Which old motorhome to buy
The Mrs and I are considering building a skoolie vs getting and older RV and fixing up what needs to be fixed. If we go the motorhome route we would want one preferably with Cummins and an Allison...
Forum Discussion
ppine wrote:
There was a time when I thought an old bus would be just the thing for traveling. Then I realized that a tire for a bus might cost $500 if you can find one. Then I realized not every auto parts store has parts for a 1958 Bluebird.
Old motor homes lose value quickly. I would find a late model unit like 2000 or newer if possible.
Good point. Anyone familiar with the RVMiles Podcast? The family that started that became full time RVers in a converted schoolie, and not a terribly old one. They got rid of the schoolie, that they built themselves, BTW, and have moved into a trailer and used medium-duty pickup, and now onto a fifth wheel and heavy duty pickup. The point here is that the schoolie was becoming a maintenance nightmare for them. There is a big difference, too, between most old buses that are built into a Class A and the chassis for a vehicle that started its life as a Class A. They sold off the schoolie to RVers that were not going to put on as many miles as these folks were doing. The bus, while fairly late model, had a lot of miles on it when they got it, and it just gets worse from there.
I've always found it odd that the vanlife and schoolie folks seem to ignore that they are taking a used chassis, one which may have been maintained well, but still has the underlying miles on it, and they are then adding a lot of weight, much more weight than they are probably removing as they gut the rig, and then using the rig as a "daily driver" and planning on crossing long distances on a regular basis. This is not a recipe for success.
