# RV buying advice



## 88927 (May 10, 2005)

Hi all
We currently own a Hymer S660, it is our 3rd motorhome and we are still seeking one that will give us what we (think we) need. We started off with a Winnebago Le Sharo (too small), moved to a Swift Kon Tiki (still too small) and a layout that did not fit our needs. We now have the Hymer and whilst we love the unit and the layout (fixed rear bed and drop down front double) we find it still too small.
We are thinking that a 27 / 28 foot RV will give us the space we need but there seems to be a huge variation of layouts.
I have seen a couple of Allegro Bay's and they have the rear fixed bed and drop down front bed, large kitchen area and dinette plus couch / barrel chairs. Is the Allegro the only manufacturer with the drop down (we sometimes take our lad away and this seems the most convenient sleeping arrangement), or are there others? We don't want bigger than 28 foot because of fitting it on the drive and also we've heard some sites have problems handling anything bigger. 
We want a diesel motor for no particular reason other than economy and pulling power, however maybe someone can advise about petrol / lpg running costs and performance.
We also do not want to spend a fortune on the RV, we are thinking our Hymer plus a few thousand should get us something decent.
If anyone can come back with some advice we would be very grateful as you cannot get better than experience in these matters. Also if anyone is looking to sell or swap their RV, bearing in mind all the above, and are in the Midlands, we would love to hear from them.
Thanks in advance.
Keith


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## npmb (Jul 1, 2005)

*rv buying advice*

i bought my '89 allegro some 16 months ago, my first ever foray into the world of motorhomes.
you will find that quite a lot of american rv's of the same age have very similar layouts to that of the allegro, but many of the smaller berth models don't have the pull down cab bed, in fact the that type of bed was discontinued in the late '90's.
my 15 year old son sleeps in it quite comfortably. 
my only complaints is are the 27ft allegro doesn't quite have the room for a north/south master bed and my wife has to clamber over me in the mornings (or maybe i shouldn't complain about that!) and that i don't have hydraulic levelling jacks.
most of the fitted eqpt is standard american stuff and spares are easy to get hold of. i have found no problems in keeping my vehicle running. websites such as www.marksrv.com and www.pplmotorhomes.com do online ordering and international shipping.
as for the base vehicle, mine is built on the chevrolet P30 motorhome chassis, basically a light truck. some of the running gear has to be ordered, such as the rear brake shoes, but most of it is in stock at american specialists such as us automotive (www.usauto.co.uk) who do mail order and discounts for members of the AACUK (www.americanautoclubuk.com).
the rear brakes on mine had to be totally rebuilt for the MOT, shoes, cylinders and parking brake cable. the parts came to under £150 and despite the size of the thing i managed to replace them myself over the course of a weekend.
as for economy, thats rather a moot point. mines a normally aspirated 6.2 litre V8 diesel with a 3 speed auto box. i would not say that it is either economical or powerful. a petrol engined vehicle will be more powerful but it will drink fuel like there's no tomorrow. we tow a humbaur trailer with a fiat sciecento on it, maybe 15mpg at a steady 50mph.
diesel's with turbo's are better, as are all cummings diesels and caterpillar powered rv's, preferably with the allinson (spelt right?) auto transmission.
the better engines are on the later vehicles and tend not to have the pull down cab bed.
being a member of the AACUK i get cheaper insurance as well. i use mce in wellingborough who insure our 18K rv for as little as £450 fully comp including breakdown cover.
driving a lefty is very easy, being slab sided with no funny protrusions makes it extremely easy, even in towns with the trailer.
at 27ft long it weighs around 5800kgs, some of the larger rv's are very close to the 7500kg limit, i have a friend with a 35ft allegro that is a whopping 10000kgs!
i'm certainly glad that i bought my allegro, their motto is 'roughing it smoothly' and i think it is perfectly appropriate


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## zaskar (Jun 6, 2005)

