Can I get what I want within budget?

[Octagonal Drake]

Hello everyone!

So, in the spirit of full transparency, I'm new to all RVs. I have attempted to read similar threads to self educate, so I apologize if this is a repetitive type question. I've been a member of other forums where I'm not so naive and I know how newbs (like me) can keep asking the same questions over and over. I do apologize if this falls into this category and would happy to read any threads that are handy for you to link. In attempt to keep this shorter, I'll bullet point items below.

• When would we go? - Approximately 15 months from today.
• Who is going? - Me, my wife, 4 yo child, and a newish baby approx. 6 months at the time of leaving. Oh and the dog. It's small. It's my wife's. It's free if anyone wants it . J/k
• Trip length - Approx. 1 year to see a good chunk of the lower 48 states. We will be picking up and moving often, likely to never be in one spot for more than a week.
• We will pull behind our existing Kia Sorento if possible.
• We will obviously stay at RV parks for hook-ups as needed, but will try to alternate w/ free locations to keep costs down.
• We'd like a RELIABLE Class A used Motorhome. I've done a fair amount of home remodeling, so basic plumbing, electrical, etc house type maintenance is in my wheelhouse. I'm not a mechanic however. Something that can get us around the country with likely success is paramount even though I know nobody has a crystal ball.
• Ideal budget if possible: $30-50k. We could be talked into a trailer/truck combo if that's the only option, but with 4 humans and a dog we feel like the motorhome space while driving might be better. We'd plan to sell the MH or the trailer/truck combo once we return.

Is this realistically possible? Or is the budget simply too tight to expect a reliable MH at the size we would need?



Kind of a tangent, but what I'm estimating for costs are outlined below. They may not be accurate and are almost all soft numbers, but it gives me a start.

One time cost		Monthly Cost
Item	Cost	Item	Cost
Motorhome	$ 40,000.00	Health Insurance	$ 1,200.00
Immediate MH Repairs	$ 5,000.00	Gas/Fuel	$ 650.00
		Food	$ 600.00
		RV Park Fees	$ 750.00
		Self Storage	$ 400.00
		RV Insurance	$ 125.00
		Car Insurance	$ 100.00
		Phone Bill	$ 150.00
		Entertainment	$ 500.00
		Child Expenses	$ 100.00
TOTAL START UP	$ 45,000.00	TOTAL MONTHLY	$ 4,575.00

 

[SeilerBird]

It is realistic but the idea of finding one that is reliable is fantasy. You can read about it forever but there is just no way to know if any given RV is reliable. Your budget is not too accurate either. $650 for gas is way too much. The object of full timing is to see as much of the country as you can, but you gotta stop and smell the roses.

Plan out a trip that takes you 50 to 100 miles to the next destination then stay there for a week. There is no need for extremely long drives. You cannot see this country in one year. Maybe one fourth if you are diligent. Get out Google Maps and put some pins in the must see spots. After you have a map full of pins you can figure out a reasonable trip. Remember this will not be the only trip you take, save some of the country for the next trip. Not many noobies realize it but it takes seven 8 hour days of driving an RV to get from Florida to California.

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Maybe to help zero in on the fuel cost approximation a bit, consider the route you'd take and figure out the distance travelled. My class A gets about 7MPG so you could plug the miles and current fuel cost into that and get a closer figure. I would treat the toad miles/gas separate, since that's likely what you'd be doing the actual sightseeing with.

+1 on SeilerBird's comment on reliability. Until you get into the coach class of RV's built on bus chassis, most RV's are a crappy house built onto a delivery truck. It's unrealistic to expect to drive any vehicle that far and that long without an issue, much less regular maintenance, RV or not. Read through the forums here or anywhere really and get an idea of the problems all RV's have, new or old, expensive or cheap. These are not a Honda you air the tires and change the oil for the first 10 years, they're a rolling maintenance and repair train wreck. Which is just part of the "making memories" deal, you just have to decide if that price of admission is worth what you hope to accomplish. Not trying to pee in your wheaties but this business is anything but just checking some boxes and off you go. Think of it more like crossing the plains in an 1800's conestoga wagon train. I'd want a chassis that's currently supported with a recognized dealer network and a premium roadside assistance plan in place if I was going to be away from my home base for that long.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[Octagonal Drake]

It is realistic but the idea of finding one that is reliable is fantasy. You can read about it forever but there is just no way to know if any given RV is reliable. Your budget is not too accurate either. $650 for gas is way too much. The object of full timing is to see as much of the country as you can, but you gotta stop and smell the roses.

