Making the Purchase

After returning from Florida with the Winnebago Brave we were convinced that we would enjoy traveling in a motorhome as well as using it for weekend camping outings. We discussed the cost of a new unit and the somewhat limited time we would have to use it but determined that it would be economically advantageous to own the unit rather than rent it for the 30 to 40 days each year we would want it. We even factored in the price of fuel and determined that we would still travel by motorhome even if gas reached the unbelievable price of $2.00 per gallon!

We had already done some shopping and a local salesperson did a good job selling us on the quality of a particular brand they carried. During one visit the sales person was showing us a nice used unit on their lot. We were sitting at the dining table talking and noticed that it was raining as we could hear the rain drops hitting the roof. We then walked to a different unit and as we looked around we noticed that we could not hear the rain, looking outside we noticed that it was still raining as hard as before. That of course led to a discussion of roof construction and the benefits of that manufacturer’s methods. These types of comparisons and discussions had given us an idea of the quality level we wanted and how to compare other brands for those same traits.

After we had a reference point we began some serious comparisons. We spent a considerable amount of time looking at different makes and models of motorhomes. We attended RV shows in Green Bay and Madison Wisconsin and drove to Sheboygan, Wausau and Racine to look at different units and talk to dealers. We tried to visit dealers on week days or when they were not busy and would have time to show a unit, compare it to other brands or models and tell us what it had to offer. The time spent looking and comparing allowed us to narrow our choice to two possible manufacturers.

John began to learn about chassis choices; we were looking at a class A coach in the 32 to 35 foot range. For a coach in the size we wanted a diesel seemed a bit of overkill in both weight rating and price, a gasoline power plant made the most sense to us. In 1999 there was not much choice if you were looking for a gasoline engine; GM had stopped building a class A motorhome chassis although there were coaches available on that platform. Workhorse had not started building a class A motorhome chassis so Ford was becoming the primary provider. John then compared the various gross vehicle weight ratings; GM had a platform rated at 16,500 lbs, Ford had two choices 18,000 lbs and 20,500 lbs. Most GM units of the size we were looking for had a rear tag axle. John did not want a tag axle; first there were two more tires to check and replace, second, most tag axles were added by the motor home manufacturer so service and repair issues became difficult which leads to reason three, the brakes on the tag axles seemed to be problematic. John wanted our motorhome to be built on a Ford chassis preferably with a 20,500 pound gross vehicle weight rating which would allow ample cargo carrying capacity.

With our choices narrowed to two manufacturers and with a preferred chassis in mind we then began to concentrate on floor plans. Sleeping capacity was not an important issue for us; we only needed a comfortably sized bedroom with a queen bed. Sandy wanted a kitchen with a fair amount of counter space but didn’t want the area to dominate the coach. We both liked the dining table with chairs rather than a booth. In the bathroom we wanted a shower rather than combination tub/shower and John’s preference was for a separate room for the toilet (sweet solitude).

Above all of these considerations we wanted one thing, storage space, room for kitchen utensils, food, cloths, shoes, driving related items, bath towels and related items, extra sheets, blankets and pillows, bicycles, bike bags and tools, outdoor chairs & tables, a grill and camp fire supplies, an outdoor mat and lights, a tool box with some spare fuses and other parts, electric cords, plumbing and holding tank supplies, (you get the idea), we wanted lots of room for stuff.

The choice finally came down to two different units that we saw at the Green Bay RV show. The units were similar in size, quality and had all the attributes we were looking for. These units were on opposite ends of the show and we walked back and forth comparing everything including the construction of the kitchen drawers. Finally, after too many trips from one unit to the other John sat down, looked at Sandy and said, every time I step into this coach I feel like I’m home; the decision had been made.

