Complete newbie seeking advice

[Ryan Wright]

Hello again,

I'll condense my replies into one message this time:

Bob, Eric: I appreciate your willingness to share major expenditures
with me. It's great to get a handle on what I might be looking at. The
numbers look a bit higher than I might have hoped, but they don't
scare me yet. The 4mpg figure on gas does scare me a bit, however. I
had thought 8 to 10 was a good estimate. Do any FC owners want to
chime in here? I understand fuel economy can be a sensitive issue, but
would love to know what to expect here if it's appropriate to ask. I
also understand my wanting a 40 footer is going to mean a more
demanding thirst for fuel. How much fuel economy do you lose towing a
small car (We'd pull a VW TDI Jetta, most likely)?

How's the generator on fuel? It's my understanding these small diesels
barely sip it. Running a full load of all 3 A/C units in the heat, any
idea how many gallons it might burn through in a day?

One more question I forgot to ask is speed. Will a coach like an FC 40
run at 65 to 70 miles per hour easily on typical interstate highway
driving, or is that expecting too much?

I'm sure maintenance depends heavily on the coach. I'd rather spend
more up front for a very well maintained, well documented rig. While
I'll still have maintenance costs, theoretically they should be more
managable. I can tell you from experience I do NOT want a fixer-upper
- though with a coach this old, I do expect problems.

Eric, in terms of your maintenance and my abilities, I should be
capable of doing most of that on my own. The valve adjustment I'd
probably hire out, as that's quite new to me, and tires would be taken
care of by the tire shop. I might let someone else install the
generator depending on costs but everything else you listed would be
well within my reach (not certain on the air bags - depends on the
procedure - but the idea doesn't scare me any).


Kerry: Thank you again for your comparison of driving. I'm happy to
hear your comments and it sounds like I'd enjoy the Bird very much.
Curious what sort of serious undisclosed problems you found and how
you were able to identify them? That might help me when looking.


Bill:

> The FC's came in 31,33,35 feet. SP was 36/37
> PT's are 40 ft. How will you use the motorhome??
> Boondocking ? # of months per year? full time living?
> Some private parks, State or National Parks have size
> limitations.

My intention is to use it for any out of town trips. First, I'm sure
it will get an awful lot of general camping use within ~100 miles of
home. Second, trips to visit family in central Idaho will be high on
the list. Lastly, it would be used on short vacations (A few days to
weeks); trips to the coast, to theme parks, to tourist type
attractions in bigger cities (zoos, etc), etc. No full time living,
but it would probably see use all year around. Maybe one to two trips
per month on average, with 2 to 4 of those per year being >~100 miles
from home.


Thank you, all, for sharing your group, your world, and your time with me.

-Ryan