Motorhome purchase? Pros/Cons! - Page 4

cute fuzzy bunny · 01-10-2006, 12:43 PM

Hmm, when I unzip, I get 80%. Weird.

Theres a crack joke in here somewhere too. I think the database pushbuttons screwed it up though.

MJ · 01-10-2006, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by REWahoo!

Howard, that's the general idea.

let's see. RV is in the middle of nature, late at night wife get up without waking husband to go out to enjoy the stars. comes back to the RV thinking husband is still sleeping doesn't turn on the light. husband wakes up hearing some noise, panics, takes out the 12 gauge, boom and voila, instead divorce.

BUM · 01-12-2006, 10:12 AM

Where theres a subject, you can bet theres a Yahoo! group.

Guns and rv's go together...well here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RV_SAG/

tozz · 01-16-2006, 11:34 AM

A while ago I asked one of the more prolific posters here to shed some light on the emotional component from the pro gun folks that typcially arises in many firearms discussions.* I sincerely wanted to understand it.* I received a (typically?) trite response.*

However, after slumming around the private campground world last fall and meeting some exceedingly scary local denizens, I am beginning to see the light.* The emotional component is fear.* They are simply ascared.

and I may have to git me a gun!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BUM

Guns and rv's go together...well here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RV_SAG/

tozz · 01-16-2006, 11:50 AM

I purchased an Itasca Navion last fall and am quite satisfied.* It's not for everyone, but might be worth looking into since you seem to want a smaller vehicle.* It's nimble and gets good fuel mileage.

Sheryl mentioned the Rialta.* I had been looking at them for years but ultimately decided that it was just a tad too small.* I think it's one of the more attractive motorhomes out there though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gReeNy

The VW campervan does seem like a great comprimise... but is there anything out there that compares... perhaps made by toyota etc.

old woman · 01-17-2006, 01:20 AM

My boyfriend has an 11.5 foot camper on his pickup. We have been using it 5 years some for camping some he lived in it near work a few nights a week when working double shifts. Taking it camping is nice because it can haul a boat, but I usually take my truck to haul the boat. It has a little shower, range, frig and air conditioner with a queen sized bed so very nice for getting away for a weekend. We leave food and clothes in it so we just need to pack parishable food to be set to go. Not only do you save on motels but you are where you want to be not in the next town, we like being alone in the forest or at a lake or river. You don't have to go anywhere to get coffee or a meal and the cost of food is just like at home.
We got the truck camper because we haul a boat if we were going to travel without a boat we would pick a 5th wheel they are bigger. A motorhome leaves you without a truck to run around in unless you bring a spare. If your motorhome is in the shop you are stuck in a strange place with no car. If you blow an engine with a 5th wheel you can just buy a new truck.

Sheryl · 01-17-2006, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tozz

I purchased an Itasca Navion last fall and am quite satisfied.* It's not for everyone, but might be worth looking into since you seem to want a smaller vehicle.* It's nimble and gets good fuel mileage.

I like the look of that - thanks Tozz.* * Another question:

Has anyone ever tried putting kayaks on top of a motorhome?* Would you exceed overpass heights?*

kat · 01-17-2006, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tozz

I purchased an Itasca Navion last fall and am quite satisfied. It's not for everyone, but might be worth looking into since you seem to want a smaller vehicle. It's nimble and gets good fuel mileage.

Sheryl mentioned the Rialta. I had been looking at them for years but ultimately decided that it was just a tad too small. I think it's one of the more attractive motorhomes out there though.

Tozz, does the Itasca Navion only take diesel? (I just looked at them at a site I found through google.) And is diesel what all RVs use? Wondering because there was just a news story here in NY about how it's harder to find diesel, and I suspect the remote places I'd want to go are worse off.

kate

**Martha** · 01-17-2006, 10:41 AM

Kate, Tozz's motorhome, on the mercedes sprinter chassis, takes only diesel. This is one of the reasons its milege is so good. There are both gas and diesel motorhomes.

We have a diesel car and we have not had trouble getting diesel. Though we have not been to the northeast with the car.

Sheryl, I saw someone who made a very elaborate sea kayak rack for his class C motorhome. It was too hard to lift them up there by hand, so he created a lift system with pulleys to lift the kayaks unto the racks he built on top of his motorhome. Very nice. I would like something similar on our motorhome.

yakers · 01-17-2006, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheryl

I like the look of that - thanks Tozz. Another question:

Has anyone ever tried putting kayaks on top of a motorhome? Would you exceed overpass heights?

