Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[JCZ]

How much do these things cost???

The "Greene" is listed for sale.....give em a call.     http://www.cobramotorhomesandtrailers.com/gallery0.html

[Chains]

If you have never had a motorhome, I suggest you try renting one first to see if you are comfortable driving it.  Second, remember they do breakdown, even the best of them, so be prepared to spend some money on repairs and possibly disappointing outings.  I have had three and i was fortunate enough to sell the last one prior to the economy taking a dump. 

If you are serious, there are some super deals out there, make sure you get one with slide outs for the extra room.  If I were to take my bike and I did, I suggest an enclosed trailer.

Good luck.

[Buy early]

The "Greene" is listed for sale.....give em a call.     http://www.cobramotorhomesandtrailers.com/gallery0.html

That's s sweet rig!

[Shovelhead]

If you have never had a motorhome, I suggest you try renting one first to see if you are comfortable driving it.  Second, remember they do breakdown, even the best of them, so be prepared to spend some money on repairs and possibly disappointing outings.  I have had three and i was fortunate enough to sell the last one prior to the economy taking a dump. 

If you are serious, there are some super deals out there, make sure you get one with slide outs for the extra room.  If I were to take my bike and I did, I suggest an enclosed trailer.

Good luck.

Great advice Chains !

My intention is to take advantage of one the super deals to be had in our present economy. I want to buy a good clean slightly used rig that has already seen the bulk of it's big depreciation, from an individual preferably. I do not intend to put very many miles on it and figure to keep it @ two years max.

As far as the upkeep, maintenance, breakdowns & driving go....I have driven a Class A motor home before and I was raised in a family trucking company driving and turning wrenches on all of it so I intimately understand the headaches involved which is why I do intend to get an engine/transmission that I am familiar with rather than just whatever comes in the rig I like the looks of .

[20 gauge]

We have had four different confiutations for hauling bikes in the past 5 yrars. One was a pickup truck with loader. Two were lifts that went on the rear of the coach. Currently we have a Tandem Tow trailer by Race City Products. We have the version that hauls two bikes and dollies a car off the rear. This has been the best set up of the 4.

[Shovelhead]

We have had four different confiutations for hauling bikes in the past 5 yrars. One was a pickup truck with loader. Two were lifts that went on the rear of the coach. Currently we have a Tandem Tow trailer by Race City Products. We have the version that hauls two bikes and dollies a car off the rear. This has been the best set up of the 4.

Any thoughts or suggestions on the rear of coach lifts
 

[20 gauge]

I have looked at them all, and owned 2, and I like Hydralift the best. They now have a lift for a trike. They also told me they could lift a Smart Car, but didn't want to deal with the liabilities of lifting a car.

[bbrown]

I would guess they are a bit above "say what" and just below "holy chit!"   

ROLF

[Buy early]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2003-Kingsley-Coach-Top-line-RV-Toy-Hauler-garage-under-bedroom-/180723108936?pt=RVs_Campers&hash=item2a13efcc48#ht_500wt_948

Motivated seller, nice rig.

[Shovelhead]

I have looked at them all, and owned 2, and I like Hydralift the best. They now have a lift for a trike. They also told me they could lift a Smart Car, but didn't want to deal with the liabilities of lifting a car.

I was looking at their trike version, it has an extra 200lb.s rated capacity, with the CVO Dyna having a wet weight of @ 698 lb.s  , that leaves enough to weld a nice custom smoker/grill assembly behind the bike !
 

[porthole]

I am really interested to see if anybody is running anything similar to this :

http://www.jonesrv.com/html/rv_motorcycle_lifts.html

There is a quality fabricator in Elkhart, IN that installs this type of lift. Top notch work and a fair price. MOR/ryde.

 If you trailer you are restricted to slower speeds  55 mph

News to me. Which state are you referring to?

