Confused about buying now.

[boaterkathy]

I posted as a wannabe about a year ago, as I had been trying to talk my husband into an RV.  We are retired Iowa teachers with a limited bankroll (my husband still drives a school bus route).  We have lived on a small cruiser on the Mississippi during the summers for several years and have been boaters for a long time. 
We love to travel and would like to do more now that we are retired.  We have a small dog that we hate to leave home and some of the affordable places that take pets creep me out! We also have a timeshare membership, which we love, but those places don't allow pets. A small RV would be perfect for us!

I have looked on the net at lots of the dealers around our half of the state, so I have a little bit of an idea about prices.  There is a small RV dealer in the area that sells Lexington and some Fleetwood RVs along with travel trailers and 5th wheelers.  We might be able to trade in our older 30 foot cruiser on an RV there, which is really the only way we could even think about buying an RV.  We have looked there a couple times, and today looked at a used 2006 Lexington 283 GTS with about 8,000 miles.  My husband still isn't completely convinced and really didn't want to get into payments, but if I could pull out some mutual fund money, we might be able to get the financed part down to maybe $12,000, which could probably be manageable. 
Help!!  Is the RV lifestyle terribly expensive?  We are used to cooking most all of our meals even on our boat, so would do that.  Gas prices are scary when considering an RV, though.  (Luckily we did our boat trips years ago when gas was lower.)  We don't want to buy one and then have gas prices all of a sudden put a stop to any traveling.  Neither of us are "fixers", so couldn't do maintenance ourselves. Are we stupid to even be considering this??  We know that we would have an absolute fantastic time RVing, but don't want to make the wrong decision.

Please help us with any advice or suggestions that you might have!

 

[rankjo]

Hi BoaterKathy, I'm on the Atlantic Time so I get first chance to post.
First of all, you are in a great position to buy a used RV, since you have no trade-in, and since you have time to look around to private sellers. No, I haven't forgotton your boat, but surely it must be hard to trade in a boat on an RV, and IMHO you would be better to sell it first, and then when you know what cash you have in hand you can make a decision.

Second, you don't need a 30 footer, nor such a new vehicle as the 06 you were talking about. If you can manage on a sailboat, with no headroom, little storage, and a tiny galley, RV-ing will be luxurious.
        a. if you go with 30 feet, then you have to consider towing a car, whereas if you stay below 24 feet, then you can take the thing shopping or downtown or out to the movies and park in a regular carpark. Big simplicity which Jane and I enjoyed for years. With two people and a small dog you will not be crowded in a 24 footer compared with boating.
        b. like boats, many ( but not all) RVs age well and are generally well maintained and have low mileage. It is often possible to pick up a private sale, ten year old, always garaged, unit with maybe 30,000 miles on it, and now that the market is down, and gas prices way up, RVs will be selling cheaper. Jane and I live in a 37 footer six months of the year, but we loved our 22 and had two dogs in it with us.
        c.the price of gas is irrelevant to RV-ing. A 22footer will use less gas than a 30 footer, but not much less. If you want to travel, RV travel is as cheap as any other way, eg taking a car and staying in motels. But many owners cry about it and there will be bargains available because of it.

So if it's travelling you want to do, and not just sitting around, stay small (22-24feet) and look at private sales in the late 90s. There are people on this forum who are buying vehicles from the eighties and even the seventies. Just like boats.

Try looking online eg RV Search.com or one of the other sites.
Best wishes
Rankjo

 

[PancakeBill]

Kelly, some dealers will take a boat i trade, but it is as a convenience for you, not usually a bargain for you.  We take boats, but we get a buy price from a boat wholesaler, he will take book value and then about 70 to 80% of that as a buy figure.  He needs to move it to a dealer at wholesale and make somethng.  So, if no balance on the boat, and not easy to sell, then the trade may worl out.

Now to an RV.  That B you mentioned is pretty nice unit, I have seen them from time to time, and they are impressive.  But, as the preious poster mentioned, don't get it because of mileage, there is not that much difference.  A 32'A with Chev 8.1 or Ford V10 should get between 8 & 12 mpg, depending on how and where you drive.  The B will likely be between 10 & 14.  So, if you have a car you can tow that gets good mileage, get the A, gives you way more room, and when there you are getting 30MPG. 

