Motorhome purchase? Pros/Cons!

[ex_CFO_now_RVer]

We are currently in northern Ontario, having just filled up for $5.75us per gallon. It appears to DW and I that most of the motorhomes on the road were large class a (38' to 45') diesels and very few 30' to 37' gas mh's.

It maybe that owners of diesels are more able to afford the huge increase in fuel costs. Its also interesting to watch canadian television, they dont report on the price of gas/diesel like we do in the USA.

The mosquitoes and black flies sure are BIG up here.

Dave

[mews]

The mosquitoes and black flies sure are BIG up here.
===


Dave, what do you think was the original inspiration for the Canadian Air Force? eh?

ta,
mew

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ex_CFO_now_RVer The mosquitoes and black flies sure are BIG up here.

I wonder how many mpg they're getting.

Or, I wonder if they could be collected, ground up, and processed for hydrocarbon yield...

[Da Nag]

Yet another case of doing the math, IMO. I've zero concern with gas prices, and am looking for a gas guzzling Class C right now.

First, buying used has never been a better deal. The units I'm looking at, are $10-15K cheaper than they were a year ago. That equates to a "free" 20,000 - 30,000 miles of driving, at $5/gallon and 10MPG.

Second, when time is on your side, there's no need to let increased gas prices affect your budget. Just plan on staying put in places along your route for longer. If the cost of gas doubles, just plan on taking twice as long to get to your destination, and enjoy the trip a little more.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Da Nag Second, when time is on your side

*Sigh* a luxuury enjoyed by relatively few aside from the retired.

Gas prices don't worry me too much WRT the trailer simply because we mostly go away for a weekend at a time. There isn't enough time to drive (with 2 kids and 2 dogs in the car) far enough that high gas prices would be a problem.

[SteveR]

We are staying put for a while...not because of fuel prices but because of all we need to do to get the new house organized and to host the many visitors that have sceduled time in our abode. Amazing since the temp today was 110 in the shade.

Buying a new or used motorhome or other RV has never been better. There are a LOT on the market right now and many are willing to deal like never before. If you can stomach the cost of fuel and like the RVing experience...then now is the time to get your hands on one.

[NW-Bound]

I have not owned nor used an RV, but always ponder if it could be the perfect means to satisfy one's wanderlust. I don't think I can be an RV full-timer, but roadtrips up to 1 month may work for us. So, I read up on Andy's stories as his RV size is about what I have in mind. He went full-timer on such a small vehicle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martha I have recommended Andy's website on this forum before, to follow his journey into ER without big bucks. Going fulltime: prologue

Then, just as audrey has warned, 5 years into ER, Andy had to (wanted to?) replace his RV with a slightly larger and newer vehicle. His cash appears to run alarmingly low. Granted, he started out with not a whole lot of savings. Our typical forum member has more than Andy, but most would want a class A, and as audrey has pointed out, in the long run, going with a nice class A costs more than living in a home. One must make sure it is affordable. A forum member contemplating being a class A full-timer would do well to heed audrey's warning.

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 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. Audrey

[kat]

I appreciate the discussion here and just spent some enjoyable time at Andy's site.

I'm one of those people who does not think money choices have to be justified -- just make sense to us at the time with enough thought.

I saw how Andy bought a new rig -- about $60,000 if I remember. But keep in mind he did not put $18,000 into a new roof in a "stick house" or if this is his only transport, $25,000 into another vehicle, or pay all these property taxes. He strikes me as a smart enough guy to make choices that make him happy.

Keep in mind I have two "stick houses" that I enjoy very, very much -- grinning from ear to ear each time I go to my mountain place. That's what I choose to do.

From time to time, I check out camper vans, like a Sportsmobile or a RoadTrek. Each time I say "I don't need two cars." I did not need two houses either, but my brain in my body with my experience is seeing it that way. I can live with that. (I have a different goal, which apparently matters more, to use my 8 year old Honda another 12 years......) All of this can change.

I really appreciate people sharing their experiences.

kate

[OAG]

Got any CU's near you (or banks for that matter) that sell the repos? I got a notice from a CU I am a member of and the repo sale list was the biggest I have ever see (about 50 vehicles). Most of the Vehicles were large cars and trucks but tucked in there were a few RV's including 5th Wheeler. In the past there were some great prices on used cars and I assume that has gotten even better recently.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kat From time to time, I check out camper vans, like a Sportsmobile or a RoadTrek. Each time I say "I don't need two cars." I did not need two houses either, but my brain in my body with my experience is seeing it that way. I can live with that. (I have a different goal, which apparently matters more, to use my 8 year old Honda another 12 years......) All of this can change. I really appreciate people sharing their experiences. kate

Heh, I said "I don't need more vehicles and headaches" for about a year. Then I rented an RV on vacation. A year later, I own a travel trailer. Its a reasonably cost effective way to scrath the itch, and it still fits in my driveway.

