RV Financing..

LittleBill wrote:
you need a 20 year loan for a 12-17k trailer?

i agree with other posters not to be mean, but man you sound broke, there is a ton of expense besides for the trailer itself.

i would be scared to see your debt/income ratio.

a tent sounds more financially sound for you

Not to be mean either, but please do the math and find out what you will actually be paying for that TT. 20 years is too much.

beemerphile1 wrote:
I know nothing about financing anything.

My advice would be to save your $$ and when able to pay cash, buy a $1,500 trailer. Keep saving and keep paying cash for future trailers, cars, trucks, and homes.

Before you know it, you will be debt free, have money in the bank, and a regular inflow of excess cash.

Have you ever considered that some times paying cash is not at all smart? Read the previous posts, people are getting loans for 3.74% and 4.99%. In the last 10 years I have had conservative investments that gained over 7.5% annual annualized return. Had i paid cash, I would have lost money; even before considering the income tax deduction which effectively makes the interest rate even lower. One size fits all advice like "Pay Cash" is worth about what you pay for it. Better to be an educated buyer, know your options, the pros and cons, and make smart choices.

winnietrey wrote:
Another way of doing it, becuase money is so cheap right now, is to go long on the terms, put the rest in the bank. ( difference between the short and long term payments) That way you can still pay it off early if you choose.

There is no ATM in the basement of a house or trailer. I would rather have cash in the bank, than high equity in an RV.

Just a thought

This is true. If you can earn more than 4.5% or so on your money (and you actually save it) you would be better off investing and taking the longest term possible. The tax savings on interest can even further help you out. That being said you will find no one who will finance you that long for that amount. And if you aren't planning on investing the extra cash flow a 240 month term would be a bad deal for you. On $17k you would only save about $70/month in cash but you would pay for twice as long and pay more than 2x the amount of interest than on a 120 month plan.

Not sure, if you are aware, you can write the interest off, on an RV ( it is considered a second home). If you itemize your deductions, and they have not changed things. Which I do not know for sure, one way or the other

winnietrey wrote:
Another way of doing it, becuase money is so cheap right now, is to go long on the terms, put the rest in the bank. ( difference between the short and long term payments) That way you can still pay it off early if you choose.

There is no ATM in the basement of a house or trailer. I would rather have cash in the bank, than high equity in an RV.

Just a thought

Good point as well. I've ate the front-end cost as a measure of safety, but if one is secure in their job, it might be better to have as little equity in a rig as possible, because unlike a house... you can't use the equity in a rig for much.

Agreed. Good point.

Another way of doing it, becuase money is so cheap right now, is to go long on the terms, put the rest in the bank. ( difference between the short and long term payments) That way you can still pay it off early if you choose.

There is no ATM in the basement of a house or trailer. I would rather have cash in the bank, than high equity in an RV.

Just a thought

Going 120 months may not be that financially sound in some respects. When I bought my TT in 2011, the CU offered me five years, the bank offered me 10 years... but the difference in interest rates made the 10 year payment so close to the five year one that I decided to just go five years and call it done.

I'm being VERY cautious on my next RV purchase, which I hope to make this year, but if I'm not getting the terms I like, I'll just bide my time until next April, and have more socked away for a bigger down payment. Ideally, I want either a trade-in or a down of 20%. This is intended to cover the depreciation up front, so if I hit hard times, I can unload the RV without seriously hosing my credit with a repossession. Motorhomes are less of a depreciation hit than travel trailers, but they still will hit you hard the second you receive the keys.

I hate to be curt about this, but the economy here in the US is the pits. Always be prepared for a plan in case you get laid off, and the former employer manages to keep you from getting unemployment benefits. A lot of businesses hire firms who sole job it is to keep appealing unemployment claims just as a stall tactic, so the unemployment insurance premiums stay down.

I would say that if you are able to qualify for 20 year financing, you are so financially healthy that you wouldn't need to go that long. I really will say that you are not going to find any lender who will give you more than ten years, or if they give 144 months, it will be at an atrocious interest rate.

DatacomGuy wrote:
I know they'll do 10-12 years for sure, as i've seen it. Was just curious if anyone had experience beyond that.

A lot of assumptions in this thread. I never said i was going to go 20 years, i was just curious if it were available and on what stips. I have plenty of disposable income available for camping and supporting my family. If i can keep my payment

Plain and simple - just curious what the options are. I never plan on keeping longer than 2-3 years as we'll upgrade as our family grows. Most months i'll make double/triple payments, and its likely to be paid off when i trade or sell in 2-3 years.

A max you will see would be 144 months and that will be very tough to get that. I just financed an RV in fact have a friend who is a finance mgr in the RV business and financing that amount of money will be tough if not impossible to get anymore than 10 years.

DatacomGuy wrote:
I know they'll do 10-12 years for sure, as i've seen it. Was just curious if anyone had experience beyond that.

A lot of assumptions in this thread. I never said i was going to go 20 years, i was just curious if it were available and on what stips. I have plenty of disposable income available for camping and supporting my family. If i can keep my payment

Plain and simple - just curious what the options are. I never plan on keeping longer than 2-3 years as we'll upgrade as our family grows. Most months i'll make double/triple payments, and its likely to be paid off when i trade or sell in 2-3 years.

Why not go with the shortest term/highest payment you're comfortable with. You can still pay it off earlier, and that should get you a lower interest rate. Why pay any extra in interest stretching out the length of the loan payback ?