As far as I am aware, the only people who still have a drop down bed are TREK. The bed drops down from the ceiling using an electric motor but I think that it is the ONLY bed in the bus unless you buy the larger models.
As far as fuel is concerned, at the age of bus you're looking at, then yes it probably would be better to go diesel. If at all possible, go for the later 6,5Turbo Diesel as opposed to the earlier 6,2. The 6,2 is still a good engine but the 6,5 is far better, more refined and will undoubtable give better consumption and power.
My first coach was a 32ft Gulfstream Sunsport with 6,5TD. I clocked this at 17MPG twice but that was in France on the Autoroute where you always get better consumption when left on cruise all day.
Good luck in your hunt and welcome to the fold. It's amazing how the popularity of Yanks is growing but then, personally I recon they represent good value for money when you consider what you get fo rthe money.


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## johnsandywhite (May 9, 2005)

Hi *kands*. Welcome to the wonderful world of the American RV. With regards and LPG/Petrol? I had my first RV converted and it was worth the expense. IF say you got 8mpg on a 7.4 or 7.5 Petrol engine? You would get the equivalent of around 15 mpg using LPG, based on the cost of petrol versus LPG. Diesel is now more expensive than Petrol. Drop down beds are, as been mentioned difficult to source.RV's come with a variety of choices with regards sleeping arrangements. There are lot's of Rip-Off dealers arouind to choose from. The alternative? Ship one over yourself. It's easy. 8) :wink:


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## 88927 (May 10, 2005)

Thanks for the replies, looks like we need to buy your Tiffin then npmb!!!!!
Anyone want a mega tidy Hymer????
I seem to remember that all pre 95 RV's had the 6.2 diesel (if it was diesel powered of course) and were single glazed windows, any thoughts or comments about the windows, are there condensation issues etc? Our budget is going to get us a pre 95 model so these points are of interest.
many thanks
Keith


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## zaskar (Jun 6, 2005)

................ and were single glazed windows, any thoughts or comments about the windows, are there condensation issues etc? 

Depends what you call a problem. My first R.V was a '95 Gulfstream Sunsport which had single glazing. Even though it had unsealed secondary glazing panels fitted,it did steam up, especially in the winter - when cooking. Wasn't that big a deal, just kept a leather handy. Also make sure to wipe the metal window surround, especially under the window as this is where the condensation will drip to and collect. A big help is to fit MAXAIR vent covers over the opening roof vents as this will allow better air circulation and will help to remove condensation. Try to use the furnace heating as little as possible, except for boosting the heat, as it puts more moisture into the air. Better to boost up to temp' using gas and then rely on a 2kw fan heater to keep things ticking over nicely. 
We went through 4 British winters in this bus and were never cold.


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## johnsandywhite (May 9, 2005)

Just to give you some idea of what is on offer:-

1996 ALLEGRO M28, Ford 460 V8 motor with 56000 miles. Good Condition. Sleeps 6-8. Unique drop down bed. Back Queen bed. 14k miles on new tires, Onan 4000 watt generator with low hours, tow available, split bath area, roof air, furnace, cushy jacknife sofa, dinette, double door Norcold refridgerator, privacy curtains, aux. start, dash fans, sun shades, 19" Panasonic TV, antenna, with speakers in the bedroom, roof vents, fire extinguisher, smoke detector, three burner range with formica cover, oven, microwave, double sink, curtains, awning, Roof ladder, much more for less than £20,000.


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## 88927 (May 10, 2005)

Well hello there johnsandywhite....
That looks awesome, gimme gimme, I want it NOW!!!!!
Is this in the UK? Who is selling it? I have never seen anything like this for that sort of money. An LPG conversion would make it perfect.
Please send your reply to me at [email protected] in case someone else reads the reply and beats me to it.......
Just joking but if this is for sale now I could be very tempted to sell our Hymer and do the deal.
Many thanks for the advice so far, I am learning, slowly, but it is all going in.
Keith


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## johnsandywhite (May 9, 2005)

Yep they sure are possible to buy at that price. But not from any British dealer importer. :?


