Dont want to share the rv with relatives!!

Before you sink a dime into it.  Do some comparison shopping,  Older RV's I am assuming a MH,  loose value fast as the unused years pile up and you may find a nice on that has been used and maintained and you can, with a few minor fixes or up grades move in to it with out all the hassles.

I met a single lady in poor health this spring from Wisconsin who went out to California to spend part of the winter with a relative and while there bought an older Bounder MH in what looked like decent condition.  She bought a car to tow and came over to Yuma to get some dental work done in Los Algadones Mex. 

She was going to drive it home to Wisc alone a week after we were going to leave.  I asked her if she had checked tires.  It turned out the tires were 11 years old.  I never did hear if she got them changed and made it home or not, I often wondered.  I know at $600 - $1000 per tire she was not happy to have to address the question.

Every used vehicle I have ever bought has had new tires on it from the seller or I put them on immediately.  They are just to critical.


Tom...

ummm, 6 new tires on my Bounder cost $1660 mounted, balanced with powder and carcasses disposed of.

Bill

driftless shifter said:

ummm, 6 new tires on my Bounder cost $1660 mounted, balanced with powder and carcasses disposed of.

Bill

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Many of the later Bounders have the 22.5" wheels, making tires very expensive. Even the older ones often had 19" -- are yours the 16" variety? $1660 for 6 sounds awfully good to me.

That's about what my Bridgestone 8R19.5 tires were. Don't remember the exact cost but they were close to that with rim weights. They've been on more than a year now, very happy with them.

What is Grandpa 's RV, it may not be worth washing if its too old and worn out and certainly not worth fighting about. 

I don't see any way in which this situation will resolve itself peacefully and to your benefit.  As the others have said, the expense of getting this old RV ready to use simply might not be worth it.  That said, my conclusion is "Run, don't walk, to the nearest exit."  It doesn't sound like this family is trustworthy enough be involved in a co-ownership.

ArdraF

My tires are 8r19.5. 11r24.5 don't even cost $600.

Bill

Okay...its a 2003 279 ds Ford leprechaun coachman..

driftless shifter said:

My tires are 8r19.5. 11r24.5 don't even cost $600.

Bill

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I was probably misinformed.  I have a TT and my neighbor in Yuma had a 44' MH (Very Nice One) and he had just changed all six tires at Yuma Tire for $600+ per tire.  He told me some that he did not choose were just shy of $1000 ea.

I'd forget about that deal and get my own.  This can only end badly.

I will cast a strong vote for running away from this situation.  My wife and her brother own a small cottage on the ocean and it is a constant source of family tension.  Even though the finances are set in stone, the use and on-going housekeeping are a total nightmare. 

lydia_maria said:

Hello..so here's my problem..my husband and I are planning a cross country rv trip. The rv we plan to use belonged to my husband's grandpa Bob. It's a very nice rv that has been sitting unused in his shop for several years. Unfortunately, it has been defiled by mice and neglected. We plan on having it detailed and serviced prior to our trip so we can do a couple test runs. My brother in law and his family suddenly just can't wait till we get it ready so they can use it too! This is a family that has a track record of being destructive and unclean. My stomach turns just thinking about them taking it out on an excursion. I don't know how to navigate around this issue delicately. Technically the rv "belongs to everyone", but if we invest our time and money into it then I would like to enjoy the cleanliness of the rv before they "get ahold of it". I know this sounds horrible and unkind of me, but the extent of their disrespect for property is shocking. Any suggestions? Has anyone ever had a similar problem??

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Personally I don't think your being fair nor  are you entitled to use it more than the next owner no matter what you personally believe
Before anything sit down with all the owners and air your grievance,s with them. ASK who is really interested in sharing in the use of this unit.Explain that whatever expenses the MH incoures to make it road worthy and for continued maintenance it is also a family affair same as the ownership is. Start a RV fund to be paid equally.No contribution no useage
by all interested party's
Regarding the I cant clean it myself then get the DH to do it> Iam a do it myself guy and have cleaned the MH by myself many times

For a realistic price point I bought 8 Bridgestone tires for my rig last month and after much bargaining and searching paid only $6263.00 for the tires with mounting and spin balancing. Depending on the tire size they can be very expensive. Michelins were just over $1,000.00 more for the set. (with the FMCA discount)

Nobody said RVing was cheap, but it sure is fun.

