Used RVs

Experienced RVers are seldom full timers - doubt anyone would recommend full timing to someone buying their first RV. Toss in the "teenagers" and it gets infinitely more difficult. The term "baby steps" comes to mind.

Water intrusion is the big killer of RVs and Trailers. If you do not know what to look for, hire someone independent to check it for you. If you talk to someone selling a trailer and they start telling you/discussing how much they clean/inspect the roof, that is a GOOD thing! If they give you a blank stare or just tell you they have not had any leaks, look out! FYI, almost all extended warranties have verbiage that lets them off the hook when it comes to water damage. Ditto for the roof manufacturers.

When you run the numbers the 5th wheel of comparable size will typically work out cheaper.

For $50k, you should be able to get a truck and trailer in the 5-8yr old range both in good condition with years of life left in them of equal or greater interior living area (remember to subtract 5-8' off the class A length when comparing to account for the cockpit area eating up living space.

Remember with the Class A, you are going to want a car that will eat up $10-15k if of similar age and condition.

Also, remember as full timers, you don't have to put in 16hr driving days like folks who have a 2week vacation and are trying to burn thru 4000miles to get to a destination. We usually cap our driving days at 2-3hrs 2-3 days per week when traveling, so the need to go to the bathroom or make lunch, isn't a big deal.

That said, either will work in the end.

As someone else mentioned, huge step to go from no RV experience to full time with teens.

I would rent an RV for an extended trip at least two weeks with travel between several destinations to see how your family handles the confinement. Try to pick a time when you will hit inclement weather where you may be stuck inside for a few days and watch the cabin fever kick in.

For more fulltime info including month by month expense this is a good website to read through www.rv-dreams.com

You have never had an rv and your going to go out full time with 2 teenagers that's a bold step

Spend $300/$400 on an independent rv inspection -------

Then 'expect' to have some future repairs and put monies aside for those

There are 'extended service contracts'.....most of which have more 'exclusion' language vs covered language. (How can a company stay in business paying out 1000's and 1000's in repairs ????)

RV's whether for Full Time or pleasure come with NEEDED Maintenance and WILL need repairs.
They are subjected to '4.0' earthquakes whenever in transit (roads/hwys/interstates beat them up), they are not 'over built' by any stretch of the word and will need new tires every 5 years.

Goggle 'RV Inspection'
Several companies that provide FULL inspections/reports will come up

An aftermarket warranty is not, on average, going to be a winning proposition for you. Warranty companies do not stay in business by paying out more (again, on average) than they charge, but rather the opposite. Of course, that doesn't mean that any particular situation will necessarily come out that way.

I think the best protection against large unexpected expenses is to do a thorough inspection before purchase, both of the chassis and the house parts. This often might involve hiring some third party to check things out.

At least in the case of the Ford gas chassis, and I suspect also for most diesel motorhomes (though I'm not really up on their details as much), the mechanical vehicle parts are quite reliable if given appropriate basic maintenance. Problems with the house things are more prevalent.

(You might also want to investigate class C's. A lot of class C's are more set up with families in mind rather than couples, and a lot of class A's the opposite. There are, of course, plenty of exceptions on both sides.)