Am I nuts?

[Udetective]

Taking a cross country trip with a family of 5. I currently don't own an rv, looked at renting one, but was surprised at how much they. My idea, buy a 2-3 old class c rv, use it for 6 months to a year, taking some smaller trips to get use to it. After the cross country trip, sell it. The age my kids are, we would not use it very often at this point in our lives. Obviously I wouldn't be able to sell for what I bought it for, but looking for advice on what class c holds the most value. Am I completely nuts? Thanks!

[Snowman9000]

One snag might be the pricing on 3 year old C's. I never see them at prices I like. If asking prices are accurate, I could get almost as much now for our 2014 as I paid for it. It was the same situation when we were in the market. It didn't make any sense to buy late model because they were almost the price of new. But we bought right by using a price from RVdirect.com to negotiate with dealers closer to home.

I think most people pay quite a bit more, and that keeps the resale up on late models. My suggestion is to get a price from RVdirect, apply 3 years worth of depreciation to that number, then see if you can find something. I guess 3 years of depreciation should total 25-30 percent?

[NCWriter]

If you have enough savings to pay cash, and if one of you is mechanically inclined, I'd say go for it.

Be aware that RV parts are expensive even when you do the work yourself. I'd budget a few thousand in the travel kitty to cover repairs - for example, one of your slide outs could fail, even in a recent model.

If you plan to finance the RV purchase with a loan, I think it's a bad plan since you'd be paying interest and easily could come back and be unable to sell for what you need to pay off the note.

[fireflock]

How old are the kids? Our kids have traveled in the RV since they were very young. Now that they are a bit older and bigger, the small space and sharing every space (bath, kitchen, seating) with everyone else grates on them after a while. I've met a number of families who started when their kids were 12-15 and the kids just hated the small space.

There is no cheap way to own an RV, and buying something used with the intention of reselling it in a year or so is, IMO, one of the better ways to handle it. Pay attention to vehicle taxes where you live, and please be very careful when you buy. The one way to come out way behind is to overpay for something with very expensive hidden problems. I'd start by trying to find a mobile RV repair service in your area who would be willing to do a pre-purchase inspection.

As an aside, I've met a few foreigners on trips who started with the idea to fly to the US, buy a car or RV, travel for 6 months, and sell it. There's probably some selection bias here, but when I met them they were on the side of the road or in a campground with mechanical troubles because they bought something cheap or didn't take time to select carefully.

Good Luck! We've been across the country a few times with our kids and wouldn't trade the experiences for anything. It's amazing how many fulltimers come up and say something like "I didn't have the time or the money when I was your age, but looking back I really wish I could have traveled more when my kids were home."

[Jerseydevil]

Do it. Life is too short with too much to see. If you hate experience you can sell for small loss worst case. If not, keep it and enjoy.
We debated for years on buying a C, finally did a couple of months ago and have no regrets.

[Mote]

I would say if you can afford it then do it.

When our kids were younger I'd always thought about doing that same thing. We never did it thou. We took a vacation each year, but usually went to the beach. Which was fun too.
Last year my wife and I went out West and had a great time. Now I really wish I had taken the kids out there when they were young.

[DutchmenSport]

Sully2 wrote:

Udetective wrote:
Taking a cross country trip with a family of 5. I currently don't own an rv, looked at renting one, but was surprised at how much they. My idea, buy a 2-3 old class c rv, use it for 6 months to a year, taking some smaller trips to get use to it. After the cross country trip, sell it.

100% BAD idea...!

Just curious, why do you think it's a bad idea? Would you provide your thoughts, please?

[Shadow57]

I don't think you are nuts, we sort of did the same thing considered renting. We already have a horse trailer with living quarters, but it's too long. I always wanted a MH because of dogs and motels just creep me out. We lucked out and found one on Craig's list owned by someone we knew, it only had 12,000 miles. I keep the RV trader site bookmarked for the years close and I think we could sell it for more than we paid for it. Course like NWBoondocker we added a few things.

Tinted all windows
Back splash in bath & Kitchen
new mattress
All kinds of fancy lights and cool little mods
Everything else was in great shape

We have an 18x36 carport on order for winter don't think I will get that 3,000 back but I will have a big carport

Still need
Back up camera
surge protector

We have had it a little over a year and have had a blast, the husband who didn't want it took it to a motor cross race and loved having it. He would now even consider upgrading and getting rid of the horse trailer. However I just can't find one that would pull a trailer I like any better than the one we have. Well I can .... but I'm not paying that much this one and trailer are paid for.

Good luck I thought shopping was fun, heck I still shop and am really happy with our purchase. Some friends think we are nuts since we have 2 campers and don't camp that much. Horses make it hard to get out of town for very long.

[Udetective]

NWboondocker wrote:
We took the same approach for our family of 5 leading up to a 7-wk road trip which we just returned from. I reached the same conclusion you did (rental cost of 7wks/7K miles being more extreme however) - that I'd much rather spend the money depreciating my own RV which I'd have ample time to setup right and use for other trips in the meantime. We bought a 2yo ex-rental (+1 private owner) Coachmen 26QB and enjoyed it for a half dozen smaller trips while getting to know it's nuances, working out proper setup, and making some upgrades. The plan was to sell it after the big trip in favor of a trailer to better fit to our typical needs, but as others have noted we're now in no hurry to make the change.

Here's some of the setup we did (<$500 total) that made a world of difference:

* Tires shouldn't have been an issue yet, but fell under the Michelin recall and were cracking badly this spring, so 6+1 free tires went on before the trip.

* Upgraded converter from WFCO8955 to PD4645 for faster generator charge times ($100 after selling the old one). Most of our charging came from drive time or hookups, but this was priceless when needed.

