Considering big change to an A.. Comparing costs...

viajante wrote:
My registration is about $500 per year. The cost for registration is partially based on the value, just like all vehicles in CA. The insurance with Progressive is about $900/year.

You won't regret the change to an A.

Our registration is the same and our insurance is $700/yr. No weight fee or personal property tax.

KampingKris wrote:
Considering 5er to A diesel. Have some questions regarding insurance and registration. Since we are Cali residents, kinda of hoping to hear from fellow A owners.


But we have no idea what the yearly registration/insurance costs are related to such a rig. Is there a weight fee? At a certain value do we get hit with a personal property tax? Is the yearly insurance like a vehicle (ie: every six month policy?) or with our 5er we pay yearly...

There's quite a few nice used units available...

No personal property tax.

No weight fee.

Insurance and licensing is based on valuation.

We pay Progressive once a year.

Sales tax depends on the County rate at point of sale.


So, lower purchase price saves you annual fee money. But as mentioned above, all these costs pale in comparison to historical rates of annual depreciation in value.

As high as the registration, taxes, and insurance costs for California might be, they will be small compared to the cost of the money you will have tied up in the motorhome: depreciation, interest if on a loan or lost income on the money tied up in it.

My $58,000 (used price) motorhome cost my about $8000 the first year, declining to about $3000 in the seventh year, with about $30,000 of the depreciation now behind me. Scale that to any purchase price. The parts you are worried about, insurance, fees, taxes are less than a third of the whole cost of ownership. That is still not including mileage-based operating costs like chassis maintenance, fuel, tires, which have averaged me about $0.40 per mile but creeping up with fuel and tire prices, and rising labor costs.

We tend to fret the nickles and dimes while spending the dollars. You've apparently gotten over the ownership cost hurdle with the fiver, just recognize that it will scale up with a higher cost with a higher value, and the nickel and dime parts you mention scale the same way, when you consider your present tow vehicle and RV as a combination.

+2 with viajante... We went from a 5th Wheel to a Class A at the begining of the year. It was bittersweet for me because I had just paid off the Dodge. You will enjoy the Class A experience much more, and like me you will quickly appreciate the ease of setting up camp. I believe we paid approx $650 for DMV. If you fianance the purchase the interest could be deductable as a second residence saving a little bit of $, same as a 5th Wheel. All in all the cost between making a payment on a tow vehicle and trailer vs the Class A is somewhat negliagable. Remember, that you still have to factor in the cost of tow vehicle maintenance into your overall equation...

My registration is about $500 per year. The cost for registration is partially based on the value, just like all vehicles in CA. The insurance with Progressive is about $900/year.

You won't regret the change to an A.

Call your tax assessor, tag office, insurance agent, etc and get real answers, not just guesses from folk here. Best of luck to you.

Can't help you with the Cali specifics, but if you are going to be on the road and moving I would consider changing my legal residence to a more tax friendly state. Just a thought.

Lou
05 Travel Supreme Envoy