Pre-Delivery Inspection

Although your motorhome is a vehicle, the quantity built versus cars, trucks and SUVs is miniscule. As such they are assembled manually, not with robots. Motorhomes are very complex. They have 12 and 120 volt electrical systems, city water and onboard tanks, propane and heat pump heaters and electronics galore. It's a car and a house and the walls move in and out. And when you drive it, it is like an earthquake shaking your house. The PDI is needed to find out what works and what doesn't. The factory will check it, your dealer should check it, and you must check it.

Factory pickup with manufacturer PDI: With most motorhomes, you can have the option of picking it up at the factory.They will charge for this. With factory pickup, they know they must fix it before you take delivery. With dealer pickup, the manufacturer may leave small items for the dealer to fix. Therefore the theory is that with factory pickup they will be more careful to build it right. Is this true? We don't know. We were going to have a factory pickup but plans had to change and we picked up at our dealer.

Dealer PDI when picking up from dealer: Your dealer should do a PDI before you arrive. Our dealer did a good PDI and we found only minor imperfections that they fixed quickly.

Your own PDI: We found a very extensive PDI list on the Internet. It was our intention to spend days at the dealer and check everything. As it turned out, it rained heavily everyday we were there. We checked what we could from the inside and headed out. We stayed within 100 miles for a few days. Better to stay close to your dealer for a few days to a few weeks. We did not, but were totally willing to return (350 miles) for any repairs.

Understanding Warranties: This is tough, but read the warranty. Most manufacturers give you one year "bumper to bumper". After that you still have warranties on appliances, awnings, engine, transmission and other items (see your manuals).

Extended Warranties: We did not get one. We have never purchased extended warranties. If you think you want one, talk with others who have purchased them and see what their experience has been. We have heard good and bad, but can't help you here

Working with a Dealer

Finding a dealer: Refer to our List of Manufacturers to find dealers for the brand you might choose. Call the dealer. Ask about which models they have in stock and how many total. The shopping experience can be very fun, but not if you drive hundreds of miles only to find that the motorhome you want is not there. The longer you take, the better. We started visiting dealers almost a year before we bought. We learned so much about the motorhomes, the dealership and the integrity of the salespersons.

Verifying Service Capabilities: Before your first purchase, assessing the service capabilities of a dealer can be hard. Regardless of dealer or brand, you will have problems! The first salesperson we met was honest. He said "If you don't have a tool box and a sense of humor, don't buy a motorhome". These homes are complicated and things will go wrong. Go sit in the service waiting room. Talk to those waiting about their experience. Do this a few times and you will be able to discern those who give you the straight story versus the complainers or those who defend their purchase even when they should not. Find out the billing rates and minimum charges. We once paid $56.00 for a half hour minimum, only to have the technician replace a burnt out 12 volt bulb in a few seconds.

Get References: Ask your salesperson for references. This is the best way to buy anything. After you get the references, follow up and talk with them long enough to get the straight story.

Choosing Options: Get a "build sheet", a list of all the options on the motorhome you like, with the retail price of each option. Find out what the options are and choose what you want. It is very likely that you will get pressure to buy off the lot. But the available motorhome may have options you don't care about. Negotiate a price for the home without the options. We weren't willing to pay for some, so we ordered our motorhome and waited 12 weeks (05-2006) for it to be built. We got exactly what we wanted without paying for any extras. For us it was very exciting as our delivery date approached.

Buy new or used? Buy new and you will have to work through all the problems, but you are covered by a warranty, usually only one year. If you buy used, take an experienced motorhome owner with you to check out all systems. This can take hours, perhaps all day. We did not have such a friend so we bought new. We could help you now.

Negotiating a Deal: This can be easy with a good dealer, hard with others. We got a decent offer from our dealer on first request.Email us for further discussions about this tricky area.

Choosing a Manufacturer

Diesel Motorhome Manufacturers: Our research led us to find every USA Class A diesel motorhome manufacturer. We spent over nine months (10-2006) reviewing, on the web, every model, every floor plan and specifications from every manufacturer. After narrowing down our selection, we set up appointments to drive 14 motorhomes at five dealers in a four day period. After we selected our motorhome, we revisited every web site trying to find a motorhome that might exceed our choice.