[JCZ]

There is a quality fabricator in Elkhart, IN that installs this type of lift. Top notch work and a fair price. MOR/ryde.

News to me. Which state are you referring to?

California has a 55 MPH for trucks and vehicles pulling trailers.  I often see them doing 65 mph but the limit is 55.  I was pulled over in my Silverado for doing 65 last summer, pulling a Kendon two rail (taking our bikes over to Jim's).  I was doing about 63 mph.  He didn't give me a ticket.....just used it for an excuse to stop me and run me through the mill.

[mrmagloo]

I've been kicking around the idea of getting some sort of a toy hauler.

On the low end, you have the small 20 some foot towable, like the old Fleetwood Nitrous, and Gearboxes. There are a ton of builders in this arena, and you can find something decent in the $20K range, lightly used. The problem is, you need a 3/4 ton to pull most of these, unless you look at the few that are less than 20ft and man, those things are small inside.

So that point, I figured if I had to get a dedicated truck,. I might as well go to a 5th wheel, and again, there are a ton of them out there. In looking at all of the mfr's and checking reviews, etc, the Jayco Recon's pretty much are the best of the best, and are very, very nice. The cool thing right now is, you can get 25%+ off of these things new, so you might be able to get a new one for in the $50k range nicely equipped. Not bad.

From there I looked at actual Motor homes, either with a garage, or figuring on just getting a 4 place Wells Cargo for the back. By the time you realize you really have to get a diesel, and you peel away the moderate builders, and really begin focusing on the quality Mfr, you are easily very much in the $250K+ range, and can go considerably higher quick. Again, you can get some steep discounts, but you'll still be in the $200's for sure for a ~38ft+ rig.

After mulling it over, for me at least, it just makes much more sense to go with the 5th wheel. For araound $100K total, I can get a new top of the line trailer, and a loaded dually, for less than 1/2 the cost of a motorhome, with a better all around set up. Plus, I can use the dually for pulling the boat, etc,. so there's a bit more flexibility as well. Now I just have to find the funds! 

Anyway, that's the logic path I took when trying to find a direction and narrow down the options.

[Midnight Rider]

I'd like to do something like this myself in the future.  There are a ton of options out there to choose from, but to my thinking, the 5th wheel toyhauler makes the most practical sense, rather than a motorhome.  With a motorhome, aside from being more expensive, even if you have a bike attached, inside, or whatever, you're pretty much stuck getting around once you reach a destination to riding the bike.  With the 5th wheel toyhauler, you've got the best of three worlds...a nice truck, a nice trailer, and the option of riding the bike or driving the truck once you get set up at a RV site.  Most of the larger 5th wheel have at least 2 slideouts, a nice "master bedroom", and the garage area can be configured in multiple ways...couches that come down from the ceiling, beds that come down, or you can use it like a nice screened porch.  If you stay for extended periods of time in one location, the truck is very useful for going to the grocery store, out to eat, sightseeing when you might not be able to ride the bike for whatever reason, etc.  From a practical point of view, it just makes more sense to me than a motorhome...once you get these things set up at a site, it would be a PITA to move the thing just to go get groceries.  You can get some really good deals on really nice 5th wheel toyhaulers in the 36-42 foot range, particularly if you don't mind one a couple of years old, and then just find a nice Crew Cab truck capable of towing the weight.  You could do it all for under 100K, and have a more versitile set up than would be the case with a motorhome.  Plus, there are hundreds of Ford, Chevy, or Dodge dealers and independant shops if you have mechanical issues with the vehicle that you can't fix yourself.  Tires are less expensive too.

Just food for thought...

[mrmagloo]

Definitely under $100K.  In fact, with my post above, when I mentioned $100K, that was for a brand new Top of the Line Jayco decked out, and a Chevy LT dually, both with the expected discounts, etc.

If you look at used, say just a couple of year old, you could probably cut the total by another 25% to 40% for the whole package, if you shop carefully and are willing to travel a bit.