Isaac-1
Well-known member
Don't get me wrong I enjoy owning and using our coach, however during my recent month long trip (ok that is an exaggeration, it was only 25 days). I started to think about how much use does one really need to get out of a motorhome for it to be worth owning vs the option of renting. So today I decided to do a bit of research on rental rates, etc, looking at renting something roughly comparable to what I have (a sub 30 ft class A), using the web sites for a few rental companies whose coaches I have seen on the road (B&B RV out of Denver, etc.), I have found their daily rental rate typically runs $300-$450 per day depending on location and season, though some places will rent a sub 30 ft class A for as little as $150 per day in the off season. For easy math sake I will use the figure of $300 per day rental rate, though again rates vary, and some places give discounts on rentals over 5-7 days...
For people that take a single 14 day vacation per year this would be $4,200, excluding incidental expenses, transportation to the pickup point, etc.
Lets compare this to cost of ownership of a used class A of similar size, for this comparison I am using RV's made by a major brand around 10 years of age, (something generally comparable to recent models based on the current Ford F53 chassis) I choose sub 30 ft Winnebago class A's listed on RV Trader, and we get a price point of about $32,000, give or take, so something new enough to be financed, but just barely. Lets further assume that with that this RV will last another 10 years before being sold for under $9,000, and is financed at 5% over 10 years (based on published rv interest rates, rounded up to the nearest percent), which results in a loan amount of $340 per month over 10 years which puts the total payback at $40,800 assuming the full $32,000 was financed.
So if we take $40,800 - $9,000 = $31,800 (the amount back when the RV is sold) at the end of 10 years and divide that out by 10 years, this amount alone covers 3/4 of the cost of a 2 week rental once per year. Now once we add on cost of insurance (I am paying around $700 per year so lets use that) we get another $7,000 in expense over 10 years, plus wear and tear, assume 2 full sets of 6 tires at $300 per tire over 10 years (making the assumption new tires will be needed shortly after purchase, then again a couple of years before the RV is sold) we get 12X300 = $3,600, new batteries replaced every 5 years, lets assume 2 deep cycle and 1 starting battery at $150 each ($900), this is all before we start talking repairs, storage, fee's, major appliance replacement (refrigerator, air conditioner, generator etc.) which in my experience is going to run another $500+ per year amortized over the years, or another $4,000. Then of course there is the drive train stuff, oil changes, brakes, alternators, ....
Once you add all this us, economically it seems that if you don't use such a coach at least 3-4 weeks per year, perhaps more you are likely better off renting, depending on your individual circumstance (do you have to pay for storage, how much, do you DIY repairs, or pay a shop, ...).
What do you think, am I wrong, and will this math change the suggestions you make to people coming here thinking about buying their first RV.
Ike
p.s. in the real world my cost of maintenance doing most jobs DIY on my current coach which is a 2002 model I bought in 2016, has greatly exceeded these numbers, though much of that was to do upgrades, and not absolutely essential to continued operation. Even then my repair cost over the last couple of years has exceeded an average of $1,500 per year on NON DIY stuff being paid to shops (ball joints, dash air conditioner repair, etc.)
For people that take a single 14 day vacation per year this would be $4,200, excluding incidental expenses, transportation to the pickup point, etc.
Lets compare this to cost of ownership of a used class A of similar size, for this comparison I am using RV's made by a major brand around 10 years of age, (something generally comparable to recent models based on the current Ford F53 chassis) I choose sub 30 ft Winnebago class A's listed on RV Trader, and we get a price point of about $32,000, give or take, so something new enough to be financed, but just barely. Lets further assume that with that this RV will last another 10 years before being sold for under $9,000, and is financed at 5% over 10 years (based on published rv interest rates, rounded up to the nearest percent), which results in a loan amount of $340 per month over 10 years which puts the total payback at $40,800 assuming the full $32,000 was financed.
So if we take $40,800 - $9,000 = $31,800 (the amount back when the RV is sold) at the end of 10 years and divide that out by 10 years, this amount alone covers 3/4 of the cost of a 2 week rental once per year. Now once we add on cost of insurance (I am paying around $700 per year so lets use that) we get another $7,000 in expense over 10 years, plus wear and tear, assume 2 full sets of 6 tires at $300 per tire over 10 years (making the assumption new tires will be needed shortly after purchase, then again a couple of years before the RV is sold) we get 12X300 = $3,600, new batteries replaced every 5 years, lets assume 2 deep cycle and 1 starting battery at $150 each ($900), this is all before we start talking repairs, storage, fee's, major appliance replacement (refrigerator, air conditioner, generator etc.) which in my experience is going to run another $500+ per year amortized over the years, or another $4,000. Then of course there is the drive train stuff, oil changes, brakes, alternators, ....
Once you add all this us, economically it seems that if you don't use such a coach at least 3-4 weeks per year, perhaps more you are likely better off renting, depending on your individual circumstance (do you have to pay for storage, how much, do you DIY repairs, or pay a shop, ...).
What do you think, am I wrong, and will this math change the suggestions you make to people coming here thinking about buying their first RV.
Ike
p.s. in the real world my cost of maintenance doing most jobs DIY on my current coach which is a 2002 model I bought in 2016, has greatly exceeded these numbers, though much of that was to do upgrades, and not absolutely essential to continued operation. Even then my repair cost over the last couple of years has exceeded an average of $1,500 per year on NON DIY stuff being paid to shops (ball joints, dash air conditioner repair, etc.)
