Older DP or Newer Gas Class A? What would you do and why?

[lacofdfireman]

We have a 2007 Georgetown 350DS Bunk Model that has been a great Motorhome. We have had a few issues with it but nothing major. We really enjoy it but I would like to upgrade in the near future. My question is we only go out maybe 3-4 weeks per year total use so not sure it would even be worth upgrading. But I know as things get older they seem to just keep having more and more issues. Trying to avoid that but then again it's probably cheaper to repair than to have a $700per month vehicle payment for 20 years. Ouch. That's what I figure a new Class A Gas motorhome would cost me per month. Not sure how accurate that is as I haven't really looked into it that much.. Right now our payment is about $400per month. We didn't put anything down and borrowed the entire amount and even the taxes and license on our Motorhome we bought used. I don't even know if we could sell it so none of this might even matter. I

One of my friends has an older 2002 DP and loves it. I don't dare drive it because everyone I talk to says once you drive a DP you will never want a gasser again. Why is this. Seems like everything about a DP is more expensive like Fuel (Well not anymore but was a few years ago) Maintenance etc. I do hear that they are alot quieter than a gasser though. I know in mine sometimes it can be hard to even talk to the passenger in the seat next to the drivers cause the motors are so noisy. And they just don't seem like they are insulated very well. Are diesels any better? I don't have any experience with them. Maybe with the newer model gas coaches they are better insulated from the motors and the weather.

Any thoughts on this subject?

[deandec]

Bought a 7 year old DP almost 14 years ago.

Still use it and it meets our needs and would take it anywhere in the States.

No trade in loss. No sales tax on a next rig. License plate and insurance is real cheap.

[JimFromJersey]

lacofdfiremane wrote:
One of the biggest reasons we sold our last one was because of the ceiling height. I'm 6'5 and had to duck under every light on the exterior. That was super annoying to me.

Except for the headlights, most of my exterior lights are up on the roof? Just how tall are you?... 🙂

Figured you meant IN-terior

[JimFromJersey]

Sorry, Duplicate post...

[bsinmich]

We had an '03 Newmar Mountain Aire for 9 years. I just sold it in May because it was 6 steps up and a problem for me alone. The insulation in that unit was R12 in the floors and walls and R16 in the roof. It was on a Workhorse chassis and after having had a 35' Pace Arrow prior we were surprised we could carry on a normal conversation while driving 60 mph. Not all MHs are created equal. gas or diesel. A cheap diesel could be much louder from road noise than a quality gasser.

[gemert]

lacofdfireman wrote:
Thanks for all your comments. I'm sure we will end up keeping what we want. We bought ours used at a good price. I always seem to find a bank repo at least I did with this one and the one before. Our last one we paid $40k for and drove it for 2 years and sold it for $43k. This one we bought for $45k and were told by the dealer we could trade it in for about $40. We currently owe $43 so we are a little upside down but not bad considering how we financed everything.


One of the biggest reasons we sold our last one was because of the ceiling height. I'm 6'5 and had to duck under every light on the exterior. That was super annoying to me. Ours now has 6'7 ceilings so I don't have to duck under lights anymore. I't seems like manufactures starting in about 07 increased the ceiling height a little. I don't know if I went in any early model DP's that had ceilings I could walk in without ducking. Seems like they were all low to. Except an Alpha but here they had major problems with there coaches. I think we will just keep what we have for now. I'm still $10 years from retirement from the Fire Department and we will see where we are by the. And what we want to do. Thanks for all the advise.

If you know of any early 2000 DP's with tall ceilings post them up. I'd like to find one and at least take a look.

Mine is 6'7" and I believe most if not all of the high end Beaver and Monacos were comparable.

[lj2654]

I have a 2001 Beaver that I bought four years ago for cash. I keep looking at newer diesel coaches and think I want to trade, but then I think about it and say WHY? I admit mine may be outdated by some of the interior design in the newer coaches. But I have no payment, and the maintenance is a lot less a year than what a payment monthly would be(700-900) at least.We are planning on going full time in 2 1/2 more years so don't want a monthly payment when we do that. I would make a pro and con list of selling vs keeping what you have, then the decision may be simple!

[Jayco-noslide]

This may be advice you aren't asking for but the 1st red flag in your post is the idea of having big monthly payments, long term for any motorhome. I would keep the 1 you have and get out from under that loan as soon as possible and not get another one. The last thing I would need would be trading and having even bigger payments. I have and love a 2003 MH but all the darn things do is depreciate and we have no loan and never did. Used to when I was young and didn't know any better and was brainwashed into thinking that it's just fine to buy something I can't afford and take years to pay for it.Check out Dave Ramsey, financial adviser. He changed our approach to life financially. Oh Oh, kick that soapbox out from under me and do what you want.

