10K Unrealistic???

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Tony79dr

Active member
Joined
Jul 25, 2017
Posts
38
Hey All

I'm a newbie to RVing. Actually if I say newbie it implies ive actually done it which I haven't so I don't know what you'd call me. Probably a jerk. LOL. Anyway, I was loaned a Class B Airstream Sprinter and since that day I've dreamt of owning my own RV. I can by no means purchase what I was loaned. My budget is 10K. I've seen some older RVs Class A and C around my budget. I met a guy who specializes in repairing RVs for a wholesale so I think I have the right guy to inspect one.  I've been searching and have seen some real turds. One woman said her rv was mint when I went to look at it. All the roof seams were split and water damage everywhere.

Alittle about myself. It's my wife, my twin almost 4 yr olds and I. So a family of 4. The way I plan to use the rv is for long road trips possibly sleeping in it once in a blue moon, if driving far and I'm trying to make good time, or just makes sense to sleep in it for a night or 2. But most likely sleeping in hotels. I like to entertain so seating is important more than a actual bed.

Am I being unrealistic that I can find what I want or close to it for 10K? Does a 10K motorhome exist? I'd love all your feedback and ideas. May e turning a bed area into a couch and seating area? Is that possible? Does that put me out of my budget? That sort of thing.

Thanks and I hope to be a newbie soon.
 
Have a look at this site:


http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/


Should give you a feel for what's out there.
 
Just my personal opinion, but the older the motorhome and the lower the cost, the shorter the road trips should be. With some exceptions for well kept motorhomes, the older homes just are not made for, and will generally not last those long trips. There are exceptions of course, but as you have already found out, some of those motorhomes are not as pretty and in as good condition as the owners would have you believe, and would be better as stationary abodes.
 
It's funny there really are all different types of uses for these things and not necessarily used for what they designed. There's an ad in craigslist for a class c with its wheels removed and used as a house.

These older ones, some have low miles. I drove one today a 95 with 38K miles. Winnebago warrior. The reason I wasn't crazy about it. No tv hookups anywhere or place for a tv. I know sounds petty but like I said I have never rv'ed.
 
Sun2Retire said:
Have a look at this site:


http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/


Should give you a feel for what's out there.

My new favorite sale site. They had a 24 footer that the sale is pending I'm Doring to know what it sold for. That's exactly what I want.
 
I have owned several RVs that cost well under $10k and then lived in them for a few years. It is possible however there are a few problems. It takes me four to six months of shopping before actually finding a unit to buy. Most RVs are massively overpriced due to people not understanding how to use NADA. They add in all the options and come up with an obscene price. You do not add in the options to determine the final price on NADA.

Second, you will need at least the purchase price right after you buy it to make it usable. They always need tires and a roof reseal at that price, and that is without exception. Those two items alone will cost in the thousands of dollars. If you try and circumvent this rule it will cost you a lot more. Count on a $10k RV really costing you $20K.
 
It sounds backwards to me. If you are going to sleep in motels often and seating is more important than a bed it sounds like you need a mini van or perhaps a regular van or even a car that gets 2 to 3 times the mpg and far easier to maintain than an RV. I just woke up so maybe I'm missing something.
 
Tony79dr said:
My new favorite sale site. They had a 24 footer that the sale is pending I'm Doring to know what it sold for. That's exactly what I want.

I have been to PPL many times. DO NOT get too excited until you go there and inspect closely. I didn't shop MH but did have a hard time finding anything NOT water damaged. I'm not saying everything is bad but inspect closely and use that knowledgeable person that you know.
 
If you are shopping in the under $10k market it is not a question of does it have water damage, the question is how much water damage it has.
 
With only 10K to work with I doubt all you will find is something that needs to be repaired (maybe frequently). If you have a pickup start looking at campers. If you don't have a truck, trade in the second car for a crew cab, with the seating you wanted for long road trips, and put a good condition camper. That is how we started RV'ing when the kids were young.
 
Simply put, I don't see you finding what you are after on your current budget.  There are functional $10,000 motorhomes out there, but it takes a lot of shopping to find one, and they are usually from private sellers wanting to make a quick sale.  While it may seem strange they also tend to be Class A's, and sometimes Class C's.  Smaller Class B camper van style RV's seem to actually retain their value more than any other type, which makes your search that much more difficult, perhaps this is due to the fact that they can somewhat be used as daily driver vehicles, something that few people would try to do with a 30+ ft long Class A.  Also even if you do find one in fair condition, you should expect to budget for ongoing maintenance, as well as any deferred maintenance items.  I bought a 15 year old class A with 75,000 miles on it last year for $20,000, and in preparation to take it on a 4,000+ mile trip this summer I ended up spending over $5,500 on maintenance and upgrades, about half (maybe 2/3) of which were things I could have put off a little longer.  This included everything from new shocks to a $700 dash air conditioner repair, as well as new spark plugs and having all the fluids changed, most of the work I did myself.
 