After choosing the unit we wanted it was time to discuss price; now what! We have never dickered on anything like this! As long as we were going to be spending this kind of money we decided to order a unit that had the options we wanted in the colors we preferred. We did not have a trade so it was a pretty straight deal, how much is it going to cost and what kind of discount are we getting. In the end we settled on a 19% discount from a dealer within 30 miles from home, we could have ordered the same unit from a large dealer in Florida for 3% less but we appreciated the help this salesperson had given us through this whole process and for the first purchase liked having a local dealer to call on. Looking back I’m not as happy with the deal as I was at the time but we placed our order on February 27, 1999. The expected delivery date given was May 30, 1999 for our first motorhome:

A 1999 Holiday Rambler Vacationer 33PS, palomino in color on a Ford chassis (20,500 pound gross vehicle weight rating). Options included an HWH leveling system, rear vision system, drivers door, remote heated mirrors, CB radio prep, raised panel refrigerator door, DDS pre-wire prep, 6 gallon gas/electric water heater, day/night shades, patio awning, attic fan, AM/FM CD disc player radio, free standing dinette with two extra folding chairs and an in-line water filter for the kitchen.

Home in the Brave, our first trip by motorhome

We picked up the Winnebago in Green Bay on a cold and somewhat snowy February afternoon. After a quick walkthrough and with very little instructions John drove away with Sandy following in the car. In February the streets are narrowed by the snow that has been plowed off the road to the curbing, John was trying to stay in the right lane of the street at a reduced speed as he got use to driving the vehicle. While rounding a curve the right rear tires went up onto the snow and ice along the curb, the tires then slid down off of the ice causing the rear of the coach to swing out into the left lane. Luckily there were no cars beside the motorhome and it was a quick lesson that the rear wheels tracked wider than the fronts. After our first fuel stop we drove home to Chilton and parked safely in our driveway.

Sandy had a good packing list prepared and the Brave easily swallowed all our supplies including bicycles, outdoor chairs and a small dog kennel. We packed our cloths, kitchen supplies and enough food for the two week trip and found there was plenty of space to spare. The owner would not allow us to tow a vehicle so we would be limited to riding our bikes or driving the motorhome to see the sights.

The next morning we were up early and off on our first motorhome adventure. The weather was good and John found the Winnebago well mannered and comfortable to drive. John was a supervisor in the patrol division of the Sheriff’s Department and was accustomed to spending hours behind the wheel, we found it easy to put miles behind us. We drove to central Kentucky that first day; it was still below freezing and well after dark so we decided to spend our first night in a hotel. We had good driving conditions on day two and we made it to Jennings Florida before we stopped for the night. We were able to get the plumbing working that night and took several walks around the campground before enjoying our first night in the Brave. In the morning we showered in the motorhome, unhooked and were off to Marco Island in Naples.

We spent two nights at the KOA on Marco Island. The campground was nice and the immediate neighbors were pleasant. We rode our bicycles out of the park for a tour of the area but were not up to driving the motorhome downtown so we relaxed and enjoyed the weather at the campground. While packing our bikes into the rear compartment of the Brave John was approached by an older woman who asked “Are we supposed to be impressed?” John said excuse me and she repeated her question. Now John could have said “Don’t be to impressed because I don’t own it” but he said the first thing that came to mind and told her “I really don’t !#@*ing care if your impressed or not”; she said OK and walked away, so much for making a good first impression with the neighborhood.

The next day we drove South on US 1 to the KOA at Fiesta Key. We had read good reviews about this park and we were not disappointed. We backed into a waterfront site that we had reserved and took our first of many walks around this park enjoying the flowers, weather and our first Florida Keys sunset. We spent three nights at Fiesta Key but could have stayed longer. Our only time away from the park was a short bike ride to Long Key State Park where we walked the nature trail.

Our next drive was south to the KOA on Sugar Loaf Key where we had another waterfront site reserved. This was also a nice park with pleasant neighbors. The large diesel rig next to us towed an enclosed trailer containing their bright yellow Corvette; John considered walking over and asking the neighbor if we were supposed to be impressed but John had a pretty good idea what his answer would probably be. Anyway, they were good neighbors and they were able to hook us up to a shared water source using a “Y” to attach our hose. During the drive from Fiesta to Sugar Loaf we stopped at Bahia Honda State Park. This is a beautiful park and we were not able to spend enough time there because we had to leave our buddy Spunky alone in the motorhome and the day was getting hot. We wanted to visit this park again.

We took the Brave on a day trip to Key West. We found a shady parking spot and were able to leave some windows open for the dog while we reconnoitered the area and took a walk down Duval Street to see the sights and do some shopping. The chickens that roam the area were out and we saw Hemingway’s home and Sloppy Joes Bar, but we did not stay for the Key West sunset. We planned to return someday and spend more time.

