Returning to an RV

[karlak]

Hello All

I am a new member (first post), I was in an 5th wheel for a few years, I work as a travel nurse(part time). I had to pause my travels when my mom got sick. I am ready to hit the road again this fall or winter. I am not even sure where to start my process. The one thing I am 100% sure of is that this time I want a MH, I loved my 5th wheel but this time I am going solo and I do not want to driving a dully as my daily driver, I had too many problems parking and gas ohh the gas for that truck.

I also want to learn how they systems work, I have been watching a LOT of YT but I am more a hands on/ need to see IRL learner so I would be open to travel to a place that does the basics. When I was in the 5th wheel my ex also a travel nurse did all of the work so I never had to think about it. I to this day could not tell you where anything for they systems was on that rv. 

I really want to stay smaller 30' or less,  I stay in state parks or boondock as much as I can. When I am working i usually stay in a campground  

I am buying used and my all in budget is ~35k including all necessary immediate  maintenance/upgrade (tires, oil change)

My list is as

Separate living and sleeping space.  
Ability to tow a small car
Ability to get to sleep and use restroom without slide open. 
Dry bath with at least 6 inches of counter space (for hair supplies)
couch or somewhere to sit besides dinette

Nice to have 
Credenza or free standing or U shaped dinette 
Room for coffee maker on kitchen counter (not on top of stove/sink cover)
Larger tanks 
Solar prep or panels already
walk around bed


Must NOT 
Murphy bed
Wet bath 

 

If you read all of that THANK YOU. I know its a lot. 

[kb0zke]

Welcome. Other than the price, it sounds like you are describing our Foretravel. We've been full-timing for five years now and love it. We started out towing a Jeep Liberty, but last year we moved up to a Lincoln MKT. In the interest of space I'm sending you a PM with some additional thoughts.

[SWharton]

I would start looking at floor plans, you are describing a basic Class A. The only thing I would add is acces to refrigerator when stopped without taking slides out. It would be easier if your toad was towable 4-down which limits you as to what toad you can have.

Escapees has a Boot Camp to teach you the basics. It is offered across the country at various times.  I have heard it is good to go to prior to buying your RV. If you are buying used make sure you get a good inspector to look it over.

We have a 2015 Winnebago Vista Gas and it has everything you want. Ours is 36', you would probably want shorter.

[FL-JOE]

I am guessing that  unless you are willing to buy something with 8 or 10 years of age on it, your $35,000 will only be a down payment.  You could probably pick up a nice 3 or 4 year old fiver for under that amount, but remember when you purchase a Class A you are paying for the engine/tranny and everything else.  If you are not familiar with the systems, or not able to fix most of the stuff yourself, then purchasing an older Class A could be a nightmare.

Would it be possible to make payments?  By putting down a chunk like that and financing $30,000 or $35,000 you could probably get into a pretty nice used 35' or 36' Class A gas that would meet most of your wants.

[SnowGypsy]

A good place to look might be PPL motorhomes online, not advising buying there, but in their ads they have floor plans of each of the units which you can quickly scan to see how close you can come to the size and the amenities you are looking for in a motor home.  You have not mentioned if it matters whether it is a Class C or a Class A.  If I were going 29+, I would consider a smaller Class A.  There is usually several of the longer Class C's on the market, but there is a reason for that, I think, as I have heard they are more difficult to handle on the road.  Budget?  It really depends on what part of the country you will be shopping in, here in the central US, I think it would be very doable, on either coast, not so much although FL seems to have an overabundance with so many retiring there and giving up the keys.  

Edited June 20, 2019 by SnowGypsy
Correction.

[2gypsies]

I agree with SnowGypsy...... look at PPL's web site for floorplans and prices for used Class A motorhomes.  There's also a place to click to find out what others sold for to give you good ideas.  In your search you should be able to find something that will suit you, expect perhaps the solar you want.  You may have to add that yourself.

https://www.pplmotorhomes.com/used-rvs-for-sale/class-a?sortBy=price+asc

[karlak]

17 hours ago, SWharton said:

I would start looking at floor plans, you are describing a basic Class A. The only thing I would add is acces to refrigerator when stopped without taking slides out. It would be easier if your toad was towable 4-down which limits you as to what toad you can have.

Escapees has a Boot Camp to teach you the basics. It is offered across the country at various times.  I have heard it is good to go to prior to buying your RV. If you are buying used make sure you get a good inspector to look it over.

We have a 2015 Winnebago Vista Gas and it has everything you want. Ours is 36', you would probably want shorter.

Thank you.

I am looking for a car now that can be towed 4 down. I saw one that looked GREAT and took to my mechanic where he found lots of problems so I passed on that. I am looking at another today. Carmax as a few in my area if I do not find something cheaper. 

 

I looked at the Escapees bootcamp and I will for sure do one, I am trying to adjust my schedule to make one fit. 

