4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Motor Home Magazine Good, but not great!
Date of Review: Oct 24, 2000
I have been a subscriber to this magazine for more than 10 years. Obviously, I give some value to this magazine after having read it for so long. They have a number of very valuable columns for the motorhome owner.
The Hot Line column helps RV'ers to resolve problems with vendors and manufacturers. The writer has a fair record of successfully resolving the problems and he generally is fair to all parties. Chuck Campbell is relatively new to the magazine, but is doing a respectable job.
Coach & Chassis deals with problems of the motor home such as weight capacities, repair of appliances and the coach body, and related items. The author, Wes Caughlan is knowledgeable and writes well. His advice can usually be relied upon.
Power Train is a column which deals with problems of the engine and related items. It is an excellent source of solutions for problems which are unique to the motor home chassis. Ken Freund who authors the column is very knowledgeable but more important, is willing to admit when he does not know an answer. His extensive background in motorhome service is very apparent to the reader.
The reviews of after market products are usually well written and accurate. But reviews of the new motor homes must be taken with a large grain of salt. It should be noted that in most issues, the featured motorhome review is adjacent to a full page add for the product to be reviewed. One must always remember that the primary source of revenue for this magazine is from advertising by the manufacturers of motor homes. Perhaps that is the reason that in ten years of reading the magazine, I have never seen a negative motor home review. Reviews are well written and the facts of the review are generally accurate. But negatives are glossed over lightly, or not mentioned at all. These reviews are worth reading as long as one realizes that it is not to be completely trusted.
The magazine also has travel features which are usually very entertaining and informative. They can be quite helpful in planning a trip.
This is a magazine which is worth the price and which can be very helpful as long as you do not put undue reliance in the opinions of the reviewers.
The magazine is part of the Affinity Group, a holding company which also owns Trailer Life magazine, Camping World stores, and many other businesses which are related to the RV industry. Thus they are biased, but worth reading even so.