I have been lurking for a few days and have read hundreds of posts. I have my house on the market and plan to buy a coach when it sells. I am a decent mechanic and repair person. I am 70 years old and in good health and plan on full timing a few years. Thinking I want 28-30 foot coach since I will be by myself. Is that big enough??

OBH

It is all personal preference. With full timing, I would look at closet and storage space. So much depends on how much stuff you will have with you. If you will be towing a toad, consider a small pickup with a shell.

Waber, I'm 76 with a 33' coach. There's still two of us, but I haven't convinced the other half that we should full-time. My preference was the 28', but we ended up with 33'. Quite a few couples live nicely in 28' . It should be a cinch for one.

In 35 years of RV-ing, I've concluded a decent shower, a good couch and/or easy chair, a good bed, and good ventilation, are the critlical factors for extended living. You can get all that in a 28' Barth.

With any older coach, being a mechanic is good. In the Barth, high quality is there in the construction & finish, but the mechanics, and the appliances are standard, they wear out just like they do in cheap coaches..

All RVs need to be maintained. IMHO Barths, on average, take less.

Waber welcome to Barthmobile. Sounds like you are making the decision many of us dream of.

Olroy hit the nail on the head with the personal comfort items. I have been repetitious on my need for at least 3 comfortable sitting/reclining/lay positions. If you sit at a straight up dinette too long you get that lower back think going on.

With our 28 foot we have a comfortable couch, two barrel chairs. Of course you can lay in bed and read and I even enjoy sitting in the drivers or passengers chair to watch TV. If you pull it all the way back and recline, it is perfect.

You add on to that a large shower, overhead storage every where and a large wardrobe, we are quite happy in just 28 foot. We could get used to Smith's 38 foot "if we had to".

The shower is a big deal, unless you like going back and forth to the campground facilities in your clogs in 35 degree weather. A decent size toilet is a must for me. I'm 67 years old and 170 pounds and these little things that are sized for kids just don't cut it. Thetford makes a couple of good ones including a 500 dollar unit tha'ts full elongated residential and electric.

Like Bill says, a lot is just personal preference. Another thought is that some like the going and some like the staying there. We are not campground people, altho we love meeting folks. Being long weekenders, we love the process of driving and getting to somewhere that we planned to go to see something specific. The idea of a toad becomes very important if you plan to stay in an area for a while. A 28' unit is easy to get around in, but a toad would be a lot nicer. And if you do get a toad, then diesel pusher vs gas puller comes into question. I know that a 454 can pull a small toad with no problem, but it does add some wear and tear on the engine. A diesel pusher doesn't even know it's back there. If I was full timing, I'd have a 30' diesel pusher with a small pickup with cover for extra stuff just like Bill suggested. By the way, I live in NC and would be happy to help you find a unit. There may be one in Shelby still.
Jim

You said
I am a decent mechanic and repair person. I am 70 years old and in good health and plan on full timing a few years.

This sounds like a very solid foundation. The only thing I would add as a sailor is that there is never room for everything in a boat or a Barth. In California 30 feet is the largest size they allow as the state parks next to the beach.

Have fun.

Tim

waber, I will be fulltiming in my Barth and it is 22 ft.It all depends on what you want to do. Just go for it if you need a larger rig later you can get one right?

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Thanks for the welcome and excellent advice. I feel a 28 foot coach will be plenty large enough. I plan on towing a 2000 Ford Ranger with a tool box on the back. Only other things not carried by most will be a couple of ham radios and an amplifier. Main concern will be a GOOD generator and large enough water supply. If not for the water issue I would probably buy a GMC coach.

Waber

quote:

Originally posted by Waber:
Main concern will be a GOOD generator and large enough water supply. If not for the water issue I would probably buy a GMC coach.

Waber

It is pretty to carry extra water in the toad. We carry extra 7 gal jugs and use the coach's water pump to suck water up into the tank.



[This message has been edited by bill h (edited June 20, 2005).]