I was looking at a smaller vista and it was sold while I was with a different sales guy . 

 

 

[karlak]

5 hours ago, FL-JOE said:

Would it be possible to make payments?  By putting down a chunk like that and financing $30,000 or $35,000 you could probably get into a pretty nice used 35' or 36' Class A gas that would meet most of your wants.

Thanks

 

I am not opposed to payments for the right RV but I would rather not also I am not willing to go larger than 32'. I would not be able to fit in the places I prefer. 

 

[karlak]

2 hours ago, SnowGypsy said:

A good place to look might be PPL motorhomes online, not advising buying there, but in their ads they have floor plans of each of the units which you can quickly scan to see how close you can come to the size and the amenities you are looking for in a motor home.  You have not mentioned if it matters whether it is a Class C or a Class A.  If I were going 29+, I would consider a smaller Class A.  There is usually several of the longer Class C's on the market, but there is a reason for that, I think, as I have heard they are more difficult to handle on the road.  Budget?  It really depends on what part of the country you will be shopping in, here in the central US, I think it would be very doable, on either coast, not so much although FL seems to have an overabundance with so many retiring there and giving up the keys.  

 

I am on the on the west cost. I am not so sure if class A or C. If I found a great class C I would jump on it but I have not found one. I am in no rush to buy. I am willing to fly to get if I found the right rig anywhere AFTER i hired an inspector. 

 

[sandsys]

14 minutes ago, karlak said:

I am not opposed to payments for the right RV but I would rather not also I am not willing to go larger than 32'. I would not be able to fit in the places I prefer. 

If you are willing to make payments I suggest you look at the Winnebago View 24G. Winnebago Navion 24G is basically the same rig. It's a diesel rather than gas but it our 2008 View got 18+ mpg which no gas motorhome I am aware of comes close to matching. The 24G model only came out in 2011, I think, so you would be buying a newer rig than you could get without payments but Winnebago is one of the most highly recommended builders so it's not as risky to buy one of those as many other brands.

Linda

[Kirk W]

If you are willing to go with Linda's suggstion, RV Trader has a View 24G in Oxanard, CA. If you were to put $30K as downpayment, keeping $5k in reserve for any needed repairs, it will mean a payment of about $575/month.

I think that you might be better served if you take plenty of time and do a lot of shopping before you make any decisions. I suggest you start by checking out some of these RV Trader listings, several of which do fit into the budget that you have. I am a firm believer in sticking to a budget that you are comfortable with. It is very difficult to enjoy an RV if you worry about how you will pay for fuel and groceries to use it. We bought a gas powered coach in 1998 that we proceeded to live in fulltime for nearly 12 years and had a great experience, in spite of some experts who still tell us that we did things all wrong. With any used RV it is inevitable that you will have some repairs and service needs soon after purchase so don't leave yourself with no means to pay for such things. Be sure that you do have any used RV completely checked out by a competent RV inspector or by a good mechanic & an RV tech, just to be sure that you don't buy a rolling mistake, but also don't be talked into spending more than you comfortably are able. 

If you know someone with lots of RV experience, you might do well to have them go with you when you take your first look as that could save you from paying for an inspection on something that won't pass. If you wish, send me a private message with your email and I'll send you a good check list to use when looking. If you know someone with lots of RV experience, you might do well to have them go with you when you take your first look as that could save you from paying for an inspection on something that won't pass. If you wish, send me a private message with your email and I'll send you a good check list to use when looking. 

Edited June 20, 2019 by Kirk W

[FL-JOE]

2 hours ago, Kirk W said:

If you are willing to go with Linda's suggstion, RV Trader has a View 24G in Oxanard, CA. If you were to put $30K as downpayment, keeping $5k in reserve for any needed repairs, it will mean a payment of about $575/month.

It looks like that 24G is listed for just under $60,000.  You may be able to buy it for closer to $48,000 or $50,000.   If you put $30,000 down you could get a 10 year loan and stay at or below $230 a month.   

[sandsys]

Plus that 24G in Oxnard, CA that Kirk linked to already has solar installed and has the cab window shades we really liked for which we had to pay extra.

Linda

[MidMOTraveler]

Something to keep in mind is how many miles a year you travel. The upfront cost plus higher maintenance of a diesel vs gas. The C’s on the Ford 350/450 chassis are a proven product. Easier to obtain service and cost less. Yes 8-10 mpg on the V10 but diesel fuel here is running 20% higher than gas. We bought a 5 year old 16k  miles C last year and now a 2018 4K miles Jeep toad. We’ll have just over 60k in the entire rig when I pay the bill today for the Blue Ox 4 down towing set up. 

When we bought the C we decided to purchase an extended warranty. Wholesale Warranty sent an inspector that spent 3 hours going over the entire rig. Everything passed and we have peace of mind, yes everything can break but knowing we won’t have a huge expense on the road is nice. 