Plan out a trip that takes you 50 to 100 miles to the next destination then stay there for a week. There is no need for extremely long drives. You cannot see this country in one year. Maybe one fourth if you are diligent. Get out Google Maps and put some pins in the must see spots. After you have a map full of pins you can figure out a reasonable trip. Remember this will not be the only trip you take, save some of the country for the next trip. Not many noobies realize it but it takes seven 8 hour days of driving an RV to get from Florida to California.

Totally agree that it's impossible to see everything in a year. But we'd like to basically make a "loop" around the US with some zigs and zags to hit the highlights we want most. Basically going across the northern half in the summer and the southern half in the winter. Not sure we'd be interested in doing 50-100 miles every week. That would only get us to maybe one coast and then back home (we're in the middle of the US). Of course, we may realize that there are some highlights we simply will have to leave out for now.

Maybe to help zero in on the fuel cost approximation a bit, consider the route you'd take and figure out the distance travelled. My class A gets about 7MPG so you could plug the miles and current fuel cost into that and get a closer figure. I would treat the toad miles/gas separate, since that's likely what you'd be doing the actual sightseeing with.

+1 on SeilerBird's comment on reliability. Until you get into the coach class of RV's built on bus chassis, most RV's are a crappy house built onto a delivery truck. It's unrealistic to expect to drive any vehicle that far and that long without an issue, much less regular maintenance, RV or not. Read through the forums here or anywhere really and get an idea of the problems all RV's have, new or old, expensive or cheap. These are not a Honda you air the tires and change the oil for the first 10 years, they're a rolling maintenance and repair train wreck. Which is just part of the "making memories" deal, you just have to decide if that price of admission is worth what you hope to accomplish. Not trying to pee in your wheaties but this business is anything but just checking some boxes and off you go. Think of it more like crossing the plains in an 1800's conestoga wagon train. I'd want a chassis that's currently supported with a recognized dealer network and a premium roadside assistance plan in place if I was going to be away from my home base for that long.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

As far as fuel, I think I estimated 15k miles in the year at around $3.50/gal with the MH getting 7-8 mpg. Can't remember exactly but something like that.

As far as peeing in my wheaties, not at all. I want the cold hard truth. I guess I just don't want to regularly be stranded due to problems. Maybe that's just the way it is? Or are the problems more maintenance type stuff where you're noticing a problem and you have a couple thousand miles to make sure you get somewhere to fix? It's very difficult for me to even estimate how much down time and money might be needed to keep it road worthy. I know you can't just say "it will cost $X per year", but I'm just trying to wrap my head around what to expect.

As an example, I'd be looking at something similar to this one. Not exact or anything, but probably something in that age and price. Maybe something like this is likely to be riddled w/ problems?

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[SeilerBird]

That Fleetwood is sweet looking would do the job very nicely. Just be prepared to spend money and have it inspected by a good RV inspector before you buy. They all have problems just be prepared to spend some money.

 

[Octagonal Drake]

That Fleetwood is sweet looking would do the job very nicely. Just be prepared to spend money and have it inspected by a good RV inspector before you buy. They all have problems just be prepared to spend some money.

Thanks Seiler. On a 15-20 year old Class A similar to that one, what should I budget for repairs maintenance over 1 year and approximately 15k miles? I absolutely will not keep anyone to this, I know there is no way to truly know. But shooting from the hip, if you had to guess type of number would be good if you don't mind taking a stab at it.

Oh, and yea, no matter what I'll have it inspected before purchasing!

 

[SeilerBird]

I would guess at $200 a month.

 

[Octagonal Drake]

I would guess at $200 a month.

OK, I don't consider that too serious if it played out that way. Thank you for all your help.

Do you, or anyone else, have an opinion on when age and/or mileage become a significant concern? As I alluded to, I'm thinking with my budget I'm probably looking at something 15 years old +/- a few years. And then hoping for 50k miles give or take. Assuming an inspection went well, anything worrisome about that age and mileage?

 

[thelazyl]

My scenario is different because our 2003 Fleetwood is diesel. However, this is my experience over the last 4 years in hopes it may help:

$950 - initial maintenance of engine fluids/filters, generator, and transmission. $350 each year since for engine oil/filters. I have a shop do this. I believe a gasser is much cheaper.
$2,500 for new tires as the existing ones were 7 years old
$150 to repair the refrigerator
$100 to repair the roof when I backed into a tree
$0 to repair the basement storage doors when I took a turn too tight (covered by insurance)
$15 to repair a bad "reed switch" on the screen door which controller the automatic steps (part only)

We've put 15,000 miles on it.
It's probably time for new batteries (2 chassis and 4 house). I haven't priced this yet.

