RV purchases and storage

[pullin]

We've been campers for 30 years, and are on our sixth trailer. Two tent campers, two fifth-wheels, and two travel trailers.

Our current is a Forest River Windjammer. Like Christine, you don't hear from us because we have few problems. We've never had serious problems with any of the campers, and we use them pretty hard. I've attached a pic of our old fifth wheel to show what I'm talking about. It was a cheap Fleetwood that withstood 10 years of that kind of use (the boat behind it was 21 feet with a 650 lb tongue weight), and we spent 344 nights in it total. Never spent a day under a roof during all that time. We keep our current one in covered storage though, because it has skylights that I suspect would suffer in the sunlight.

 

[NoiseBoy]

There’s a few things with no middle ground. My pet peeve is air travel. Basically, there’s either coach (crap) or first class. Doesn’t seem to be much of a market for middle ground types of products/services.

Check out Premium Economy class. Not all airlines offer it, and for those that do, it's not on every route, but most offer it for flights to Europe. Prices generally run twice the cost of a coach ticket, but usually include at least one checked bag. The seats are a touch wider, and have much more legroom. Other areas of service like food, drinks, and priority boarding vary by airline. You can use SeatGuru.com to see the seating layouts for your planes and read the comments from other flyers.

 

[FreeBear]

Wow! Looks like RV's are a lot of w*rk!


Just before FIRE, I dreamed of buying a trailer and pickup truck to travel the US. Well, DW, aka, The Boss, put an end to that!


I think RV'er are like landlords, born and not made. Over the years, I've come to accept that I don't have the constitution to deal with tenants and stuff that breaks (houses, RV's, boats, anything complex and expensive). Funny thing is that I've got a tech background and can be quite handy around anything mechanical. After I FIRE'd, I "discovered" that, well, I'm just lazy. I just rather float around on the local lake or sit around drinking a tasty beverage.

 

[FreeBear]

This is a common thing on all foras I've read. I recently bought a Tesla car. If I just read the Tesla Forum I'd never buy one. People are having all kinds of problems with theirs.


But this is perception. People having no problems with their Tesla cars won't write about it. I sure don't. So you never hear about us.

Yep, witness the Honda "Making Oil" reliability thread from a few weeks ago. Hard to tell what percent of owners experienced the problem, but those who had were certainly PO'd!

Check out Premium Economy class. Not all airlines offer it, and for those that do, it's not on every route, but most offer it for flights to Europe. Prices generally run twice the cost of a coach ticket, but usually include at least one checked bag. The seats are a touch wider, and have much more legroom. Other areas of service like food, drinks, and priority boarding vary by airline. You can use SeatGuru.com to see the seating layouts for your planes and read the comments from other flyers.

Just a few years ago these were free (on status or miles) or cheap upgrades, even overseas. When my former w*rkplace started offshoring our jobs out to the Pacific rim, only C-suite was allowed business class. Normal folks like me managed to fly premium economy most of the time. Other than legroom, on big advantage was that there was a much better chance of having an empty adjacent seat or even have the entire row to yourself. Several years after the 2001 recession and 9/11, the Pacific flights were relatively open in premium economy. I remember lying down across 5 seats in the center of the old 747's.

 

[REWahoo]

Wow! Looks like RV's are a lot of w*rk!

+1

RVs are expensive to buy, maintain, store, and insure. They depreciate, break, leak, and disappoint. I urge everyone who has even the slightest interest in one to find another way to spend money and waste time. There are already far too many RV's competing with mine for a parking spot at my favorite campsite.

 

[swakyaby]

My UHaul camper is 10 feet plus 3 feet of tongue. Sometimes I camp in a tent site when all others are taken.

I think you win the prize for smallest self-contained travel trailer!

 

[Brat]

DH & I had a travel trailer for a couple years, parked it on our son's property and often used it as a private 'mother-in-law'. It was metal skinned and it leaked. Fixed it and sold it.

Son repairs boats, many of them are fiberglass. Were we to buy one again I would absolutely choose a used fiberglass skinned unit. The skin can be repaired by a boatyard and much of the hardware (toilets, sinks, fans) is the same as used in small yachts.

 

[travelover]

+1

RVs are expensive to buy, maintain, store, and insure. They depreciate, break, leak, and disappoint. I urge everyone who has even the slightest interest in one to find another way to spend money and waste time. There are already far too many RV's competing with mine for a parking spot at my favorite campsite.

Yea, every year they build a zillion new RVs for every new campsite created. It is getting to the point where you need reservations, even in the middle of the week, even in the shoulder season. I'm grateful for the people that let their RVs rot in a field - at least they are taking a few off the road.

 

[Bamaman]

The RV industry is gearing up for the Baby Boomers. Since they're retiring, they're looking for recreation.
We find taking our grandchildren to the campground is a very healthy thing to do. Even though it was raining all of last week, they still wanted to go. The 7 year old DGD loves working huge puzzles with the older ladies. The 10 year old DGS enjoyed shooting pool with the guys last weekend. I was thankful our Wifi signal was weak for the week.

