Disabled Unemployed Veteran needs information and advice about full time RV living

[Cafetom]

Hello All,

I am a disabled unemployed veteran.  I can not keep up with my home, both payments and care, so I am considering full time RV living.  I have a bit of savings, about 100K, to purchase my very first RV.  I have rented them previously, and found them adequate for short term living.  They were small gas RV's. 

I am planning/hoping to make this my permanent home.  Probably in Texas.  I do plan to travel in it quite often, during the summer, but probably park it for the winter in the south.  I am looking at Class A diesel pushers, and also making sure it is 4 seasons.  I am very handy and can fix many things, but do not want to buy one that needs a lot of work at least for the first year.

So here are my questions.  Please feel free to add your suggestions or concerns.

Private Party or Dealer?  I think I can save money from a private party.  However, the big risk is in the honesty of the private party, along with they ability to know what needs to be done and how to take care of an RV.  I have personally seen RV's that people have said they were immaculate, but not according to my standards.  I not sure the standards of many others either.  I don't know if they were simply lying or they have a different definition of immaculate.    I went to see one that they said was "perfect" only to find that the engine was bad, really bad.  So part of me says that if I buy a used RV, and have to put 10k in it just to get it in great shape, why not just goto a dealer who has already gone through it.  Then there are others who will say that dealers will do the same thing.  They will get an RV in and do the bare minimum to hide anything that needs to be fixed or repaired at a later date.  

I'd like to find one that simply didn't get used and someone willing to be a bit philanthropic so that I can have a home.  :)

What club/organizations should I join?  I have joined the EscapeesRVclub in Livingston Texas, but I am finding more and more clubs out there.  Good Sam for one.  I really don't want to overdo it but want to join organizations that might help in this transition.

What do I need to look for in an RV, and avoid?  I have literally looked at about 30 RV's  I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but traveling from dealer to dealer and private party takes some time.  The ones that tripped my trigger are out of my price range.  The ones around my price range seem to be cheaply built.  There was one with a rubber roof that was nice, until it rained and it looked like it melted.  I know tires are a big deal, and so is the engine.

What does it take to maintain an RV?  In life I have experienced that the more something costs, the more it costs to maintain it.  I am planning to budget about $500 a month simply for maintenance (not diesel/gas/propane, insurance, or other consumables).

What are the the things you wish you knew going into full time RV'ing?  The problem I think I have is that I don't know what I don't know, so I might not even know what I need to ask concerning full time RVing.  I just learned that smells in an RV usually mean mold.  And dealers are really good at masking those smells.  I also found out that painting an RV can cost up to $5000.  Tire dates are just as important as mileage.  Refrigerators seem to be always an issue if they run on propane only.  Generators don't always run everything in the RV.  There are different power hookups for RV's.  Water tanks are significant!  Waste water disposal and maintenance ease is necessary.  Take showers and wash clothes at parks whenever possible.  What else?

I welcome your comments, concerns, criticism.

Tom

 

 

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapees RV Club and also to the forums! Happy to have you with us. Be sure that you register your veteran status with Escapees as they give all of us who are veterans a 15% discount on most purchases, if they know we are.

The issue of where is best to buy a used RV, there is a great debate on that and no easy answers. The most important thing to remember is that you should have it professionally inspected before you buy no matter where you may find it. As one new to the RV community I think that you might find a membership in the RV Consumer Group to be well worth the cost as they provide new members a lot of educational materials. 

On organizations to join, I consider Escapees to be my #1 but there are others that are valuable depending on your style of travel. Discount groups like Passport America quickly pay back the annual cost, if you are traveling. FMCA has some benefits as does Good Sam but I do not belong to either nowadays. You need to weigh carefully what benefits a group has and if those benefits will help you, as many of them are duplicates of what you have or may not be used. 

What to look for and what to avoid is not a simple thing and that is part of the reason you need to have anything professionally inspected before you buy. You may also want to consider attending the Escapee RVer's Boot Camp before you buy since you are an Escapee as it will also help you a lot  in your choice of RV. I suggest that before you buy anything you need to spend a lot of time visiting different types and brands in order to learn what is available. Since you are disabled, I think that accessibility should be very high on your list of requirements. 

RV maintenance is one of those things that just can't be pinned down to a number. A great deal of that depends upon what you do for yourself. An RV's roof needs to be inspected at least annually and resealed as needed. It also has all of the maintenance issues of a fixed house but they are subject to vibrations from travel so that is often more than in a house. Preventive maintenance is vital to keeping the repairs to a minimum.

