Hello...and thanks for having me here!
I am 65 years old and purchased my first Winnebago motorhome the summer I turned 19. I paid $300 dollars for it (owner said is wouldn't go into drive and the motor was shot). Turned out all it needed was all new ignition parts (old school stuff) and the tranny linkage reconnected. I used it for 8 or 9 years before selling it and buying another. Since then I have always owned more than one camping unit. Last year we sold our 40' Allegro Bus (22 years and 180k miles) and a small travel trailer, bought a Cougar fifth wheel and enjoy it, but truly missed the Class A so we could easily drag/tow our toys behind us.
I retired 9 years ago from the nursing/medical field and my wife retires in 18 months from a career in the IT field (computer geek). Even though we have traveled/camped over 250k miles in the past 33 years, we will be ready for semi-fulltime fun without having to rush back home for the sake of work. At 65/60 we still enjoying backpacking/hiking, hammock and tent camping, boating/fishing, sailing (and yes...boat camping), mountain biking and snow skiing and boarding. We still push and play hard like we did 33 years ago....just takes longer (a lot longer) to recover!
After months of searching, we have found a coach that hopefully will take care of us for many years to come. This weekend we are buying a 2004 Vectra 40KD with the 350 Cummins. It has everything we want with the exception of no washer/drying installed. The extra living room slide makes things much roomier than our old Allegro. Overall the exterior is a 9, interior is a 9.5. The Captain's chairs, sofa and J lounge were just recovered and look like the original faux-leather stuff. Very comfortable. They had a little dog that loved to scratch on them...so they were in pretty bad shape. Thankfully the little dog had no interest in scratching or chewing on anything else. The unit is clean and odor free. Mechanically things are in good shape with a new basement a/c unit (needs the plenum taped properly at the base elbow) and the dash air is being repaired currently. All in all a great find for us.
I am blessed that I can do 95 percent of all maintenance and upkeep the coach will need, starting with all new fluids and filters (everything...if its an oil or liquid of any type), belts, hoses, reseating all wiring connectors with dielectric compound, brake inspection, air dryers/filters, etc...again, everything. It has 51k miles and somewhere around 55-60K I will reset the engine valve spacing (also do the generator as well). Oh...and somewhere in the near future I will be installing a washer/dryer...just need to find some info/templates on where to cut the exhaust vent!
Thanks again for taking time to read this far through my intro. I'm looking forward to learning and sharing with the group. Hope you have a blessed day!
I am 65 years old and purchased my first Winnebago motorhome the summer I turned 19. I paid $300 dollars for it (owner said is wouldn't go into drive and the motor was shot). Turned out all it needed was all new ignition parts (old school stuff) and the tranny linkage reconnected. I used it for 8 or 9 years before selling it and buying another. Since then I have always owned more than one camping unit. Last year we sold our 40' Allegro Bus (22 years and 180k miles) and a small travel trailer, bought a Cougar fifth wheel and enjoy it, but truly missed the Class A so we could easily drag/tow our toys behind us.
I retired 9 years ago from the nursing/medical field and my wife retires in 18 months from a career in the IT field (computer geek). Even though we have traveled/camped over 250k miles in the past 33 years, we will be ready for semi-fulltime fun without having to rush back home for the sake of work. At 65/60 we still enjoying backpacking/hiking, hammock and tent camping, boating/fishing, sailing (and yes...boat camping), mountain biking and snow skiing and boarding. We still push and play hard like we did 33 years ago....just takes longer (a lot longer) to recover!
After months of searching, we have found a coach that hopefully will take care of us for many years to come. This weekend we are buying a 2004 Vectra 40KD with the 350 Cummins. It has everything we want with the exception of no washer/drying installed. The extra living room slide makes things much roomier than our old Allegro. Overall the exterior is a 9, interior is a 9.5. The Captain's chairs, sofa and J lounge were just recovered and look like the original faux-leather stuff. Very comfortable. They had a little dog that loved to scratch on them...so they were in pretty bad shape. Thankfully the little dog had no interest in scratching or chewing on anything else. The unit is clean and odor free. Mechanically things are in good shape with a new basement a/c unit (needs the plenum taped properly at the base elbow) and the dash air is being repaired currently. All in all a great find for us.
I am blessed that I can do 95 percent of all maintenance and upkeep the coach will need, starting with all new fluids and filters (everything...if its an oil or liquid of any type), belts, hoses, reseating all wiring connectors with dielectric compound, brake inspection, air dryers/filters, etc...again, everything. It has 51k miles and somewhere around 55-60K I will reset the engine valve spacing (also do the generator as well). Oh...and somewhere in the near future I will be installing a washer/dryer...just need to find some info/templates on where to cut the exhaust vent!
Thanks again for taking time to read this far through my intro. I'm looking forward to learning and sharing with the group. Hope you have a blessed day!
