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tragusa3's avatar
tragusa3
Explorer
Jun 05, 2013

Tossing ideas for future RV purchase

Here's my current situation. 43 year old married father of 2, 8 year old boys. Family is my top priority and most every hobby or activity we do is as a family. We tent camped a while and last year got a small budget TT. We've had our TV since 2003 (long paid for, but still only 85,000 miles).

We bought a small trailer for a few reasons. First, we have always enjoyed being frugal. Our cars have always been small and half the budget that our peers usually buy. Secondly, we didn't know how committed we'd be to camping until we tried it, and didn't want to take too large a risk in the beginning. We usually subscribe to the buy it once and buy it right philosophy, but didn't in this particular purchase.

I'm a school teacher and have Summers available. My wife and I have goals of taking our family on long trips (5-8week) around the country a few times while our boys are still at home with us. We have always been planners and haven't done anything silly financially to risk our future, but watching our boys grow so quickly is putting a different perspective on this. We both agree that we would prefer to create the memories now and worry about later...well, later.

As many of you with experience would have predicted, here we are a year later and starting to have thoughts about upgrading. Our setup does fine for local and short trips, but what is the reality of our little 4.8liter half ton getting us around the country a few times? Think it could work? I tow through the Appalacians and it works a little harder than I'd like. If you suggest we keep what we have, could we maybe plan a southwest trip before a northwest trip? Maybe less of a towing demand down south?

So that brings us to our recent discussions. We could upgrade to a little larger trailer (5-6,000 pounds) which would require a new truck. Maybe a half ton, probably a 3/4 ton. Either way, we would spend 10,000 on the trailer plus our trade and another 25,000 on the truck plus our trade. So in the neighborhood of 35,000. Or, keep our trailer and upgrade only the truck?

We got to thinking about spending that kind of money (which would be the top of our budget) and wondered about going with a used Class C and selling our current truck for a small car that would be my commuter and a toad. They seem to be available in our budget, and selling our current trailer would give us about 8K to put towards the C.

I read on the forum that a motorhome is more suited for frequent moves, eliminating the setup time of a trailer. I also feel that several thousand mile trips with kids will be much easier in a motorhome.

My wife and I would like to continue to travel after the kids are gone and think the motorhome could have a second life as our "semi retired" vehicle.

My question to you all, what would you do and why? I'm sure many of you have wrestled these same thoughts. What did you choose to do?
Seeking Advice

10 Replies

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  • Lantley's avatar
    Lantley
    Nomad
    Jun 06, 2013
    Is your goal to drive or camp. To you plan to stay short periods and move frequently. The C will be better for travel. A towable will be better once you are parked. A C will require a towed vehicle. A C will be more expensive to purchase own and operate.
    Lastly, think a bit to the future. Do not focus solely on today's needs. Think bigger kids need more space. A towable will give you the biggest bang for your buck. A C will give you the most comfort and cost while traveling

    Avoid playing the upgrade game. Buy a rig that will accommodate your family until the kids go off to college.
    LOL sounds funny but it can be done. You do not want to have to upgrade 5 years down the road.
  • cruising_spud's avatar
    cruising_spud
    Explorer II
    Jun 06, 2013
    My husband and I are also in the education field and have the summers available for long trips. About ten years ago when we started rv'ing we had the same concerns as you did-balancing "living in the present" and being concerned about the future.

    After a lot of thinking, we decided on a Class C. For us, getting to a destination was half the fun. Stopping at the World's largest ball of twine, seeing the biggest legs in Texas, etc-we enjoy those kind of stops. And, so, we wanted to be comfortable while we traveled. Plus, our daughter could stretch out and use her ipod, computer, Kindle, etc while we drove. And, I could use the bathroom whenever I wanted.

    Now, if you are going to commit to any new rv purchase, I would suggest this-think about your kids and how they will grow in the next few years. Example-we started out with a 24 foot rv. We loved it. But within two years, our daughter grew from a ten year old to a twelve year old and not only grew, but would spend huge amounts of time in the bathroom. This lead us to a 28 foot rv. The 24 foot simply did not have the space we needed. So, although you certainly don't have to think decades into the future, I would think about your kids as they grow during the next few years.