I hope it helps.

 

[SeilerBird]

OK, I don't consider that too serious if it played out that way. Thank you for all your help.

Do you, or anyone else, have an opinion on when age and/or mileage become a significant concern? As I alluded to, I'm thinking with my budget I'm probably looking at something 15 years old +/- a few years. And then hoping for 50k miles give or take. Assuming an inspection went well, anything worrisome about that age and mileage?

Mileage really doesn't matter. The house will wear out long before the drive train. Overall RVs are driven about 6000 miles a year so a 20 year old RV would have 120k miles on it and would still be working just fine if normal maintenance is done. I have bought older and cheaper RVs and they turned out fine, but I am a DIYer retired electrician so I didn't have to pay much for labor. No matter what you buy you can count on a new set of tires and resealing the roof right off the bat. That will be a few grand.

 

[Octagonal Drake]

My scenario is different because our 2003 Fleetwood is diesel. However, this is my experience over the last 4 years in hopes it may help:

$950 - initial maintenance of engine fluids/filters, generator, and transmission. $350 each year since for engine oil/filters. I have a shop do this. I believe a gasser is much cheaper.
$2,500 for new tires as the existing ones were 7 years old
$150 to repair the refrigerator
$100 to repair the roof when I backed into a tree
$0 to repair the basement storage doors when I took a turn too tight (covered by insurance)
$15 to repair a bad "reed switch" on the screen door which controller the automatic steps (part only)

We've put 15,000 miles on it.
It's probably time for new batteries (2 chassis and 4 house). I haven't priced this yet.

I hope it helps.

Absolutely it helps, thank you.

 

[Octagonal Drake]

Mileage really doesn't matter. The house will wear out long before the drive train. Overall RVs are driven about 6000 miles a year so a 20 year old RV would have 120k miles on it and would still be working just fine if normal maintenance is done. I have bought older and cheaper RVs and they turned out fine, but I am a DIYer retired electrician so I didn't have to pay much for labor. No matter what you buy you can count on a new set of tires and resealing the roof right off the bat. That will be a few grand.

Good info there as well. Sounds like most reliability issues are on the bells/whistles than it is on the things that keep you rolling down the road. Also sounds like, as much as anything, how well it was cared for is possibly the most important consideration.

 

[ziplock]

Trip length - Approx. 1 year to see a good chunk of the lower 48 states. We will be picking up and moving often, likely to never be in one spot for more than a week.

Have you read Amanda's Lower 48 thread and blog?

Lower 48

I know it's super early, but I've been planning a trip around the country with my kiddos. We're leaving July 31, 2019 and coming home, to NY, in June 2020. By then, we will have been to all 48 of the continental United States. We're so excited. I have a lot of the planning done, but not all of...

www.rvforum.net

RV Mama to 6

Adventures of a homeschooling single Mama to an adopted sibling group of 6 kids traveling the country by RV

rvmama6.home.blog

She took 6 kids across the US and documented it and shared the prices of gas and stuff. You will have to scroll DOWN to get to the beginning of the blog.

You and your wife might enjoy the blog. Start at the very first post of Amandas story on her blog.

 

[Octagonal Drake]

Have you read Amanda's Lower 48 thread and blog?

Lower 48

I know it's super early, but I've been planning a trip around the country with my kiddos. We're leaving July 31, 2019 and coming home, to NY, in June 2020. By then, we will have been to all 48 of the continental United States. We're so excited. I have a lot of the planning done, but not all of...

www.rvforum.net

RV Mama to 6

Adventures of a homeschooling single Mama to an adopted sibling group of 6 kids traveling the country by RV

rvmama6.home.blog

She took 6 kids across the US and documented it and shared the prices of gas and stuff. You will have to scroll DOWN to get to the beginning of the blog.

You and your wife might enjoy the blog. Start at the very first post of Amandas story on her blog.

I haven't, but I will! And....um....6 kids? LOL, I don't have any excuses if someone can do that!

 

[SeilerBird]

Amandas trip was hit and run, they didn't stay many places very long. They did see the entire country before the pandemic caused her to stop. BTW - her kids are all adopted. She is an angel.

