How many years on average do you keep your current RV?

[remoandiris]

7 hours ago, Roadtrek 1 said:

Finally, when I say that the house is my financial "ace in the hole" against future inflation... I'm not kidding.    

Let me ask you this question.... have you figured out how much it's costing you with the lost opportunity to make your money and investment work for you? 

Well, I'm glad things have worked out so well for you.  Personally, I wouldn't live in Calif.  I did for almost 3 years and that was enough.  No way I'd consider even visiting L.A.  SO, you can have it.

I have owned 2 houses, one in NH and the other is my current house in Fla.  Maybe it is because I owned the NH house for less than 4 years, but it was a money loser, despite selling it for about 10K more than I paid.  After interest, taxes, upkeep, etc, it just wasn't worth the ass pain.  My Fla house has been home for over 14 yrs.  Yes, I will sell it at a profit, too.  And I used it's equity to feather my nest.  But, once again, the ass pain of home ownership is NOT worth the effort, IMO.  I hope to get it sold before something else breaks and needs replaced.  I am REALLY looking forward to going fulltime in my depreciated 5er that is worth well under half of what I paid for it 3 yrs ago...especially since it is an orphan.  But you know what??  I will be able to live in comfort in different environments for the next several years with all the pleasures of home.  You keep repeating you're so happy with your $100K Class B, but then you mention how it is small.  No way I'd spend that kind of dough on a small rig, but so what?  It's your money to throw away as you see fit, just as it is my money to throw away as I see fit.

[remoandiris]

3 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

Why is everyone continuing to engage in conversation with this guy?

Yeah, I should have read more of the thread before answering his reply to me.  You're right.  He fails to accept other people have different priorities than him.

I'm out.

[Barbaraok]

On 3/13/2019 at 4:17 PM, Dutch_12078 said:

Hmmm, a good reason to stay east of the Mississippi I guess.

Except that there are almost no parks capable of handling modern RVs.  Plus, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce (my favorite), Capitol Reef, Arches, North Rim and on in just one area.  Add to that all of the Best Coast - where all people have access to the beach, even though you may need to walk a little.

Want a neat California state park - try the one in Half Moon Bay!   Oregon has Carter Lake, plus COE parks on the Columbia River.  

And if one wants to talk wine - well really, you have to come west.

[Dutch_12078]

1 hour ago, Barbaraok said:

Except that there are almost no parks capable of handling modern RVs.  Plus, Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce (my favorite), Capitol Reef, Arches, North Rim and on in just one area.  Add to that all of the Best Coast - where all people have access to the beach, even though you may need to walk a little.

Want a neat California state park - try the one in Half Moon Bay!   Oregon has Carter Lake, plus COE parks on the Columbia River.  

And if one wants to talk wine - well really, you have to come west.

Hmmm, does that mean the 45' Prevost a few sites away from us here at Alafia River State Park in Florida doesn't  really fit? He's even got room in front of it for his Jeep pickup. The pull-thru site we're on is about 70' long. All sites here have 50 amp power and water. Some other state and national parks here have full hookups. In a couple of weeks we'll be at Crooked River State Park in GA and then Lake Powhatan Recreation Area in NC, both with 50 amp full hookup sites that are plenty long enough and wide enough for the biggest RV's. Earlier, we were at Salt Springs Recreation Area, also with large 50 amp full hookup sites. And there's this little pond down here called the Gulf of Mexico. A lot of nice coast line between Key West and New Orleans that's easily accessible from various state and municipal parks. Oh, and we have been west of the Mississippi enough times to appreciate the different attractions like the Grand Canyon and the coast line where the rich and famous haven't blocked the great view, but we can see a lot more while traveling a lot shorter distances on this side of the Great River. And for the money obsessed like Roadtrek, we can do it for a lower cost.  

[Barbaraok]

Florida is different from most of the East Coast in regards to RVs.  😉

Notice I didn’t say there were no, just almost no ones, especially is you are looking at state parks. 

 

[Kirk W]

8 hours ago, Barbaraok said:

Notice I didn’t say there were no, just almost no ones, especially is you are looking at state parks. 

That is particularly true in the New England states. 

[Dutch_12078]

8 hours ago, Barbaraok said:

Florida is different from most of the East Coast in regards to RVs.  😉

Notice I didn’t say there were no, just almost no ones, especially is you are looking at state parks. 

 

We've stayed in many state parks in FL, GA, SC, NC, PA, VT, and NY, and they all had sites that could accommodate "modern RV's". Not every site of course, but certainly plenty to choose from. Are there parks that don't accommodate them? Sure... There are even parks that don't allow any RV's, having been designed as tent only, just as there are parks that don't allow any camping at all. The point though, is that many east coast state parks have modernized or remodeled their facilities to accommodate today's larger RV's, often just by updating the electrical systems when the site sizes were already quite large. Of the five state and national parks we've been in so far this year, all have had 20/30/50 amp power, and all have had on-site water. And all have had sites suitable for the largest RV's. If you haven't been east in awhile, you've missed lot of recent changes to the various state parks.

