Class C Lifespan and 240-Month Financing

[Isaac-1]

Its insane all around, even when it comes to farmland, the selling prices being seen for some farmland here in Louisiana exceed the profits that the land could bring in over 50 years worth of farming.

 

[DonTom]

Its insane all around, even when it comes to farmland, the selling prices being seen for some farmland here in Louisiana exceed the profits that the land could bring in over 50 years worth of farming.

Perhaps they plan on selling that farmland for housing.

The way things are going, we could all starve.

-Don- Auburn, CA

 

[Kittykamper]

Its insane all around, even when it comes to farmland, the selling prices being seen for some farmland here in Louisiana exceed the profits that the land could bring in over 50 years worth of farming.

It’s sad to see that happening, I know. Here in NY, they completely slashed and leveled a gigantic piece of rural land to build a computer chip factory. It makes me sad every time I drive past it.

 

[Edd505]

If you finance keep payments you can afford and double or triple up as you can. My 30 year house loan taken in 2015 will be paid off this year doing just that.

 

[Isaac-1]

We have some family inherited farm land in north eastern Louisiana a hundred or so miles away from here that we are considering selling for multiple reasons (the cousin that has been farming it for the last 35 years is having health issues, and offers on it keep going up). What is going on with land prices there just seems crazy, this is an economically depressed area that has depopulated by over 30% in the last 30 years, all the jobs have moved away, stores have closed up, nearest hospital or Walmart is 40 miles away, ..yet we have received offers on our land there that are 2-3 times the average cost of similar farmland in the region. In recent years several rich and famous people have bought large multi thousand acre tracts of land in the immediate area (15 mile radius) which they seem to then try and grow crops on that are not historically grown in the area, and are completely failing at it according the to local AG office, USDA office, etc.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Kitty, I was lucky enough to come across our "find" with the 2018 Class C through my sister-in-law, who knew one of her best friends was thinking of selling her rig.

But the more resources you utilize and the more people you talk to, the more gems you'll find out there in every type of RV waiting to be found. RVing is one industry that folks buy on a whim, and then realize they don't have the time or extra money to use and enjoy it.

Don't be frightened away by high asking prices for years-old RVs; do your pricing research and be prepared to know what something you come across is really worth, not what the seller is asking, or looking to close an upside-down loan where the RV is worth less than they owe on it because they took out a 20-year loan.

 

[Kittykamper]

Kitty, I was lucky enough to come across our "find" with the 2018 Class C through my sister-in-law, who knew one of her best friends was thinking of selling her rig.

But the more resources you utilize and the more people you talk to, the more gems you'll find out there in every type of RV waiting to be found. RVing is one industry that folks buy on a whim, and then realize they don't have the time or extra money to use and enjoy it.

Don't be frightened away by high asking prices for years-old RVs; do your pricing research and be prepared to know what something you come across is really worth, not what the seller is asking, or looking to close an upside-down loan where the RV is worth less than they owe on it because they took out a 20-year loan.

Thanks Adventurous fellow NY’er! Oh that’s great that you found your rig that way. I always look through RV trader and think, “hmmm…. I wonder why they’re selling that.” I wonder if they’re trying to unload a problem or if it’s as you mentioned above, where they just didn’t realize all that was entailed. I like your optimistic outlook though - "the more gems you'll find out there.”

 

[Kittykamper]

Is it a dumb idea to buy a Class C and have it as your primary, year-round residence? If it has engine issues, that would mean staying in a hotel while it’s being repaired. Anybody out there experienced this?

 

[TheBar]

Is it a dumb idea to buy a Class C and have it as your primary, year-round residence? If it has engine issues, that would mean staying in a hotel while it’s being repaired. Anybody out there experienced this?

It depends on your resources. If you don't have lots of extra money floating around its is a really dumb idea.

An apartment or house is always going to be $x,000 per month. You select one you can afford. You live happily ever after.

An apartment doesn't require gas, oil changes, tires, fan belts, radiator hoses, etc. It doesn't have to be driven to Florida to keep from freezing in the winter and back to NY to avoid a heat stroke in the summer. Those trips get expensive.

