A Women's RV Forum run by Women RVer's!

I'm getting excited. I've been looking at RVs for weeks now and have gotten a feel for what I think I like in a floor plan and size. Wednesday I'm going over to Lazy Days RV in Tampa to seriously check out 6 different Rvs. Hoping I'll like one well enough to make an offer on it. I lined up the dog sitter, so all I have to do is call him and tell him I'm staying over if I find a good one. I've done as much research as I can on the models offered, including NADA prices, recalls, complaints, etc. All I have left to do is arrange an inspector.

2002 - 2007, 30 to 35 feet, class A gas, not more than 2 slides, auto-leveling jacks and electric awnings, back up camera(s), nice big holding tanks, good generator & house batteries... I think everything else is a variable according to manufacturer and style, plus there will be some modifications I will want to make anyway, like vinyl floors so I can live with these 3 dogs tolerably!

If anyone here knows of a good independent RV mechanic in the Tampa/Seffner area I'd appreciate their contact info.

Good luck. I hope you find the perfect one just right for you.

How exciting! Keep us updated, please.

Good Luck and have fun. Don't make your head hurt too much. Take pictures to help you remember stuff...well and you can always share them later.

I really like the looks & reviews on the Lazy Days but none to be found in my area. Hope you find one that is just perfect.

Susan - Good luck in your MH search. I sent you a PM

Linda

What an exciting time... new adventures lie ahead... keep the news coming...
Kathleen

My neighbors in this campground bought a 5er today from Dream RV in Bradenton FL. It is 34' and they paid $8000. Also there is the Tampa Super RV show this weekend ending Sunday.

We got a terrific price on the exact travel trailer we wanted from a dealer in Cape Coral. The dealer will search what you want at the auctions. Lower price due to lower overhead. He had a really good mechanic/tech that he scheduled to be there on a Saturday when we picked the trailer up because we wanted electric brakes installed on our van.

Oh man! Sure, give me MORE to choose from and dither over! RV show the weekend of the 19th? What are the chances of my finding a better deal there then at Lazy Days? Things that draw me to Lazy Days are their "do-it-all" ability and FL location (albeit 3 hours from me) and accountability. Plus, they are highly recommended by several RVing friends.

Oh well, we'll see what happens Wednesday, huh?

I've always found better prices at the big rv shows because the manufacturers themselves often own many of the rigs on the floor and can sell them for prices the dealers can't- even from the same people (Lazy Days, for example). If you've heard such good things about them, why are you looking for a different service person/mechanic? Just wondering. Personally, I found the people at Lazy Days to be salespeople, like most salespeople. They weren't helpful to me when I stopped there this past winter. And I might have bought - you never know. That said - no matter who you buy from, just get the best deal you can. We all know if we talk to everyone, we'll find out someone did better (cars, rv's, etc) and someone did worse. Can't let that get in the way of our fun. We just hope we aren't the ones who do the worst

Have fun shopping.

We went to Lazy Days and it was a heavy sales pitch with lots of phone calls and emails afterwards. Kept pushing for us to buy an RV very different from what we were looking for, and then acted like we were not smart because we were not interested in what they wanted to sell us. Agree with Beth's post. Only you know what you want and what will work best for you. Enjoy this new experience!

Bethers, I'm looking for an independent mechanic because I need an independent opinion. I know they're JUST salespeople, and I promise not to get swept up in the excitement of it all . What I buy and even whether I buy depends on what Lazy Days is willing to do for me. If, as they imply, they will do everything I need to have done to both the RV and my car, AND they'll warranty their work, AND they give me a good break on charges, AND they see to teaching me to drive the thing..... well, I don't know what else I could ask for.

We'll be thinking about you tomorrow!! If you don't find anything you could fly up to St Louis to Van City and get one of these!

http://www.vancityrv.com/inventory/1814 ... ibero.aspx

Home again, home again, jiggity-jig. Home again, home again, ain't got no rig.

Lazy Days was great. I drove a 40' rig around the place under the supervision of Barney Alexander. It was amazing, and amazingly easy once Barney showed me how to find the reference points on the mirrors and the body of the coach. Now, I'm not ready to tackle Washington D.C., but I am certain I'll have no trouble taking 30+ feet and my toad down to Sebastian Inlet to start. I may need to have a couple of trees in my yard trimmed to park it here. I'll spend a few days at Lazy Days anyway, when I do buy, because there are roomy and fairly safe places to learn there and a certain tolerance for rank beginners.

I looked at a nice 2006 Gulfstream Independence 35'6" V10 w/3 slides and 34,000 miles on it. It was pretty, but I have not been able to find out a whole lot about that model and am not crazy about the 3 slides. It has a lot of bells and whistles..... but I can't help but wonder why other RVs FLY off the lot and this one hasn't. I also saw a National-something-or-other, which I wouldn't consider at all because of the bed configuration, and a couple of Fleetwood Bounders which did not impress me. I wanted to see a 2002 Tiffin Allegra Bay, but IT had a deposit on it before it even came onto the lot. One thing I knew for sure about it was that it belonged to a woman who traveled in it alone with her dog. She bought it new, and was replacing it with exactly the same 2012 model. Thought that was a pretty good comment on the quality of the motorhome.

Lazy Days is a super place. My Salesperson, Lily Rodriguez, was very nice and extremely attentive. She really listened to me and gave me the feeling that I could trust her judgement. She is an occasional RVer, alone, and understands my concerns very well. By the time I left on Thursday afternoon she had 2 pages of notes on me and my likes and dislikes. Due to my experience with the Tiffin, I decided to leave a credit card number on file with Lazy Days so Lily could place a hold on an incoming motorhome with just a phone call or email to me. She is expecting a 2004 Winnebago Adventurer 33V in mid December that I'll probably go to see.

They fed me, filled me with coffee, filled me with information, gave me lots of smiles and hellos and can I help you find somethings, personal attention, and generally treated me like a prospective Crown Club member for 2 days. I've been other places where I felt like I was being pressured to buy. Not here. Yes, Lily was so nice to me I was a little sorry I didn't find an RV to buy, but my satisfaction is far more important in this matter than hers is, and I feel like she'll do her best to find me a suitable RV AND back it up.

Being the lazy bum that I am, the one-stop convenience of Lazy Days can NOT be beat. So here's to the hunt ~~