If you only had $40k to spend.........

This is not my first trip to the RV rodeo. I have been camping since I was a kid. We've done the tent, upgraded to a tent trailer, up graded to a small travel trailer, upgraded to a large travel trailer and then stopped for a while. In 2007 I took a road trip in my car and we hit 17 states on the eastern seaboard. It was a great trip and we were lucky to have stayed in some nice hotels. When we got home we decided that we like road trips but other than this last trip, have stayed in some crappy hotels. So we bought a 36' Rv gasser. It had only 32k on the clock.

We've used it ever since and on years that we fly somewhere instead of driving the RV still gets used as a guest house for our guests. Its been quite handy.

So this is not a new hobby/sport for us. This is just an upgrade. Our first RV cost us $14k and served us well for 8 years. I sold it for $8,500 and fell that it owed me nothing after that. It booked for more than I sold it but I priced it at what I thought was a fair deal. I must have been right because I found a buyer in 2 days.

We look forward to taking delivery of our new (to us) motorhome in a few weeks. Hopefully enough snow will be melted so I have a place to put it.

superk wrote:
I agree. In my short experience with my class A, I have come to realize that it might be overkill for my needs, but I (or rather my wife) refused to go camping without the conveniences of home.

And this is the long and short of it for me. My wife really enjoys the motor home, whereas we have a tent and all the other camping equipment sitting on a shelf in the basement. Getting out of the house and exploring is well worth the cost for us.

John&Joey wrote:
Thanks for posting that Frankdamp.

The only time a Class A is economical is when you turn the key off and live in it.

I agree. In my short experience with my class A, I have come to realize that it might be overkill for my needs, but I (or rather my wife) refused to go camping without the conveniences of home.

In my opinion, you buy a class A for one of two reasons, Either you are planning to use it as it was designed for (a motor HOME), or you dont want to compromise on comfort, and even a 20 year old class A is still more comfy (in my opinion) than a 5 year old class C.


Although... that 5 year old class C would save a heck of a lot in fuel............... :s

Thanks for posting that Frankdamp.

The only time a Class A is economical is when you turn the key off and live in it. We would snowbird in ours for six months, put on about 5K miles during that time, and camp at nice but reasonable sites (COE, casino, etc..) Even with all of that going on I would view it as a breakeven. Thank goodness the engine or tranny never went. That would have pushed it way into the red. That was also the reason we sold it. I just no longer felt confident it was a cross country machine. I'm sure it was, but I didn't want to chance it.

Unfortunately, AGC, you're correct. Divide $19k by 6K miles and you're looking at $3 a mile over the three seasons and 6000 miles we actually used it. Add in 8 mpg on gas at $4.50 a gallon (the prices we paid in the small towns we travelled through) and $40 or more a night for CG's, you can see how much this hobby ended up costing us. Our normal travel pattern was 120 - 150 miles between stops and overnight just one night.

If we'd been more careful in our choice of a consignment dealer, we might have done a bit better, but I've agreed "no names. no pack drill" with them.

When we bought it, from the original purchasers when it was new, everything worked just fine and it was in great condition, except for original 8-year-old tires and a rotted-out topper over the living room slide. Early in our third season, the fridge died.

New tires - $2300. Replace toppers - $600. Replace fridge - $1800.

This "hobby" is not for the faint of heart or the light of wallet! We enjoyed our three seasons, but the attack on our retirement funds couldn't be tolerated.

To "Magilla", I would send the following caution. If your budget for this lifestyle is $40K, I'd suggest putting $8K on one side for the additional expenses (not including the costs of actually using it). When you buy a used rig, what you spend to get it is only 80% of what it will cost to keep it and running it will cost a lot more.

dbbls wrote:
A travel trailer. You won't get much in the way of a motor home.

I picked up my 1999 fleetwood bounder 34v for 10k

it needed tires, a tailpipe, a shock, and 1 marker light repaired in order to pass mechanical.

all said and done, it cost me about 14k.

TRUTH BE TOLD. It was somewhat of a fixer-upper in the sense that the generator ran but didnt produce power (voltage regulator needed replacement), the backup camera worked intermittently, so I replaced it with a $160 kit from amazon which works well, and there is some sort of issue with the cruise control (not ford-recall related)

its a great little unit, and aside from the above items, everything works. the interior has some pretty good wear, but surprisingly all the upholstery is in great shape. the carpet was replaced with floating floor (not my first choice, but it was already there)

I am overwhelmed by the options available in this unit, the polar package alone is absolutely amazing. I love the heated storage and in turn, the then heated floors :)

MagillaGorilla wrote:
Just for the sake of conversation, lets say that you have $40k to spend and you want to buy a MH. The entire world is your oyster.....as long as it costs under $40k. What would you buy and why?

Note: This would apply for used MH's only.

Well I kinda did just that in '07. Bought a gas 33 footer that was 10 years old for 21K. Put 35,000 miles on it. 7 years later I sold it for $14,000 on Craigslist. It was still a good running coach.

All those years I did wish for a DP though, but having the extra money to have fun with sure was nice.

For $40k I would buy a late 90's Country Coach. Quality is far above that of any travel trailer or 5th wheel.

For 40,000 I think I would buy a 5th wheel.

Joatha wrote:

MagillaGorilla wrote:
Everyone seems to say that you need to get a DP. Why is that? I did not want a DP, I wanted Gas. I get gas for free but have to pay for diesel.159606

You asked what I would buy with $40K. You put no constraints on it. So, I told you what I would buy - an older Bluebird. Yes, its a diesel pusher. No, it doesn't have slides (I don't care). But, that is what I would buy.

Your right. i was asking what others would buy. It seems that the general consensus is diesel. People seem to love DP motorhomes.