Forum Discussion
BackOfThePack
Jun 08, 2021Explorer
New pair of glasses needed:
Too much money?
Sure, for folks with not much sense about money. Same ones who think trading for new every so often is “reasonable”. (That’s the expensive route).
Given that size requirements are met — and that its lifespan is indefinite ; pretty much “forever” — how many decades of ownership you want to divide into that price that would cause it to be high annual cost?
Thirty years of ownership (then pass along to children) is easily done.
A motorhome the same price out the door will be in the knackers yard before year twenty. The Bowlus may not even need a re-fresh at that calendar turn.
Price seems high as production rate is so low. Airstream cuts corners to stay relevant after its upmarket competition folded up shop 25 or 30 years ago. Americans took a 50% plus pay cut the past fifty years. Y’all can’t afford what your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents generation could.
The alternative to a trailer of this type (design and build) was a fixed vacation home. (Same price). Your kids and grandkids get on down the road just as well as you. But without the upfront cost. Same as with a mountain cabin. Several generations of enjoyment.
But with this choice it’s any mountain range you choose.
Dad kept his thirty years. Two tow vehicles over that span. (A man who just wrote a check for a new car; no need to buy another with but 400k combined total miles on that pair).
Sold it when he turned 75 . . and it’s still on the road at Year 46.
Quality pays.
Take your time in a search. Used trailers of this type are of the very best economy choices you could make. Tow far more easily, better ratio of window glass to floor space, etc. FAR cheaper to own long-term as (right brand) they don’t leak. Water (and UV a distant second) are what kill RVs due to bad design & construction.
Mines 35’ long and I average (not the high) 15-MPG. 8k+ loaded for travel. True aerodynamic design (misunderstood reference above to none seen in 70-years). Low COG.
And,
you don’t really think I’ve to replace or re-seal my roof thirty-one years after it was delivered, do you?
A brand-new Bowlus is expensive?
In what way?
.
Too much money?
Sure, for folks with not much sense about money. Same ones who think trading for new every so often is “reasonable”. (That’s the expensive route).
Given that size requirements are met — and that its lifespan is indefinite ; pretty much “forever” — how many decades of ownership you want to divide into that price that would cause it to be high annual cost?
Thirty years of ownership (then pass along to children) is easily done.
A motorhome the same price out the door will be in the knackers yard before year twenty. The Bowlus may not even need a re-fresh at that calendar turn.
Price seems high as production rate is so low. Airstream cuts corners to stay relevant after its upmarket competition folded up shop 25 or 30 years ago. Americans took a 50% plus pay cut the past fifty years. Y’all can’t afford what your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents generation could.
The alternative to a trailer of this type (design and build) was a fixed vacation home. (Same price). Your kids and grandkids get on down the road just as well as you. But without the upfront cost. Same as with a mountain cabin. Several generations of enjoyment.
But with this choice it’s any mountain range you choose.
Dad kept his thirty years. Two tow vehicles over that span. (A man who just wrote a check for a new car; no need to buy another with but 400k combined total miles on that pair).
Sold it when he turned 75 . . and it’s still on the road at Year 46.
Quality pays.
Take your time in a search. Used trailers of this type are of the very best economy choices you could make. Tow far more easily, better ratio of window glass to floor space, etc. FAR cheaper to own long-term as (right brand) they don’t leak. Water (and UV a distant second) are what kill RVs due to bad design & construction.
Mines 35’ long and I average (not the high) 15-MPG. 8k+ loaded for travel. True aerodynamic design (misunderstood reference above to none seen in 70-years). Low COG.
And,
you don’t really think I’ve to replace or re-seal my roof thirty-one years after it was delivered, do you?
A brand-new Bowlus is expensive?
In what way?
.
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