Construction Differences: Your motorhome will be the first or second most expensive purchase of your lifetime. And it is morecomplicated than your home, your computer and your car combined. You want it to last as long as possible and therefore the construction is very important. If possible you should take factory tours before you purchase. We took only one and not from the brand we purchased. But since then, we have toured five other factories. When you see the construction you can make a better decision about which motorhomes can endure the punishment of the roads of America.

Manufacturer Service versus Independent Service: Your best service should be from the manufacturer, but many dealers and service centers provide great service. Manufacturers will have all the spare parts and should get you in and out sooner. However, the waiting list for manufacturers can be many months.

Common Components: Many of the components used in the motorhomes are common to all brands. The furniture, appliances, steering wheels, engines, transmissions and other components may be the same. Your focus for reliability should be on the chassis, floor, wall and ceiling structure; the cabinetry, countertops, fabrics and other differing aspects.

Manufacturer versus Dealer: A full timer may not be concerned about choosing a dealer near their current home. Doing this may force you to choose a brand that is not the best for your needs. When full timing, your travels can take you across the USA. Make your best guess about where you will travel and consider any manufacturer that will be near your travel routes. After choosing your brand, then find the best dealer for that brand.

Why buy a motorhome?

Why travel in an RV versus car/hotels or planes/hotels? 
1. You sleep in your bed, use your own bathroom and have all your belongings, therefore no packing or forgetting items.
2. Forget high fuel prices! The cost of RV travel with eating in, issubstantially below travel using hotels and restaurants.
3. Save time not looking for rest stops, restaurants and hotels.
4. Travel at your own speed. Stop in small towns, big towns or between towns. You are not confined to hotel/motel choices.

Why a motorhome versus a 5th wheel?Both get you to your destination and we have owned and enjoyed both. For full timing we prefer the class A, big rig, motorhome:
1. Your views are better as you sit up higher. Views are especially phenomenal with a one-piece front windshield.
2. You can quickly stop and use the bathroom. Your co-pilot can do this while you drive.
3. Your co-pilot can grab you a snack as you travel. Does it get any better than that?

4. If you do not tow, you can travel at higher legal speeds and you can use the car pool lanes!
5. When your temperature-controlled travel is over, your home is already comfortable. A fifth wheel can be cold or hot.
6. Park set up is quicker and easier. You can level the home without wheel chocks and blocks.
7. You can boondock in questionable places (we rarely do) and beable to drive off without getting out of your motorhome.

Why should a full timer buy a diesel motorhome?1. The diesel will get better MPG.
2. The drive is quiet as the diesel engine is 30 feet behind the cockpit, not under it. And the cockpit is cooler.
3. The heavier diesel motorhome is far less affected when passing semis or being blown by high winds.
4. The torque of the diesel keeps it chugging up hills when gas rigs can be slowed to a crawl.
5. Diesel engines can go hundreds of thousands of miles more than gas engines.

Full Time RV Living Wannabes

BigRigBible.com is the perfect web site for Full Time RV Living wannabes.  This site has all the information you need to plan your full time life style. Learn to plan your adventure, purchase your motorhome and accessories, learn how to find RV parks and campgrounds.  Topics include mobile telephone, computers, email, fax and snail-mail. Learn to keep a simple and quick daily diary, take photos and write travelogues. Pages include motorhome procedures and maintenance schedules.  And finally it has photos for hundreds of RV parks with links to their web sites.  And the over 300 travelogues hold 7,000+ photos of every US state and five Canadian provinces.  Enjoy the RV Full Time life style with thousands of hours of research for only $25 per year.

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Get access to all 550 pages and over 6,700 photos with captions. Learn everything you need to know to purchase and live full time in your motorhome.  Access www.BigRigBible.com to purchase a subscription or take a Free Tour.

Pete and Ellen

Full Time Motorhome Living

BigRigBible.com is a comprehensive site for those wishing to become full time motorhome travelers.  It has over 550 pages and over 6,700 photos from every state and five Canadian provinces.  Every few days new RV parks with photos are added.  And every week a new travelogue is posted with 20 to 30 photos with a story and captions.


Link to BigRigBible.com and join us seeing all of the United States.


Pete & Ellen Mattson