Can't decide: Motor Home & Toad or Travel Trailer

[JRP]

My experience agrees with Kirk, my motorhomes were diesel. But they sat unused for 6 months some years. I always kept the oil fresh and a trickle charger on the Batts and never had an issue. Now that I move between seasonal homes each year, I also play musical vehicles. Some of my gas engine spare vehicles sit for 6 months until I arrive at that home. My winter ranch tractor/loader/backhoe sits for 6 months a year and starts on the first try and runs perfect. When I owned a construction company, many of our special heavy equipment items sat unused for months. A good maintenance program is more important than how often you use the vehicle. If you do occasionally start an unused vehicle just to run it, always run it long enough to fully warm the engine.

[sandsys]

1 hour ago, JRP said:

f you do occasionally start an unused vehicle just to run it, always run it long enough to fully warm the engine.

It was hearing that advice over and over again that encouraged us to drive at highway speeds once a month when otherwise sitting. It was the need to exercise the generator that actually prompted the running but then we needed to do it long enough for both the vehicle's engine and the generator to benefit.

Linda Sand

[Kirk W]

4 hours ago, sandsys said:

It was hearing that advice over and over again that encouraged us to drive at highway speeds once a month when otherwise sitting.

 

Ford people say that the most damaging thing that is typically done to any motorhome engine what they call a dry start. They define that as any start where the engine has sat long enough for all significant amounts of oil to have drained off, or about 2 weeks. They say not to start it at all if you plan to just return to the same spot and let it sit again unless you have a pre-lube pump installed into the engine. The best thing to do is not start it at all until you are preparing to travel. They also stated that the worst possible thing would be to start the engine monthly and just let it sit and idle. If you are going to start it, they said to then drive it for a minimum of 30 minutes at highway speeds. It is just as bad for the transmission as for the engine. They also say that it is the same whether you have gas or diesel. 

The explanation by the Ford tech was that when you warm an engine and let it cool again you introduce moisture into the engine and transmission via condensation. The constant heating and cooling without driving long enough to evaporate any collected moisture from both engine and transmission will add enough water to damage internal parts and plug filters. 

[rollindowntheroad]

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I have not owned an RV before.  This would be my first one.  I have definitely thought of renting one to try it.  I live in upstate NY and one thing that I have noticed is that RV dealers don't seem to have very many motor homes on their lots.  Seems the majority of people here have 5'vers or TT's.  When I lived in Florida I was about 30 minutes from Lazy Days in Sefner, FL.  I use to go there and walk around to check out RV's.  They always had a very wide variety of type of RV you wanted.  Even used motor homes they typically had 15 or more gas or diesel you could look at.  The other thing I like about Lazy Days is that you could walk around all day long and not have a sales person bother you.  Here in New York they are like used car sales people, they attack you as soon as you step out of your car.....lol.

[Kirk W]

When I've been in your area of the country I have observed that there are far fewer RV's, RV dealers, & RV parks. I suspect that it is partly due to the density of population as compared to other parts of the country. If I were to shop for an RV and had to option of doing so in any area, I would not do so in New England. RV dealers are most common in areas of the south and west and more dealers usually mean better prices and availability. A salesperson and his boss must both make a living from what they sell and so fewer sales mean there has to be a greater markup on each sale. 

[FL-JOE]

On ‎7‎/‎30‎/‎2018 at 9:58 AM, rollindowntheroad said:

To FL-JOE:

My daughter lives just a little north of Rockford in South Beloit.  I wouldn't necessarily need to be right there but within a 30 to 45 minute drive would work.  What part of Florida are you in?  I lived in Clearwater for a little over 6 years.  I miss it!  Now in upstate NY - job transfer.

I have looked at motor homes in the 35" range, they seem to be a very comfortable size for me.

One of our daughters and her family live on the far north end of Rockford.  Rock Cut State Park and a couple other possible camping areas are too small for us, however a 35' motor home pulling a Jeep could probably get a site around there.  Just across the border into Wisconsin there are a few possibilities also.

Prior to selling our home last year we were part timing in a 38' gas MH.  It sat in storage from around October to April.  What I liked about the Ford V-10 was it was a proven bullet proof engine and easy for me to change oil on.  I think you may have a good plan on looking at MH's in the 35' range.  That should be plenty of room for a single traveler and serve you well.

[sandsys]

If you want a huge selection of used RVs to go through with no sales people bothering you, fly to Houston and check out PPL motorhomes. They have all types of rigs and NO pressure. You can wander their lot for hours looking at exteriors or sit two hours in one rig if that's what you choose to do. 