[lacofdfireman]

Thanks for all your comments. I'm sure we will end up keeping what we want. We bought ours used at a good price. I always seem to find a bank repo at least I did with this one and the one before. Our last one we paid $40k for and drove it for 2 years and sold it for $43k. This one we bought for $45k and were told by the dealer we could trade it in for about $40. We currently owe $43 so we are a little upside down but not bad considering how we financed everything.


One of the biggest reasons we sold our last one was because of the ceiling height. I'm 6'5 and had to duck under every light on the exterior. That was super annoying to me. Ours now has 6'7 ceilings so I don't have to duck under lights anymore. I't seems like manufactures starting in about 07 increased the ceiling height a little. I don't know if I went in any early model DP's that had ceilings I could walk in without ducking. Seems like they were all low to. Except an Alpha but here they had major problems with there coaches. I think we will just keep what we have for now. I'm still $10 years from retirement from the Fire Department and we will see where we are by the. And what we want to do. Thanks for all the advise.

If you know of any early 2000 DP's with tall ceilings post them up. I'd like to find one and at least take a look.

[bluwtr49]

We could have bought much newer gasser for what we paid for the Marquis and that was a conscious decision. The older high end coaches just provide so much "bang for the buck" it was an easy choice.

We're gone for ~5 months each year and we just want comfort and luxury. But that's just use and it's within our means to have and support the coach of our choice. When you're looking dig past the surface glamour...tough to beat the early 2000 high end coaches for build quality and the little details that came standard and may not even be available at all on newer coaches.

[DanTheRVMan]

lacofdfireman wrote:
maybe 3-4 weeks per year total use so not sure it would even be worth upgrading.

You know the right thing to do, you just want a new toy

[Ivylog]

DownTheAvenue wrote:
You can purchase some very nice vacation trips, including motorhome rentals, for $10,000 per year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Although a little late for the OP, assuming he keeps what he has, it's good advise for anyone thinking of buying a moderately expensive RV but cannot use it often.
One of the reasons I've recommended paying cash is so you do not get in too much debt for the rewards/cost of a toy.

[DownTheAvenue]

You asked for our thoughts...no more than you use a motorhome, it would be cheaper to rent. You said you use one 3 to 4 weeks a year. You are now paying $5000 per year in actual payments, plus insurance and licensing fees and taxes. Depreciation is probably close to what your payments are. You can purchase some very nice vacation trips, including motorhome rentals, for $10,000 per year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JimFromJersey]

I think what YOU guys need to do is consider the future - where do you see yourselves in 7 to 10 years? Are you close to retirement, and if so, is RV'ing going to be more of an avocation then or not?

DPs have their advantages, there is no doubt. However, IMO they are not cost-effective if only used sparingly. Yes, they are quieter and have better ride quality (within reason) and are usually larger and all - but every RV is quiet and rides nicely when sitting in your back yard.

If you see yourself in an RV for four months or more a year or thereabouts, then a DP may be, in the LONG RUN, a better deal.

If your Georgetown is still solid, and does what you need AT THE MOMENT, I'd stick with it in the near term. There is no good reason to get further in debt for something that will see no more utilization at the moment.

You realize that in most cases, you can DEDUCT the interest paid on a MH loan if it can be used as a 2nd home (Bath, Bed, Kitchen). Some people might also find it advantageous to take equity out of their home and use it to purchase the MH - depending on situation, of course. That's what we did - I paid our home off a few years ago with a chunk of retirement/pension money (it was less than 70K) but then taxes became more of an issue that I'd figured. We also wanted to get some work done around the house. So we re-financed for about 50% of the home's value, bought the MH for cash, and got the work done. The payment is very manageable, since it's spread over 30 years, and I don't foresee us being in the house more than 10 or 12 years down the road, so there's no reason for us to pay it off early. When we sell, we'll still walk away with enough to get a smaller S&B if we want, and we also have a livable MH if we just want to full-time in there.

Your age, family concerns, retirement, etc, all play in to a decision like this. Only YOU can decide what will be important to you in the next 10-25 years.

[Ivylog]

WyoTraveler wrote:
What I can't understand is spending a few thousand a year on fuel then sending my oil out to be tested because it's a diesel and can't afford the extra $$$$ for the additional oil in the pan.

Maybe what you do not understand is some of us have more than one diesel engine... like 10+ and even with oil testing can still go through more than a barrel of oil (55 gallons)/year. Oil testing is good for more than longer oil changes than recommended... like the health of the engine BUT we are getting way off topic.