 

[michelek]

Check out this guy which many of you probably already know: http://www.davesrvs.com/
Dave owns and rents high quality RVs in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has a fleet of well maintained RVs and sells them used as they reach his sell schedule /. We rented from him and the RV was well maintained, reliable and thoroughly enjoyable.
Highly recommend!

 

[Redbugdave]

There is also a set of RV'ers that keep our trailers out at the Hunt Club. Sometimes we pull out and go places with it, but mostly it stays at home out at the Club. Good friends, lots of land to roam and do as you want. For me, that is Living.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We don’t use ours a lot but don’t have to pay for storage. We bought it used. We have used it more as a guest bedroom.

 

[doneat54]

Well no shortage of opinions here.... so I'll add mine.


Did a 9500 trip in a $4500 26 foot class A motorhome in 2006. 6 weeks. Had the rig for almost a year before we took that trip. It was an '87 model Fleetwood IIRC. Spent MONTH before rebuilding the overhead customizing EVERYTHING. But that is me, I have a full shop, antique cars and not much mechanical scares me. But the point: Not a shred of issues of any kind on that trip.


Have had a 21 trailer for the last 3 years (FIRE'd 2 years ago this month). Bought it when it was about 4 years old for a bit over $10k. Had to FIX nothing, and haven't since about $15k miles pulling it and camping maybe 6-9 times a year with at least one long trip each summer (2-3 weeks). Did some modifications however. It is an Amerilite. Yes, VERY cheaply made, stapled together most places. Point (and opinion): If you think you want to try a trailer, find something fairly new, and dry (means no roof leaks) and minimize your investment. If you like it a lot, then consider upgrading.

No surprise, these things to NOT hold value well at all. Bad investment, but also means if you are patient, you can get a used one for a really good deal.

Also, HUGE amounts of options, floorplans, features, weights (very important, especially in light of what you will tow it with), interiors, technology etc. Do your research and homework.

And probably don't need to say this, but at the forums, you will get hundreds of differing opinions on everything. There are so many variables in equipment AND camping sites/styles that there is no one "right" way. Personally, we will trade pools, hookups, camp store for quiet, gorgeous state and national parks, lakes, streams and hiking trails any day of the week.

As I tell anyone who mentions RV'ing, if you even think you would like it, give it a try. Might not be for you, but personally I never thought I would enjoy it as much as I do now....

 

[Voyager39]

A youtube vlogger named Steve Lehto has a few videos on this issue. Rather than attempt to summarize his sentiments, you'd be better off just searching for his videos on this point. His videos should be easy to find by searching using his name and the term "RV".
One such video is simply titled "Don't buy an RV". He is an attorney in Michigan and appears to know what he's talking about.

 

[Drake3287]

Great post, thanks. Between this and the YouTube videos described above I'm not sure what to do! Seem's like I could stay in a lot of nice hotel room's for the price and maintenance of a $30,000+ RV.

 

[haha]

Great post, thanks. Between this and the YouTube videos described above I'm not sure what to do! Seem's like I could stay in a lot of nice hotel room's for the price and maintenance of a $30,000+ RV.

I think you are catching on.

I am a failed RV owner. I was not mechanically hopeless, as I kept 2 Volvo's for just short of 700,000 miles. But RVs are a whole other thing.

The only way I got rid of my derelict RV sitting out in the pasture of my former home is to sell all the junk in the pasture along with the home and property because the property was attractive and in a hot area, to a buyer who had a trucking business and he was not intimidated by hauling this crap away if that was a condition of getting my property.

Two things I will never do again-marry or buy an RV!

Ha

 

[Drake3287]

Definitely an eye opener after following a few different RV Facebook groups and talking with friends. I owned a tent trailer for years but of course that's a whole different trailer.

In my case I'd have to rent a place to store it for $100. a month around here. Add 10 years of that plus nearly $35,000. out the door for a nice trailer plus gear and I'm looking at $50,000. for 10 years of use. That same $50,000. will buy 25 nights a year at a nice hotel for 10 years.

Of course there's also big RV Show this weekend, wish me luck!

 

[haha]

RE: Lehto's Law

This has to be one of the funniest websites ever. I just watched one about Lehto and the case of the frozen lasagna lunch entree.

Ha

 

[brewer12345]

Definitely an eye opener after following a few different RV Facebook groups and talking with friends. I owned a tent trailer for years but of course that's a whole different trailer.

In my case I'd have to rent a place to store it for $100. a month around here. Add 10 years of that plus nearly $35,000. out the door for a nice trailer plus gear and I'm looking at $50,000. for 10 years of use. That same $50,000. will buy 25 nights a year at a nice hotel for 10 years.

Of course there's also big RV Show this weekend, wish me luck!