After three nights at Sugar Loaf we drove back to the mainland to our next stop at Fort Wilderness in Disney World. This was another campground that we considered a must see and we were not disappointed. Once parked at our site we were able to tour the entire resort and all the parks using Disney transportation. We also enjoyed riding our bicycles around this large campground. After three days enjoying Disney World we had to think about returning to Wisconsin.

We had been to Orlando a couple years earlier and had stayed in a hotel, after a few days of hotel living we were ready to start for home. As we ate dinner on our last night at Disney we discussed our trip and Sandy asked if we were looking forward to returning home. Although we were on something like day twelve of this trip we both said we would like to move on to another location but we were not looking forward to driving back to Wisconsin, we felt as if we were at home in the Winnebago. At that point we both knew we were going to buy a motorhome when we returned, although it was a somewhat expensive trip we had proved to ourselves we could be happy with this lifestyle.

The next morning we left Fort Wilderness and drove north to Panama City Beach in the Florida panhandle. We had reservations at Emerald Beach RV Resort which was the most upscale park we stayed in. The park was very nice with cement pads surrounded by lush grass and plants. When we backed into our site (located toward the back of the park), John found that the sewer hose was not long enough to reach the hookup. We walked to the office and along the way spotted a nice pull-through site between two large bus conversions where we could reach the hookups. At the office we asked if we could change sites; we were politely told that the site we had requested was reserved for “premium” motorhomes and they loaned us a longer sewer hose, now these people were definitely not impressed with our ride.

We were only able to spend one night in Panama City and the beach was not within walking distance so we stopped at a restaurant for our first meal outside of the motorhome. The next morning we were on the road early driving north, about midday we stopped at a wayside and were able to open all of the hot and cold water drains, we did not have anti-freeze to pump into the system. We made it to the north side of Louisville and spent our last night in an Indiana hotel.

We were home the following evening where we unpacked the Brave and Sandy started the first of many loads of wash. The following morning was Sunday and we returned the Brave to the dealer, although the dealership was closed we called the owner at home and he instructed us to leave it parked with the furnace on and he would stop later and move it inside. The Winnebago Brave had proved to be a reliable and comfortable home, I think we stopped at some RV dealers on the drive back to Chilton and started shopping for our first motorhome.

Renting a motorhome

Renting a motorhome is not a cheap way to go on vacation. There is vehicle rent, mileage, insurance, and gas; after you accept that, there is the cost of the vacation including campground rental, food and activities. Our plan was to drive to Florida and travel south along the Keys to Key West; we wanted to spend two weeks on this experience. Rental including mileage was estimated at $3,500.00 in 1999. As potential first time motorhome buyers we felt this was a mandatory expense before signing a sales contract for an $80,000.00 motorhome.

We contacted a large RV dealer in Green Bay Wisconsin that rented both class C and class A motorhomes. In early fall we signed a contract to reserve a class A coach for two weeks during February 1999. After the coach was reserved we planed our itinerary and made campground reservations in Florida and the Keys, we were set!

In early January 1999 we received a call from the motorhome dealer who explained that General Motors had stopped building class A motorhome chassis’s and as a result there was a shortage of class A coaches, because of this shortage they could provide a class C rental but they would not have a class A for us. I explained that we wanted to drive and live in a class A coach to be sure it was enjoyable before we purchased one; the salesman explained he could only give us a class C coach. The dealer was told that we had a contract for a class A coach and that he had better get busy and find one for us.

The salesman called us a day or so later and told me he had found another RV dealer in Green Bay who had a recent model class A Winnebago Brave and it was available for rent during the time period we needed. After finding that the Brave was a very nice unit we signed another contract and received a refund from the first dealer, we were set!

In late January we received a call from a person who told us that they were renting the Brave for the week before we had it reserved, they had decided to extend their vacation and felt that we should delay our vacation for a week. We explained that our vacation was scheduled with our employers and could not be changed on this short notice, we also explained that we had reserved camp sites in the Keys months ago and were not going to try to change those reservations. The dealer called the next day and asked us to reconsider as the other couple was going to cancel their rental, after explaining we couldn’t change our vacation plans 10 days prior to it’s start he assured us the unit would be there for us, we were set!