Got the RV

So we were going to go for a truck and 5th wheel combo – one that had 2 rooms with lots of slides.

The main reason is that with 2 kids who often play on the floor, we felt we needed a bunk ROOM – one that had preferably two (2) slides so that there would be plenty of room on the floor to hang out and play.

After looking at some and realizing that some trucks were upgraded for towing with cushions on the shocks and the hitch, some weren’t quite as upgraded. Trucks in general were running closer to $30k and we knew we’d have to really shop to get the right truck and depending on the 5th wheel, we might need a 3500 to pull, vs a 2500. And until we got the 5th wheel, we wouldn’t know for sure.

Most of the rigs we found were in somewhat decent shape, but needed a bit of work. We just weren’t sure how much we’d be able to do, or would WANT to do.

We also talked with people about their setup, and I’m sure for part-timers vs full-timers, it’s different. But after hearing people talk about dropping the fifth, or whether they felt safe driving in weather, or other stories about backing in the rig, we were beginning to think, *maybe we’re in over our heads. We just don’t have much experience with RVs and my wife was suggesting that she wouldn’t feel comfortable driving and towing.

While we were looking around, we decided to check in on dealers. We visited one and the experienced sales person showed us an FR3 which had bunks. My wife was really excited. They told us they could get us in for $79k and finance 90%. We liked the idea because we could get out of it in 1-2 years and not pay all cash to have a new, easy to drive, easy to setup Class A.

We just kept it in the back of our minds while we looked at other used/pre-owned 5th wheels. After visiting one more rig, we learned that the family uses levels to check the level-ness of the rig and then drives over blocks to get the rig leveled before putting out the stabilizer legs. The floorplan had the two rooms, 1.5 baths, and 5 slides. We were pretty excited.

After we left, we discussed the leveling and setup. We were both concerned that with all the things we were learning, we might be in over our heads. Could we do it? Yes. If we are only doing this for 1-2 years, will we WANT to do it? Not really. We just weren’t that experienced of comfortable.

So we decided to go back to the dealer and check the Class A again. We liked it, but when we confirmed the price, the salesperson stated “oh no, this rig goes for $89k, no way we could do $79k.”
I replied, “That’s too bad. That’s out of our range. Sorry we wasted your time.”
He answered with, “No problem for me. I’ve already got 2 sales today.” This guy wasn’t in it to help, so being so new, we decided to move on.

My wife and I were realizing we probably weren’t going to get any wiggle room here. I was moping about what to do, when my wife suggested going to DennisDillonRv down the street. We explained what we were going to do and the sales person said the FR3 is an entry level coach and won’t suit your needs. Don’t they always say that? He showed us the 2015 Mirada 35BH at $89k and a Pursuit at $79k. I really like the pursuit, as it had a few things that the Mirada didn’t, but the Mirada has a bathroom at the end of the Master bedroom. I liked the fridge in the FR3, but both it and the Mirada are 18cu sized fridges making my wife happy. The girls were ok with bunks and the large area above the cab came down further than on a class C making it possibly roomy enough to hang out and play in.  We negotiated and got the price down to $81,911 and put $10k down.

The reason we liked it was that my wife will drive it, in fact we did test drive the rig, even on the freeway and felt pretty comfortable. It doesn’t have the room, but it’s pretty decent. And it self-levels which felt a lot better for us beginners.

All these things aren’t essential, but we also found ourselves worried that we’d HATE driving the truck/5th wheel, even if it were only for a few hours at a time. So, the idea that the Class A is fairly comfortable, makes my wife (and me) worry less, and is newer (doesn’t nec mean better), we felt like it was the right decision for us.