So buy a modest second hand trailer. If you don't like pop ups and don't need a lot of space, look at an A-liner or one of its imitators. You can stick those in the garage if you like.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We paid 14k for a used motor home 11 years ago. We have spent 3k on repairs. It is a 1993 but came with only 34k miles. If you don’t buy new they are reasonable. Plus we can park it on our property.

 

[Drake3287]

Thanks for the comments. I guess part of the issue is that I retired somewhat young and have more then enough funds to buy what ever I want but at the same time I'm not the type of person to throw money down the drain.

I've been excited at the prospect of buying a new $30,000+ trailer for retirement but the thought of dealing with non-stop issues along with paying over $100. a month for storage is leaving me with doubts. Not to mention most of these storage lot's aren't the most secure in the first place.

I have a close friend who recently purchased a new trailer and it had a waterline leak on the first trip, certainly didn't surprise me. Now he's worried about subfloor damage because of the standing water.

 

[youbet]

I've been excited at the prospect of buying a new $30,000+ trailer for retirement but the thought of dealing with non-stop issues along with paying over $100. a month for storage is leaving me with doubts.

Apparently the pluses of RV ownership don't amount to much for you. That is, the RV'ing activities you'd participate in and really enjoy amount to a petty short list. So, when you list the pros and cons of RV ownership, the "con list" far exceeds the "pro list." Don't buy one.

The same could be said for other retirement hobby-type activities such a boating, a vacation home, etc. Things and activities have to net out positively on your personal pro and con list to make them worthwhile and that's very personal.

DW and I own a modest camper, a hard-sided (no canvas) pop-up called an Aliner. We've had it for 9 years and it's been a joy. (Note: we're more campers than RV'ers.) We average about ten weeks a year out on the road, mostly in remote locations but not always, and from coast to coast. We sometimes bring our canoe or our kayaks on top of the truck. It's our thing and for us the fun far overshadows the storage expenses, maintenance chores and the need to have a tow vehicle as our second car. But, our non-camping friends think it's a ridiculous activity that they'd never consider. We get it..... and respect their opinion as we wave goodbye!

Do whatcha wanna do! That's why you got yourself into a position of being FIRE'd.

Waiting for the ferry to take us back to the mainland after a few days camped on an island in the Apostle Islands chain, Lake Superior.

 

[REWahoo]

Thanks for the comments. I guess part of the issue is that I retired somewhat young and have more then enough funds to buy what ever I want but at the same time I'm not the type of person to throw money down the drain.

I've been excited at the prospect of buying a new $30,000+ trailer for retirement but the thought of dealing with non-stop issues along with paying over $100. a month for storage is leaving me with doubts. Not to mention most of these storage lot's aren't the most secure in the first place.

Your concerns are well-founded. Anyone who doesn't already own an RV should not purchase one, and anyone who already made that mistake needs to quickly find a buyer before the current RV boom cools.

I'm about to start trip planning for the Spring and don't need additional competition for reservations in my favorite campgrounds.

 

[youbet]

I'm about to start trip planning for the Spring and don't need additional competition for reservations in my favorite campgrounds.

We're heading south for warm weather. After the Fla Panhandle was devastated by the hurricane and two of the beach-front state park campgrounds we had reservations at were closed indefinitely, we really had to scramble to find new spots. It's amazing how competitive making reservations down there at federal, state and county campgrounds is, especially beach-front!

You're right, too many campers/RV'ers!

 

[W2R]

I can tell from reading this thread, that in so many numerous ways, I am simply not suited for RV ownership!

I have long thought that really, the main ways to spend huge gobs of discretionary money are:

(1) travel, or
(2) buying a vehicle for travel (boats, planes, RV's, expensive sports cars, etc).

Since I have no desire to travel, I am safe from these budget-busters! Which is not to say that ALL travel is expensive but a lot of it sure can be unless one has planned carefully and judiciously to avoid excessive expenses.

An additional advantage of not owning an RV is that I have never seen, nor will I ever see, a black water tank (shudder!). Another is that my big, beautiful detached two and a half car garage with the 20 foot high ceiling and extra big garage door does not have an RV in it so there is plenty of room in there for my Venza. And last but not least, I am home enjoying my wonderful Dream Home which is my idea of a wonderful retirement.

Carry on! Have fun reserving campgrounds, complaining about how inconsiderate the other people camping there are, cleaning out your blackwater tanks, cooking crummy stuff on a camp stove, and doing all that stuff. Bet I'll have as much or more fun than all of you put together, here at home just soaking up the peace, serenity, and contentment of living my life exactly as I always wanted it to be.

Yesterday I actually saw a raccoon in my yard here in the city, and a few days before, there was a possum out there! And when I opened up my side door to air out the house last night, a squirrel almost ran inside (but luckily didn't). Any time I want to see nutria, egrets, ducks, geese, or seagulls I can drive by the canals a block away. That's enough wildlife and wilderness to last me for a while. Also the yacht harbor on Lake Ponchartrain is within walking distance and has a place to sit and enjoy a nice view of the lake and all the sailboats.