Trying to see if FT RV'n is for us

That question is not even on a loan application.

They asked on ours, and it was Bank of the West. They also had the best rate. We are also now thinking about selling the house and going full time but they don't need to know that.

DallasSteve wrote:

darsben1 wrote:
Florid has a million good used snowbird RV's for sale and plenty to rent for a couple months.

I'm planning to move to South Florida in December. Do the RV parks there generally have models to rent monthly like an apartment? That would be ideal for us to decide if we can be happy living in an RV full-time and living in Florida. I've been in Dallas all my life and I want to try winter somewhere else. What would the rental rates and lease lengths be like for doing that by the month?

Yes, RV parks in snowbird areas will usually have rentals, particularly Park Models that don't travel the roads. Park Models are stationery. They rent for various prices so you'd need to call a park you're interested in to ask or Google the park's website and sometimes they'll have a 'rental' link to click.

darsben1 wrote:
Florid has a million good used snowbird RV's for sale and plenty to rent for a couple months.

I'm planning to move to South Florida in December. Do the RV parks there generally have models to rent monthly like an apartment? That would be ideal for us to decide if we can be happy living in an RV full-time and living in Florida. I've been in Dallas all my life and I want to try winter somewhere else. What would the rental rates and lease lengths be like for doing that by the month?

I had financing all worked out when I went to purchase my RV through a credit union. Dealer asked me what the interest rate was and said he could beat it so I said go ahead. Dealer came back with a full point lower interest rate from another credit union.

From my findings most dealers will work hard to find you a good loan so they can sell you something. You have to know what the going rate is and make them work for it sometimes but generally dealers have meet or beat what I have been pre approved for or what I expected to get.

I wanted to go through USAA for ours but as you can tell it is not their primary business. If you do have to finance it would still be smart to shop around for a loan and don't just stick your nose up at talking to the dealer about financing. Dealers don't do the actual financing they just know and sometimes represent several loan companies and they may be able to help you find the financing you are looking for. Just first talk to them about price of the RV/Vehicle then about financing it, not first about how much you can afford on payments a month.

My dealer was able to find a loan company that gave me a great rate and get the years amount that I wanted and was used to fulltimers sometimes not having a permanent address, and it was better than USAA or any of the other credit unions or regular banks that I was trying would offer.

I also agree with the above suggestions though of possibly used first, or a trial run. Paying it off quick is good from an interest standpoint, but depreciation is on the value of the unit and doesn't care if it's paid off or not.

Welcome to the RV lifestyle.

We've been fulltiming for 4 years and have spent much of it in one area because our youngest has been in college in the area. We've taken frequent shorter road trips but come back to spend a month (or 3) here regularly.

There are a lot of permanent residents at the park stay at there. Some of them just 'live' in a trailer in an RV park. Others are really enjoying the full time lifestyle even though they stay in one place permanently. I would say it's all in your perspective. And if you think you would like the lifestyle, then go for it! It can be great fun even without the extensive travel.

Also, if you are patient and keep looking, you can find a good quality, nice used RV for a lot less that will keep the loan amounts down. And if you do decide full timing isn't for you . . . you can keep the RV for travel only if you don't over spend.

We started 4 years ago in a well cared for 2008 Montana 3200RL and bought a used 1 ton Ford for a little over $60k total.

After a few years if you feel like it's what you want to do long term, you can trade up to a newer model.

Anyway . . . welcome aboard!

It's true that many banks will indeed issue a loan on an RV with a lower credit score. Where they get you is on the required down payment, and the interest rate. Knowing what that money is costing you and how to make it cost less is the key.

Remember that the RV is a recreational purchase. They usually come with a significant down payment, and higher interest rates than auto loans.

The national average FICO Score 8 is about 695. You say yours is above 700, that's great. Having a good score increases the chances of getting the loan. It can also improve the conditions on the loan.

The higher the score, they may be willing to work with a lower down payment. The higher the score, the lower the interest rate they may offer. Those benefits usually start around 740 to 769. Above 769, the conditions usually get significantly better, topping out somewhere in the 81x range.

Some banks use the FICO Auto Score 8. It's a scale up to 900 versus 850. Knowing that number can help you too. Above 800 on that one you should be good.

One other thing to consider. You are looking at two loans. When you take out the first one, your credit score will take somewhat of a hit. It may be a little (usually) or it may be more. That means that the conditions on the second loan might not be quite as favorable. Waiting a year between the loans will give it plenty of time to come up again. Just something to think about.

ramgunner wrote:
When we bought our Grand Design 385TH, we were living in an apartment. We financed through our credit union. Check your credit score, know what it is. Generally, they say 760 is good enough to get approved, but the higher you are over that, the lower your interest rate will be (especially when you are over 800, the benefit seems to top out at 81x or so with most banks). On ours, I got a rate lower than what the CU advertised. The same thing happened when I bought my truck, and I'll have it paid off long before the loan term expires.

After two months, we decided we'd rather live in the trailer. I have a full-time job, so we can move around from park to park in the area - most of them offer good monthly rates. Some of them include the electric, some charge extra for it.

Get a mailbox at a centrally-located UPS store and set that up as your address. That way your mail stays constant even when you move. We found one that's good for the CU, insurance, everything sees it as a residence.

If you have the money, go for it.

Our CU never asked about full-timing.

Our insurance was interesting. I bought our truck first, and kept getting question forms from the insurance company about "Do you use it for work?", "How many miles a week is it driven for work", phrased about 5 ways to see if they could get me to say I used it for work (which I didn't and don't). I bought it planning to get a trailer. Once I bought the trailer, the question forms stopped coming. I guess at that point they could see a reason for it.

Credit Score of 760??? That is excellent and a no brainer....most banks lend well below that! Our credit scores are great and well into the 700's so I am not worried about that. We are going to go through USAA for both the truck and trailer loan we think...We are still pondering it right now.

sdianel wrote:
Thank you both for your service. If either of you are 100 percent disabled you can stay at military campgrounds when you travel. www.militarycampgrounds.us is the website. Some do have monthly rates. You must be 100 percent disabled with a DOD card to access the famcamps. I would buy used due to depreciation. In Florida insurance will be high. We use National Interstate Insurance as they will cover both the RV and the truck and they specialize in full time RVers. Life is short. Ask yourself "what's the worst thing that could happen" and have a Plan B if it does. Good luck!

Thank you so much! We are not 100% disabled but appreciate the thought!

Essex bank, a division of bank of the West, does finance Rv for full timers. The interest rate is about a percent higher than rate if you still have your home address. Life is not a dress rehearsal, go for it! We are 7 years on the road, and just don't want to move into a house.