Reflections on 6 Months of RV Research! ;)
Hi Class C Forum, I caught the RV bug about 6 months ago after a particularly stressful stretch at work. Researching RVs has become the way that I decompress when I have some discretionary time. Cu...
Forum Discussion
Sounds like you are looking at new rigs and I understand how RV research and RV.net can be a great stress reliever too.
With a new RV your criteria can be more specific. If you are looking for used, you will start with preferences but be most interested in a rig that is in good condition for the cost.
If you are getting a loan, seems like buying new at the best possible discount is a reasonable choice, if paying cash, you are less likely to want to sink it into a new vehicle because of the immediate depreciation.
Of course your idea of how you will use it now may change over time. That is, in established RV parks, state parks, nationals--those tend to have more primitive facilities--for long haul travel once or twice a year as a couple or with your grown kids etc.
We wanted a used rig because we had set a lower cash budget, which we exceeded by a grand or so. Oh well. Not as disciplined as some I guess. But we had a bit of unexpected rot, not at the cabover as some do but at the rear panel below the floor level. I think the middle brake light was leaking. We rebuilt it for little money and we have had a few newbie driver "gotchas" that have banged us up a bit. So that might be a thought for you--do you want to subject a brand new RV to your learning curve?
As pnichols says, we seem to have either been extremely lucky in our pick of RV or we are just able to be happy with what we ended up with. I look all the time for newer vehicles but have not found anything I like as much as ours. We are very comfortable in our small RV and don't have any problem getting up in the bunk or managing to be comfortable together even with a couple of grandkids along. But we lived for five years in a 400 square foot cabin with our two kids so maybe we are not typical!
Enjoy your research and your search and get out on the road as soon as you can despite college tuition because you will not regret it. :-)
With a new RV your criteria can be more specific. If you are looking for used, you will start with preferences but be most interested in a rig that is in good condition for the cost.
If you are getting a loan, seems like buying new at the best possible discount is a reasonable choice, if paying cash, you are less likely to want to sink it into a new vehicle because of the immediate depreciation.
Of course your idea of how you will use it now may change over time. That is, in established RV parks, state parks, nationals--those tend to have more primitive facilities--for long haul travel once or twice a year as a couple or with your grown kids etc.
We wanted a used rig because we had set a lower cash budget, which we exceeded by a grand or so. Oh well. Not as disciplined as some I guess. But we had a bit of unexpected rot, not at the cabover as some do but at the rear panel below the floor level. I think the middle brake light was leaking. We rebuilt it for little money and we have had a few newbie driver "gotchas" that have banged us up a bit. So that might be a thought for you--do you want to subject a brand new RV to your learning curve?
As pnichols says, we seem to have either been extremely lucky in our pick of RV or we are just able to be happy with what we ended up with. I look all the time for newer vehicles but have not found anything I like as much as ours. We are very comfortable in our small RV and don't have any problem getting up in the bunk or managing to be comfortable together even with a couple of grandkids along. But we lived for five years in a 400 square foot cabin with our two kids so maybe we are not typical!
Enjoy your research and your search and get out on the road as soon as you can despite college tuition because you will not regret it. :-)