Linda Sand

[rollindowntheroad]

I have been on the PPL website.  They seem that they also have a wide variety of motor homes.  PPL is a consignment place isn't it?  Do they prep motor homes before they put them up for sale?  I often wondered if consignment places do anything to RV's before selling them or are they sold in the condition the seller brings them in.

[Al F]

1 hour ago, rollindowntheroad said:

I have been on the PPL website.  They seem that they also have a wide variety of motor homes.  PPL is a consignment place isn't it?  Do they prep motor homes before they put them up for sale?  I often wondered if consignment places do anything to RV's before selling them or are they sold in the condition the seller brings them in.

Yes, PPL is primarily a consignment place.

PPL doesn't do any prep work before selling the RV. 

"Consignment" means a the owner (actually the seller) is placing their RV on a lot and paying a fee (usually 10%) to the lot owner to do the paperwork and give the seller much greater exposure to the buying public.   The consignment lot has no direct interest in the RV other than the consignment lot wants to move the RV out so they can collect the 10% fee from the seller.

Also PPL is very up front about the fact they offer no assurances that the RV is working or won't fall apart once you buy the RV.  PPL does offer a inspection and a RV operational verification test for a fee of about $390 (don't remember the exact fee).  However the inspection is NOT extensive, and the don't look for potential problems.  Also the inspection is limited only to "RV" items, such as the fridge, stove, air conditioner, slideouts, etc.  If the RV is motorized there is no testing of the engine or drive train.  They don't look for water leaks except for holding tanks, but even that is very cursory. 

I'm not trying to be negative about PPL.  Just remember you are buying from a private seller, not from PPL.  PPL is very up front about that fact.  They don't try to hide that they offer NO warranty.

 

[Al F]

14 hours ago, sandsys said:

If you want a huge selection of used RVs to go through with no sales people bothering you, fly to Houston and check out PPL motorhomes. They have all types of rigs and NO pressure. You can wander their lot for hours looking at exteriors or sit two hours in one rig if that's what you choose to do. 

Linda Sand

PPL has a large consignment lot, perhaps larger than the Houston lot, about 20-30 miles southwest of the the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex in Cleburne, TX.  Also a smaller lot in New Braunfels, TX about 30 miles north of San Antonio.

[Al F]

As Linda wrote,  PPL is a great place to look at a large selection of RV.  Also compared to many used RV's on dealer lots the prices are more inline with NADA pricing.  Not that you can't get the dealer lot price down if you are good at negotiation.

At PPL you are free to browse the RV's for as long as you wish.  No pressure from any sales people.

[Kirk W]

37 minutes ago, Al F said:

PPL has a large consignment lot, perhaps larger than the Houston lot, about 20-30 miles southwest of the the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex in Cleburne, TX. 

In addition to this, Motorhome Specialists have a large lot only a few miles from PPL and they too have an excellent reputation and have both new and consigned RVs. Both the Dallas area and also the Houston area have a great number of dealers with a very wide selection to look at. I believe that you would do well to not confine your shopping to a single dealer since you do not have experience with RVs. You would also be very wise to have a professional inspect any RV that is used before you purchase it just to make sure that everything works as it should. 

[rollindowntheroad]

I probably would not feel comfortable either buying from a private owner or a consignment facility.  As individuals have said if you buy from these types once you drive off, it's yours and there's no guarantee the engine won't fall out 2 blocks down the road.  I realize that is a possibility no matter where it is purchased, but, at least with an RV dealer you would have some recourse, I would think.

[2gypsies]

We sold our motorhome through PPL. The party that bought it flew in from Florida. He also arranged for an area outside inspector to inspect the engine, etc. thoroughly.  We were extremely impressed when we dropped it off of the amount of people who were also dropping RVs off, picking up RVs already purchased and just lookers. This was at the Houston PPL.  They get a lot of traffic coming through and good RVs don't last long.  Yes, you will also find some not-so-good ones there.  Some folks don't take care of their possessions, not only RVs, and you can sure tell it when you start looking at used RVs.  Some just drive it there and don't even empty it of a lot of junk or even vacuum.  Ours was spotless inside and out and we also had all the purchase papers and maintenance receipts there for the new owner.  It sold within a month.  The reason we took it there to sell was because we just didn't want the hassle of advertising it ourselves, getting umpteen calls, making appointments to show it and then having 'no shows'.  This was so much easier.  PPL put a recommended price on it but we upped it because we thought most folks, including us, would try to offer a lower price.  As it turned out we got the full price of what we put on it.  Keep in mind that PPL is just the go-between.  You would be dealing with the owner for any negotiations.

