OP you have already done an excellent job on your research. To add my two bits to the conversation don't be intimidated by all the banter about the maintenance of things. When I bought my first class A about ten years ago I didn't know that much about RV's at all. I called a local person selling his and I watched and waited almost three months before I finally called him to get the low down on his unit for sale. After I hung up from him my wife asked me what I thought. My answer was if we "are" going to make the move and get into RV'ing, and buy used/private, then that's the guy I want to buy it from. I just had a feeling he was honest and up front with me. Two weeks later we made the deal. When we went to pick up the rig I went inside and their was this large pile of tan bath towels sitting on the dinette. I asked Craig, the seller, what's with the towels, I thought he forgot to take them out. His answer, they came with the RV and sheepishly he said they use them to cover the upholstery to keep them nice. That took away any second thoughts or possible anxiety I may of had about making the right decision or not. There are a lot of Craigs out there! The TV will be like any other vehicle that you own and use, it will need regular care and up keep with repairs on normal items like brakes and tie rod ends and stuff just like the lease car you would be ditching. That should be a wash, or close to it, in expense. It going the trailer route don't fear possible repairs. The major expense items like fridges, furnace, AC and electrical rarely break. You will be more involved with regular PM stuff like checking roof seams and re-caulking and watching tire pressures that replacing major dollar items. Besides using forums and opinions, get out and kick the tires on as many RV's as you can both new and used. Look at units outside of your price range and almost junk stuff to frame your mind on what you are looking at. Soon you too will be able to spot things to look at more specifically as you narrow in to what you are looking for. Remember, the number one rule of your comfort with any kind of RV will be "Floor Plan". Look at rigs with the idea of being stuck inside with your 2 kids for a couple of days because of inclement weather. Will you survive one another? In addition, when you are working up your budgets and financial picture, don't forget to look at some of your home expenses that will be less expensive while out on the road with the camper that will be rolled into your camping budget, i.e. utilities, laundry, food (campers tend to eat less expensive meals because of more limited cooking space and food storage). Regarding vehicles, if I were to go the truck/trailer route I would want more than a F150 or GM1500 towing a 6600# trailer. My buddy had a 2013 brand new F150 with I believe the 4.6V8 towing his 26' Jayco bunk house. Even on rolling hills with just him and his girl friend aboard he could feel the power sap from the little V8. He ditched the Ford for a 2014 Dodge with the larger Hemi motor. Huge difference in power. Another friend just last summer bought a 28' two year old class C as a former rental with 28K on miles at a local dealership for $49,000. It looks and smell brand new. The prices that you mention for former EL Monte rentals with a 100K + miles seem way out of wack. Even mileage amounts seem high because rental companies will turn their units over quicker than 100K miles to keep the re-sale up. Check out Cruise America in your area to see if they have any rigs for sale. They generally use Four Winds class C's (Thor Mfg.).
Good luck with your decisions. Its not as scary or expensive as one might think on the outside looking in. If you buy right, and there is Every indication you guys will, and you find that you don't care for the lifestyle after a season or two, well its not the end of the world. You sell what you bought, sure you may lose a little money, what is guaranteed in life, and move on to whatever appeals to you and the fam then.
