Hello

[Newbie2013]

Hi,

I Googled RV forums and was pleased to find a site for women RVer's.
I've been looking at RV's; Class A Motorhomes, for about 4 months now.
I'm new to the whole thing but am getting ready to purchase my first one;
put my house up for rent and get out there and see some sights before my
number comes due.

I'm having a very difficult time deciding. I'm trying to choose between a pusher and a gas.
Any suggestions would be great!
Thanks!

[MelissaD]

Welcome

Class A's are not my forte but I guess much depends on size and how much you plan to travel. If you going to be "high miles" the diesel is probably the better bet.

[Newbie2013]

I've been reading some of the topics; safety, rallies...
It's nice to see that there are so many others loving this lifestyle!
I am not a person who likes to be tied down to property... Real
Estate is good to have something to invest in but I get itchy feet
when I stay in one place too long.

I will be traveling about 5-7000 miles per year. It's sad because
I'm only considering the diesel because it's roomier.
9 out of 10 times I will be traveling alone with my dogs, but
I would like to have room to feel at home in.

I'm probably going to go with my original choice which is a 36ft gas.
It's half of the price; just not as roomy. But, it's very nice. It's a Canyon Star 3610.

I've waited so long with all the research that the 2014 are out now
and the model I'm looking at is being pushed to clear inventory...
So now I can buy new at nearly half of what it used to be.

I think I'm going to attend the rally! That would be a great way to get some travel
experience and pointers from women who have experience.

A little about me. I'm 47 year old widow with three grown children who live in different states.
I have two dogs and we will be using the rv to spend three months visiting each child and three
months in Pensacola.

I guess that will make me a full timer!

[BirdbyBird]

Welcome to the forum. Sounds as if you have put some thought into what your needs are. You didn't say what kind of traveling you were interested in beyond hanging out with family and escaping to FL.....Size does matter! The smaller RV's can fit into sites (and some driveway! ) that the longer ones can't. Will you be towing a car? Explore all the options. Seeing rigs in person and also seeing how others make rigs their own can really give you ideas. Have fun in your search for "The One."

[Newbie2013]

I've seen so many that I've had to quit looking and narrow things down a little.
I am not one who does well with too many choices to choose from. lol
I like the diesel because they offer models that are all electric... They have
instant endless hot water; and, I like long showers, however their holding tanks for used water are small
compared to the gasser canyon star; will have to visit dump stations more often.
So... I'm looking at Winnebago 38q, Dutch Star 4318, and Canyon Star 3610.
They are all very nice but only one can come home with me... I'm stuck.
The canyon star price tag is swaying me... this is what I get from exploring
all my options; stalemate.
It's coming down to hanging pics up on the wall and throwing a dart blind folded to see which one I pick! lol

[avalen]

welcome
and what shall we call you?

[carolb]

Welcome & good luck! Your plan sounds great--how nice to have children to stay with! Glad you found us--you'll meet really great ladies here. Check out the GetTogethers as some up coming up in FL. Happy travels!

[grammynmaggie]

Welcome glad you found us I live in Florida most of the year
hope to see you down the road sometime have a great day and stay safe!

[Newbie2013]

Hello,
My children are living very active lives, this is why I decided on an RV. This is the one way
that I can go see them whenever I want and not have to actually stay where they live.
I'll keep a good used car at each place so that I don't have to tow; this should help with fuel expenses
as well as wear and tear on the RV. Plus it will give them an extra vehicle if the need should arise.
My daughter lives in Lawton Oklahoma, my eldest son lives in St. Joseph, Missouri and my second born son lives in
Rhinelander, Wisconsin.
I have two dogs, a very sweet 17 year old shar-pei mix and a 4 year old little dappled doxie who thinks she owns the roost.
My plan is to spend June, July and August of each year up in Wisconsin; Sept-November in Oklahoma, December,
January and February in Pensacola, Florida
March, April and May in Missouri. This way I can try to avoid both the tornado and hurricane seasons, plus stay in
moderate weather. Missouri tornado seasons are all the way into May and June but I'd rather take my chances there than in Oklahoma.
It's not the most convenient travel itinerary but with taking things like the weather and birthdays into consideration
it's the one that works best for me.
I have a house but I'm getting ready to rent it out. I figure rent money can go towards fuel and RV park expenses.
I' looking forward to being finished with the decision process and getting on the road. I plan to have my decision made by the end of the month.
I can't in good conscience decide prior to touring the Winnebago 38q. I haven't actually seen one yet because the dealer doesn't have
that model so I have to go to Iowa. I'm leaning toward a gasser because insurance and overall costs seem to not be quite so high.
It would be nice to get some honest info from experienced rvers who own diesel rv's so that I can be sure this is the right choice.
I don't trust anything a salesman tells me.
I do plan on attending some get togethers, I hope to see some of you soon!
Anna

[monik7]

Hi Anna: Welcome. Sounds like you've done a lot of research. You certainly have your plans made. I don't full time. I prefer to stay in my house and make periodic trips. I got my rig last May. It's just my 2 dogs and me. I have a smaller rig than you're contemplating and prefer the handling and parking ease over a larger rig. I put 7,800 miles on it the first year. Putting on that many miles, I'm sure glad I have diesel as I can go almost twice as far on a gallon than a lot of rigs. I guess you just have to decide what suits your likes and plans best. Have fun!
Sandi

[retiredhappy]

If you're planning on doing anything other than visiting your children you will need to tow a car because you can't use a big rig to sightsee. Have you ever driven any RV? As Tina said, bigger rigs do limit where you can go - lots of the national and state parks are older and not friendly to big rigs - and not just the sites but the access roads to get to them. Please test drive anything you're thinking about getting - you have to think about driveability not just the comfort inside the rig. You might think about looking at some of the smaller rigs - 24 to 29 feet with a slide. Some of those are a lot roomier than you think. As for diesel vs. gas - think about diesel costs more, mechanical work (oil changes, etc) are more expensive but the engines last longer and you do get more gas mileage (depending on your speed). Most of those big class A's get somewhere around 8 to 15 mpg.

When I first went fulltime I rented my house. I ended up having to use a rental manager so that if something happened (water leak, tenants moving out, etc) someone could deal with all the problems while I was out of town. I ended up selling my house. Dealing with renters was a royal pain in the a$$. If they were late paying rent I couldn't just go by and get a check.

You might also want to look at a good used rig. The original owner has dealt with any manufacturing problems and you're not eating the huge depreciation on a new motor home the minute you drive it off the lot; sometimes as much as 20% or more. My first rig was two years old and still had a year to go on the warranty.

[Redwahine]

A big Texas welcome to the forum

[Newbie2013]

I need more info to help me justify spending the extra $$$ on a diesel.
I used to drive a tractor trailer, so a 36-40ft rig won't intimidate me too much... I say that now...lol
I guess it's going to boil down to experiencing the difference between how they feel when I'm driving.
I'm going to Iowa soon to look at the Winnebago 38q. It's a gasser.
What I'd really like to know is since I do plan on doing a lot of driving, would a diesel be the better choice?

[Newbie2013]

A big Texas welcome to the forum

Thanks! How do you like your RV? It's very nice!

[Rufflesgurl]

Welcome Anna. I have a 2007 35' diesel pusher that I purchased new. It has been all over the Western U.S.and the huge mountain ranges, is comfy and easy to drive. I have used it when I visit my daughter (she lives 4 hours away) but usually need to find an RV park in the vacinity. When I travel with my friend, we take his tow car - some times we need it other times not. PM me if I can answer any questions.

Enjoy your RV search.

Linda