We'd have no reservations about purchasing from PPL or other large consignment places.  I'd be more leery purchasing from a RV dealer and don't be so sure you'd have any recourse once it's off their lot.

One reason you probably don't see many motorhomes on sale lots in upstate New York is perhaps because that is not a snowbird area like in the southern part of the country.  People up there tend to use weekend-type travel trailers, truck campers.  Don't give up!  Good luck.

[sandsys]

8 hours ago, Al F said:

PPL doesn't do any prep work before selling the RV. 

Unless the seller pays a cleanup fee. Then PPL does a basic cleaning.

Linda Sand

edited to clarify wording

[Kirk W]

8 hours ago, rollindowntheroad said:

I realize that is a possibility no matter where it is purchased, but, at least with an RV dealer you would have some recourse, I would think.

Used RVs rarely come with any significant warranty. Most RV warranties are only for 1 year and a few for 2 years. If that sort of concern is an issue then I strongly suggest that you buy an extended warranty from the day that you take delivery, whether from a dealer, consignment lot, or a private individual. 

[K&J]

A good rule of thumb I once heard was this:

If you move often then a motorhome.  If you stay in one place for a while then a 5th or trailer.

Why?  Hooking and unhooking gets old real fast for some.

Keith

[Barbaraok]

For us it was more what would our daily driver be and with the MH our cats never had to move out of their home.  

[rollindowntheroad]

15 hours ago, K&J said:

A good rule of thumb I once heard was this:

If you move often then a motorhome.  If you stay in one place for a while then a 5th or trailer.

Why?  Hooking and unhooking gets old real fast for some.

Keith

I have heard that as well.  I don't want a truck as my daily driver.  I already own a Jeep Wrangler that I can use as a toad, then my daily driver.  This is my 5th jeep I have owned, but first Wrangler and I love it!

[Kirk W]

33 minutes ago, rollindowntheroad said:

I have heard that as well.  I don't want a truck as my daily driver. 

I was told that people who sit should have a trailer too, but that is like so many other theories in that is simply has very little to do with preferences. We spent 2 or 3 periods sitting still as RV volunteers for anywhere from 1 to 4 months, traveling slowly between stops and moving north summers and south winters, yet we lived in a motorhome and we loved it. There are also those who say that a motorhome should not sit still, but we followed the engine manufacturer's recommendations and that never caused us one problem in the 14 years we owned it. We chose a class A because we preferred that style of travel and we bought gas chassis because it fit our budget. When you live in a motorhome not only do you have a far more economical vehicle to do your daily driving but as you go exploring it puts miles on that vehicle and not on that more expensive one that moves the RV. In our years on the road(12), we put about 75k miles on the motorhome and more than 250k miles on two different towed vehicles. When stopped we would visit everything for 100+ miles in all directions, then move on to new territories and rarely ever returned to the same location for the second time. You may want to look over our lifestyle to see if it might fit you. 

[Ray,IN]

On 7/30/2018 at 10:27 AM, rollindowntheroad said:

To All:

I had pretty much made up my mind to get a motor home and keep my Jeep Wrangler as a toad.  The jeep is not set up for towing yet but will get that done my last year of working.  

I guess the main reason I was asking was that people have told me that motor homes are made to be driven, so I didn't know if I wasn't going to be traveling all the time if that would do the motor home any harm or not.  Some people said it would be bad, some said no, so I got confused.  I would probably be moving every month or so, maybe a "trip" once or twice a year.

All responses are much appreciated.

We traveled in 5ers until 2013, when we made the decision to buy a MH due to ease of set-up and not having to run from tow vehicle to trailer when raining hard. Best decision we made was to buy used, MH is paid-for now. When we found the MH, it had been parked in a barn for 8 years due to owners poor health. We've never had any problems with the chassis and running gear, however it did use oil for the first few months until seals softened up again, now no added oil is required between changes.

I would recommend considering an exclusionary ESP=Extended Service Plan for a used MH though, which includes the gaskets and seals rider. It's sorta like buying a health insurance policy, if you never need it the expense seems worthless, but when its needed having a savings account may not pay the full billing.

FWIW, there is an option to installing a base-plate on a Jeep and associated cost: https://www.rockhard4x4.com/product_p/rh-8000-bo.htm