Newbie RVer

PatAbago · February 8, 2020

Hello Folks!
We are about to buy our first RV and have several questions:
1- What is the ideal length to navigate across the US without problems (including national parks)?
2- Diesel or GAS and why?
3- Are slideouts to be avoided or no known problems?
4- Ford or Mercedes?
5- For the same price, brand new Thor Axis 24.1 2018, or used Forrest SunSeeker 2800 GTS 2018 (2800 Miles) and why?
Thanks a lot for your help and hope to see you soon on he road!!

Kirk W · February 9, 2020

Welcome to the Escapee forums! We are here to help but some of your questions really don't have a single answer.

1) The ideal length of RV is the one which serves your purposes and number of people best, while fitting into your budget. As far as getting into the national parks, shorter RVs have more usable sites but if you are not comfortable in the RV, it won't serve you well anywhere. Just as important as the size of RV site for longer RVs is the skill of the person who is driving and parking it.

2) The answer to this is yes. A lot depends on they type of RV you are shopping for and also the size of your budget. Diesel powered tow trucks will perform much better when towing either a travel trailer or a fifth wheel and particularly the lager ones. But diesel trucks also cost much more. If you are shopping for a motorhome, most of the class C type will be gasoline with only a few powered by diesels. In class A motorhomes there are probably more diesels than gas and especially in those of more than 35' in length. I lived quite well in a 35' gasoline powered class A motorhome for 12 years. If I had it all to do over, I would do the same thing. But there are advantages to a diesel rig such as air ride, if your budget is big enough.

3) By far the majority of RVs today have slides. While they are still not trouble free, the major design issues have been resolved and very few larger RVs are available without them. Nothing mechanical is ever totally fool proof so issues do happen, but that is true of most things in life.

4) You must be looking at class C rigs if those are the only choices. Both have good reputations so it just depends upon what you want.

5) I would probably not buy either of them. That said, how can you buy a 2018 model that is new? Something that is 2 model years old and still not sold? No matter which one you consider, look very closely at the weights of them as compared to the designed weight limits. I would also suggest paying a professional to inspect them and make sure that you aren't buying some previous owners headache.

Edited February 10, 2020 by Kirk W

PatAbago · February 9, 2020

Thx a lot Kirk! Not easy to answer such open questions! Very helpful!

TLRam1 · February 10, 2020

On 2/8/2020 at 10:28 PM, Kirk W said:

2) The answer to this is yes. A lot depends on they type of RV you are shopping for and also the size of your budget. Gasoline powered tow trucks will perform much better when towing either a travel trailer or a fifth wheel and particularly the lager ones. But diesel trucks also cost much more.

Did you intend to say Diesel?

Kirk W · February 10, 2020

1 hour ago, TLRam1 said:

Did you intend to say Diesel?

Yes. I went back and edited it.

rickeieio · February 10, 2020

4 hours ago, TLRam1 said:

Did you intend to say Diesel?

It's a slippery slope to categorize one fuel type as being superior. Check the specs of the particular brand, year, and engine. I had a string of Ford V-10 trucks. Obviously I liked them, or I wouldn't have bought so many. At the time, they would perform as well, or better, than the available diesels, and the initial cost was so much lower that fuel economy didn't much matter. In today's world, that may not be true, so do some homework.

I recently crunched the numbers on the half ton trucks, and for the most part, the gas engines came out on top. Again, there are exceptions.

Randyretired · February 10, 2020

In the high country a turbo provides a big boost compared to a naturally aspirated engine. For high country towing a turbo diesel is hard to beat. The low end torque of a diesel to get a rig moving is also nice but at sea level the differences are not so clear.

rickeieio · February 11, 2020

True. If I could get a bigger Eco-Boost in a F-250......... I saw 15# boost at the top of Pikes Peak with our F-150 gasser.. DW was yelling to slow down. That little motor makes the same peak numbers as the 7.3 PowerStroke, but way more torque down low. V-10 was similar. But in new trucks, the pecking order has changed.

I never lacked for power with the gas engines, just didn't have enough frame or brakes.