To learn what you might wish later that you knew now, I suggest the RV Consumer Group and RVer's Boot Camp as the best way to start.

[agesilaus]

Besides the Escappees the only group that pays for itself is Passport America which gives major discounts on camping and will pay for itself the third or fourth time you use it. It has drawbacks, there aren't as many parks and they tend to be away from major attractions.

As for maintenance, RV's are like stick and bricks homes except more so. There is always something to be fixed or DIY projects to improve the unit.

 

I'm a DV and we are full timing, this is our first year out. There are opportunitities to earn money on the road, you can work at private campgrounds, that gives you a salary and a place to park your RV. Public parks are often looking for volunteers to work in their parks but usually don't pay much if anything and only provide a place to park your RV. Both of these are called workcamping and thgere is a forum here that covers it.

 

You can also camp for free on public lands, especially west of the Mississippi. BLM lands are mostly fully open for camping for up to 2 weeks and USFS lands have designated areas that allow free camping for up to 16 days. This is called boondocking and it has a significant learning curve and requires quite a bit of extra gear fso doing it successfully has a start up cost.

Whatever you end up doing expect a lot of difficulty and problems as you start. There is a learning curve and learning the hard way from mistakes is the common way to figure it out. Check out the Escapees page for a number of videos on various subjects and YouTube has hundreds of videos on just about any subject, learn to use it.

Lastly, unfortunately for you you are looking to jump into RVing at a point in time when there is a shortage of both new and used RVs. It is a sellers market and prices are up.

Edited September 16, 2021 by agesilaus

[Twotoes]

I agree with the others regarding an inspection for any purchase. If buying from a dealer you may be able to negotiate a 90 day or better yet one year warranty. Private party most likely will only sell as is.

You already made a wise decision to join Escapees. Good Sam will get you a 10% discount at numerous camp grounds on nightly stays (not weekly or monthly whose rates are already discounted) and a discount on anything you purchase at Camping World. Beware of buying or servicing an RV from CW.  Many bad reviews. Passport America is popular but limited in the number of campgrounds and has different rules at each. No weekends or holidays,, off season only etc.. PA is also only good for short stays of one or two days so as a fulltimer it only helps when traveling from one location to another. Being disabled and a veteran qualifies you for a free pass to federal facilities and half off at most, such as National,Parks, US Forest Service etc. but most have a 14 day stay limit. Boondocking on BLM land is free.

Good luck, safe travels and welcome to Escapees

[Kirk W]

Cafetom, have we helped at all? Let us know if we are giving any advice that seems to fit as we have a wide range of experienced folks and someone has likely got some helpful suggestions.

[TXiceman]

I gather you are looking at motorhomes.  A lot of people get into RVing to Live more cheaply.  Fuel prices are on the rise and places to park an RV are  going  up and getting harder to find, especially long term in lots of areas.

Then there is the maintenance on the RV.  Motorhomes require chassis maintenance like a  car, only bigger and more expensive.  Then you have the maintenance on the RV.  Hopefully you are mechanically and electrically inclined as paying for repairs can get very expensive.

Then you have to have money set aside for major items...like new fridge, A/C, microwave, engine and transmission repairs.   I know of  several folks that bought an older motorhome and hit the road.  A few months pass and they have an engine or transmission failure and they do not have the $10000 or more to get the repairs done.  SO now they are parked in hopes of getting the money together for a repair.

Looking at used RVs can get very discouraging.  Keep looking and you will find the one that was well loved and maintained.

Ken

[trailertraveler]

 

Welcome to the Escapes Forum!!!       

On 9/16/2021 at 7:14 AM, Cafetom said:

I can not keep up with my home, both payments and care

By this do you mean you can not keep up with the care of your home  financially or physically? As mentioned RVs can require a considerable amount of maintenance and repair. In my experience, service and repair of an RV is on a a par with or more expensive than home or automotive repair or service. With limited space, access to the item needing repair can be limited and difficult. Some systems and appliances like the propane (gas absorption) refrigerators are very different from the usual home appliances. Based on experience with recent repair needs, RV service centers and mobile repair technicians seem to be very busy right now and wait times for service can be considerable. Parts availability is also an issue with both low inventories and slow delivery times contributing to the problem.

It was mentioned that RVs are currently in high demand. As we have traveled from Florida to the mid-Atlantic and West to New Mexico this year, we have observed both nearly empty dealerships and some very large dealers with lots full of RVs so where you are located or intend to shop may affect what is available to you.