Well yes, I put them on my VW camper all the time on a Yakama roof rack. When I had a Class C camper I also would carry kayaks on top. I used the Yakama side pieces and just a piece of pipe accross the width of the camper. It worked OK but it is a lot of work to assemble and get the boats up & down and it makes the side wind profile even worse. But it can be done. I strongly suggest not trying to set up & load solo.

kat · 01-17-2006, 10:53 AM

Thanks Martha!

Yakers -- and everybody -- is there a VW camper made these days? Friends tell me that's what I want. I'm a novice on all this, but they've heard me wax on a lot....

Thanks!

kate

Sheryl · 01-17-2006, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yakers

I strongly suggest not trying to set up & load solo.

No - I don't even put my boat on the RAV alone anymore. One too many lower back injuries.

audreyh1 · 01-18-2006, 10:50 AM

(pretty late in this thread - this will probably get lost)

Owning a motorhome is a luxury. Don't try to justify it economically. Economics is not the point.

The main CON - is, it's an expensive luxury.

The PROS - it is so dang fun to travel this way, if you can afford it, who cares about the cost? The purpose of life is not to economically justify your pleasures.

You can indeed reduce the CON significantly by buying a not-too-late model RV. You'll be "wasting" a LOT less money.

But, you'll almost never get your money back even if you try to compare it to other modes of travel.

But why does that matter?

Audrey
P.S. I actually live in a motorhome. i.e. - I'm a fulltimer. I don't own a house. I live a totally mobile lifestyle. It can't be economically justified. I'm having a blast with this lifestyle.

brewer12345 · 01-18-2006, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1

P.S.* I actually live in a motorhome.* i.e. - I'm a fulltimer.* I don't own a house.* I live a totally mobile lifestyle.* It can't be economically justified.* I'm having a blast with this lifestyle.

Audrey:

I'm not so sure it can't be economically justified. When I compare what it costs me to live in the burbs vs. the budget I see at www.rv-dreams.com, it looks like I could save a LOT of money by full-timing.

audreyh1 · 01-18-2006, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345

Audrey:

I'm not so sure it can't be economically justified.* When I compare what it costs me to live in the burbs vs. the budget I see at www.rv-dreams.com, it looks like I could save a LOT of money by full-timing.

In most cases I doubt that - when compared with home ownership. The problem is the RV is a depreciating asset. A house is an appreciating asset. It's very hard to overcome that difference even when living very cheaply with a lower-cost RV.

Yes, there are some people who manage it, but they are perhaps willing to buy a super cheap RV, and live a very frugal lifestyle. Most people aren't interested in living quite that frugally.

Personally, I don't see the point of TRYING to economically justify owning an RV. What matters is enjoying your lifestyle and just figure what tradeoffs you need to make to afford it.

Audrey

brewer12345 · 01-18-2006, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1

In most cases I doubt that - when compared with home ownership.* The problem is the RV is a depreciating asset.* A house is an appreciating asset.* It's very hard to overcome that difference even when living very cheaply with a lower-cost RV.

Yes, there are some people who manage it, but they are perhaps willing to buy a super cheap RV, and live a very frugal lifestyle.* Most people aren't interested in living quite that frugally.

Personally, I don't see the point of TRYING to economically justify owning an RV.* What matters is enjoying your lifestyle and just figure what tradeoffs you need to make to afford it.

Audrey

I hear you, I am just trying to square away what I have seen with what I currently shell out. I figure I spend $6k in RE taxes and $3k in misc. maintenence on a supposedly appreciating asset that I can never actually cash out of. $9k a year is an awful lot of depreciation...

audreyh1 · 01-18-2006, 11:57 AM

Oh - $9K a year is easily seen on a depreciating motorhome or trailer and truck - especially if purchased relatively new.

Actually that $3K a year on miscellaneous maintenance? RVs easily cost more than that to maintain annually. Especially as they get older.

Personally - the property taxes I no longer pay now go towards fuel I would have not bought without this lifestyle. As fuel goes up I'll probably eventually end up paying as much as I used to in property taxes.

And your house will probably appreciate to cover most of those annual expenses.* Or you can always find a more economical house to own or move to a lower tax location.

Our monthly expenses are quite a bit lower than what they were when we owned a house. *That's great. *But when I look at what I paid for our motorhome - any savings, even over many, many years, go right out the window!!

I took a look at that site.

Looks like they used some of the equity of their home to pay for the up-front costs of getting into full timing - about $140K.