There's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes Benz or a cheap RV. For example if it the engine breaks down it can cost $8,000+ to rebuild it. If you don't have $8,000 you may have to pay someone $500 to haul it to a salvage yard. Then you're homeless. If you have a loan on it you still have to pay off the loan and can't afford an apartment. You are cursing the day you bought it. And you don't live happily ever after.

 

[Isaac-1]

$8,000 engine rebuild prices are likely a bit out of date, these days for a gas RV engine replacement you are likely looking at closer to $20,000 if you are not doing it as a DIY project, assuming you have a shop and most of the needed tools and even then are you are likely looking at over $6,000 with a long block alone likely being $4,500+ of that. If being done by a shop you have to also add in expense of somewhere to stay for the weeks or perhaps months it takes to get this job done.

The last price I heard someone paying for a 8.1L engine swap in a Trek like mine was over $15,000 and that was pre-covid prices

 

[DonTom]

If it has engine issues, that would mean staying in a hotel while it’s being repaired. Anybody out there experienced this?

Depends. You may be able to live in it as it is being repaired. And yes, I did exactly that when my transmission crapped out in Needles, CA in my Y2K Class C. My own fault, as you can see here.

I had a lot of other issues taken care of then, new tires, brakes, shocks and more. I poured a lot of money into it then, but I am still using it. I will leave for a trip in it within a couple of weeks. I own two motorhomes and I usually use a different one for each trip. Listed in by signature line below this message.

Anyway, I lived in the RV every night, walked around Needles every day for a week or so.

They were able to connect me to water and electricity while I was at the shop in Needles.

-Don- Reno, NV

 

[Isaac-1]

Also keep in mind how much of a delay such things are depends on how much of a DIY'er you are. For example last summer on the way home on the next to the last day of a 5 week long , 3,600+ mile trip only 240 miles from home, the starter on my coach burned out as I was pulling into an RV site at a campground at around 6 pm. I had stopped at check in, then when I started the coach back up to pull into my site the starter solenoid stuck and continued to crank the starter after the engine was running, and kept cranking until the magic smoke came out.

I immediately got online searching to see if any of the local autoparts stores had a starter in stock, found exactly one 6 miles away at an O'Reilly Autoparts, I unhooked my TOAD car, made it there 45 minutes before closing, stopped and ate some TexMex food on the way back to the campground, went to bed, and woke up just after sunrise the next morning, crawled under the coach, and had the starter swapped out in under 45 minutes. I knew exactly what was involved with this job as I had just done a couple of years previously at an RV park in Galveston, Texas around Christmas of 2021.

 

[TheBar]

$8,000 engine rebuild prices are likely a bit out of date, these days for a gas RV engine replacement you are likely looking at closer to $20,000 if you are not doing it as a DIY project, assuming you have a shop and most of the needed tools and even then are you are likely looking at over $6,000 with a long block alone likely being $4,500+ of that. If being done by a shop you have to also add in expense of somewhere to stay for the weeks or perhaps months it takes to get this job done.

The last price I heard someone paying for a 8.1L engine swap in a Trek like mine was over $15,000 and that was pre-covid prices

Maybe in Class A but she asked about a Class C. A Chevy or Ford rebuilt engine swap would not be $20,000.

 

[Oldgator73]

I’ve been looking at new SUV’s and vans. Interest rates are low, 0%-1.99% but the cost of the vehicles are way too high at $50,000 and up. I just looked at a 2007 handicap fitted van with less than 100,000 miles. Asking price is $17,000 which I would make a lower offer on. I don’t need a handicap van but the lift in the rear would come in handy since we are rehabbing a cottage in Virginia and having materials shipped to Delaware (no sales tax) and transporting them to Virginia. The used car interest rate for the van is 11.9% so I would pay cash. I read the other day that the average new car price is $50,000. Vans, trucks and SUVs are in some cases well over $100,000. We, or maybe just me, need a manufacturer to sell a truck or van that is bare bones for less than $25,000. I would buy it.

 

[Adventurous Traveler]

Is it a dumb idea to buy a Class C and have it as your primary, year-round residence? If it has engine issues, that would mean staying in a hotel while it’s being repaired. Anybody out there experienced this?

