We are rv hopefuls and have been enjoying scanning the forums. We are in the market for a motorhome, but we are overwhelmed and need some more opinions with such a big expense. We have no experience with rv’ing and money is tight. But, if we are ever going to make this lifelong dream happen for our family, it needs to happen now. So I’m hoping your knowledge will help us decide which path to take. We have a budget of $30,000… not much, I know. We have a large family of adult children and young ones as well. We are looking at traveling with 8-10 people and this is why we need a motorhome over a travel trailer or 5th wheel.I figure in a class a, we can place 2 opposing sleeper sofas, the sleeper dinette and the queen bed for sleeping 8. In a Class C, I would hope to get a 10 sleeper with bunks. We plan to pay for a thorough inspection. I’m just not sure exactly what model I should be looking for. I don’t know if the risks of a 16-20 year old class A Diesel are worth taking, so I’m hoping you can help.I have been scanning rvtrader for months now and it appears that we can afford:a 16-20 year old Class A, Diesel. (approx 45,000 to 145,000 miles)a 10-12 year old Class A, Gas (approx 35,000 - 100,000 miles)a 6-10 year old Class C, Gas (approx 30,000- 100,000 miles) 1) Is gas powered that much of a negative that we should seek out the old diesel? 2) How many miles is too many on a gas and/or diesel engine?3) How many miles are too few on a gas and/or diesel engine?4) Any brands to totally avoid? 5) Is it smarter to buy from a private seller who maintained it well or a dealer? 6) Will we feel too cramped traveling with that many people in a class C? Though they sleep more, they seem a bit cramped compared to the openness of a class A. Any helpful thoughts, tips and advice are sincerely appreciated.

If you don't have around $10,000 or more laying around to put an engine or transmission or both or whatever in it unexpectedly, don't get into rving.It's also expensive to pay someone to repair most RV items. With RVs they say be handy or have a lot of money.

x2 I just spent $3k on mine in the blink of my eye. rent an rv before you spend 30k on one. see if this is for you. or even cheaper rent a cabin in the state parks or by private owner.

8 to 10 is many. Have you tried to assemble all of you in one of the RVs you are looking at? How many of you will travel together in the RV? How many will have a seat belt available? Is that a legal requirement (it is where I live)? You will not only need to sit, sleep and eat in there, all your gear has to find a place as well.Electricity, water and waste water capacities are limited unless you are hooked up externally or you can use campground facilities. Where and how are you planning to travel? If you want to boondock, you will soon run out of capacities.I would not focus so much on Diesel or Gas at this point. For older RVs, potential issues are often not with the base vehicle (engine, axles, etc.). And if they are, they can usually be repaired without much difficulty (but may be costly). Older RVs can and frequently do have leaks that eventually cause rot. Frames can crack, slideouts can stop working, things like that. If an older RV is well taken care of and maintained, the risks are smaller.What about a van to seat them all, a travel trailer, and maybe an extra tent for sleeping space?

IMHO...Negative miles are too few on either a gas or a diesel engine. In general I don't see unusually low mileage as a negative; there's basically nothing in an engine that wears out from non-use, just things that wear out from use (which high mileage has more of) or time (which makes mileage irrelevant). Some people do think it's odd to have to replace a ten-year-old widget on an engine with low mileage because they understand that widgets should last for more miles, but ten years is ten years regardless. In terms of high mileage, very few motorhomes given proper maintenance will ever wear out their drivetrains. The Ford V10 could reasonably be expected to go for maybe a quarter million miles without needing extensive work, and most diesels more. That's not to say there won't be some odds and ends that need replacement, but the basic engine designs are pretty robust. (Likewise, the transmissions used are generally pretty bulletproof if given appropriate care and maintenance and not outright abused.)That many people in any RV will be more or less crowded. Whether that's a problem depends on the people involved. In many cases, you'll probably be spending a considerable amount of time out of the RV anyhow...maybe having some sleep in tents if the campground rules allow that, eating at picnic tables, sitting around under the awning (or out in the open), showering in the showerhouse, etc.Do take into account that many campgrounds have limits on the number of people permitted per site, sometimes with exceptions for immediate family and sometimes not. Do also consider how much weight any RV you look at can carry, and how much fresh water and waste water, and work out how much that is per person. A class C with, say, 35 gallon water tanks is going to require a lot of conservation to go more than a single night with that many people before needing to dump and refill. Even a single night of dry camping would need careful usage. If you're camping with hookups, that's somewhat less of a concern.It might be practical to tow a travel trailer, or maybe just a popup, behind a motorhome. Renting an RV for a weekend or week would be money well spent, I think. It may well mean rethinking your dream a bit, but it's better to find that out after spending a thousand dollars than after spending thirty thousand dollars.

