer, then a travel trailer, and now we've got a 5th wheel.

dieselfreak21

My grandparent has similar year +-2 and it was junk. it had the 454 with a 3 speed auto. if you got much over 55 it would wonder all over the road. never felt safe in it. Front end parts where said to be good but drove horrible. Had all kinds of electorical problems. then plumping issues. only has 15k miles on it when they sold it and was only 4 or 5 years old when they bought it. had it about 3 years.

FiverBob

2 Feet,

I re-read my post and hated to be so negative, but you asked for honesty and I tried to do that. I will admit that traveling with kids in an RV is much nicer in a motorhome than in a truck. But, after meditating on this I have a couple questions. How far do you normally drive between her appointments? How much time per year will be in this rig? How many total miles per year? How much time will you spend in it in one place?

We had motorhomes while traveling with our kids. I hated everyone of them. When we knew we would be on the road more often, I opted for the fifth wheel route. I would never go back. The difference in initial cost, yearly depreciation and maintenance is astoundingly less. Plus, my truck I drive periodically every week to keep it in good condition. The motorhome I had to make time to go drive it for about 30 miles at least once every three weeks. I had to make sure the fuel did not foul out. Oil changes on the diesels ran 2-300 dollars. Suspension such as air bags were outrageous - - total suspension on one rig was $26,000. After the first air bag went out at $1300, I got smart - - sold it. That was one week after the overhead cabinet over the sink came down at 70mph on the highway spewing broken glass all over the front of the rig and breaking the granite counter top. I won't bore you with those fun things, but really think about a motorhome. If you have no problem with spending lots of money to keep it running, go for it. If not, reconsider. Oh yeh, how about 7 mpg on the MH versus 13 on the fiver rig. I have more room in my 37' fiver than my 40' motorhome had. I put it into storage, slip by every six weeks or so and fire up the LP generator for a while, check it over, lock it back up and forget for another six weeks.

Just something else to put in your calculator and noodle a bit about.

Bob

HMX-1

I second the hauler over the motorhome.

I got one new off the lot for 8k off sticker, plus several hundred in free extras my wife had them throw in a ton of freebies like the RV cover, 1600 pound WD bars, electronic brake controller, septic hose, free LP fill ups (x4), and some other misc stuff.

The salesman kept looking at me, and I told him flat out "This is something she wants for our family. You want the deal and I want her happy, and if she's not happy I'm not buying it.".

Ahhhh .... the power of the Marine Corps wife. Even the Sergeant Major takes cover when "Household 6" shows up to Building 1.



Kris

2 feet

I agree totally with the economics of a trailer over a motorhome but I dont want the kids riding in the trailer. Distance varies from 60 miles to 600 miles. Maybe two weekends out of each month. No more than one night at a time. I need it more for traveling than I do parking. I know the owner of the Winnabago. He is letting me carry it to Virginia (550 miles) with no obligation.

supr

For the most part, Motor Homes are a mistake. Sometimes you need to learn this for yourself. They are way more expensive to maintain & work on. Any problem at all, in to a very expensive shop, sometimes for months. The places that work on them are limited, surly, and did I say expensive?
There are many diffrrent tow vehicles and trailers that will fit your needs. A late model CTD 4 door is a good choice, as they are fuel efficint, lots of torque, easy to work on, lots of places will work on them, as it is just a truck.
Most people prefer fifth wheels for the way they tow.
You may spend $10k now for a MH, but, considering it's age, another $10k could go out the door quickly, with no end in site. I have lived this dream, spending $15k on a 454 gasser 34'. I put another $20k into. The wood side walls started rotting, disconnecting from ths frame. Sold it for $8k, felt lucky.
This could be your dream, too.
Do some searches on this site for MH, vs trailers for other opions.