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## olley (May 1, 2005)

We just bought our first american from a private sale which we saw at the stratford show, this is the cheapest way to buy without going abroad, but there are drawbacks, he could not do a trade-in so we have to sell our old one, as we run our own business this is allot of hassle, so we have put it with a dealer on a commission sale, their is no guarantee, drive away, something goes wrong, tough! and how do you know if the people are genuine or not, has it been clocked? We gave this couple over £60,000 of our money with no come back, after meeting them for a total of about 6 hours, its defiantly a worry but we got a 2004 winnebago brave in superb condition at something like £20,000 less than dudleys would charge for it.
you pay your money you take your chance (caveat emptor)

olley


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## johnsandywhite (May 9, 2005)

With £20,000 off what a dealer would charge? That will take care of any hassle in the future. You could just about re-build from top to bottom for that amount. :wink:


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## olley (May 1, 2005)

Hi johnsandy very true, but thoughts go through your head like, has it been stolen over their, has the vat and import tax been paid, we know very little about importing from the states, every day you hear of some new scam thats going about, in the end you trust your instincts, pray to god, down a stiff drink, and say "gimmie it" please!

olley


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## johnsandywhite (May 9, 2005)

8O OK *olley*. I understand your's and other's worries and concerns. A vehicle cannot leave the USA without a clear Title. A vehicle will not be released from the Cutom's here in the UK until the Duty & VAT are paid. I was in a similar situation when I was buying my current RV. I had to pay for the RV and shipping having only seen photo's. Could I trust the man I was dealing with? Would it actually be shipped over? Paying the Import Duty and VAT is a simple and straightforward thing to deal with. Other's have already been there and done that. Other's will do it in the future. If anyone needs any pointers? Or need answers to any questions? I or one of the other's who have bought an RV from the USA and registered it here will be only too happy to assist and help in any way we can. :wink:


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## 88927 (May 10, 2005)

Hi johnsandywhite.
I took a look at your website as you advised and sent you an email thru the site. Did you recieve it? I had asked some questions and wondered whether or not you had recieved the message as I haven't had an answer. 
I'm not chasing you up, just checking if the messaging side of your site was delivering.
Many thanks
Keith


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## johnsandywhite (May 9, 2005)

Hi Kands. Yes I did receive your email and I did reply to it. If you haven't received? Either pm me or email me and I will snd a repeat of the email. :wink:


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## olley (May 1, 2005)

Hi johnsandy thanks for info i was unaware that you cannot export from states without clear title and that you had to pay vat and import before customs will release van, these where some of our concerns, feeling better already, the owners of our van said that before it can be registered the dvla check that all taxes have been paid, but its nice to have someone confirm this, thanks!

regards olley


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## johnsandywhite (May 9, 2005)

Only too glad to help. Any other information we can help you with? Don't hesitate to ask. :wink:


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## olley (May 1, 2005)

Hi johnsandy, "kands" thinks that over 28 feet might be a problem on some sites, our winne is 30, in your experience our we likely to have problems with either sites or roads? we are going to venice in 10 days and then into france we have already booked sites after telling them the length, but in future i would like to just tour without booking, have you tried any France passion sites? what about aires in villages, we have been warned of the motorway aires, althrough we have used them in the past without trouble.

Regards olley


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## johnsandywhite (May 9, 2005)

Hi *olley*. We have never used Pasion sites. In fact in the 5 years of Full-Timing, we have only been on a camp site 4 times. We have used Aires on the Autoroutes and villages trhoughout France and never had any problems. We usually Wild-Camp in Spain or visit friends. We have been in some of the tightest spots you could think of with our old 31ft and our newer 30ft. We have on the odd occasion had to do a double shuffle. But in general, no problems. Not been so Italy or Venice yet. They were supposed to be happening this September, but we are now going to the USA instead. If we get somewhere and it looks like a tight spot? I usually walk the route through first. It's neve failed me yet. Enjoy your RV'ing. :wink:


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## npmb (Jul 1, 2005)

ebay have this nice looking allegro/open road listed. it has all the right bits (cummings turbo diesel, allison auto box and it's a basement model)
1992 Tiffin OpenRoad
Starts at 11k with ro reserve, probably worth over 20k on the forecourt


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