Forgive me if I missed it, but how big are you looking for? Is it only you and the bride or are you toting 9 kids along?
My wife and I looked for a while and the Vixen checked all the boxes for us. Plenty for of room two, diesel pusher but mostly it fits in an average sized garage. The newer version with the fiberglass top does not fit and it has a GM 3.8 V-6 that tends to overheat.
In reply to 914Driver :
I love the Vixen but finding parts for a BMW 6 cylinder Diesel that old and the Renault gear box it's hooked up to is almost a sure bet for a disaster.
I know owners had a lot of good things to say about them as long as you could be patient going up hills.
In reply to 914Driver :
My original thought was bigger. Like 40' range. Eventually, I could see myself living in one full-time. North in the summer, south in the winter. It's going to need to be big enough for two, but it's also going to need more than basic camping equipment. Like a washer and dryer. A shower a fat man can use. A full queen-size bed would be nice as I tend to hang off the foot of a short queen.
I also want to be able to tow my XJ and boat on a trailer like this.
Hard to go wrong at that kinda pricing!
Our Montana 5th wheel is proud their all aluminum construction... except the plywood floor that got water damaged and the wall framework sagged there! We know it had some problems, and got a price worth dealing with, so no worries. None of them hold up long to the heavy useage of a traveling contractor!
The Big Boy is 2 x 2 steel framework! She's heavy, but tough! Although I'd love to sell, my best recommendation to you is fix up yours. If your gonna keep it, spending more than it's worth, to make it what ya want is not a bad plan, when you look at buying something else.
Although I'm sure pictures have been seen, I haven't. Post a picture or two, or link, if ya get a moment. And I think you mentioned two?
The Blunder Bus at her finest. She is a typical mid 90s class A. 32' long. 59K miles. It rides on the older F53 chassis with the 16" wheels. 4 wheel disk brakes. 460 big block. E4OD transmission. Her biggest advantage is everything about it is simple and it all works like it should except the generator.
The interior is very dated but in good condition.
This is my biggest complaint. The shower is tiny. If I was 5'10 and 200 pounds it would be plenty. Unfortunately, I'm 6'2" and 330. It's like showering in a body bag.
In comparison, the Gulfstream I looked at is much nicer. It's also 14 times the price of mine. It is a 2005, so 10 years newer. 10' longer and 4 slideouts. 26k miles. Cat C7. Freightliner chassis. 29k pounds as it sits.
The 4 slides give it an enormous amount of room.
I think what I should probably do is a little work on mine and keep it for a few more years. I won't be ready to go full-time for another 5-6 years. Motorhome prices are pretty high at the moment. That bubble should bust and prices should drop a good bit over the next couple of years.
In reply to 03Panther :
I love the look and design of your motor home. Could you tell me a little about it?
What's it like driving that long a wheelbase? How awkward is it in urban, tight quarters? I drive a 40' school bus and can deal with that but that looks way longer.
In reply to Toyman01 + Sized and :
Fwiw when we picked up our motorhome last week, we bought it with the idea that if we like it & end up keeping it long-term like we intend, at some point I probably fit the interior & start over. On the surface that seems like a horrible idea, until you compare it to the previous plan of doing a camper conversion on the E250 & you realize the RV already has the systems & hardware we'd need to do the conversion from scratch. So I'd say fix yours up, change the things you don't like, and keep using it for at least a few more years.
In reply to Toyman01 + Sized and :
Are you sure that is only 32'? It looks a lot longer than that. It does have the short wheelbase chassis though, so maybe it's an optical illusion.
Think of it this way, how much fixing up could you do to your existing unit just for the price of one set of tires for that Gulfstream?
Non of my 4 tag alongs had slides... for just me, that was ok. My wife's 23/26 foot had just a couch slide, and that's the bare minimum we would want.
That shower is typical tiny. The Montana 5er was better, but the Big Boy has a full sized household corner shower. My first house I rented, as well as the e first one I bought both had smaller bathrooms! You and your wife could hop in there together!
Your current RV looks very good... other than the shower. It would be very troublesome to change a bathroom foot print, but I have confidence in your outside the box thinking!
Slide outs come with their share of problems, as mentioned, and the the more, the weaker the rest is.
frenchyd said:In reply to 03Panther :
I love the look and design of your motor home. Could you tell me a little about it?