As to pricing.  It all depends, be prepared to wat for the next unit, nut igf it really is the one, be prepared to commit.  Can't tell you how many folks I know that wanted to think about it and it was gone.  Make sure it is a refundable deposit and get your name on it.  Then think hard and go thru with it or get deposit back.

I am in the RV biz and I see it every day.

 

[Jeff]

Kelly:

If I might recommend checking with owners of the type RV you are considering. Most of the owners I know with 30+ feet class A's find their mileage is around 7-8 mpg while there are definitely class B's whose mileage is in the teens.

 

[Newt & Jan]

Have you considered a travel trailer or 5th wheel rather than a motor home?

 

[Carl L]

Help!!  Is the RV lifestyle terribly expensive?  We are used to cooking most all of our meals even on our boat, so would do that.  Gas prices are scary when considering an RV, though.  (Luckily we did our boat trips years ago when gas was lower.)  We don't want to buy one and then have gas prices all of a sudden put a stop to any traveling.  Neither of us are "fixers", so couldn't do maintenance ourselves. Are we stupid to even be considering this??  We know that we would have an absolute fantastic time RVing, but don't want to make the wrong decision.

That is a bit like asking, how long is a piece of string?*   There are a lot of factors.  In no particular order: 

1.  A typical RV is considered a second home for federal tax purposes  -- like a lot of boats.  That can mean the interest on a loan that uses the RV as collateral is likely deductible.  Note:  I am not a tax pro, ask a tax pro or the IRS for authoritative real scoop.

2.  A $50 RV campsite is considered pricey.  $30-35 will get you a serviceable site in California where I live.   I would not want to stay in a $50 motel an $30-35 is practically flop-house rates.  There is even some free or near free camping:  BLM, US Forest Service and US Corps of Engineers.  For folks of a certain age, the Federal Golden Age Passport gets you in free to National Parks and half price camping at a lot of federal sites.

3.  In an RV you cook you own food and do not need to patronize restaurants.

4.  Fuel is pricey but you can reduce that by short drives and long stay overs.   The use of a towed car (toad) or a unhitched tow vehicle can allow touring at destinations.

5.  RV financing is longer term than that of automobiles.  My little travel trailer was financed by 10 year paper.

[*Answer, twice the distance from one end to the center.   :]

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You could probably pick up an older Class C for around 10,000 (or even less) and give it a try. There are lots of Rvs for sale and many are in good-excellent condition with low miles.

Yes, maintenance will be expensive if you aren't handy.

A trailer and tow vehicle would be a more cost effective option for you. And you could probably keep the boat until you were sure of your choice. A trailer is much less costly to insure, somewhat less expensive to maintain and the tow vehicle could replace whatever your family  vehicle is now. And it serves as transportation while touring too.

 

[boaterkathy]

Wow, thanks for all the helpful advice everyone!  It's always great to hear from the experts, when you are as "green" as we are about the subject
.
I'm in a time crunch right now, so can't write much in this post.  I'll let my husband read all the replies so far, too, and we will consider all your suggestions.  I talked to the salesman yesterday, and it sounds like we are farther apart in the price than we had hoped.  We are headed to the boat this morning to do some cleaning, which is a motorized cruiser(not a sailboat).  When it's all ready, we will have the owner of the RV place take a look at it.  The dealership is in the same small town where we slip our boat.  We are kind of at a disadvantage, because we don't have a trailer for this boat.  We ARE going to put the word out around the marina and close by campground that our boat might be for sale.  That's what sold our last boat for us.

Thanks again everyone and more advice is always welcome!

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

You will get substantially less than the wholesale value if you trade your boat - that is a huge loss.  Don't get fooled by the "trade-in value" the dealer gives you - a big chunk of it will be a discount off the asking price of the RV that you could get just as easily in a no-trade transaction.  RV prices are set fairly high to allow the dealer plenty of room to give high sounding trade-ins or good sounding discounts in no trade sales.  20-25% is the typical discount off the MSRP of a new RV; used ones are often close to that as well.

Don't be afraid to offer FAR less than what the dealer asks for the RV, whether with trade in or not. And don't be afraid to walk away if he says no to your offer.  You can always come back later, but chances are excellent he will come back to you in a few days too.