[Kirk W]

28 minutes ago, MidMOTraveler said:

When we bought the C we decided to purchase an extended warranty. Wholesale Warranty sent an inspector that spent 3 hours going over the entire rig. Everything passed and we have peace of mind, yes everything can break but knowing we won’t have a huge expense on the road is nice. 

This could also be a very good approach. I suggest as part of your research, take time to read this article about extended warranties as they can be good insurance. 

The numbers that I quoted you were based on a 5 year loan, and while you might get one that is of lonber terms, do you really want to commit to a 10 year loan when you are just starting out into an unknown future? While it is true that you may be able to buy that 2014 Winnebago for less than the asking price, if you check the NADA listing for it you will find that it has an averrage retail of $67,150 so I would be very surprised if you can buy it for $50k. And before you commit to payments of any kind, make sure that you also learn what the insurance premiums will cost and if you plan to stay a CA resident, you need to check the registration cost as well. 

[FL-JOE]

Karlak, just a couple things I would suggest when you get down to actually attempting to purchase your RV.  First of all, I would stay away from dealing with 90% of the Camping World stores for the purchase.  Many of them have been known to take advantage of first time buyers.

Secondly, NADA is an excellent resource if you are purchasing a automobile, however not so much as it pertains to RVs.  Lending institutions may use it as a guide on what they will loan on certain RVs but you should not think of it as an exact guide of what you should actually pay.  If looking at a new RV you should be able to offer 20% to 30% off MSRP and make the deal.  On used units it is trickier but obviously you never pay what the seller is asking, they don't expect you to.

Good luck with your search and upcoming adventure.

[Twotoes]

One way to assess the value of a used RV is to call your insurance company. They have a computer system that is used to give them the value for insurance needs. You can also get a quote from them on your monthly insurance costs in addition to your loan payment. 

[Kirk W]

On the use of NADA, before you actually buy an RV, go to a large library and see if they have a copy of the published book as it is both more current and more accurate than the free website wheter for automobiles or for RVs. In addition, go through the ads for RVs in your state with RV Trader, RVT, and perhaps one or two others just to get a feel for what asking prices are. Most advertisers will negeotiate at least to some degree so always start by offering less than what is asked. If you should decide to finance, shop for financing with financial institutions that you do business with first as they may give you better rates than other companies. Remember that all of us here are giving advice based on our experience or opinions so be careful and verify our opinions before you make decisions based on them. I would also suggest that you read RV Loans & Financing 101, from the Consumer Advocates as you consider this. 

Remember that going on the road debt free is always the most secure way of living. 

[sandsys]

7 hours ago, FL-JOE said:

On used units it is trickier but obviously you never pay what the seller is asking, they don't expect you to.

Ummm. I listed my Sportsmobile for what I expected to get and I got it. Those "never" and "always" statement often have exceptions.

Linda

[RV_]

All over generalizations are false, including this one.

 

Edited June 21, 2019 by RV_

[2gypsies]

9 hours ago, FL-JOE said:

 On used units it is trickier but obviously you never pay what the seller is asking, they don't expect you to.

When we took ours to PPL for sale, PPL suggested a price.  We upped it thinking everyone wants you to come down in price.  Our buyer flew in from Florida and paid the price we put on it.

[FL-JOE]

17 hours ago, sandsys said:

Ummm. I listed my Sportsmobile for what I expected to get and I got it. Those "never" and "always" statement often have exceptions.

Linda

Thanks for stating the obvious.  My advise to any newbie RV buyer would still be to not give the seller asking price, no matter if that seller was private or a dealership.  

[FL-JOE]

16 hours ago, 2gypsies said:

When we took ours to PPL for sale, PPL suggested a price.  We upped it thinking everyone wants you to come down in price.  Our buyer flew in from Florida and paid the price we put on it.

And this is exactly why I would tell a newbie RV buyer not to give asking price.  PPL obviously suggested a price they thought it would sell at.  You inflated it upwards and someone was stupid enough to give you the inflated price.  

[Kirk W]

RV pricing is a very subjective issue with very few hard rules. If the seller is satisfied with his sale price and the buyer believes the RV is worth the price that he paid, then that RV was sold at the proper price no matter what an expert may tell you. If you pay the asking price and are satisfied, or if the seller refuses to negeotiate and finds a buyer, then who has the right to tell either one that they were wrong? 

[kb0zke]

I generally consider PPL's prices as the bottom end for the condition of the RV. Their business model is to keep the price low so the rigs move quickly. Do some research to see what rigs similar to the one you are considering actually are selling for.

Sometimes a seller really needs to get rid of their rig and are willing to take any somewhat reasonable offer. Others are wanting to get top dollar for it, and are willing to wait for the right buyer. When you find something that suits you AND passes inspection, make an offer. Just remember, though, you are probably not the only one looking at the rig. Particularly with sought-after coaches, you have to be ready to jump when the right one comes along.