What's it like driving that long a wheelbase? How awkward is it in urban, tight quarters? I drive a 40' school bus and can deal with that but that looks way longer.
I'll join ya over on the sale post for it ... The Big Boy
My Fc35 Wanderlodge is sometimes for sale....if the right owner came along. But the engine is on the wrong end for you. The rear bath and full size tub/shower is huge though.
I had an incredible number of tire kickers almost come to see it so I stopped promoting it!
In reply to jh36 :
I'm not a sold on the modern class A rvs as some, so I don't consider that the wrong end! The rv manufacturers are even building FREDs now!
I assume you'd is the Cat V8? Although not a bad engine, it's not a power house! And I'd never be able to finish a project like Bearmountian!
Do you still have the triumph bike ? The BMW K75S I bought, although runs great, has a tiny faring, and I found I need more to hide behind. Not sure if the trumpet is any better!
In reply to Toyman01 + Sized and :
I don't recall if you added any power to that 460, or just got her running good. Not a lot of cheap hp gains left on the table on those!
the diesel / gas decision is a tough one, as well. Despite being a huge diesel fan, that come with their share of drawbacks as well. For one, my wife's allergies react VERY badly around diesel fuel. The list goes on from there!
The little Cats are not the most well liked engine in a Medium Duty truck, but those reasons are well discussed all ove the inter webs. I decided, when we bought the FL50, that for an RV, it would be ok. And was right. The C7 (3126, formerly 3116) on LT problems in an rv, they are big and heavy for the amount of power. Harder to work on than some others. Harder parts availability. And Cat parts are painted yellow, 'cause Cat thinks they are worth their weight in gold!
I have not owned a Cummins 8.3, and they have some known problems as well, but that would be my choice!
RV guys usuall don't know anything about their engine, except the horsepower, 'cause that's the tag on the coach! But I've seen 350hp with a 5.9 (although usually less) and 350hp with an 8.3 (although sometimes less) So ya gotta dig a bit deeper to find out what engine it has. The owner/sales man might not have a clue!
Thanks Toyman, the Vixen can barely tow itself!
In reply to 03Panther :
I haven't done anything to the 460 beyond maintenance. I've been waiting on the manifolds to crack so I could install a set of headers and exhaust. Banks makes a set that is supposed to work well and last longer than the manifolds. Naturally, since I kind of wanted them to crack, they haven't.
In reply to Toyman01 + Sized and :
Ahhh, but if you really wanted to keep it and needed more power, the Ford 460 is a great engine to build for torque. Super simple to get it to 514 CID, there are a ton of aftermarket parts for it, cams and heads and anything else you could imagine to make it do whatever you need it to do. Beats the snot out of being stuck with the V10 which has far fewer aftermarket goodies available.
That being said, I'd hate to have to change an engine in a front engine class A coach. On my old coach the suggested way to take the engine out was through the passenger side window. Yeah, good luck with that!
In reply to stukndapast :
I've idly contemplated it on my 454-equipped P30 chassis. I think I could get it out the door if I disassemble it in situ and bring out the heads, the block, then the crank and oilpan. Or, if I took the whole front end apart I might be able to slide it forward on to some sort of cart and roll it forward.
But, yeah, getting engines out of front-engined class A rigs is just not gonna happen!
Changed the engine in my front engined gasser in 2019.
Jack rig up high. Drop the suspension as a unit. Drop the engine and trans out the bottom.
Easy-peasy if you have the equipment.
wae said:But, yeah, getting engines out of front-engined class A rigs is just not gonna happen!
The average homeowner ain't gonna do any work on a rear engined class A, either. Fortunately, Toy man is neither average, nor normal 
We never actually spend any time in our Wanderlodge at all. Just A to B and sleeping. Pretty much all other daytime hours are spend outside the bus. We do all cooking and dishwashing outside as well. We have been to campgrounds and been outside living our lives and watched a Class A pull in next to us, see the hydraulic jacks come down, the slides push out, see the big flat screen power up before the blinds come down, and no one ever comes out!
I'd predict, that one ya start working on that one, a grand is a few thousand too much ! Unless you just want the engine.
In reply to hobiercr :
I just want to say, you guys are first class enablers.
I get tagged here and on FB.
In reply to Purple Frog (Forum Supporter) :
I'm pretty sure mine would have to come out the bottom as well. It would not be fun.
In reply to Toyman01 + Sized and :
It's a useless life skill.
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