For one, between paying for the RV on payments with an interest rate probably between 6% and 8.5%, plus adding in the cost of a campsite monthly, bi-yearly, or yearly, an apartment would probably be cheaper, maybe a lot cheaper. That doesn't even take into account winter in Upstate NY. RVs, for the most part, are not four-season vehicles. Sure, you'll read on this forum and others of some who have taken extensive steps to make their RV habitable through Northern Winters, but at additional great expense, and these folks are definitely the exception, not the rule of RV life.

The second part of your statement regarding engine issues is much easier to answer. There aren't many issues to worry about with the Ford V10 found in Class A and Class C motorhomes up to about 2020, or the newer V8 engine found in newer models. Some forum members got a little off track by saying If you had to replace the engine, you would be looking at $20K at least". Even if you put 100K miles on a Class C, the chances that you would need to replace the engine are less than you winning the lottery. In addition, parts and supplies for these two common engines are plentiful. Same thing with mechanics and locations where you could take the rig in for service. This is exactly why my wife and I are moving down to a Class C from our diesel motorhome; the maintenance and cost of repair on the Class C will be minuscule compared to what I've forked out on our current RV, over $25K this past April alone!

There's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes Benz or a cheap RV

Bar, this is almost a Profound statement. Love it!

 

[Joezeppy]

We, or maybe just me, need a manufacturer to sell a truck or van that is bare bones for less than $25,000. I would buy it.

Nothing I would consider at this point in my life but this reminds me of my first new vehicle - a stripped, 2WD 1991 Chevy S10.

Slate

Slate Auto | The Customizable EV That Works for You

www.slate.auto

 

[Kirk]

. I wonder why they’re selling that.” I wonder if they’re trying to unload a problem or if it’s as you mentioned above, where they just didn’t realize all that was entailed.

Keep in mind that there are professional, certified pre-purchase RV inspectors who can usually figure out which of the reasons the RV is being sold. The inspections cost several hundred dollars but they can save you thousands.

Is it a dumb idea to buy a Class C and have it as your primary, year-round residence? If it has engine issues, that would mean staying in a hotel while it’s being repaired. Anybody out there experienced this?

While it was not a class C but an A, we lived in ours that we bought new until it was 13 years old (kept it one more year). In that time, we had repairs done several times that took more than a day and twice we stayed in the RV at night and twice we stayed elsewhere. Both of the elsewhere cases were such that we could schedule them to stay with a relative while it was being repaired. It is a good idea to have some reserves for such emergencies, but that is true for any lifestyle one may choose.

 

[RV_Lee122]

What are your plans? To stay in upstate NY with it? That would be very difficult come winter time. You would end up in a year round RV park because they would be the only ones with open dump stations / water. If thats the end game a trailer is the better choice, but spending the winter in one up there will be miserable

If your plan is to chase warm weather just get a class C that checks all the boxes and hit the road, many people are doing this.

 

[Kittykamper]

What are your plans? To stay in upstate NY with it? That would be very difficult come winter time. You would end up in a year round RV park because they would be the only ones with open dump stations / water. If thats the end game a trailer is the better choice, but spending the winter in one up there will be miserable

If your plan is to chase warm weather just get a class C that checks all the boxes and hit the road, many people are doing this.

I want to leave New York and never return. I have always had a nomadic nature and have lived all over the US. I should’ve bought a “house on wheels” years ago. I could have saved a ton of money on rent! I like what you said about “chasing the warm weather.” That sounds great!

 

[Kittykamper]

I’ve been looking at new SUV’s and vans. Interest rates are low, 0%-1.99% but the cost of the vehicles are way too high at $50,000 and up. I just looked at a 2007 handicap fitted van with less than 100,000 miles. Asking price is $17,000 which I would make a lower offer on. I don’t need a handicap van but the lift in the rear would come in handy since we are rehabbing a cottage in Virginia and having materials shipped to Delaware (no sales tax) and transporting them to Virginia. The used car interest rate for the van is 11.9% so I would pay cash. I read the other day that the average new car price is $50,000. Vans, trucks and SUVs are in some cases well over $100,000. We, or maybe just me, need a manufacturer to sell a truck or van that is bare bones for less than $25,000. I would buy it.

I totally agree, gator! I don’t need bells and whistles in a vehicle at a ridiculously inflated price. Give me the bare bones vehicle too.
Yes, sounds like the handicap lift will come in handy with the building materials for the cottage.