Hi all. I'm looking at buying my first RV and I don't know anythingabout them.My situation quickly first so we can skip over some obvious answers.I'm poor. I've moved into this area (central illinois) for work 4 months ago and my wages are paying for my hotel and nothing else. On the way here I blew the head gasket on the truck and can't afford to fix it. So this week is the best check in 4 months and I have planned my escape.So, I could buy a $900 Chevy Blazer and hit the road, or, I can buy a cheap, cheap, cheap RV and maybe stay a while longer and pocket the $1000 per month that I give to the hotel while parking at a campground.OK, hope you're still with me. I found an ad for a 1978 Dodge Rockwood. Ad says the awning was ripped off by wind, fridge doesn't work, no generator, speedometer doesn't work, one tail light don't work, needs a new battery for the engine. Say's it runs and drives and everything else works fine. In the pictures it looks OK. There is water damage on the wall over the table. Says he tried to fix it and the mold came back.Price? $600Soooo, the most I could hope to come up with for a purchase is about $1500 MAYBE $2000. I see a couple other ads in my area, one for $1700 for a 1974 coachman (she's selling it for a friend and knows nothing) and one for a 1987 Ford E-350 "something or other" for $2500. Maybe he'd come down to my range, I haven't talked with him yet.So I guess my question is, would I be a blithering idiot to buy the $600 one?How much is a generator used?How much is a fridge used?And most importantly, is the leak and water damage a huge red flag not to buy the RV?Thank you for looking. BTW Great forum, I read through the FAQ pages last night, good stuff.

Keep your $600 and run, you are looking at a lot of $$$ to get that thing into shape to run and this guy knows it is shot and is trying to unload it on someone who is not too bright, $600 is probably double what he would get for it at a junk yard, if they would even pay anything for it. Question is are you looking to travel or to park for some time? If you are going to just be setting in one place, you will get more bang for your buck by getting a travel trailer (tt) or a 5th wheel (5er). If you are planning to follow the seasons and travel then look at the motor homes. In either case you can get a cheap car, either to tow behind the mh or to drive to work.BTW, welcome to the group.

Once a leaker always a leaker. I agree with the other poster that a travel trailer might be a better way to go considering your budget. I would think that a motivated seller would agree to deliver the trailer to where you are going to be staying.

I understand about the trailer and if I had a running truck to pull one with that would be my choice. However, with the situation I'm in, money scarce and only able to either pay rent on the hotel for another month or by a vehicle and run, I thought the best idea is to buy an RV. I don't have enough to buy a truck and a trailer.So, spraying, painting, covering with tar or something, bracing with sheet metal? No way to fix a leak?Grandpere, I don't know, I'd imagine I'll be putting a couple thousand miles on it in the next year.

Being as you're hurting for funds, the $600 RV might be the way to go. After all, all you have to is use it for a month (even if you don't use it anymore) and it's paid for itself. You can live in it for at least for another three months without a working furnace. After you buy it, you'll have time to evaluate it a little further to see if it's worth a refrigerator. Buy a dorm unit used and put that in there. The main thing is that it has to be able to move on its own so the engine and tranny have to work. And check the tires that they're good enough to get it to a camping place.And find a camping place that will let you in with it before you buy it.I like to see that you're working and trying to find a way to save some money but I wouldn't figure that one of these will be a long term solution to your housing needs, but should work for the summer months.Bill

Hello! and a couple questions. | Good Sam Community

wmblake
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
OK, I've found 2 of you who will tell me what I want to hear! LOL

So the generator, can I buy a cheap one at wal mart or do I have to buy a specific one?

How long can I depend on the genny to run just the air conditioning during the day? Would it have enough gas/juice to run it for 8 hours?

Are there instructions on here somewhere for fixing leaks and repairing damaged walls?

Can I plug in with an extension cord to a standard 110 wall outlet to run the air conditioning for my pooch?

How come I can't winter in the camper?

BTW I'm joking about telling me what I want to hear and I'm appreciative of all of you taking the time to write me and also doing it so quickly as tomorrow is pay day.
Jayco-noslide
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
Sorry for your situation. RVing just is not cheap so not a good way to go if you are really poor. Besides the motor, drive train, etc, in an RV you've got all the RV stuff; refrig, furnace, etc. My advice would be try to land permanently somewhere, live cheap and find 1 or more jobs to try to get out of the hole and save the RVing for better days.
toedtoes
Explorer III
Aug 06, 2014
The problem I see with this is that you will need to live in the RV for the entire time. Many places have limits as to how long you can park. Places may also have rules as to the age of the RVs they allow - and non-running RVs is usually the reason for those rules.

So, say you spend $600 on it now and are able to park it for a month. Come next month, that RV MUST be in drivable condition in order to move it to another location.

You also have to be able to get to work each day. Are you planning on doing that each day with the RV? Are you planning on taking public transit? If so, that will limit where you park the RV - further reducing the number of locations that will be doable.

I honestly think you're better off putting the money into a dependable vehicle. With a good working vehicle, you might even be able to get a second job to increase your monthly income.

I think an RV at this point is going to cost you far more than you are going to be able to afford. And, when you reach that realization, you're going to find it very hard to sell it.
Grandpere
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
wmblake wrote:
Can I plug in with an extension cord to a standard 110 wall outlet to run the air conditioning for my pooch?

Standard outlets are only 15 amp, not anywhere big enough to run an airconditioner

How come I can't winter in the camper?

Winters in norther and even central Illinois are too cold, you would be without water from November till April as all water in the mh will freeze at the single digits and below zero temperatures.

If you plan on living in the mh year round you will have to be finding work in the southern states during the winter. If you had some kind of steady income, you could supplement it by becoming a workamper and following the seasons to different parts of the US.
dave17352
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
Get a efficiency apartment and save some money. Getting a RV of any type is not going to save you anything. JMHO
littlemo
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
wmblake wrote:
I guess I left one thing out of the equation; I have a Husky dog, my best friend. I must be able to leave him in the camper with air conditioning running for 6 hours while I'm at work.

With the RV I figured I could park at work and hook up to electric there and check on him every so often. .

Not to be discouraging but are you aware you can't hook up to just a regular plug?
Bordercollie
Explorer
Aug 06, 2014
There are probably personal reasons why you can't move in with a relative temporarily and without serious impact on them. If you are able-bodied and mentally stable, you might find someone who is old/disabled and needs a live-in helper on a part time basis while you get find full time employment and work your way up to self-sufficency.
wmblake
Explorer
Aug 07, 2014
littlemo wrote:
wmblake wrote:
I guess I left one thing out of the equation; I have a Husky dog, my best friend. I must be able to leave him in the camper with air conditioning running for 6 hours while I'm at work.

With the RV I figured I could park at work and hook up to electric there and check on him every so often. .

Not to be discouraging but are you aware you can't hook up to just a regular plug?

No, I didn't know that. I really don't know anything at all about RV's
toedtoes
Explorer III
Aug 07, 2014
wmblake wrote:
No, I didn't know that. I really don't know anything at all about RV's

Unfortunately, I think this is a big reason why this idea isn't the best solution to your problem. I think you're going to find that assumptions you've made as to the cost savings of moving into an RV are going to be very out of whack and you're going to end up losing money.

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