Help me pick a new old motorhome

A few years back I bought the Fossil, and it has been a very good time. The Fossil has done around 15,000 miles across Canada and the US, spent weekends at the lake, four day long weekend camping trips, Summer swim meet headquarters and also palatial guest accomodations in our driveway. 

But our kids are now grown and no longer interested in bus trips. It is down to just myself and my wife and its time to downsize. I plan to start looking for another old tank, and move this one along this spring or summer. I'm not in a rush because I really do not know what to replace it with. I am looking for some suggestions, along with pro's and con's because I know you all love this kind of thing and also that you all have some very strong opinions.

The criteria is: 

Cool looking, or at least interesting in some way

26-28 feet long

Full Queen bed or twins that do not need to be built or converted every night

Nothing stick and staple although I may bend that rule for a really nice Winnie if one came along.

Common enough to have a following and some parts availability. 

Reasonable performance or the ability to add performance.

Some I have considered:

Barth-aluminum, kind of klunky looking, doesn't seem to be much around in the magic 26-28 foot category. 

Travco-I am torn as to whether it is hideous or cool. But my wife is on board with this one so huge points there. Bonus for them being dirt cheap or free with lots of room for a cummins swap.

This is a GMC. Front wheel drive,and cannot tow much but it does push the right buttons. 

So you get the idea. I'm sure there are some out there I have missed. I want to spend $5-10k which will give me about the same amount for modernizing. I'm into the Fossil for about the same amount. Not looking for actual ads at this point. I just want to narrow the focus to one model so I can look harder over the next 4 to 6 months for the right one. 

In reply to bearmtnmartin :

I can't help with your new purchase, other than to say I'd be interested in more details about the fossil. 

In reply to Pete Gossett :

I should most likely offer it to this group when I am ready to sell it. It is a 1981 Bluebird Wanderlodge FC35. Lots of money spent in catching up on deferred maintenance plus interior updates. It is a very nice ride. It is tucked away in the shop for the winter but I will take a bunch of photos when I pull it out. 

A little shorter than you were looking for but I ran across the 23' Coachmen Clarion when I was searching shorter RV's last year. They are built on a truck chassis and run a ford 351 FI powering the front wheels only.

Link to ad of nice example

You said you did 15,000 miles with the trusty Fossil.   In how many years?

Some of us are doing more than that every year.  How much driving you want to do and how much is in the serious mountains will help with a decision.  Also, do you plan to pull a toad behind?

$5K to $10K isn't going to buy much.

I vote you keep the Fossil.  Its something you know inside and out, its paid for, and it is classy.

The best motorhome deals are on CL in Arizona and Florida... where us old RVers decide to quit.

hobiercr said:

A little shorter than you were looking for but I ran across the 23' Coachmen Clarion when I was searching shorter RV's last year. They are built on a truck chassis and run a ford 351 FI powering the front wheels only.

Link to ad of nice example

I do not hate that. It is certainly interesting looking but It is a little short. Still I will add it to the list.

Purple Frog said:

You said you did 15,000 miles with the trusty Fossil.   In how many years?

Some of us are doing more than that every year.  How much driving you want to do and how much is in the serious mountains will help with a decision.  Also, do you plan to pull a toad behind?

$5K to $10K isn't going to buy much.

I vote you keep the Fossil.  Its something you know inside and out, its paid for, and it is classy.

The best motorhome deals are on CL in Arizona and Florida... where us old RVers decide to quit.

I am not a full timer. I am a dad with kids and those miles were piled up during summer vacations. And the point is that I like working on stuff. I know exactly what $5000 to $10000 will buy, and I know what I can do in a well equipped shop to make the new one my own. I am looking for a new project. But having said that, I am pretty attached to the Fossil and happy to keep it unless something comes along that ticks all the right boxes.

How about a even swap for SanFord?  He has the cool, but he is still a bit of a project. 

I ended up with a mid 90s Tiffin Allegro Star. Aluminum frame, fiberglass/foam sandwich, built like a tank. Ford F53 chassis so parts are crazy cheap. Enough GCWR to tow 8000 pounds. It's not different or cool looking though and that makes me a little sad. That said, it's very usable and comfortable and as a plus, everything works. 

Give me a shout when you figure out what you are doing with the Fossil ​​​​​​. I would be very interested. 

Toyman01 said:

How about a even swap for SanFord?  He has the cool, but he is still a bit of a project. 

I ended up with a mid 90s Tiffin Allegro Star. Aluminum frame, fiberglass/foam sandwich, built like a tank. Ford F53 chassis so parts are crazy cheap. Enough GCWR to tow 8000 pounds. It's not different or cool looking though and that makes me a little sad. That said, it's very usable and comfortable and as a plus, everything works. 