When they decide to by another house - quit fulltiming - where are they going to get the money? *They aren't going to get a large amount back out of their rig.

If they fulltime for 10 years and need to upgrade or replace the trailer or the tow vehicle (more likely) - where is the money going to come for that? *Replacements go up in price while rigs you own go down in value.

Their 2005 budget doesn't show any major maintenance items yet. *That's going to happen too after a few years.

So while you are running around enjoying the lower monthly expenses (not including depreciation) of RV living, you had better also be saving for the big ticket items that will be coming down the road INCLUDING the eventual need to replace your rig.

The thing is with house ownership, due to appreciation you usually eventually break even (usually much better) on upgrades, maintenance and repairs. *And homes don't wear out as quickly and need to be replaced like things on wheels do.

And most people who get into fulltiming invest the proceeds from the house towards the future when they stop and wish to be a home owner again.

It is generally considered unwise to use the equity from your primary home real estate to buy depreciating assets like RVs. *So that kind of means you need to already have enough money to "blow" on an RV without ever expecting to get the money back in order to afford that lifestyle. *Kind of increases the barrier to entry - sure. *So pretty much finding the least expensive rig you think will give you the lifestyle you want is about the smartest thing you can do financially.

Some people still use the proceeds from the sale of their home because that's the only way they can afford to go fulltime and they don't care if someday they may be stuck paying rent for the rest of their lives. *As long as they make that tradeoff with their eyes wide open - fine. *It's an informed choice.

Audrey

nwsteve · 01-18-2006, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1

Personally, I don't see the point of TRYING to economically justify owning an RV.* What matters is enjoying your lifestyle and just figure what tradeoffs you need to make to afford it.
Audrey

Audrey and another poster have this right--it is about lifestyle.* Trying to do positive economics on a depreciating vs appreciating assets is mostly futile.
Recognize the RV allows you to have a set of experiences that are not easily replicated (sailing maybe but it has other issues).
The relatively low expense of fulltiming just helps make the experience easier.*
nwsteve

ex_CFO_now_RVer · 01-18-2006, 01:54 PM

Its not the first RV $outlay, thats scary, its that you might like RVing and have to buy the 2nd and 3rd RV later on.* When we purchased our motorhome, shelling out over $200,000, we joked about not liking RVing and selling the RV quickly, thus reducing the financial bath that we were undertaking.* So far we have enjoyed the experience with over 100 nights RVing in 2005.

Dave

01-10-2006, 12:43 PM	#61
cute fuzzy bunny Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ... Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Losing my whump Posts: 22,527	Re: Motorhome purchase? Pros/Cons! Hmm, when I unzip, I get 80%. Weird. Theres a crack joke in here somewhere too. I think the database pushbuttons screwed it up though. __________________ Many an optimist has become rich by buying out a pessimist

01-12-2006, 10:12 AM	#63
BUM Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 1,556	Re: Motorhome purchase? Pros/Cons! Where theres a subject, you can bet theres a Yahoo! group. Guns and rv's go together...well here http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RV_SAG/ __________________ In a panamax down by the river.

01-17-2006, 01:20 AM	#66
old woman Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 266	Re: Motorhome purchase? Pros/Cons! My boyfriend has an 11.5 foot camper on his pickup. We have been using it 5 years some for camping some he lived in it near work a few nights a week when working double shifts. Taking it camping is nice because it can haul a boat, but I usually take my truck to haul the boat. It has a little shower, range, frig and air conditioner with a queen sized bed so very nice for getting away for a weekend. We leave food and clothes in it so we just need to pack parishable food to be set to go. Not only do you save on motels but you are where you want to be not in the next town, we like being alone in the forest or at a lake or river. You don't have to go anywhere to get coffee or a meal and the cost of food is just like at home. We got the truck camper because we haul a boat if we were going to travel without a boat we would pick a 5th wheel they are bigger. A motorhome leaves you without a truck to run around in unless you bring a spare. If your motorhome is in the shop you are stuck in a strange place with no car. If you blow an engine with a 5th wheel you can just buy a new truck.