 

[Isaac-1]

My advice is start with reading this thread Lower 48, and this blog RV Mama to 6 as it is about a single mother to 6 kids that did much of the sort of thing you are talking about doing, though her 12 month 48 state trip was cut a few months short due to covid. The blog includes monthly budget updates, repair cost, fuel numbers, etc. As to can it be done, the answer is yes, if I were to do it given your situation I would be looking at a mid size gas class A probably in the less than 10 year age range, along with a good "extended warranty / repair insurance" along with a good roadside service plan (coachnet, FMCA roadside assitance, Escapees roadside assistance, etc) to cover those things that will brake, as well as flat tires and potential towing. Most of the extended warranty RV companies will sell plans for coaches up to 15 years of age, and at least 1 will sell them for coaches up to 20 years old. Some of these plans are much better than others. Off hand I would probably look at a Winnebago Vista from about 2012, as Winnebago has great support for older coaches, including a good number of house side support parts, wiring diagrams, etc. Perhaps something as small as the 27N due to its large kitchen, and bathroom though it does lack having a sofa, and life might get cramped in something that small. the 30T and 32K could also be worth considering, though they have other trade offs. There are a number of 2011-2014 Winnebago vistas listed on RV trader at the moment with asking prices between $42,000 - $50,000, keep in mind asking and selling are not the same thing.

 

[Octagonal Drake]

My advice is start with reading this thread Lower 48, and this blog RV Mama to 6 as it is about a single mother to 6 kids that did much of the sort of thing you are talking about doing, though her 12 month 48 state trip was cut a few months short due to covid. The blog includes monthly budget updates, repair cost, fuel numbers, etc. As to can it be done, the answer is yes, if I were to do it given your situation I would be looking at a mid size gas class A probably in the less than 10 year age range, along with a good "extended warranty / repair insurance" along with a good roadside service plan (coachnet, FMCA roadside assitance, Escapees roadside assistance, etc) to cover those things that will brake, as well as flat tires and potential towing. Most of the extended warranty RV companies will sell plans for coaches up to 15 years of age, and at least 1 will sell them for coaches up to 20 years old. Some of these plans are much better than others. Off hand I would probably look at a Winnebago Vista from about 2012, as Winnebago has great support for older coaches, including a good number of house side support parts, wiring diagrams, etc. Perhaps something as small as the 27N due to its large kitchen, and bathroom though it does lack having a sofa, and life might get cramped in something that small. the 30T and 32K could also be worth considering, though they have other trade offs. There are a number of 2011-2014 Winnebago vistas listed on RV trader at the moment with asking prices between $42,000 - $50,000, keep in mind asking and selling are not the same thing.

Very helpful, thank you!

 

[SeilerBird]

I should warn you in advance. Full timing is not as great as it sounds. It is one hell of a lot better. Almost every full timer I have known claims it is the best decision they ever made. If you have not seen The Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Yosemite, Yellowstone or most all of the other western National Parks you are in for a huge surprise. There are great reasons why they are National Parks. Photos and descriptions just don't explain the awesomeness of these special places. And there are over 50 NPs in the lower 48.

 

[Isaac-1]

A few comments on your detailed budget, first motorhomes get about 8 mpg, assume you are going to be paying at least $3 per gallon, and will travel somewhere between 200-350 miles per travel day (or in other words $40 in fuel for every 100 miles of travel) plan out your route and multiple. As to the rest, I am paying less for insurance, but my coach is a bit older (will turn 20 this year), paying $62 per month with Allstate for fairly basic coverage, plus glass breakage with $250 deductible (class A windshields are expensive so get glass coverage) of course that does not include a TOAD car. RV park cost can be all over the place, using Passport America discount program (50% off, but often with restrictions, like 1 night only, weekdays only, off season only, etc. terms vary by park) I have paid as little as $17 per night for full hookups at reasonably nice commercial RV parks (say the RV equivelent of Comfort Inn, or Hampton Inn), though $35-$40 per night is more typical, higher in tourist areas. Water and electric only public campgrounds at State parks, COE campgrounds, etc, are often in the $20 per night range in my part of the country, and I have stayed at local municipal parks, town rec centers with RV spaces, etc. for as little as $10 per night with water and electric when traveling (in Kansas, etc.) Then of course there is free overnight parking, or boondocking, either Wal-Mart, Cracker Barrel, Flying J parking lots, for overnighting on travel days, or BLM or National Forest land for more remote camping. So $750 per month is certainly possible for RV site cost, though will likely not be full hookups every night.

p.s. keep in mind many western National parks have few campground sites that will accept motorhomes over about 32 ft long, leaving you limited to nearby commercial campgrounds and higher nightly rates.

 

[SpencerPJ]

I can not offer much advise except, have any motorhome you intend to purchase professionally inspected. Being a newbie, some things could be easily overlooked that a professional might pick up.