I need some help!!! (deciding on a rv)

At 15-25 years you are looking at an age range where price depends a whole lot more on condition than model year. There is additional variation by locale, some areas are sellers markets with high demand, others are better for buyers.

An additional factor is motivation to sell. The '99 at $9000 could be an RV that needs substantial work, or at least cleaning up, or it could be something from an estate that nobody wanted to take as inheritance, somebody wants cash fast. That happens with houses and cars too, we let one of my brother's houses and two of his three cars go cheaply in order to liquidate the estate. You thus might find better bargains in retirement communities.

There aren't many brands that are higher end than others (LazyDaze, Born Free, Coachhouse, Phoenix Cruiser maybe). Manufacture of mass-production brands is pretty much similar, within brands there have been multiple lines at different trim levels, but after 15-20 years this tends to level out so that condition at time of sale is more important than what the interior looked like new.

I think a 9000 mile loop in 35 days is doable, most of my longer trips have been 4000-6000 miles in 2-3 weeks. 200-300 miles a day gives you time to stop and see things every day, you can usually find interesting places to stop overnight, but you don't stay anywhere for very long, day or two at most. It is a pace typical of guided holiday tours.

Coast to coast, this works for seeing the whole country. If you just have some key destinations in the western U.S. then it might work out much better to fly out and rent locally, rather than trying to make marathon runs across the whole middle of the country.

Rick Jay wrote:
OBX Bum

"I have already spoken with the seller and his rv dealer/maintenance shop....The owner has had the rv for 10 years and they knew him by name."

I'm trying to decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing. :)

~Rick

I was thinking the same thing, as well as "are you really getting an independent inspection if you use the seller's mechanic?"

OBX Bum

"I have already spoken with the seller and his rv dealer/maintenance shop....The owner has had the rv for 10 years and they knew him by name."

I'm trying to decide if this is a good thing or a bad thing. :)

~Rick

Most rv rentals come with 100 miles a day. That has me paying 35 cents per mile more than 3000. At almost 9000 miles thats 2100$ just for extra mileage.

First you're talking about $5000 spent (rental cost), then you add another $2000 for gas, and all of a sudden you'd be "wasting" $7000 by renting. Uh...I think you'd still spend $2000 in gas no matter what RV you're driving. So we're back to $5000 wasted, right?

Let's assume you find a gem of a motorhome and the ONLY thing this 20-25 year old motorhome needs to make it road worthy are 6 new tires. I've never owned a motorhome but I have put 4 good tires on my trucks more than once costing about $1000. I'd say the motorhome tires would cost you around $1500. Now that $5000 rental motorhome is like a $3500 rental motorhome.

If you're lucky to spend only $1500 on a 20-25 year old motorhome and you plan on possibly selling after your trip, what makes you think you'd be able to sell it for the same price as you bought it? Might have to sell much less than the cost you paid in addition to the cost of new tires just to get rid of it!

And we really haven't talked about road worthiness and family safety. I know it all sounds like a pretty fun and easy way to go without spending lots of money but I would not risk it, especially carrying my family with me. Too high of a safety AND financial risk. At least with renting you know what your vacation will cost. And your family is more likely to be safe.

Sounds like that could be a very nice rig. I'm not in tune enough w the values to say where it falls on the "deal" scale.

V10 will be a nice bonus in power and is a venerable engine/drivetrain.

So I'm strongly looking at a 04' Fleetwood tioga 29'ford v10 450 with 105,000 miles. Has been kept under cover and used regularly. I have already spoken with the seller and his rv dealer/maintenance shop. They will do an inspection that takes 2 hours or so for $250. The owner has had the rv for 10 years and they knew him by name.
$14,900

Hi,

I'm sorry if I missed it, but how many people will be taking this trip? Make sure there are seatbelts in the quantity and locations you'll want them, or be ready to add them yourself.

I personally think your goal is a bit aggressive, but it all depends upon what you want to see. Perhaps if you definitely added the extra 3 weeks, it would take some of the stress out of the trip. You really should also plan for days of "down time" where you just hang out at a campground and regroup, swim, do some laundry, routine maintenance on the rig, etc. When we visit an area/attraction, we tend to stay in the area and see as much of it as we can before moving on. Others are content to just do a drive-by. IF amusement parks are on your list, admission & parking fees can be quite steep and you'll probably want to spend at least a day.

Will you be towing a car, or just using the motorhome? If towing, make sure the rig and the vehicle are up to the task.

You said some of the sights will be "look out the window" type of stuff. No problem, but remember the view out the windows of most Class C's from the passenger area are quite limited.

If I were you, I'd up the price range of your search to the $20k-$30k range and find a vehicle in the 10 year old range with moderate mileage. The initial cost will be higher, but if you decide to sell it after the trip, I think you'll be better off, and I think you'll improve your chances of not having any unscheduled repair issues. Check generator hours, too. Too few hours on the generator are generally bad. You want a rig with a generator so you can run the overhead AC while travelling down the road, assuming you'll be travelling in the summer.

If you get near the 30' size with slides, you should check into weight limits very carefully. Ditto if you see a 26' on an E-350 chassis.

And since I'm always one good at spending other people's money, I might suggest you also include some Class A rigs in your searches. Generally speaking, they will have larger holding tanks, more storage and possibly better weight carrying capacity. But even there, buyer beware. With our family of 6, I estimated we'd need about 2,500-3,000 lbs. of capacity for people, food, water & stuff...and that estimate seems to have been pretty realistic.

Good Luck,

~Rick

Sounds like an awesome trip you got planned btw. Will be awesome!

I'd be leary of 15-20 years old unless you or someone has replaced all the "soft" parts. Tires, brake cylinders, hoses, belt, water pump, fuel pump, etc. those little things get old, even on a low mile, stored inside cherry condition type of rig.
Start shopping now and if you buy right and sell right, you could probably get away with it costing you only a couple thousand. Worst case you got up to $7k to lose before it becomes a bad decision.
I've bought and sold 2 truck campers for more than I paid, including a year or 2 of use. And they weren't piles of junk that needed a bunch of work.
Not apples to apples totally but it's doable.
If you think that way with newer ones, you could do the same with a newer/nicer rig too.
Nothing is a guarantee but that's what I'd do.

And don't let some of these old farts get to you about putting in some windshield time. Hard to run an Edsel with tube tires down a wagon rutted road more than 250 mi per day.....lol.
My kids know better than to even start asking if we're there yet until we get 10-12 hours under our belt on a given day!