    Good luck in your search.
  • ddndoug's avatar
    ddndoug
    Explorer
    Jun 06, 2013
    I'm going to go against the crowd here...

    Having summers off and making long vacation plans will be much easier on the kids if you are driving a vehicle that allows them to move around and stretch their legs periodically. Not having to stop for potty breaks after drinking too much water, or being able to grab healthy snacks from the frig while you are driving down the road will be worth it's weight in gold. Plus, as someone mentioned the ability to let the kids sleep while you are picking up an extra few hours of driving is fantastic.

    Having happy kids will make the wife happy, and everyone knows... if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!


    Doug
  • noe-place's avatar
    noe-place
    Explorer
    Jun 06, 2013
    There are smaller Class C's that you can drive at interstate speed and then around town like the family van. They hold four people comfortably and get around 17MPG. That way you still have everything with you everywhere you go. Eliminates the need for a TT and a seprate tow vehicle. Don't eliminate the smaller C's before checking them out.
  • tragusa3's avatar
    tragusa3
    Explorer
    Jun 05, 2013
    Thank you all. That's just the sort of experience I was wanting to hear! Unanomous for the TT so far. Probably does make the most financial sense. Our long trip out west isn't until this time next year. Use what we have for the next year, buy a new truck next Spring and we could use our current TT for another year or two and then upgrade that. Spreads out the expenses, eliminates extra maintenance, higher insurance and property tax.
  • georgelesley's avatar
    georgelesley
    Explorer
    Jun 05, 2013
    Any MH you buy in the price range you are considering will be used obviously. By the time the boys leave home it will be much older than you and the wife want. Buy what you need now and are comfortable with take care of later...well later.
  • fla-gypsy's avatar
    fla-gypsy
    Explorer
    Jun 05, 2013
    IMO your best choice for an RV at this time in your situation is a towable. Keep in mind that you still need transportation many times when at a camping destination and a MH alone is not conducive to that without towing a vehicle. The type of towable and tow vehicle will depend greatly on your space needs in an RV. Good luck with your decision and I agree that spending some money now to enjoy this nations beauty with your children and wife is easily worth the investment. Money isn't everything, family and the memories together are priceless!
  • hitchup's avatar
    hitchup
    Explorer
    Jun 05, 2013
    We rented a Cls C for vacation back in the late 70's. We had 3 kids under the age of 8, one a baby. While it was easy to put them to bed while we drove long miles at night, nowadays, everyone would be horrified because we didn't have the baby or 2 yo in car seats.

    Your kids are so young that buying a MH now doesn't guarantee it will work for you by the time they are grown and out of the house. Buy according to your budget, buy according to today's needs.
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    Jun 05, 2013
    Remember that a motor home is the most expensive form of RV. They have a complete drive train that needs maintenance, things like tires are generally more expensive to buy. If they break down most automotive shops cannot ow will not work on them, so it means trying to find a truck service facility. There is a recent thread running about a fella that blew,a rod through the side of the block on his older MH. His dilemma, fix and keep or dump it as is. Motor work is going to cost him between 5 and 10K. Whereas with a pickup the motor might be the same price, but most repair shops are willing to do the work.
    Having owned a MH once upon a time, and if I have a large RVing budget would possibly get another one, I am more than content with trailers. I can leave the trailer parked for months at a time and not worry about the motor not starting or changing the oil before I travel. Your tow vehicle can serve as your second vehicle. Not so with a MH. There are many different types of RV's for a reason. Everybody has ways to justify what they have at the time. That is just our nature. And that is exactly what you have to do.
  • dahkota's avatar
    dahkota
    Explorer
    Jun 05, 2013
    We had to choose between a c and a tt (we already had both a truck and a car to cover the tow vehicle or the towed). We ended up going with a tt because of increased insurance and maintenance costs of a c. Also, we could afford a used c or a new tt - worrying about the previous maintenance on the c held us back.

    We aren't you, but those were our considerations for purchasing what we did.

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