01-17-2006, 10:41 AM	#69
Martha Administrator Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: minnesota Posts: 10,065	Re: Motorhome purchase? Pros/Cons! Kate, Tozz's motorhome, on the mercedes sprinter chassis, takes only diesel. This is one of the reasons its milege is so good. There are both gas and diesel motorhomes. We have a diesel car and we have not had trouble getting diesel. Though we have not been to the northeast with the car. Sheryl, I saw someone who made a very elaborate sea kayak rack for his class C motorhome. It was too hard to lift them up there by hand, so he created a lift system with pulleys to lift the kayaks unto the racks he built on top of his motorhome. Very nice. I would like something similar on our motorhome. __________________ . Do not rely on the information provided--my posts are not to be taken as legal advice. Needless to say you must consult with your legal representative. I am not responsible for errors. If I offended you with cya I apologize. If I did not, I tried.

01-17-2006, 10:53 AM	#71
kat Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 468	Re: Motorhome purchase? Pros/Cons! Thanks Martha! Yakers -- and everybody -- is there a VW camper made these days? Friends tell me that's what I want. I'm a novice on all this, but they've heard me wax on a lot.... Thanks! kate

01-18-2006, 10:50 AM	#73
audreyh1 Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,222	Re: Motorhome purchase? Pros/Cons! (pretty late in this thread - this will probably get lost) Owning a motorhome is a luxury. Don't try to justify it economically. Economics is not the point. The main CON - is, it's an expensive luxury. The PROS - it is so dang fun to travel this way, if you can afford it, who cares about the cost? The purpose of life is not to economically justify your pleasures. You can indeed reduce the CON significantly by buying a not-too-late model RV. You'll be "wasting" a LOT less money. But, you'll almost never get your money back even if you try to compare it to other modes of travel. But why does that matter? Audrey P.S. I actually live in a motorhome. i.e. - I'm a fulltimer. I don't own a house. I live a totally mobile lifestyle. It can't be economically justified. I'm having a blast with this lifestyle.

01-18-2006, 11:57 AM	#77
audreyh1 Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,222	Re: Motorhome purchase? Pros/Cons! Oh - $9K a year is easily seen on a depreciating motorhome or trailer and truck - especially if purchased relatively new. Actually that $3K a year on miscellaneous maintenance? RVs easily cost more than that to maintain annually. Especially as they get older. Personally - the property taxes I no longer pay now go towards fuel I would have not bought without this lifestyle. As fuel goes up I'll probably eventually end up paying as much as I used to in property taxes. And your house will probably appreciate to cover most of those annual expenses.* Or you can always find a more economical house to own or move to a lower tax location. Our monthly expenses are quite a bit lower than what they were when we owned a house. That's great. But when I look at what I paid for our motorhome - any savings, even over many, many years, go right out the window!! I took a look at that site. Looks like they used some of the equity of their home to pay for the up-front costs of getting into full timing - about $140K. When they decide to by another house - quit fulltiming - where are they going to get the money? They aren't going to get a large amount back out of their rig. If they fulltime for 10 years and need to upgrade or replace the trailer or the tow vehicle (more likely) - where is the money going to come for that? Replacements go up in price while rigs you own go down in value. Their 2005 budget doesn't show any major maintenance items yet. That's going to happen too after a few years. So while you are running around enjoying the lower monthly expenses (not including depreciation) of RV living, you had better also be saving for the big ticket items that will be coming down the road INCLUDING the eventual need to replace your rig. The thing is with house ownership, due to appreciation you usually eventually break even (usually much better) on upgrades, maintenance and repairs. And homes don't wear out as quickly and need to be replaced like things on wheels do. And most people who get into fulltiming invest the proceeds from the house towards the future when they stop and wish to be a home owner again. It is generally considered unwise to use the equity from your primary home real estate to buy depreciating assets like RVs. So that kind of means you need to already have enough money to "blow" on an RV without ever expecting to get the money back in order to afford that lifestyle. Kind of increases the barrier to entry - sure. So pretty much finding the least expensive rig you think will give you the lifestyle you want is about the smartest thing you can do financially. Some people still use the proceeds from the sale of their home because that's the only way they can afford to go fulltime and they don't care if someday they may be stuck paying rent for the rest of their lives. As long as they make that tradeoff with their eyes wide open - fine. *It's an informed choice. Audrey

01-18-2006, 01:54 PM	#79
ex_CFO_now_RVer Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 97	Re: Motorhome purchase? Pros/Cons! Its not the first RV $outlay, thats scary, its that you might like RVing and have to buy the 2nd and 3rd RV later on.* When we purchased our motorhome, shelling out over $200,000, we joked about not liking RVing and selling the RV quickly, thus reducing the financial bath that we were undertaking.* So far we have enjoyed the experience with over 100 nights RVing in 2005. Dave __________________ Born with nothing, still have most of it left! Need to be on the road more!