I think if money is already tight, buying an RV is the last thing I'd do. Even brand new ones break and cost a lot of money to operate. I'd use that $30,000 over the course of a few years and rent a house/cabin that can fit the whole family, and just drive there.If you're dead set on RVing, I would definitely rent one first and do a trip for a week, even if it's just with your little kids. That will show you if this is something you're really going to be interested in enough to commit to it.

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2gypsies1
Explorer III
Nov 01, 2018
Sorry to say no RV is made for that many people. Why not get something that's perfect for just you? You will probably by the ones using it the most. Invite a couple grandchildren at a time to take a trip with you. It would give you quality time with each one without the interference of their parents being around. If you want to do a big family gathering then the other families could bring a tent or two and get the site next door to you .... lots of fun for everyone. Good luck!
tatest
Explorer II
Nov 01, 2018
There is nothing in the RV industry designed to accommodate that many people. Road crew coaches built for the entertainment industry come close, with Pullman-type bunks and travel coach seating, based on shells for 45-foot motorcoaches. With all that sleeping and seating space, other RV amenities (cooking, lounging) are minimal. And even there, with original costs on the order of $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 (depending on amenities, the shell costs more than $800,000) getting down to a $30,000 budget means something really, really old.

On the other hand, my family traveled for two months with four adults, six children age 2 to 15, in a station wagon hauling a nominal 16-foot travel trailer (but that was box length, and it had an bunk overhang over the tongue, so maybe a 20 footer by today's measures). It did mean on pair of adults fit into a dinette, two teens slept in pipe bunks, and four of the children shared a single queen bed. We had minimal kitchen and potty.

So anything is possible, if you can adjust your standard of living to what the space and budget provides.
lfcjasp
Explorer
Oct 26, 2018
campigloo wrote:
Many years ago we went Beverly Hillbilly style. Four boys age six to eight. One teenage girl and her friend. Mom and dad and sister in law:
All with a pop up. Me and two girls in the truck, mom and two boys in the car pulling the boat with bicycles in it and sis in law with two more boys. The girls slept in the bed of the truck under the camper shell. They loved it! The rest of us slept in the camper. Oh we were a sight to see. We had a great two week road trip and many many weekend and short trips. I don’t even remember having any fights. It can be done for way less than 30 grand and still have a great trip.
However it winds up I hope y’all have great results and fun trips!!!

This goes in the best direction when considering a camping adventure for a large group.

When we were camping with my sisters and their families, the single biggest crowd was four of us in one truck towing a trailer. Another sister and BIL had their own trailer, their kids a tent and a van; another couple their own trailer and TV; another family their own trailer and TV...you get the idea. There was no such thing as 8-10 in one vehicle and no 8-10 sleeping in one trailer.

I've seen other extended families/groups with more than one or more vehicles and multiple tents and/or RVs.

A tent gazebo would be great for enjoying the outdoors and if the weather turns messy, would offer more room than crowding into one rig.

