Forum Discussion

keiffith's avatar
keiffith
Explorer
Feb 15, 2016

Trying to find the right Motorhome on a budget

First, to start of why i want a motorhome instead of a trailer.

I have a car, but no truck, so i would have to buy a vehicle just to pull the trailer and get rid of the car i dont want to get ride of. The car i have is light, FWD, and manual, so its an excellent choice for either putting in a trailer, on a dolly, or flat towing.

second, I want to use my RV at least part-time. I plan on moving to a city without any family or friends living there. So even if i cant get employment or money is tight for a bit, i have all my stuff in one place.

My biggest issue with shopping around is weight. i dont have a lot of stuff, but what i do have is heavy. a small tool box, 1 and maybe a second motorcycle, and the car. i can get it to fit into a Class C, but im not sure it could handle pulling all of it. my estimate of total cargo, including the car, is about 4000 lbs. I know that a class A can handle that weight, but im not sure a 94 and older class C can.

any helpful advice is greatly appreciated.
  • Im trying to stay below $6000. I am very handy and more than willing to any work needed myself.

    the car is just shy of 3000# and only has 150Hp
    motorcycle is 300#

    this is my solution to carry both the car and cycle.
  • I plan on moving to a city without any family or friends living there. So even if i cant get employment or money is tight for a bit, i have all my stuff in one place.

    Not quite sure what the OP means here, but I'd suggest that he not make his motorhome purchase before his employment situation is settled and his budget is clear.
  • What is your budget ?, this is where you need to start, motorhomes being class C or A require some money to keep them on the road, they can drain your bank account fast if you have little money and no income, your best bet might be a small light weight travel trailer or pop up trailer.
  • Older Class C's are typically 3500 tow rating. Even some older Class A gasser's are only 3500 lbs. You'll need to do some careful shopping and lose a few pounds of cargo. Best of luck.
  • How much of the weight is in the car and how much would be in the motorhome? And how do you plan on moving your motorcycle around? I don't really see any particularly convenient way to do it offhand; it presumably won't fit in the car, and it presumably wouldn't fit inside the motorhome either. The car plus the motorhome plus a trailer big enough to load both would probably be more weight (and more tongue weight) than most class C motorhomes could pull.

    The carrying capacity of class C motorhomes vary quite a bit, but it would not be unreasonable to find a 5000 pound towing capacity and 1500+ pounds of cargo carrying capacity without overloading anything. (The tongue weight of whatever is being towed would eat into the 1500+ pounds, of course). Anything much more specific requires checking on the exact model, its chassis, weight, and axle weights.

    Flat towing the car requires a tow bar and a base plate on the car and, for safety, generally should have a braking system installed in the car. The cost for all that adds up. A tow dolly is probably the least expensive way to tow the car, though it's not as convenient as flat towing.

    Make sure you budget some money for repairs and maintenance of the motorhome. A set of tires for a class C (on e.g. a Ford E series chassis) runs around $1000, for instance Most motorhome tires need replacing due to aging before they run out of tread.

    If you're planning on living in the RV in a city, parking on the streets etc., as opposed to for instance having a site monthly in a campground, be aware that a great many cities do not look kindly on that and may have zoning and parking regulations to restrict or prevent such behavior.