Friday, September 24, 2010

Searching for that “perfect rig”…

This weekend will begin our true quest for finding our future home… we have done all the research we need to do.  So now it is time to actively and aggressively pursue finding the “perfect” rig for us.  It begins this weekend as we travel to Houston, Texas down to a large RV consigner called PPL.

dinnette no dinnette yes

NO

YES

Currently there are five rigs at PPL that require closer scrutiny.  Up to now we have been narrowing our choices based upon quality for the buck, convenience, preferences, and wants… Now it is time for us to go visit the RV’s on our short list and immerse ourselves in each one of them.  The instructions are simple for our task…

2 door no 4 door yes

NO

YES

  • closely look over the outside of the rig for anything that may bother us (imperfections, bubbles, etc)
  • scrutinize the storage and envision putting our items in the bays (will the chairs fit? what can put in each one…)
  • evaluate each space inside the rig for the “feel of home”
  • visualize ourselves in each space (what would I be doing here in the morning, afternoon, night etc.)
  • what expensive modifications would have to be done for it to meet our needs
  • lastly, does the rig have the “it factor”
As you can see we have our work cut out for us… We hope to have a rig by Christmas if not sooner… wish us luck!

15 comments:

  1. Happy Searching! I have heard this is a great place to buy a rig. Take your time. I'd highly recommend using the RV Consumer Group evaluations too.

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  2. Since we are in South Dakota for our vacation..we're stopping at a dealer here near Rapid City to check some rigs out. This is a huge RV area, as I'm sure you know.

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  3. Good luck in your search. It will be fun and tiring, I'm sure.

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  4. Good luck, take your time, and remember that this is the FUN part. Remember that there's no perfect rig out there and most likely you'll have to make some make some concessions from your wish list. But mostly follow your instincts and don't make any rash decisions.

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  5. Went to a RV show by myself this afternoon. Walked thru a lot of them. Still just getting the feel for different manufacturers.

    Craig might go to this show with me next weekend if it isn't to hot. We are in for a September heat wave and it's n fun looking at rigs when it's too hot.

    Keep us posted on the top choices. You do good research.

    I agree on the side by side refrigerator, I looked at both today.

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  6. Have fun in your search!! Good luck!!

    Mike & Gerri (happytrails)

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  7. Not sure if you are interested in a Tiffin, but tiffinrvnetwork.com is a good place for finding one of those. That is how we bought our current Phaeton. We have the 4-door refrigerator (not residential though) and I like the 4-doors. We also have the table/chairs, not the dinette. It is exciting to go along on your RV-finding journey...and we readers don't have to spend a dime!

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  8. Good luck, we hope you find what you are looking for or at least something very close to it.

    Kevin and Ruth
    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  9. All those factors are important, but the fresh water and black/gray water capacities are something to consider also. I'm sure you'll find a good one.

    Syl

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  10. Have fun searching!

    Our *deal breakers* were:
    King sized bed (hubby is too tall for a queen)
    Side entry door
    Table and chairs - no booth
    No toilet in a tiny closet
    dual pane windows

    and preferences were
    larger kitchen and countertops
    double door (side by side) fridge
    real wood - no paper over particle board
    10 gal water heater instead of 6
    big holding tanks and fresh water tank

    We got all that and more in our search. Good luck to you!

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

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  11. This is the FUN part. I LOVE looking at rigs. You'll be fine. You've certainly done enough research and know what you want.

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  12. Don't let the booth dinnette scare you away. We loved everything about our Suncruiser -except the booth.
    So I used it to get the price down and just took the benches out myself and replaced them with two leather chairs. We also have two ladder back folding chairs which look nice that we store under the bed in case of guests.
    The space is actually better than many of the free standing dinettes that they put in many coaches

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  13. Try Motor Homes of Texas in Nacogdoches, Texas http://www.motorhomesoftexas.com/. I've heard some very good things about how well they treat their customers. Check out Mike and Pats blog http://mikepatstravels.blogspot.com/, they just went through this exercise. Hope this helps.

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  14. I really do wish you good luck in your search. This is such an exciting time. Enjoy it.

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