Guess what I'm recommending is skip the motorhome or trailer for now (you're already tight on money); suggest your grown, adult children drive their own vehicles with tents and stuff. If YOU want a trailer or motorhome, by all means. But go with what works for YOU. Those grown young people can tent just fine and the kids will love that.

Keep us posted with what you do decide and by all means...get out there and have some fun!
majordad
Explorer
Oct 23, 2018
One of the things with a van and trailer is you still have weight considerations. Our E350 van could seat all 12 of us but if we hitched our 10,000 lb trailer to it, we were seriously overweight, so since we never went more than a few hours from home, I could tow the trailer with my pickup, and mom would bring the kids in the van.

As the kids have aged out we have now moved to a DP and are looking for a smaller toynauler to house the remaining kids and allow for something motorized also
PastorCharlie
Explorer
Oct 23, 2018
My Newmar has adequate storage, seating and sleeping for 10 but we limit it to 2. :)

Here is what I would recommend for consideration and they can be found in different price ranges depending upon age and condition. ENTERTAINER SLEEPS 12 Here is their complete selection. CLICKY
Grit_dog
Navigator
Oct 23, 2018
Hopefully the naysayers didn't scare off a good family from Rveeeing...
I agree though, on a budget, I'd be thinking Van/truck + Travel Trailer and a car tag a long if using a pickup truck.

Then you don't have to worry about an RV or heavy truck shop for repairs and trailers are simpler.
campigloo
Explorer
Oct 22, 2018
Many years ago we went Beverly Hillbilly style. Four boys age six to eight. One teenage girl and her friend. Mom and dad and sister in law:
All with a pop up. Me and two girls in the truck, mom and two boys in the car pulling the boat with bicycles in it and sis in law with two more boys. The girls slept in the bed of the truck under the camper shell. They loved it! The rest of us slept in the camper. Oh we were a sight to see. We had a great two week road trip and many many weekend and short trips. I don’t even remember having any fights. It can be done for way less than 30 grand and still have a great trip.
However it winds up I hope y’all have great results and fun trips!!!
JAC1982
Explorer
Oct 22, 2018
mowermech wrote:
For every doom and gloom naysayer there are quite likely 10 people who have been rving/camping for years with no major problems, and haven't bragged about it.
We have never owned a diesel motorhome. We have had a Class A with Dodge 440 engine, a Class A with a GM 454 engine, a Class C with a Ford 460 engine, and now our Class A with the Ford V10.
We towed either Jeeps or a Dodge 1500 behind most of them (the 454 engined one didn't have a hitch).
IMO, forget about how many can sleep in it, what is important is where you are going to put them on a rainy day!

We've never really had a major problem with either of our trailers. The worst thing that's happened to us, twice, was the AC breaking while boondocking in summer time, both times covered under warranty (two separate trailers and two separate causes). But my comment was just based on the maintenance and fuel costs of having a trailer. I am not as familiar with RVs, but I'd guess they'd have similar maintenance/fuel costs as our set up...and probably more maintenance costs because they'd be looking at an older rig.

I just don't think RVing is a thing people who are already tight on funds should get into. I can't imagine being tight on funds and spending $30,000 on an older used RV only to have it sit unused or deteriorating quickly because they can't afford the maintenance or repairs.
Optimistic_Para
Explorer
Oct 21, 2018
For 10 people, including more than 2 adults, I'd consider TWO rigs, either motorhomes or trailers as you see fit, driven as a mini-caravan. Possibly a third vehicle, a multi-passenger van, driven also rather than towed.
ncrowley
Explorer II
Oct 21, 2018
I also agree that you should purchase a van and a trailer. As stated, you can then use the van to comfortably carry around everyone once you get to your destination. You can carry a tent to extend the area of the trailer. Kids can sleep in the tent. Owning an older motorized RV can be expensive and then you need to pull something large enough for everyone to travel in once you get there. The vans that are big enough will be heavy so you need to pay attention to what the RV will pull.

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