Deciding when to buy a motor home?
Currently retired and I am in the process of evaluating whether to buy a RV. Recently looked at a Thor Vegas and both my wife and I like what we saw. Right size for the two of us and our dog. Wha...
Forum Discussion
There is usually no value in it beyond the enjoyment you get from the lifestyle. Full-timers or snowbirds who live in their RVs without moving very often get the most payback, it replaces a house.
If you don't use it much, the fixed costs of ownership, particularly depreciation and the lost earnings on the money (or interest to borrow the money) can push the real cost per day of use very high. This you would know from aircraft ownership, except that RV depreciation probably hits a lot harder.
If you are constantly moving, more than 300 miles a day, the added cost of fuel (compared to more efficient vehicles) starts negate whatever savings you might achieve renting campsites vs paying for good hotel rooms.
Where these numbers fall depend on how much money you tie up in the thing to start with. Depreciation starting at $300,000 eats away at value a lot faster than depreciation starting at $50,000, although the rates may be the same.
If you don't use it much, the fixed costs of ownership, particularly depreciation and the lost earnings on the money (or interest to borrow the money) can push the real cost per day of use very high. This you would know from aircraft ownership, except that RV depreciation probably hits a lot harder.
If you are constantly moving, more than 300 miles a day, the added cost of fuel (compared to more efficient vehicles) starts negate whatever savings you might achieve renting campsites vs paying for good hotel rooms.
Where these numbers fall depend on how much money you tie up in the thing to start with. Depreciation starting at $300,000 eats away at value a lot faster than depreciation starting at $50,000, although the rates may be the same.