Who and where do you plan to entertain?  Sorry, just trying to understand why you want an RV if you don't want to camp or sleep in it.  Maybe a conversion van makes more sense?
 
Pugapooh said:
Who and where do you plan to entertain?  Sorry, just trying to understand why you want an RV if you don't want to camp or sleep in it.  Maybe a conversion van makes more sense?

By entertain I mean having maybe another couple and their children join us for a drive. Or maybe park at kids games and use it as the cooling off point and t make snacks and have drinks. The lazydaze 24 seems to be exactly what I'm looking for as afar what I'd want from the interior layout. I'm not opposed to a class A but would want it no larger than 25 feet
 
Isaac-1 said:
Simply put, I don't see you finding what you are after on your current budget.  There are functional $10,000 motorhomes out there, but it takes a lot of shopping to find one, and they are usually from private sellers wanting to make a quick sale.  While it may seem strange they also tend to be Class A's, and sometimes Class C's.  Smaller Class B camper van style RV's seem to actually retain their value more than any other type, which makes your search that much more difficult, perhaps this is due to the fact that they can somewhat be used as daily driver vehicles, something that few people would try to do with a 30+ ft long Class A.  Also even if you do find one in fair condition, you should expect to budget for ongoing maintenance, as well as any deferred maintenance items.  I bought a 15 year old class A with 75,000 miles on it last year for $20,000, and in preparation to take it on a 4,000+ mile trip this summer I ended up spending over $5,500 on maintenance and upgrades, about half (maybe 2/3) of which were things I could have put off a little longer.  This included everything from new shocks to a $700 dash air conditioner repair, as well as new spark plugs and having all the fluids changed, most of the work I did myself.

This is kind of what I figured. So I'm really thinking closer to 15K because I'll want to do my own touches to it. Like hard floors instead of carpet.
 
QZ said:
I have been to PPL many times. DO NOT get too excited until you go there and inspect closely. I didn't shop MH but did have a hard time finding anything NOT water damaged. I'm not saying everything is bad but inspect closely and use that knowledgeable person that you know.
Good to know and I don't think I'll want anything from Texas for awhile. I like the $500 deposit thing they have for out of towners. Ugh thinking this RV dream might not happen.
 
QZ said:
It sounds backwards to me. If you are going to sleep in motels often and seating is more important than a bed it sounds like you need a mini van or perhaps a regular van or even a car that gets 2 to 3 times the mpg and far easier to maintain than an RV. I just woke up so maybe I'm missing something.

I already own a minivan with 2 monitors. The bathroom, kitchen and seating for many is what did it for me.
 
Would you folks mind if I post a couple of local craigslist adds and give me your opinions and thoughts?
 
Tony79dr said:
Would you folks mind if I post a couple of local craigslist adds and give me your opinions and thoughts?
[/quote
Tony, the only reason online forums exist is to ask and answer questions. That is the sole reason we are here. Feel free to post as many ads as you wish. :)
 
It's possible, but the search will take time and effort.  Don't jump at the first one you find.

Here's an example I found on Craigslist in Southern California three years ago.  It's my current motorhome, and while it's too small for a family of four it's an example of what you can find if you look long enough.  Since then I've put another 24k miles on it, and the total maintenance has been to give it a tune-up, replace the house battery, and last week align the front end after replacing the front tires.  I'm currently in the middle of an open ended trip through Colorado and New Mexico - so far 3 weeks and counting!

http://www.rvforum.net/SMF_forum/index.php/topic,74857.msg680693.html#msg680693
 
SeilerBird said:
Tony79dr said:
Would you folks mind if I post a couple of local craigslist adds and give me your opinions and thoughts?
Tony, the only reason online forums exist is to ask and answer questions. That is the sole reason we are here. Feel free to post as many ads as you wish. :)

Thanks here you go! Hahah. And what price I should pay or if it's a good deal.

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/rvs/d/2003-four-winds-4000-class-rv/6286722903.html

Edit: Fixed quote tag. -LS
 

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
131,670
Posts
1,382,735
Members
137,455
Latest member
MtnRV
Back
Top Bottom