Some advice for a newbie RV'er

What are your expectations about cost of ownership?

Maintenance on any C will be a couple hundred to something like a thousand dollars a year depending on use and storage conditions, except that is an average, every few years you get big ticket items like tires, transmission maintenance, brake maintenance and you may shell out two or three thousand to make up for all those years you had just an oil change. Like owning a house, you don't put a roof on every year, but when you do, it is a big item, and when you have to pay for it, you don't think about it being spread out over 10 to 20 years.

Insurance, licensing, storage costs don't usually go up with age, and the big hit on cost of ownership, depreciation, goes down every year.

How much it hits your pocket depends on how much of the work you can do yourself, because for most things RV, the labor is a lot more than the parts and the materials. In that respect, also a lot like maintaining a house.

You can get an idea of the average "repairs" cost by pricing a service agreement (what they call extended warranties sometimes). But these cover replacement or repair of big ticket items, no coverage of routine maintenance (like inspecting and re-sealing seams, cleaning flues, fluid changes, tires, etc) which you will pay your self, even with a service agreement.

We bought our rig new in late 2003. The roof AC and fridge died last year and were replaced, also replaced six tires and fresh water pump and restrung the day night window shades. Replaced the awning fabric. We have only 9000 miles on the odometer due to illness, and home remodelling,etc., causing a pause in our camping/touring. Exterior graphics are cracked from sun damage. You can expect some $3000+ in repairs/replacements sooner or later with an average 2003 rig that has not had these things done already.

I have a older Tioga, 1998 23C, it oworded great when our 2 kids were younger but as they got to there teens it was a little tight. No that is just the wife and I it is great but when we go with friends it is not large enough for dinner or socialing in the unit...thus the new one will be at least 28' and 2 slides..
Just a thought for you to think about..

Hey, we have a low end 2004 and it isn't OLD!
We bought it as a 4 year old rental from a reputable dealer and have had no particular expenses in 5 years other than a set of tires which is a very big cost but an expected one. The trouble is you need to change tires every 5 to 7 years no matter how far they have travelled.

Our dealer made sure there were no leaks and that everything worked. Tried to sell me a useless warranty and failed to warn me the roof is not made to stand on. Fortunately I aways chat up the guys in the shop who really know stuff. Use planks when you go on the roof to check caulking.

Is that a Ford V8 or V10 with Triton engine? If so, you should be aware there can be expensive difficulties changing the spark plugs. I think the 2003 trouble is that they can break during removal. You could easily go another 25 k miles before doing that but if the dealer is in the mood to do a spark plug change for a flat hundred or two, I would sure go for it.

Be aware MHs use a lot of fuel, but it is worth it - a wonderful way to holiday.

If the rig shows no signs of water leak damage and roof and dash AC, fridge, microwave, water heater and furnace work properly in all modes, generator starts and runs steadily with roof AC and microwave on and tires are less than 5 years old with no sidewall cracks and awning is in good condition and the engine, cooling system, brakes have been inspected by a good truck mechanic, you will know what you are getting.The roof AC unit, fridge, and awning plus six tires recently needed replacement on our 2004 Tioga 26Q that we bought new in 2003. Expect some major expenses in the near future with any rig and put money aside it. Extended warranties are usually not worth while. If somebody already has replaced fridge, roof AC, tires and other major "limited life" items, the one you are looking at may be a good gamble.

Our family is new to RV ownership as well. Water leakage is THE biggest concern with any class C. I have major rebuild to do in cabover, but ours is a LOW cost 1983 Jamboree with everything else in pretty darned good shape. I am not happy, but live and learn.

Have a shop go through it with a fine toothed comb if you don't know what you are looking for. Get them to put in writing what they did and confirm no water damage. Then pay to have the whole top sealed and enjoy. If you are thinking this could be a long termer, confirm no leaks and think about applying a full roof coating. As I understand it, they are supposed to last upwards of 15 years per application.

Can anyone confirm if you can re-apply if any cracks develop? Personal long term experience with roof coatings?

Jose

The real question is how has the previous owner maintained it. Only a thorough inspection can answer that question. RV's are like boats. An expensive top of the line unit that wasn't maintained is a nightmare. An entry level unit that was maintained is a pleasure.

I would go for it! Just make sure you check it over real well and pressure testing it is a great idea. When I bought our '94 class c it had a leak in the cab over and it was not fun to fix but I did it. It had over 100k miles on it and still ran very strong.

We are new to RV'ing also.
Researched for about 2 years and decided to go new. Many reasons listed here like used mattress didn't appeal to me and maintenance costs start to rise and finally don't buy anything that was used as a rental unit as you never know how the renters drove the rig.
We have just begun our adventures and are looking forward to many years of trips across North America.

I think I would ask them to a pressure check/test for roof leaks. They are rather hard to find and can do a lot of hidden damage.

Dusty