* Added a Maxxair fan to the BR, allowing sufficient cooling off battery in most situations

* Converted to LED bulbs to conserve battery needed for furnace

* Added WiFi backup camera

* Made custom dash mount for multi-function 7" tablet

* Added 12v/USB receptacle to BR for device charging

* Added 3" foam to BR mattress

* Pop-a-plate/napkin/tissue holders, multiple organizers/bins, etc.

* Oxygenics shower head

* Improved screen door handle

* Remote weather station

Most of these would not have been possible with a rental, and in total, would've made for a much less enjoyable experience managing life in an RV for weeks with 3 young kids (3-8 yrs). We started planning/packing well in advance, so I can't imagine getting a rental and having to do this in a day or two on the clock. Aside from organization and optimizing space, there were little surprises like our receiver bike carrier not fitting past the bumper mount without some bracket modification that wouldn't have been possible to rectify on short notice.

Of course, YMMV on payoff with a shorter trip, or depending on extra expenses like storage, insurance, financing, etc.

Wow great stuff. Thanks so much for the info. Getting very excited!

[NWboondocker]

We took the same approach for our family of 5 leading up to a 7-wk road trip which we just returned from. I reached the same conclusion you did (rental cost of 7wks/7K miles being more extreme however) - that I'd much rather spend the money depreciating my own RV which I'd have ample time to setup right and use for other trips in the meantime. We bought a 2yo ex-rental (+1 private owner) Coachmen 26QB and enjoyed it for a half dozen smaller trips while getting to know it's nuances, working out proper setup, and making some upgrades. The plan was to sell it after the big trip in favor of a trailer to better fit to our typical needs, but as others have noted we're now in no hurry to make the change.

Here's some of the setup we did (<$500 total) that made a world of difference:

* Tires shouldn't have been an issue yet, but fell under the Michelin recall and were cracking badly this spring, so 6+1 free tires went on before the trip.

* Upgraded converter from WFCO8955 to PD4645 for faster generator charge times ($100 after selling the old one). Most of our charging came from drive time or hookups, but this was priceless when needed.

* Added a Maxxair fan to the BR, allowing sufficient cooling off battery in most situations

* Converted to LED bulbs to conserve battery needed for furnace

* Added WiFi backup camera

* Made custom dash mount for multi-function 7" tablet

* Added 12v/USB receptacle to BR for device charging

* Added 3" foam to BR mattress

* Pop-a-plate/napkin/tissue holders, multiple organizers/bins, etc.

* Oxygenics shower head

* Improved screen door handle

* Remote weather station

Most of these would not have been possible with a rental, and in total, would've made for a much less enjoyable experience managing life in an RV for weeks with 3 young kids (3-8 yrs). We started planning/packing well in advance, so I can't imagine getting a rental and having to do this in a day or two on the clock. Aside from organization and optimizing space, there were little surprises like our receiver bike carrier not fitting past the bumper mount without some bracket modification that wouldn't have been possible to rectify on short notice.

We paid cash to a private seller, and ours came with a 4-yr transferable dealer warranty, but I plan on it being mostly useless after disclaimers except for maybe a major appliance failure (unlikely). The prior owner mentioned the microwave had already been replaced under warranty. Well it "failed" again on the trip, and after 10min of diagnosis I found the AC receptacle had a bad ground due to sloppy assembly, easily rectified.

Of course, YMMV on payoff with a shorter trip, or depending on extra expenses like storage, insurance, financing, etc. But to me this had as much to do with making the trip enjoyable as it did financial sense.

[drumcorpschamp]

Udetective wrote:
Taking a cross country trip with a family of 5. I currently don't own an rv, looked at renting one, but was surprised at how much they. My idea, buy a 2-3 old class c rv, use it for 6 months to a year, taking some smaller trips to get use to it. After the cross country trip, sell it. The age my kids are, we would not use it very often at this point in our lives. Obviously I wouldn't be able to sell for what I bought it for, but looking for advice on what class c holds the most value. Am I completely nuts? Thanks!

Udetective,
I think your head is in the right place. Don't pay too much for your gently used RV and expect not to break even in the end.

A realist.....Good for you!

Jerry

[Harvey51]

We were inspired by meeting a young German couple with a new baby travelling in a 24 foot motorhome in northern British Columbia. They had 6 months of maternity/paternity leave, flew to the western US where they bought a former rental MH. Planned to sell it near the end of their six months.

We figured we could do it, too, though much too old for the maternity bit. We bought a 4 year old former rental MH from a reputable dealer. There were no significant repair or maintenance costs in the first year or two. I doubt if a private sale a year later would have been very close to the price we paid to the dealer who guaranteed everything was working.

[Sully2]

Udetective wrote:
Taking a cross country trip with a family of 5. I currently don't own an rv, looked at renting one, but was surprised at how much they. My idea, buy a 2-3 old class c rv, use it for 6 months to a year, taking some smaller trips to get use to it. After the cross country trip, sell it.

100% BAD idea...!

[stripit]

I also think it is a great idea, but start shopping as soon as you can, go look at a lot of them if possible. I bought off Craig's list and when you find the one that has been well kept, maintained and cared for it will stand out from the rest. You can also get a feel for what the prices are for the units your looking at, they can and do vary by thousands. I bought from a private owner and that saved us a lot in taxes out here in Arizona, private to private no tax. I did look for a short time at dealers, but felt like they were way over priced and I wanted to deal with the owner of the unit and get a feel for what they were selling and why.

[DutchmenSport]

Nope, not nuts at all. I bet though... after 1 year ... you will NOT sell it though! You'll enjoy so much, you won't be able to part with it.