In a message dated 97-06-22 14:16:45 EDT, you write:
<< I was hoping that when you have time you would consider expanding on your
comments, and listing things to consider when looking at this type of
vehicle,
such as nice features, details of the suspension mods you mention, musts for
towing, sizes, etc. >>
My RV is a 1996 Class C Winnebago 21' with a Ford 460. I bought it from a
rental fleet with 20K miles, one year old for 1/2 of retail. It has the
factory tow package which includes a real tranny cooler.
Because of the extended frame on any Class C (Van Based) I went to a custom
hitch shop and had an extra heavy duty hitch fabricated and I purchased a
load distribution hitch with an anti-sway bar( available at any U-Haul ) I
was surprised that the stock shocks did the job, although I intend to put
Heavy duty Bilsteins on this winter. Dont forget trailer brakes which means
installing a controller in the RV
The newer Ford Transmissions are all 3 speed with O/D so its a snap to lock
out the O/D and off you go a 5mpg. I set my cruise at 65 in California and
only the steepest mountain passes force me to downshift to 2nd gear.
My trailer is an old 26' enclosed full of tools and unidentifiable car parts,
so that my load is about 7500 lbs with 800 lbs tongue weight( you should have
10-15% tongue weight).
Dont buy and old dog RV or you'll regret it. Even if it had low miles, the
systems get old and cantankerous. Dont know much about Class A motorhomes
(purpose built) but they seem to do the job as well if not better than mine.
However most of the Class A RVs are bigger and I think 21' is the ideal
length.
Sleeping in the RV at the track opens up an entire sub culture that I really
enjoy, not to mention that I dont have to schlep to the local Motel 6
DonQueenSF
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