Hello, my name is Francis.

My wife and I are looking to purchase a Redwood RV this year. We are going to use the RV as our home traveling around to see this great country. As we live in New Hampshire we have to gather our information from the web as there is no Redwood dealer within 350 miles.

That being said any guidance from those who have already been through this experience would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You
Francis

Unless you're wanting new, do I have a deal for you!
https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2013-Crossroads-REDWOOD-36FB-5000739184
Seriously, we're trying to downsize after 10 years of fulltime traveling & start just going back/forth to grandkids.
If you are interested shoot a pm my way.
As far as fulltiming in a RW, we've been in ours for the last years with minimal issues, I would highly recommend them. You can spend more money & get heavier, but in my opinion you can't go wrong with the RW.
We've been in it in extreme heat/cold & did well in both, of course once down below zero or above 110 they are rvs not stick & brick houses so except to be a bit uncomfortable in both extremes. Typically we follow good warm weather & most times avoid the extremes if at all poosible.
Good luck in your new adventure! Hope you find the perfect rv for your needs/wants. If we were to do this over again, I can't think of one thing we would change.
Welcome to the forum!

Greetings Francis,

There is a TON of responses to this question under PERSPECTIVE OWNERS WITH LOTS OF QUESTIONS. Here is a quick link. http://www.redwoodrvowners-dev.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&view=topic&catid=32&id=1320&Itemid=159

You'll find a lot of suggestions in this category.

With that in mind, try to buy your first unit the first time. Not the 3rd time.

Are you going to spend the rest of you life in this rig or see the country in 30 days and be done? That can make a difference.

There are a lot of floor models. Everyone has their favorites. We like the bigger kitchen and storage of the GK. We also like the FL (front living) but find storage a challenge. The new RD (rear den) is an interesting floor plan. This is just personal to everyone. you'll have to find a floor plan that suits you.

Keep in mind that there is NO SUCH THING as a "perfect" rig. You'll be lucky to find 80% of what you want in ANY rig.

Then, there is the construction factor. Don't believe the brochures. Ours raved about the wonderful insulation. I'm having trouble finding it. We pulled the front closet shoe boxes to find nothing after the brochure bragged about how great it was. I could go on. Just expect that no matter what brand you buy, you can plan on either having it fixed or fix it yourself. I would propose that right now is a bad time to be buying any new unit. Record sales mean junk vehicles. Profits come before quality. Don't just think this is a Redwood issue. Do a web search for each brand you're considering. If you are buying new and don't know what you're doing, your can get burned. If you don't know what to look for, I suggest hiring an RV Inspector. Even then, you might get shafted by un-knowledgeable "professionals" but it's better than nothing. Manufacturer's are dwindling. 85-90% of the RV are made by just 5 manufacturers (and shrinking). It will be interesting to see who ends up the lone ranger.

And don't count on any support by your government. There are no regulations on the RV industry.

So having said all of that, I hope that this does not discourage you from the full-time adventure. We're doing it. It just cost twice as much as we thought to get the rig "fixed". But we wouldn't trade it for anything (except a better rig).

BTW, have you established your budgets? Do you have back-up plans if the RV life doesn't work out? Have you established your home domicile? Will your health insurance work in other States? Do you have emergency Medi-Vac insurance for when your out on the road? Which cell service will you use? Do you need internet? How about TV or satellite? Are you prepared for break downs? Which Tow Vehicle do you have? Do you have the correct State Driver's License (in Texas, this size rig requires a Class A) Will the Tow Vehicle or RV be overloaded? Are you staying seasonal, monthly, weekly or daily in each site? There are just a thousand things you need to work out before committing.

If you have stayed with me this long, here is a great link to a lot of knowledge: https://wandrlymagazine.com/article/fulltime-travel/

We hope to see you out there on day! Happy Trails!

Francis,

Welcome to the Redwood Owners Group and congratulations on considering a Redwood.

We have owned our 36FL for 5 years, having completed over 30,000 miles throughout North America. As this is our first RV, we spent about 5 years researching the industry before purchase. The primary reasons we opted for Redwood was a quality product at a reasonable price, with better than industry standard warranty, a perfect floorplan and excellent customer service.

You can expect a plethora of opinions regarding quality, but look big picture and consider the entire industry. Yes, Redwood have experienced some quality issues, but so have other manufacturers in higher price brackets. In our experience, Redwood completely addressed all issue we experienced while under warranty.

I firmly believe that finding a quality dealer is one of the key considerations in purchasing an RV. Not only a quality dealer, but one that you have ready access to, as many dealers will not accept warranty work unless you purchased from them. If they do complete work, you are in the queue behind all their own customers, which can be months.

For options, Redwood offer disk brakes and at the rally we have a vendor that provides excellent pricing on upgrades. We had the factory electric brakes for 4 years and had no complaints, but the current disk brakes are definitively an improvement. We have also upgraded our suspension to Centrepoint, while is an excellent improvement. Many others have upgraded to MOR/ryde IS. You should also check the speed rating of the standard factory tires to confirm they meet your driving habits.

The annual rally is 3rd week in July at Shipshewana, Indiana. We have numerous informative presentations, meeting with Redwood management, Redwood factory tour and complimentary service from Redwood & Lippert factory technicians. Even if you don't have a coach by July, attending the Rally would provide excellent information on the brand. We also have a 3-day seminar on repairs & maintenance, presented by Terry Cooper, the Texas RV Professor. Check out the 2018 Rally topic for more information.

Hi Francis,

Welcome to the ROG.

My 2 cents are:

• Attend the Redwood Owners Group rally in July. Details and registration will be posted here on the website in the coming weeks.
• Attend Howard and Linda's "How to Fulltime" rally in April if you can. Their rallies are very educational for anyone full timing or planning on full timing. Info is here: http://www.rv-dreams.com/rally.html

Again welcome and hope to meet you down the road sometime.

Ken is right about RV-Dreams. We still use information we learned at that rally.

The rally is a great opportunity to meet other RW owners and get some great information.

We used to have a Redwood 36RL. We loved the coach but had a lot of issues including bent axles. We upgraded to 8000 lbs axles and so are happy to see that all Redwoods now have 8000 lb axles. We traded in our unit for a class A but are ready to go back to a redwood again. We're not full timing but for sure the Redwood is the perfect coach. We've had 5 other fifth wheels and the Redwood has them all beat. Have they made any more improvements to the Redwoods other than axles?