How We Found OUR Perfect RV
After sharing the RV idea with some friends and family, I luckily had one very good resource at my disposal. My cousin who lived just an hour north of us was an avid RV'er. I remember they always had a van or camper growing up. He's also an engineer and loves building cars and DIY home projects. The moment we ran the idea by him, his face instantly lit up and he was all ears. I created a group chat with my wife, my cousin and his wife. We would send DM's daily in the group chat with short "RV Life" videos, RV memes and we bombarded them with lots of questions, after all we're RV noobs.
After a few weeks, we decided to window shop. The great thing about where we lived was that it was literally walking distance from one of the biggest RV Dealers in the nation and if you're from SoCal, you can't miss this dealership off the 405 Freeway (https://www.mikethompson.com/).
We honestly didn't even know where to start. As we sat down with the RV Sales Person, we disclosed that we were very green about RV's. I didn't even know they had one separate lot for Trailers and one for Motorhomes, so we had a lot to learn and here's where our RV 101 lesson began:
What kind of RV are you looking for?
Class A - Motorhome: These are your larger RV's much like Motor Coaches or City Buses. They usually have a flat front end with large windows. These can accommodate a small to mid-size family.
Class B - Motorhome: These are smaller RV's like oversized Vans, suitable for single occupancy or a couple. The van conversions can have a small kitchenette, bath, and convertible sleeping area.
Class C - Motorhome: These are mid-sized RV's with chassis that look like a Minibus or small Shuttle Bus. They're distinguished by an overhanging cabin above the cockpit and can accommodate a small family.
Trailers: These come in all shapes and sizes. Types of trailers include pop-up, teardrop, toy hauler, 5th wheels, etc. Then you have your brands like Airstream, Grand Design or Forest River. The main thing you need to know about these is that you will need a vehicle big enough to tow based on weight capacity.
After touring several models of each, we ultimately decided that a Class A was the way to go for our family of 4. Although, we did like some of the trailers and they were the "cheaper" option, we had a small SUV, but it was not big enough to haul an RV the size we needed for our ideal living situation, which means we would have to buy a new SUV and those at the time were going to cost us as much as the trailer.
After going to a few dealers and actually test driving a few Class A models we liked, we encountered another issue. We didn't realize how challenging and strict RV Financing Terms were. For the model we wanted, we would have to put down a substantial down payment. It was practically like buying a home. My cousin gave me a pat on the shoulder, and we left the RV Dealer RV-less that day. But, it was a blessing in disguise. My cousin was the one who encouraged me to keep looking, and said, "now you know what you want, so go and find it, and you can get it much cheaper!" And he was right! I had scoured the internet for months, we went to see several motorhomes listed locally in my area, but didn't find one that feeled right for us. So, my cousin suggested I look at out of State listings. Facebook Marketplace was my friend and I consistently messaged private RV homeowners in other States. There was this one that I checked on weekly, and I built a good rapport with the owner who lived just outside of Portland. Even though we went to see dozens of RV's, my wife and I kept going back to this one. After months of messaging back and forth, we came to terms on a deal that made both of us happy. Below is the 2008 Fleetwood Terra 36.5T that we ended up purchasing from this amazing family in Oregon, who traveled in it for a year during the Pandemic. The best part is, we paid a 1/3 the price I would have paid at the Dealer (pretty much the down payment they requested) it was barely used with under 39K miles on it, new tires, new brakes, etc.
My cousin and I immediately booked a flight up to Oregon to take possession of our new Motorhome, but that's a story for another day...
Vali Nomads
