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wowens79's avatar
wowens79
Explorer III
Sep 11, 2019

Would this be crazy??

Well I'm kinda thinking about looking at a Class A. I've currently driving a truck I bought new in 2002 with 231k miles on it, and pulling a 3 year old travel trailer. It is getting about time to replace the truck.

I really like Jeeps, and have had a couple over the years and would really like to go back to one as my daily, but I need a truck for the camper.

Looking at new truck prices, I'll be looking at $45-50k for a truck. Looking online it looks like a 10-15 year old class A can be found for $50-60k, and I could sell my camper for $20k and end up with a class A and a Jeep and be out of pocket about the same amount of money. I'm pretty handy with most thing and DIY just about all out home and auto repairs so an older coach/jeep doesn't overly concern me.

We have always thought one day when we retired, or won the lotto we'd get a class A, but I'm thinking we might could do it now.

24 Replies

  • happy2rv wrote:
    This is a tough question for someone else to answer. One man's crazy is an others genius :B.

    While the amounts of initial outlay may be similar. I think that's the only comparison. With a new truck, you end up with Well a new truck and keep an almost new trailer. The truck would be under warranty and you should know the condition/history of your trailer. With a 10+ year old class A, you will be buying someone else's problems and without warranty or fore knowledge of it's shall we say quirks. That's not to say there aren't any decent RVs in that age range, but I have been around RV's my entire life and my family and I have owned many and every one I've ever seen has its own quirks/issues.

    You indicate you are pretty handy and could handle most DIY projects, but is that how you want to spend your time? Some people enjoy working on them as much or more than camping in them.

    A couple of things to think about.

    Your current trailer is only a couple of years old. Did you buy it new? If so, you know how its been cared for. You know its good points and bad. Do you have any experience with older RVs? Do you know what to look for to cull the "good" from the "bad"?

    Many 10+ year old RVs have low mileage, but that's not necessarily a good thing. Vehicles that sit for 11 months out of the year with no or very intermittent use don't age well.

    Most 10+ year old RVs have been stored outside and uncovered most/all of their life and most have not received proper maintenance when it comes to roof and window sealants. Most have been exposed to some leak damage somewhere.

    If you don't like your trailer or want the class A experience, that could be a determining factor. There are pros and cons to travel trailer/fifth wheel vs motor home.

    You don't indicate any parameters other than cost, but at 60K you are in the territory of new class C or newer low end class A units.


    Yep.. and when it is raining like hell, wind raging, he can pull into the camp spot , push a few buttons. level up. and kick back.
    rather than getting out and setting up the trailer.

    Every device we camp in is a device that needs maintenance.
  • This is a tough question for someone else to answer. One man's crazy is an others genius :B.

    While the amounts of initial outlay may be similar. I think that's the only comparison. With a new truck, you end up with Well a new truck and keep an almost new trailer. The truck would be under warranty and you should know the condition/history of your trailer. With a 10+ year old class A, you will be buying someone else's problems and without warranty or fore knowledge of it's shall we say quirks. That's not to say there aren't any decent RVs in that age range, but I have been around RV's my entire life and my family and I have owned many and every one I've ever seen has its own quirks/issues.

    You indicate you are pretty handy and could handle most DIY projects, but is that how you want to spend your time? Some people enjoy working on them as much or more than camping in them.

    A couple of things to think about.

    Your current trailer is only a couple of years old. Did you buy it new? If so, you know how its been cared for. You know its good points and bad. Do you have any experience with older RVs? Do you know what to look for to cull the "good" from the "bad"?

    Many 10+ year old RVs have low mileage, but that's not necessarily a good thing. Vehicles that sit for 11 months out of the year with no or very intermittent use don't age well.

    Most 10+ year old RVs have been stored outside and uncovered most/all of their life and most have not received proper maintenance when it comes to roof and window sealants. Most have been exposed to some leak damage somewhere.

    If you don't like your trailer or want the class A experience, that could be a determining factor. There are pros and cons to travel trailer/fifth wheel vs motor home.

    You don't indicate any parameters other than cost, but at 60K you are in the territory of new class C or newer low end class A units.
  • Do your home work, there are some very nice M/H for sale now the 2002- thru-2008 with out EPA equipment.
    I'd be searching for a Beaver, Newmar -mountain Aire or higher or several other high end coaches.

    We love our 2000 Newmar, is has been bullet proof.
  • We went with a motorhome and absolutly love it. It is vastly easier to use.