Ken

My suggestion, sit down with the rest of the relatives in question, find out if they are willing to give you clear title to the Rv via you buying, them giving or some compromise in between. If you can not get clear title to it ,Run ,don' walk away from it and don't look back. An Rv owned by multiple people can only lead to expensive problems for the ones who are willing to look after it . Take my word for it there are users and ill-users in every family and the ill-users will never want to pay their share......Alan

It's amazing how friends and relatives think they hav a free pass to RV travels. Just be firm and say no. Some may not appreciate the frankness, but who cares. You just don't need them tagging along.

The value on this 2003 Coachmen 279 is a low retail of about $24,000.  When you account for new tires, this would subtract from the value.  As others have said, if the others don't want to share in the expenses, either walk away or buy them out.  If there are a dozen interests, $2k per interest.  OR split equally among and let everyone contribute $500, getting $6k in the maintenance fund.

Personally, I would rent one for the trip, have fun and tlet them consider options.

The relatives can't wait until the RV is roadworthy, so that they can start using it for free!! 

My bet is when they find out there will be costs involved, they will not or cannot contribute. 

Personally, I would run far away and fast!!

Yep, I'd be running away too.
I suspect my DW would be much more likely to go along with it though.  When we were considering buying, and the issue of where to park it came up.... several different times this was discussed, she almost always suggested a friend that we should ask, that has a double lot and no HOA.....she said, "we could just park it there, and let them use it".  Then I said "NO WAYYYYYYY!"  Am I selfish?

blw2 said:

Yep, I'd be running away too.
I suspect my DW would be much more likely to go along with it though.  When we were considering buying, and the issue of where to park it came up.... several different times this was discussed, she almost always suggested a friend that we should ask, that has a double lot and no HOA.....she said, "we could just park it there, and let them use it".  Then I said "NO WAYYYYYYY!"  Am I selfish?

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Selfish? no. Quite probably doing them a favor.
We've already been asked by friends if they could use our class A. I explained to them that it took me a solid month to figure out how everything worked on this rig, and several outings to really get a system down as to its operation. Do they really want to spend their vacation familiarizing themselves with RV functionality? Or would they rather spend the time enjoying themselves. I also would feel bad needing them to pay for something they damaged.
That was the end of the asking...

I'm here to share more on our situation..we had a ridiculous time trying to get the keys to the rv. They were taken from the rv by my other brother in law who was concerned about the same thing that has me flustered. It was a few years ago, so he couldn't find them apparently. We had a company come out and make keys and it cost $210. I looked into renting an rv yesterday because this situation has the propensity to explode, but my husband insists on  getting this one in tip top shape. He is excited to get it going and looks forward to traveling to beautiful places to golf. My brother in law asked him yesterday if it was ready yet because they wanted to start taking it to their rodeos. My heart sank, but my dear husband said that if we had to detail it again after they use it then so be it. He is willing to pay the price to keep the peace. They are not interested in financially contributing. To those readers who think that I am being unfair and selfish, I wish you could experience the dismay from their lack of care or concern. They currently live in Grandpa's house and I have a hard time going inside when I visit. My mother and father in law keep their visits outside as well. My son will never spend the night with his cousins due to the condition of that house. It hurts my heart to see what they are doing to a home that meant so much to my husbands grandparents. Anyways..I suppose I will support my husbands decision and hope for the best. To clear up any confusion-they weren't intending on going to Kentucky..they are just anxiously awaiting to use it ASAP. Which means that they will most certainly use before our planned trip in Oct. It also means we will be detailing it twice. Does anyone remember that movie Overboard? Remember what Kurt Russell's house and kids were like? Lol..its kinda like that...