General Tips
- Never pay list price. You can get 20% off at the drop of a hat, and 25% is possible with haggling.
- Test drive a number of motorhomes to the point you are comfortable driving the thing. If you’re still worried about hitting non-moving objects, then test drive some more. The goal is to pay attention to how this particular coach drives, not how to drive a coach.
- If you plan to drive a lot, go for the diesel MH if you can swing the price.
- Don’t be afraid of that 40 footer. 99% of the time there is very little driving difference compared to a 32’. As a general rule, bigger and heavier is better for drivability, at the expense of fuel economy. Read about our motorhome length progression here.
- If you have a residential refrigerator and you dry camp, you’ll want between 800-1000 watts of solar. Which means a custom install from a knowledgeable solar expert and likely not a “package” from your RV dealer. Click here for more info.
- Try to switch out the standard lead acid batteries for AGM, or better yet, lithium ion. Either one had less maintenance and more usable amp-hours.
- Don’t underestimate such niceties as powered cord and water hose reels.
CCC Example
Pay very careful attention to the CCC (cargo carrying capacity) of the MH you’re considering. If you’re not familiar with this term, here is a very good primer on everything you need to you. The available CCC listed on the companies website does not include any options. For example, our 2015 Newmar Dutch Star 4002 has a CCC of 11,200 lb as listed online. But when I check the actual CCC, which is required to be listed on a printed piece of paper in every new MH, I see it’s down to 9410. And that is before any dealer installed accessories. Now add a full tank of fresh water and everything you need to RV and you can see how this number drops quickly. I highly recommend weighing your fully loaded rig, which I outline here.
Here is a picture of our weight info (locations vary, it’s attached to the cabinet door in the kitchen above the sink in ours):
