RV Insurance

[RJH59]

I haven't purchased an RV yet, I have been wondering if anyone say which type of RV is less expense to insure A,B,C or truck and 5th wheel

living full time? And which Domicile State is best? Not looking at brand new but something low miles and reliable. any help would be 

appreciated.

[Will B.]

As a Texan, I have to root for Texas as a domicile state.  I CAN say that registering your RV with Polk County, well....you'd better hope the Covid stuff is over because it's been a complete and utter mess.  I would admit, though, that this isn't normal.  I drove down to Livingston to find the office closed, unable to use a credit card (for points) to register my new truck and RV that I bought out of state.  I've had the RV for three months now, and my banks is asking for the titles, I have CA plates instead of Texas.  Grrr.

But Texas has no state income tax.  Florida is a good choice, too.  Not sure why some folks pick South Dakota.  But those seem to be THE three states.

Insurance for me is all through Progressive.  Truck, RV, two motorcycles.  Rates dropped, too, when I "moved" from Dallas (Carrollton) to Livingston.  Obviously, we are fulltimers.

Hope there's a useful nugget in there.  Keep a copy of everything you send to Polk County, and send it certified.  (Might just be a general good rule of thumb.)

 

(From somewhere in Oklahoma now, off to Kansas next.)

[rynosback]

We went with SD. You just need to read up on the 3 states (Sd, Fla and Tx) to find out which one fits you better. I believe SD has the lowest state tax rate out of the three and no yearly inspections are needed. I also think there insurance rates are one of the lowest. But as far as if one rig more expensive to insure. I would have to think that the biggest factors are the cost of replacement. If you have a 400k class A or a  150k 5th wheel, I would think the fifth would be less expensive to insure. I would think you would want to figure out which type of Rv suites your needs first. As a little 20’ B might be the cheapest, but will not do what you want it to do. You need to think about your wants and needs to figure out what rig fits you as it is not a one fits all choice. I spent almost 2 years reading and researching what would be the best choice for us. 
I went with a 5th wheel for several reasons (DRV Mobile Suites towed by a Ram 3500 & a Mazda 3 as the daily driver) We loved the layout of 5th wheels over the others. If the truck goes down for any reason we still have a place to live vs a class A. When it is in the shop your whole home is in the shop. There are so many angles to look at this I could write pages and pages on it. But as I stated above, it is about your wants and needs. Have fun researching.

Edited June 4, 2020 by rynosback

[Kirk W]

Without a doubt, the 3 leading states for RV domicile are TX, FL, and SD. I prefer TX for a number of reasons, but if you will need to purchase health insurance and are not yet eligible for Medicare, the very clear leader would be FL because they have more choices than TX and SD has very limited plans and would be last in such case. I strongly suggest that you consider becoming a member of Escapees RV Club for the many benefits they have to offer. I think that you also need to make sure that you understand just what a domicile is and means as it is not a simple thing. 

In order to compare the cost to insure, you need to consider the cost of insurance for the RV and tow vehicle when compared to that of any motorized RV. In general the cost to insure will depend on the cost to replace and will be similar if you include the tow vehicle. When shopping insurance you also need to be sure that the company is offering insurance for living in the RV as your only home as that is more costly than standard RV coverage, which will not pay if you live in it fulltime. 

[2gypsies]

I'd recommend you begin by browsing the Full-time section of this forum.  You'll find discussion on the different states for domicile.  It just depends on your circumstances and also if you're on Medicare or not.  If not, Florida seems to be the best for medical insurance.

You don't have to do a yearly inspection if you don't enter Texas.  Even so, the inspection is very simple and doesn't take long at all. It's not a big deal.

As far as what type & the cheapest insurance ... that, too, depends on many circumstances.  No one could tell you what your insurance will cost.  It depends on only you. . . age, driving record, where you're domiciled, year of RV, your credit score,what insurance you choose, etc, etc.  You just need to shop around for price.

The type of RV?  That also just depends on you.  What are your needs?  Are you single or will there be two of you?  Will you have another vehicle in addition to the RV?  We began with a travel trailer, then a 5th wheel and settled on a motorhome.  We got hooked on 4-wheeling and wanted the Jeep.  We hated driving the big truck around all the time and it wouldn't take us on the kinds of backcountry we wanted to explore.  We definitely didn't want another small car in addition to a truck.  We didn't want to drive separately and that's added cost.  The motorhome and Jeep worked well for us.  

Read all you can on the subject and you'll learn lots.  Good luck with your plans!