[richfaa]

I thought this was a thread on how long  you keep your RV. We have no average time. We have owned 6 Rv's over 33 years not including pop ups which means absolutely nothing. We had one we only kept for a little over a year and another we kept for 10 years again that means nothing. This 2013 may be our last one then maybe not.

We have a S&B it has tripled in value over the 25 years we have owned it. This 13 3402 5th wheel since 2012 and it has lost nearly 1/2 its value which again means nothing.We have owned 4 homes over 40 years each one of them increased in value none of our Rv's did or cars or trucks . Thats life.

More and more State and  Federal Campgrounds are  upgrading their facilities as are the chain and privately owned  campgrounds . We do what we do because it is the lifestyle we choose  everyone else here does the same and everyone is right. I forgot what the Original topic was.

[vermilye]

On 3/13/2019 at 5:25 PM, 2gypsies said:

I just did some quick checks:

AZ State Park - the popular ones:

   Catalina - $15 dry - $30 E/W

   Kartchner - $30 50A electric

   Lost Dutchman - $20 dry - $30 50A electric

Oregon - Beverly Beach $29 partial - $34 full hookup

Washington - $35-$45 partial - $35-$45 full hookup

Be sure to add the out-of-state fee for Washington parks, and, at Buckskin Mountain SP in Arizona, I paid $35.00 for a dry site on February 18th.  Full hookup sites were $43.00 per night.  

[hemsteadc]

When you reach your 70s or 80s, what difference does it make what your home is worth? ..unless you have responsible children you want to leave it to.

[Roadtrek 1]

56 minutes ago, richfaa said:

We have a S&B it has tripled in value over the 25 years we have owned it. This 13 3402 5th wheel since 2012 and it has lost nearly 1/2 its value which again means nothing.We have owned 4 homes over 40 years each one of them increased in value none of our Rv's did or cars or trucks . Thats life

Rich,  that's exactly correct. 

Thank you for pointing this out and being the voice of reason.... you're right...it doesn't matter in the long run, no one lives forever...... you said it,  "that's life".

Yeah... my original question of "How long on average do you keep your RV" got sidetracked into a debate about "the lifestyle" ( vacationing vs. full timing)  everyone's different.. 

Seems  like there's lots of answers to this question...5, 10 and 20 years.

Those of you who answered this question..... thank you.

There's no good reason to be divisive saying that full time is better.. or even less expensive...it's a choice. 

At least one person stated on a thread... maybe not this one, that full time is not saving any money at all and they don't care... sure if you can afford it .. great!  If you want to full time...fine....or part time.. that's OK too. 

I wonder how many people who are on the forum are part time?  

 I've decided that part time is a better fit for me, maybe your choice is full time... your choice.  I don't really care what you decide... just have fun...

For the record, this is what I've said before and still stand by it. 

I'm not telling other people what they should or should not do,  do whatever you want,  and spend whatever you can afford.

As I've said earlier...I actually love my Sprinter Class B..it's not too small, it's exactly the size I wanted... make whatever choices you want..   

Please don't make ASSUMPTIONS about what other people do...I purchased the RV to have this experience.... otherwise, I would have never done it. 

Maybe I'm one of the few people  on this forum who's concerned about depreciation on an RV and the overall costs of owning and maintaining one? It's not a mutually exclusive thing to like the RV and not like depreciation.  Yes, I know that I'm losing money... expected that to happen...no surprise here... 

When I read about situations like Rich describes above about is 2012 5th wheel losing nearly 1/2 it's value since he purchased it I'm reminded that I lost more than 1/2 of the value on my old teardrop trailer.  My decision to upgrade to the Class B was only because  the teardrop trailer was too much work.  The Sprinter Class B is very easy and perfect for me. 

I just don't want to go through a series of RV'S and lose money everytime we make a switch to another unit.... 

I don't regret my decision at all...I don't appreciate people making statements like that. I'm currently enjoying the RV experience right now,   when I decide to sell it....I'll be done with the RV travels

Enjoy your travels...

 

[hamrs_62]

On 3/14/2019 at 11:32 AM, Roadtrek 1 said:

I agree 💯 percent...why do you think I purchased the RV? 

On the other hand, it's good to have a backup plan.   The house is my primary home and a solid investment.    People on this forum don't understand my point of view that RVs just go down in value...... I do like the part time RV adventure.   If you are parking your rig somewhere for three months or more how is that any different from me just being home for a while? 

We get out and enjoy whenever we can. 

to each his own, I plan on having a piece of property somewhere

[Kirk W]

On 3/15/2019 at 12:41 PM, Roadtrek 1 said:

There's no good reason to be divisive saying that full time is better.. or even less expensive...it's a choice. 

If anyone has made such a statement, it was you, only you keep sounding warnings against the fulltime lifestyle. Not one participant in this forum has ever stated that everyone should go fulltime, that I am aware of. And you clearly don't grasp that most fulltimers have a financial exit plan and investments that do as well as or better than your house does.