Give me a shout when you figure out what you are doing with the Fossil ​​​​​​. I would be very interested. 

 

I do not hate Sanford. Why did you not finish it off? Or is it a work in progress?

My vote is for the GMC, I love those things. But for an off-the-wall suggestion, how about a Vixen?

Tom_Spangler said:

My vote is for the GMC, I love those things. But for an off-the-wall suggestion, how about a Vixen?

Never heard of it but off to do some googling

In reply to bearmtnmartin :

I'm not actively trying to get rid of him, but SanFord was and realistically still is an enormous amount of work. I was spending more time trying to get him ready for the next trip than actually making those trips. Hence the purchase of the Blunder Bus. 

When I bought him I figured it was a 10-15 year project with long periods of time I wouldn't work on him. This is one of those times. I'm 4 years into the resurrection and have reached a point where the next few steps in the process are huge. The drivability problems need to be addressed, but the running gear under him is mostly obsolete. There are virtually no parts available for the front axle and the rear axle has the wrong gearing for modern roads. I'm leaning more and more toward swapping the entire chassis, engine and all. A mid 90s Ford F53 chassis is almost a perfect fit and I'm keeping an eye out for an inexpensive donor. I'm also considering gutting the interior and starting from scratch. That would let me spray in foam insulation and make the interior more usable. Don't count him out just yet. 

Airstream made some cool motorhomes with turbo 4 cylinder Isusu engines.   Built well.  Has the length you are looking for.  Would be fun to put a cool interior into one.

Came in 24' and 28' models in the 1970s.

I know nothing but what I have read about your BlueBird, but isn't that sort of starting at the top of the RV pecking order?  Won't anything lesser be just that; lesser?  

As much as I see others lining up to get a shot at the BlueBird, I'll bet you are best off keeping the BlueBird.  

Purple Frog said:

Airstream made some cool motorhomes with turbo 4 cylinder Isusu engines.   Built well.  Has the length you are looking for.  Would be fun to put a cool interior into one.

Came in 24' and 28' models in the 1970s.

Are you talking Argosy? I do like them but not many to choose from and you pay the Airstream tax. I actually prefer the Argosy because I can't see myself polishing the stainless every time I come home from a trip. I decided not to add it to the list because they go for so much money.

John Welsh said:

I know nothing but what I have read about your BlueBird, but isn't that sort of starting at the top of the RV pecking order?  Won't anything lesser be just that; lesser?  

As much as I see others lining up to get a shot at the BlueBird, I'll bet you are best off keeping the BlueBird.  

It is very cool but it is also massive, and upkeep is expensive. It is just too much for two people to go camping for a weekend, which is what I expect will be the pattern of use going forward. I have it in very nice shape and it will just deteriorate if it is not used regularly. For example I spent almost $3000.00 on new drive tires a couple years ago.and I need to do the steers in the spring. To be clear I am not committed yet to selling it, but if I find the right project I will.

In reply to bearmtnmartin :

I'm pretty familiar with all the models you've discussed. ( and a few more). Look at the Cortez.  
However,  if it were me, I'd look at the GMC and stop looking.  

In reply to Tom_Spangler :

Talk about obsolete power train,  rare transmission. Great fuel mileage and surprisingly common suspension parts. Plus it will fit in most garages. 

I like the Cortez! That one is going on the -need to go down the Google wormhole-list. Made by the Clark forklift company of all people.

I do like the GMC and it is fairly hgh on the list.

The Vixen is pretty cool but 110 hp kind of puts me off.

Have you been in one of those gmc's? I think you'll be... disappointed. And I bet your fuel use would go up. Amazing to think that a smaller rv can make the Fossil look good in that direction but there it is. 6 to 8 mpg. The Fossil is gonna be hard to beat. Downsizing is gonna be tough with the quality of build you're used to without breaking the bank. Before we bought Moby the Road Condo I thought we wanted one of those fancy class B's you see everywhere. Right up til I priced even decade old ones. OMG!

The short list of motorhomes I would like to have is GMC, Wanderlodge, and Prevost.  You're not looking to go bigger so I would be looking at a GMC.  

Rectrans Discoverer?

FMC?

bearmtnmartin said:

Tom_Spangler said:

My vote is for the GMC, I love those things. But for an off-the-wall suggestion, how about a Vixen?

Never heard of it but off to do some googling

There's been a Vixen for sale around here for a while now. BMW diesel powered.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2414191968699878/

In reply to bearmtnmartin :

I really love those GMCs, but wasn't there a short version of the Bluebird too? I could swear that I've seen at least one at some point in time.