I'm a firm believer in buying quality. I'm also a firm believer in financing as little as possible. Because of those two firm beliefs, when we finally make up our minds on what sort of RV we want for FT use, we will be buying both parts (truck and towable or MH and toad) used. We've gotten many good suggestions for good brands to consider.

One MH brand that has come up several times is Wanderlodge. Those in our price range, though, seem to be approximately 20 years old. A similar-size and price Winnebago is 10 years newer. Going the other way, a Prevost that price is closer to 30 years old. You get the picture.

I well understand that the Prevost sold new for more than the Wanderlodge and the Winnebago together (well, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but not too much), but that was 30 years ago, too. I'm not interested in buying something that requires constant repairs, but I do understand and accept that anything we buy will need some work sooner or later in addition to the normal maintenance.

My question for those of you who have already pondered this and found an answer is this: What is the practical age limit of an RV, particularly a DP?

David,

In selecting a good value in a used RV, whether truck and fiver or motorhome, first narrow your search to the manufacturers who have been quality focused, as their units will last much longer.

Second, it makes more sense to consider older, top of the line units than newer medium or lower offerings of the same brand.  Manufacturers use the better components in their higher up models.  This is one reason they last.

And most importantly, seriously consider only units that have been meticulously maintained by the owner. You mentioned nameplates that are known to provide years of service.  Our 2004 MH is in virtually new condition withou all the bugs we had to work out when new.

It is easy to fall in love with cosmetics.  As others have stated, carpet, fabric other materials can be replaced.  The true value in any used equipment is its original quality and how the previous owner has kept maintained every facet of the vehicle.

Some of the better values will not be offered by dealers.  You simply must take the time to do your homework, take the time to the weigh floor plans, the quality and condition of the RV and how it has been maintained.  Before buying any RV pay a certified RV tech to look for good reasons you should not buy.  No used unit will be perfect, but neither are new units straight from manufacturers.

There are some significant values available.  Research what you want, need and patiently continue looking until you find the one that will come the closest to your ideal.

We just traded our 1992 Beaver Marquis for a newer MH. It was a high-end coach in 92, and served us well for many years. We were starting to have problems with parts availability and finding someone who could work on the older unit.

Wanderlodge was a very good coach and there are some very nice ones still out on the road. One thing I would think about is finding someone who could still work on the 71 series or 92 series Detroit 2 cycle engines that were in most of them. (I think the older Prevost used that engine also).

They haven't made that engine for quite awhile, and believe me, (I used to work on them), you need to have someone who really knows what they are doing. They're not like any other engine on the market today.

We also started running into parts problems for our Webasto diesel fired furnace that was in our Beaver. Most of the parts were available if we were willing to wait for them to be shipped over from Europe.

So yes, an older high quality coach can be a good deal and there are many of them still out there, but you have to think about what will happen if you have a problem and need parts or need to find someone who still knows how to work on it while you're out on the road.

Jim

Really the only issue is some RV parks and resorts have an age limit for RVs. A lot of the parks use this only as a way to stop ugly, beat up or undesirables from coming into the park. Most seem to use 10 years as the cut off.

However, if you have a beautifully restored older RV and send them photos most parks will accept your RV.

Remember most DP MH are based on commercial drivetrain which is designed for a million miles or more service.  It's rare that you would find an RV that is even close to the million mile mark.  You do need to make sure the interior and exterior components are well built and will hold up after 10 plus years of travel.

If you have a large wallet or are a great mechanic, electrician, wood worker, fabricator and plumber then an older RV, especially a well built one like a wanderlodge, is doable.

http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/ read through this blog to get a feel for how much can go right or go wrong with an older RV. Luckily, this gentleman is a great mechanic and has a big wallet so he is able to maintain a very nice older RV. He bought it used and has rebuilt it from ground up.

A buddy of mine just bought a 1988 Coachmen 36 Mark V for $16k. It's in beautiful shape inside and out. Bed in the back, shower, toilet and sink on the drivers side, closet space opposite, tile flooring in the bathroom and in the aisle, nice kitchen setup with a steel sink, oven, lots of cabinets, two TVs and VCR (no DVD--electronics are dated although the TVs are flatscreen), couch that becomes a bed, table and seats for two. No slideouts. Swivel seats up front. DP--Detroit Diesel with an Allison transmission, only 100k miles--just breakin' it in! He just got it this week. He's taking a trip to the coast with the wife and son to see how it does, and then it's off to Canada to see grandkids. I was amazed to see he got his rig before me. Now the pressure's on to get my act together and get one myself!