motor home mpg

Floridastorm wrote:
Can you guys tell me, if you will,

No.

First, it's not polite to completely re-direct a thread on a different subject.

Second: http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/29184730.cfm

Not meaning to be rude......just blunt and to the point.

Can you guys tell me, if you will, when a person purchases an older motorhome, for example anywhere from a 1997 through a 2004, and you buy it from a pretty reliable owner, have your mechanic go over it from stem to stern, and keep it maintained, what has been your experience and that of other people who have bought older motorhomes, as to what normally breaks down that can give one real headaches and incur big cost? I know that this is a hypothetical question. But, if the opinion is that older motorhomes give all sorts of problems, would appreciate examples of what those problems would be. I have owned older automobiles most of my life and have had very few problems with them for the amount of time I owned them. Never spent even a fraction of what it would have cost to buy a new automobile. Of course, with the umbelievable prices for new motorhomes as opposed to used, this scenario is exponentially enhanced.

Thank You again for your expertise and advice. :h

Floridastorm wrote:

Matt, is your 40 year old MH a class A or C? Do you feel that it is more advantageous to purchase an older motorhome, that has been inspected by my mechanic prior to purchase, instead of buying a new or newer motor home. Even if I needed the assistance of RV mechanics, over the years, would it not be less expensive to spend let's say $12,000, and take the chance, rather than to spend $90,000?

Florida,

In you case, you are going to have to play a serious cost/value game on a very ragged curve. You have to start out thinking that a shop man-hour is going to be 100~125$ depending on the location. As such, you can not risk needing much before that cost overruns everything else. The other problem is that 90K$ really doesn't get you much in the new market. Used is always a hard shot, unless you can hit a known winner and find good service for it. You can have a prior owner eat the initial depreciation and if they used it enough (sitting is not good) and were good about the maintenance, you can find a good deal. You had best make friends with a good technician very early on.

As a great example, my neighbor brought home a 20yo coach last fall. He acquired it at a very advantageous price, or so he thought. It has not needed anything that most people would think of as major, and is a a maintenance guy at the local airport. He probably put 500$ in parts and material and 80+ hours making it ready to travel. And there were only a few things that actually needed repair, but the water heated had been poorly winterized once and the roof had aged out (he caught it in time).

Have you ever heard the saying, "A boat is a hole in the water, lined with fiberglass, into which you pour money"? Well, the biggest difference between an RV and a Boat is that water can leak out of an RV.....

As much as I love our antique, It is probably not a good idea for you. Unless you live very near the one of three shops in Florida that will work on these old girls. They can still be affordable, but they are not cheap - No Motorhome is. We have a great saying in our crowd,"A reliable ready to travel coach will cost a minimum of 25K$ - All at once or as a kit." Yes, you can acquire the coach for less, but you will be into it by that much before you get very far. Fortunately for me, the value of sweat equity is a very good on the return. I still have the continuing maintenance that one should expect of a 40yo vehicle with a 40yo house on the back that had been subjected to about a 20 year long earthquake.

Matt

My RV experiences have been with truck campers only, but for comparison sake, the 2- AF 860 campers I've had now, retail for $30k plus new. I bought an 8 year old model and a 12 year old one for $12k and $10k respectively. Both of them have essentially operated as new with little wear n tear. Other than routine maint like re caulking seams, I've had 2 minor problems to date. One Jack is finicky and needs replaced and the 03 had an early water leak that was patched sufficiently, so no structural damage, jsit required some repair work to fix it "right."
Even if I bought both from a dealer and not private party, I'd likely have less than $30k expended for both. BTW, I only sold the first one because it was worth more than I paid for it and saved the cost of bringing it back down from AK. Really just a unique situation or I'd still have the first one.

Floridastorm wrote:
Thank you, both Drew and Matt, for the comprehensive information provided. If and when I purchase a motorhome I'll then learn to accept that science has done all it can to make RV engines as efficient as they can and that there is a point where no additional efficiency is possible without giving up some other factors.

Matt, is your 40 year old MH a class A or C? Do you feel that it is more advantageous to purchase an older motorhome, that has been inspected by my mechanic prior to purchase, instead of buying a new or newer motor home. Even if I needed the assistance of RV mechanics, over the years, would it not be less expensive to spend let's say $12,000, and take the chance, rather than to spend $90,000?

Well $12k vs $90k is still subjective, if you're talking totally apples to apples, size/style, etc then one priced that low will likely be a pile of .....
You self proclaimed to not be mechanically inclined. That IMO will raise your cost to repair and frustration factor through the roof. I'd imagine a guy like Matt Collie has the ability and means to fix almost anything that goes wrong with his classic RV. If you don't, I wouldn't reccomend something old. From not knowing what to look at when purchasing to all repairs, large and small.

There is a good middle ground though. Depreciation on most RVs is huge and I think it's totally plausible to find your "$90000" RV in a late model equivalent, with low miles, good maint and care and modern amenities, like overdrive trans, fuel injection, etc for 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of new. That's the range I'd be shooting for unless strict budget or the acceptance of a rolling "project" are your limitations or desire.

Finding a 10 year old car, like new, super low miles, etc is typically very difficult. Cars get used, daily, for the most part and are more tools than luxuries. The RV market is a bit different. There is a greater % of discretionary income used for luxuries like a RV. Therefore you can find a lot of, say, 10 year old, stored inside, has 30,000 miles and little use type units.

CharlesinGA wrote:
I am beginning to think I should have bought something on a Ford or Chevy chassis instead.

Those who have an obsession with a single feature often end up shooting themselves in the foot.....as they find out quickly that other features that they may have overlooked are even more important.

Utility and comfort should be right at the top of everybody's list.

I have averaged 17.4 mpg on my '07 View on an '06 chassis (5 cyl engine) the later and larger 3.0L V6 does a little worse, 15-16 probably a good average. The '08 View with the 3.5L gas V6 does about 12-13 mpg.

I bought the View because I told myself I would not settle for single digit fuel economy. I am beginning to think I should have bought something on a Ford or Chevy chassis instead.

Charles

Floridastorm wrote:
Even if I needed the assistance of RV mechanics, over the years, would it not be less expensive to spend let's say $12,000, and take the chance, rather than to spend $90,000?

Yes absolutely. Depreciation is the biggest expense.

But I think you need to stay up around $20K for something that doesn't have high miles and that LOOKS and is claimed to be inexcellent condition.

BUT....you need to be willing to put up with stuff going bad during the first year mostly.
I had to do tires right off, even though "they looked good".
Alternator and battery.
Battery transfer solenoid.
Front brakes (caliper stuck on one side).
New carb on generator.
New radio in cab.
Better TV antenna.
I HOPE things have settled down a bit now.

Thank you, both Drew and Matt, for the comprehensive information provided. If and when I purchase a motorhome I'll then learn to accept that science has done all it can to make RV engines as efficient as they can and that there is a point where no additional efficiency is possible without giving up some other factors.

Matt, is your 40 year old MH a class A or C? Do you feel that it is more advantageous to purchase an older motorhome, that has been inspected by my mechanic prior to purchase, instead of buying a new or newer motor home. Even if I needed the assistance of RV mechanics, over the years, would it not be less expensive to spend let's say $12,000, and take the chance, rather than to spend $90,000?

hattis1 wrote:
what brand of mh gets the best mpg? we are considering a vegas 24.1

A Class B on the Mercedes chassis.