 

[boaterkathy]

I'm back with only a few minutes to respond again(we need to get ready to leave for our granddaughter's Preschool Graduation an hour from where we live).

So much to consider......
I really wanted a motorhome for the comfort while on the road, but then I know we would have to drive it everywhere we go whether it be the grocery store or sightseeing, because we don't really have anything to tow with it. 
On the other hand, the persons who mentioned the possibility of a fifth wheeler or trailer got me thinking, too.  We don't have a truck, but maybe if we bought a used fifth wheeler and a used truck, we would come out spending less in the end.  We have some friends who bought an awesome used fifth wheeler that I love.  Would it be even more expensive, though, gas mileage wise to drive a truck and pull a fifth wheel?  We love the mountains--is it hard on the vehicles to drive into the mountains? 

What do most of you recommend.....a motorhome or a truck and fifth wheel?  What are the very important pros and cons? 
I am sooooo stressed and confused!! :-\       
More later.  I appreciate your help SO much!!

 

[PancakeBill]

Motorhome and a small car to tow.  Truck and fiver, you end up using the truck for errands.  Friends of ours have one of those small semi looking Freightliners to tow their Teton 5er, but you should see them going out to eat in the beast! 

 

[ArdraF]

Kathy,

Personally we prefer a motorhome and towing a small car for getting around.  We've gradually moved up in size from VW poptops, Class C 22 feet, Class C 30 feet, Class A DP 34 feet, and now a Class A DP 40 feet.  We started towing a Tracker some time after getting the 30 footer and discovered we had significantly more flexibility than previously.  Best of all, we eliminated the necessity of unhooking everything to go somewhere and - at least in public parks - hoping no one would take our site while we were off sightseeing for the day.  We prefer motorhomes for many reasons including personal safety (no need to go outside in "iffy" areas), no need to go outside during bad weather, and ease of use (I can hook and unhook if necessary, but not sure I could handle a trailer by myself).  It often boils down to how you like to travel.  We like to change locations every few days.  Others like to go to one place and use it as a home base for longer periods of time.  Here's an example of this difference.  In Nova Scotia we wanted to see the John Cabot Trail.  We drove the entire loop, taking a couple of days and camping out at the far end.  One other couple with a trailer had to do one side of the loop, return to their "base" from the far side at the end of the day, and then do the other side of the loop the next day.  Their only other option was to do the entire loop in one day but not have much time to stop and see things.  They did twice as much driving as us and it was not as leisurely because we stopped when we felt like it.  We like to take our motorhome (bed, food, bathroom, etc.) with us and stop when we feel it's time to stop.  With a trailer you have to drive (sometimes over the same route) to return to it even though you may be dog tired at the end of sightseeing.

There are many other factors such as fuel expenditure and different insurance, but we like to go off for several months at a time and see things everywhere we go.  Somehow I get the feeling your thoughts are to be on the road for longer times (like us) and seeing as much of the country as you can, so a motorhome might well be your best choice.

ArdraF

 

[Carl L]

I'm back with only a few minutes to respond again(we need to get ready to leave for our granddaughter's Preschool Graduation an hour from where we live).

So much to consider......
I really wanted a motorhome for the comfort while on the road, but then I know we would have to drive it everywhere we go whether it be the grocery store or sightseeing, because we don't really have anything to tow with it. 

You don't?!  What are you driving now?  Of our lads here tows a GMC Suburban behind his motorhome.  I tow with an old Ford Bronco.  I remember camping next to a motorhomer with a Bronco for his towed. 

On the other hand, the persons who mentioned the possibility of a fifth wheeler or trailer got me thinking, too.  We don't have a truck, but maybe if we bought a used fifth wheeler and a used truck, we would come out spending less in the end.  We have some friends who bought an awesome used fifth wheeler that I love.  Would it be even more expensive, though, gas mileage wise to drive a truck and pull a fifth wheel?  We love the mountains--is it hard on the vehicles to drive into the mountains? 

More like hard on your nerves -- any large RV on narrow twisting roads is not a fun drive.

What do most of you recommend.....a motorhome or a truck and fifth wheel?  What are the very important pros and cons? 
I am sooooo stressed and confused!! :-\ 

Look, we are missing something here.  What kind of use do you want out of your RV?  Do you intend to live in it fulltime or nearly full time?  Or, is it a vacation thing used on weekends or for just a few trips per year?  Do you like to drive from place to place on your trips, or do you like to go somewhere and then spend a week, or weeks, at the place?

