New to RVing

Wife and I are in our 50s and owe less the 48k on our home. Have boat and car payment. Paying a few debts down and looking to purchase a class A RV between 80k - 100k. Putting down 10 to 20%. Good credit scores. Is the RV finance process difficult? Is there a recommended manufacturer? Thanks! Sorry for vague questions.

Welcome!  My wife and I are also in our 50s, and recently bought our first class A.  We decided that the only way we could get a quality motorhome within our price range was to go used.  We looked for months on RV-trader, EBay, and Craigslist.  When we finally found the right coach, it was amazing how easily everything came together.

Regarding financing, we shopped around, and we found that a number of banks had great interest rates, but wouldn't write a loan for as long a term as we wanted (12 yrs).  We ended up going with Good Sam financing.  There interest rates were better than most, and they have longer terms.  Our loan officer made everything very easy.  The only problem was a name mistyped on a document, and Good Sam over-nighted replacement documents right away.  We bought our coach from a private seller, and from making an offer to picking up our motorhome was approximately 3 weeks.  Our loan was approved within 48 hours of applying.

As far as recommending a manufacturer, everyone has their favorites, and you'll get plenty of responses.  Personally, I think some of the better built coaches are Monaco (of course, that's what we have!), Winnebago, Newmar, Tiffin, and the list goes on.

Good luck with your search, and let us know if you have any other questions, and what you get!

micbob said:

Wife and I are in our 50s and owe less the 48k on our home. Have boat and car payment. Paying a few debts down and looking to purchase a class A RV between 80k - 100k. Putting down 10 to 20%. Good credit scores. Is the RV finance process difficult? Is there a recommended manufacturer? Thanks! Sorry for vague questions.

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Welcome to the forum.

New to RV'ing and you want to spend 80-100K?
Do you even know if you will like Rv'ing?

We almost always recommend that anyone new to RV'ing buy used for their first unit at least.
The depreciation on a new RV is not like on a car - it's way worse.  Also many new RV's are not perfect and require many trips to
have issue solved.  Buying used many times those issues are solved and you will enjoy the experience more with less headaches.

I don't know what your home is worth but a home equity loan is one possibility and the interest is deductible.
Although if you go that route you should set that up before shopping for a RV,  that way you'll know what you can spend and it
will be ready when you are.

We don't usually recommend a make or model but instead recommend that the floorplan is the most important thing to consider
after over all condition of the RV passes inspection.  Living in one for a few weekends a year is different from living in one months
at a time or more.  Size of a RV is another big decision you will have to make, which will effect other things too.

Gas VS. Diesel is always a big hurdle to get over and there are pro's and con's to both.  It depends somewhat on how you plan to use a RV.
Where you live and or where you plan to travel with it can make a big difference.  All RV's require maintenance of some type or another.
How able you are to do the work can make a big difference on the cost of said maintenance.

Good luck - hope things work out for you and the wife.

One more piece of advice - don't jump in to a RV or make an impulse buy.  It takes some time to know what's good or bad in a RV.

micbob....have you ever had or used an RV in the past?

Yes, grew up with RV and campgrounds. Most recently wife's parents had class A and spent time with them. Would be new for us actually owning. We like the idea of being able to take our dogs and possibly golf cart.

RV financing is easy, maybe too easy.  Since its a rapidly depreciating asset, you can quickly get in over your head (owe more than its worth). 10% down and 20 year payments is a financial disaster, even though the burden seems light.

Look for a used RV in your price range and keep enough financial flexibility to pay for upkeep and repairs, both of which are expensive unless you can do a lot of routine stuff yourself.

A mid or upper tier brand is a better buy, in my opinion. You may have to go a year or two older to get the price range you want, but the construction quality makes up for it. Condition is far more important than age.

Thanks, we have seen some Tiffin Allegros 2013 that fall into our price range. Have friends that own tiffin and love it. May look at that option as well. Our must is outside kitchen and tv. With bathroom not  in back of coach. Thanks

micbob said:

Thanks, we have seen some Tiffin Allegros 2013 that fall into our price range. Have friends that own tiffin and love it. May look at that option as well. Our must is outside kitchen and tv. With bathroom not  in back of coach. Thanks

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Well TVs are cheap and you can install one yourself. So don't let an outside TV stop you from purchasing a coach without one. Myself I would never use an outside TV, I want to sit in my recliner in the air conditioning while watching. 

We have an outside tv and I would gladly trade it for an outside kitchen. We arent big tv people and hardly ever turn it on.