[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound I am still looking at RVs, though we will not be able to take off for some indefinite time. In terms of cost and suitability to our travel style as I am currently envisioning it, I am leaning towards a small travel trailer of less than 20ft towable by our existing SUV. It is like the set up that Brewer has. Even buying a new one, we should be able to hit the road after spending perhaps $14K for a model I have in mind. However, in surfing the Web I have found some apparently smoking deals on larger motor homes (MH). I have seen small class A MHs of less than 35ft, only 5 to 6 year old and driven 20,000 miles or less, going for US$25K-$35K. Granted, these are smaller no-frill models, and with a gas engine and not diesel, but I think they still cost around $100K new. Slightly used, they cost about the same as a new car! All MHs depreciate terribly, but the gas ones seem to suffer higher losses than the diesels, yet were driven less. My theory is that the low gas mileage (5-8 MPG?), the high cost of gas in the recent years (>$3/gallon last year), and the poor economy keep the owners from enjoying them and force the liquidation. Or are there some other reasons, like these may be lemons?

I think that a lot of this is just a poor resale market driven by a combination of people who really need to sell to raise cash and more units getting dumped on the market by reposessing lenders. Higher gas costs clearly do not help, either.

As for the temptation of the deal, its not a deal for you if it doesn't fit your needs. If a trailer is what you need, a class A won't be a great idea even at a tempting price.

FWIW, when the current trailer becomes too much of a money pit many years hence, I imagine we will end up with another, slightly larger trailer. There is a bewildeing array of choices in the 18 to 24 foot range and I imagine there will be even more over time as the smaller and lighte trends continues to build.