   

 

[scottydl]

It seems like an important unanswered question right now is... do you currently have a car?  Or just live full time on the boat and that is the only vehicle/vessel you own?  If the former, that car you currently own could either be (1) the toad for your motorhome (with a few modifications to the car), or (2) credit toward a truck to pull a trailer.  If the latter, I can see how trading in the boat on TWO items (either a motorhome + toad, or a truck + trailer) could be a financial problem.

As far as the motorhome vs. 5th wheel debate, there are many previous discussions on that topic.  Click on the "Search" button (near the top) from the main forum page, and with those keywords you'll get all kinds of opinions.  Cost can work out either way, there's really not one option that's always going to be cheaper than another.  It will really depends on what you want/like, and your planned usage of the RV like Carl stated.  Give us some more info on that when you get a chance. 

 

[Tom]

Click on the "Search" button (near the top) from the main forum page, and with those keywords you'll get all kinds of opinions.

For clarification, use the Advanced search link, visible on every forum page, instead of the Search box/button. The latter is context sensitive and only searches the topic or message board you happen to be reading. Advanced search searches all message boards.

 

[scottydl]

Good catch Tom, thanks for pointing that out. 

 

[boaterkathy]

Thanks everybody!!  I really appreciate how helpful so many of you are!
I think we will stick with looking for a motorhome.   That's really what I have wanted.  I guess I thought with a smaller motorhome such as the 28 Lexington that we are looking at, that we would have to have a pretty small car to tow.  We have an older Chevy Lumina and a newer Impala, which I figured might be too big to tow.  Do most of you think a "toad" is a must?

Summers and maybe a month in the winter time(if my husband can get a sub), would be mainly open for travel now, since my husband still drives a school bus route.  But some extended weekends are also a possibility.  I'm 55 and my husband is 59, and he would like to keep driving bus for about 3 more years for the extra income.  When we travel, we like to go from place to place.  We have seen lots of the U.S., and we want to see even more, so going back to the same place all the time isn't what we want.  We want to  be able to travel for a few days, stop whenever and see whatever we want, and then move on to the next place we want to see.  We're not big city people.  We think the US is a beautiful country and go for the scenery.  Our biggest problem is our budget.  It is limited, but we want to do as much as possible while we can.  I just think that packing everything into a motorhome and going wherever we want sounds wonderful.  
Any other suggestions and advice are welcome.  

 

[Tom]

You're welcome Scott. Unfortunately, it's not intuitively obvious. It will be much clearer in the next rev of our forum software.

 

[scottydl]

A toad is not a must for pleasure traveling (vs. living in the RV), but no doubt it's a convenience.  We've camped for almost a year now (local weekend trips and short vacations) without a toad... but this year we're taking some longer trips out of state, and I plan to buy a tow dolly to bring our car along with us on those trips.  You can also tow "4 down" with all four wheels on the ground (no trailer necessary) but the car will require modifications.  Most experienced RV'ers will say that's much faster and more convenient than having a tow dolly or car hauler trailer.  But it's also more expensive, and if/when you buy a different car you have to do all the modifications to that car.  Whether or not your Lumina or Impala is too big to tow will depend on what motorhome/engine you buy and its weight ratings & tow capacities.  That's a whole 'nother thread.    Check out the "Towing and Towables" section of the forum for some education there.

 

[Wendy]

Hi Kathy. I'm also 55 and dh is 59. We moved from a 24-foot Class C to a 28-foot Class A a couple of years ago. Up until this past winter, we never towed. This winter, we towed our Explorer with a tow dolly. Is a toad a necessity? A necessity, for many No, but iit sure is a convenience, especially if you plan on parking in one location for an extended period. As for using a dolly, we would prefer towing 4-down over using the tow dolly but our year Explorer can't be towed 4-down and we don't feel like investing in a new toad. So depends on what you're towing.

Anyway, whatever works for YOU is what matters. You might try going without a toad and see what you think. If it doesn't work out, you can always pick up a toad later on down the road.

No matter what, enjoy the trip...that's what matters !!

Wendy
Cortez CO