You said you were looking at motorhomes, but did not mention whether you were considering a second means of transportation for local travel once at your destination(s). Do you currently have a vehicle that you plan to tow or trailer? This will require some research and add some expense for initial setup.

Again, Welcome to the Escapees Forum!! and good luck with your search for the right RV for you.

[Barbaraok]

Why a DP?  You said you are alone, usually DPs are purchased by couples because they can carry more 'stuff', and because of the air-bag ride.   If you are single, why not consider a gas Class A.   You will still have more space than a Class C, but not as costly to purchase or maintain as a DP.   Are you planning on crossing a lot of mountains during the summer.   Don't get me wrong, I love our DP, but we spend more than a few dollars each year keeping her maintained as we don't do much in the way of DYI work. And for a lot of things on a DP, you don't want to do it.   6 gallons of oil to do an oil change on ours - an amount of used oil I want to have to wrestle with to dispose it correctly.   The list goes on and on.  

 

[RV_]

I'm done with one post wonders. I'll participate when they do after their first post.

I suspect someone within the forums or organization thinks these one off questions are helpful or will increase hits for this forum. I've been here since the first SKP forums (~1999) online and joined Escapees in 1997 or 1998 I forget at the moment, and have never seen so many well written questions, seemingly from the same writer's voice vocabulary, so often here, who does not come back, or comes back once.

I'll wait.

 

[2gypsies]

Geez.... this was first posted on Thursday!  Everyone is not on this forum daily like some of us. 😏

[Kirk W]

4 hours ago, RV_ said:

I'm done with one post wonders. I'll participate when they do after their first post.

I suspect someone within the forums or organization thinks these one off questions are helpful or will increase hits for this forum. I've been here since the first SKP forums (~1999) online and joined Escapees in 1997 or 1998 I forget at the moment, and have never seen so many well written questions, seemingly from the same writer's voice vocabulary, so often here, who does not come back, or comes back once.

I'll wait.

 

Are you still a member of Escapees? You should visit Escapade or some other event and meet some of us.

We got a 20 year pin, but I haven't put it on anything. 😏

Edited September 21, 2021 by Kirk W

[RV_]

[NanaAdventures]

 TIM,

I am also a disabled and a retired veteran. I used 50% of my budget to purchase a used RV in 2019. And I full time in my RV because I didn't have a car or an apartment.  I was living in family guest rooms while  waiting 3yrs for disability approval. 

if my total monthly cost for Gas and campground fees is less than 40% of my income or the cost of an apartment with utilities it is saving me money.  

Things I wish I had done differently.  

Class A maintenance is more than class C. 

Wish I had utilized the Escapees online education and university before I  bought. 

Wish I  attended the  Tampa RV show in January 2019 to really see what options were out there as far as organizations and what you need after the purchase.

YouTube has many videos  that compare the types of RVs.  

My advice to you is watch Matt's RV reviews and Matt's RV reviews towables

Decide whether you want to go to RV resorts with all amenities or camp in the woods with just water and electricity or dry camping. Do you want to move every 14days or do you want a long term lot lease. Do have a car? Can you flat tow it behind your class A or C?  If you have a vehicle with a tow hitch how much  can you tow GCVW.

Search insurance companies and plans decide what suits your needs for lodging in case of repairs or maintenance shop time. 

All the questions you asked are appropriate.  Escapees is a great place to begin your journey.  Good luck

Bev

 

[RV_]

Bev, excellent post! Welcome to Escapees forums. I will look for your future posts. 😎

[Ray,IN]

CafeTom, of all the different types of RV's, diesel pusher MH's require the most care and expense. I am not disabled, just 78 yrs. old with COPD, and I cannot keep up with much of the DIY maintenance any longer, especially after contracting COVID last Sep., which left long-term effects. This is increasing our expenses considerably; for example a simple oil N filter change for the drive engine is well over $350 today at the lowest priced place around - Speedco. The local HDT repair shop quoted $400 just for labor.

If your desire is a diesel-powered MH, look at the FRED units =front engine diesel MH's, which are actually similar to a diesel  MDT chassis and drive-train.  They are less money initially and maintenance should be less because their is no compressed air system to maintain.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Ray,IN

[Casa de Wherever]

Not sure this was what you were looking for Tom, but a bit of levity can't hurt... Take a look!

 

 

[Casa de Wherever]

*Please watch on Youtube.