Looking at purchasing an RV

Okichewy1 wrote:
Little about myself. Married with 2 young adult children in college and 2 large dogs (75 and 90lbs). Live in southern Idaho but have family in Michigan, Georgia, Alabama and Florida. I am 46 y/o and wife is 43. I retired from the Marines and currently work for the US Forest Service. Have about 14 years till I plan on retiring at age 60. We are looking to purchase an RV in 2021 when we have our car, truck, boat and home heating system paid off. I already have budgeted about 1200.00 max a month for the RV loan payment, 100.00/month for storage and then have a couple quotes for insurance so have that money budgeted in. We initially will be using this for random vacations due to working still, but would like to have something paid off prior to my retirement. We have looked at Class A and Class C's and think were hooked on the Class A's. Any pointers for a new couple looking into these would help. Sorry this is so long.

Thanks,
Ken

Ken, I am also 46 & working on eliminating debt so I can retire at 60. Since your previous RV experience is with a TT, personally I'd suggest a way lower budget for your first motorhome! Nobody gets it right the first time, and you're in the catbird seat right now since you plan on being debt-free in 3 years. My only debt in 2015 was my mortgage, and I wanted to move up to a Class A from my older Class C. I researched for about a year, and set a limit of just $25000, which put me in mid-level late 90's or early 00's gassers with at least one slide. I picked up a 2000 Itasca for right at $25K, including a 3 year warranty for peace of mind, and I put 10K down. I paid that loan off in 2 years for the credit rating boost, but the important thing is I got a fairly modern RV, for a quarter of the new price that will easily last me 10 years while I continue to save money and shop for the "retirement" RV. A 2000 may be older than you'd like, but the gist is to pick up something cheaper to get your feet wet, pay it off a LOT faster, and spend a few years saving so you can buy the retirement RV in CASH! Sorry to be so long-winded, but seeing you say finance a twenty year loan made me cringe!!! Let us know what you decide!