Buying a motorhome can be an exciting adventure, and as pleasurable or stressful as you want to make it. There are a lot of things to consider when buying a motorhome, and at times it can seem overwhelming. But if you go about it in a logical way and use the tips provided here you should be able to find the one that fits you and your needs best.

Of course, emotion will subtly creep in and try to take over your decision making process, but do your best to keep it at bay as much as possible. That doesn't mean that you don't want to even consider how attractive the coach is, because after all you will be living in it at least part of the time. But try to stick to doing your homework and keep some sense of practicality mixed in as well. Here are some tips to be able to find and select the right motorhome for you:

* Before making a large ticket purchase as important as a motorhome, you will need to get up-to-date information, and lots of it. You need to know what coaches are out there and familiarize yourself with their reputation and what they have to offer. One way to accomplish this is to start reading RV magazines as thoroughly as you can. If you can get your hands on back issues that go back for a year or so, that's even better. Your goal is to bring your knowledge up to date with the progress of the industry.

* There is no substitute for actually physically inspecting and investigating the latest motorhome offerings. So RV shows are an invaluable source of information where you can walk through coaches from different manufacturers and get a feel for what appeals to you and what doesn't. Usually there are RV shows taking place in a given area almost all the time, so just look online to find them and then plan ahead to attend. Even if you have to drive quite a distance, it's really worth it to get more comfortable with the whole motorhome shopping process. One warning though. Be sure not to let the RV sales people at these shows get you all excited and tempt you to jump in and buy a motorhome before you have completed your research and are well-informed. It's their job to make sales, but at this point it's your job to just say no.

* There are some great industry buyers guides available and the top two that come to mind are Trailer Life and Woodall's. Both of these companies also put out campground guides too, but every year they also publish a listing of the major RV brands and list the various floor plans and options available on each model. It's a great way to learn about each major brand of manufacturer and have an idea of what models they produce that you wish to look into further.

There are other ways to help be fully prepared to make a wise motorhome buying decision, so make sure to read about them in Part 2 of this article.