[kat]

But you have more people in your clan. I can't drive both at the same time. I can't even rationalize that I might.

P.S. Don't ask me how much time I spent seeing what my Honda could tow. (Nothing.)

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kat But you have more people in your clan. I can't drive both at the same time. I can't even rationalize that I might. P.S. Don't ask me how much time I spent seeing what my Honda could tow. (Nothing.)

People in the clan doesn't really matter. Only one of us can drive the van+trailer at a time.

What honda is it? Civic? Hard to believe that an accord would not have some sort of tow rating. Even a low rating would let you pull a pop-up, some of which are pretty snazzy. We saw one last month that had a hard roof that popped up into a triangular roof shape that looked pretty snazzy.

[kat]

Someone on this board pointed me in the direction of a lightweight pop-up which advertised as being towable by just about any car. I was eager. Then I checked the book for my budget model four cylinder Honda Accord. Not even close. Not do-able. Then I thought van, get rid of the car. I can't stomach that yet. I want to. And I don't have to do a lot of bargaining with myself to do what I want to do. It's just such a great car otherwise. Shitt, I should sleep in the car with my dog, and bring my three tents and hammock for outdoor rooms.

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kat Someone on this board pointed me in the direction of a lightweight pop-up which advertised as being towable by just about any car. I was eager. Then I checked the book for my budget model four cylinder Honda Accord. Not even close. Not do-able. Then I thought van, get rid of the car. I can't stomach that yet. I want to. And I don't have to do a lot of bargaining with myself to do what I want to do. It's just such a great car otherwise. Shitt, I should sleep in the car with my dog, and bring my three tents and hammock for outdoor rooms.

Last I checked, you could buy a really nice tent for a couple hundred bucks, and all the rest of the gear for a few hundred more. If it is just you and the dog, I would think that would be a nice way to go. I used to tent camp all the time, but doing it with two small children is a non-starter. So for me, a healthy chunk of the motivation to shell out for the camper was to get to go camping again (at all).

[kat]

I'm going to have to try that. I have the tents. I am an avid hiker in the mountains in the northeast US, especially the Adirondack High Peaks. I was told back when I started that there are some places I would need to camp at, couldn't hike to and climb a remote mountain in a day. So I bought all the fine gear. And then I found out there are guides/leaders with the Adirondack Mountain Club who want to start the day at 3 a.m., and that's what I ended up doing.... So I pretty much have all the gear. I should use it some day.

[brewer12345]

There are lots of nice places to camp. Check out the NY state parks, for example.

[Milton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kat I bought all the fine gear. And then I found out there are guides/leaders with the Adirondack Mountain Club who want to start the day at 3 a.m., and that's what I ended up doing.... So I pretty much have all the gear.

To bad you didn't just join the army! You could have enjoyed the early starts, and the experience of long-distance forced marches in the rain, etc., without having to pay for all the expensive kit.

[OAG]

Yeah, they GIVE all the gear to you. Even send you to some exotic places to do that hiking stuff. Some even get to do live video game stuff.

[kat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milton To bad you didn't just join the army! You could have enjoyed the early starts, and the experience of long-distance forced marches in the rain, etc., without having to pay for all the expensive kit.

I'd rather pay for my entertainment.

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh Is the motor home becoming extinct?

Sometimes, these days, it sure seems like it!

It's been pretty interesting perusing this thread 2.5 years later.

About the extinction - earlier this year several well known Class A RV manufacturers closed the doors on their businesses. Including ours! At least they were nice enough to wait until a week after we had our final factory service completed before closing down - just at the end of our 3 year warranty too.

So as you can see the current gas prices/economic conditions have been very hard on the industry. In addition to the business shut downs, several other big manufacturers have had huge layoffs and cutbacks.

Diesel now costs TWICE what we were paying when this thread was started.

Fortunately for us, we have enough extra in our budget to cover the increasing costs, so we personally have not suffered other than repeated sticker shock. But I think many RVers have had to cut way back.

Unfortunately, that doesn't seem mean that campgrounds are emptier. People are staying local instead. We're on the Oregon coast at the height of the season, and this 500+ site state park campground is full every night! Lots of tent campers. But virtually all of the license plates are from Oregon - out of state license plates are extremely rare. One camper came by when we set up to tell us that we were the only other TX license plate he'd seen in a long time, and that it never used to be that way.

So just a snapshot of current RVing conditions. We're still having a blast, but a lot of our fellow RVers are complaining.

Audrey