One Year Try

[StukInTexas]

I'm debating on doing this for a year or so, but have not yet made a final decision. I could just go traveling for 3 months and stay in motels (would not have as much freedom, plus I want to travel for a full year).

Still cannot decide on MotorHome vs. 5th Wheel vs. Travel Trailer. I've read all the articles, I first started considering this about 6 months ago. I would be doing this solo, and I am a male approaching 40.

Basically, if I were to do this, I plan to buy something used, then resell it after I use it for one year. ere.

Few things I would like others input on:

1) A used MotorHome would seem to make the most sense because I already own a vehicle I can tow, but there is no way I want to spend $50,000 on a used one, because it seems like too much risk even though I would resell it. The risk I see in the MotorHome is if something catastrophic occurs to the structure, water damage, or whatever that the insurance will not pay. Then I am basically out the $35,000 to $50,000 all at once.

2) Now because of the "RISK" factor, a travel trailer makes more sense. The reason not a 5th wheel is because I can get a used Durango or something similar a lot cheaper than I can get a heavy duty truck.

3) Now the fifth wheel would be easier to drive, and safer to drive. The problem is the money to buy the truck.

4) I plan to stay in 8-10 places primarily, and I have already been all over the United States, so I am familiar with the roads.

Any thoughts?

Where should I start as far as buying and how much do I really need to spend to be comfortable?

I don't care about luxury, but I also don't want to live in a dump for a year. What I really want is something clean that does not leak, that is my primary concern.

Another nice thing would be LOW ASBESTOS, the ASBESTOS stuff does scare me about trailers.

How much is this really going to set me back?

[StukInTexas]

wbwood wrote:
One thing the OP might want to consider is if getting a truck to pull a fifth wheel or travel trailer (and even a TC) and then use it for his driving vehicle, then how much driving will he be doing with out the campers?

The problem IMHO is reselling the MH and recouping costs. I know I can recoup a good portion of the costs of a 3/4 truck or an SUV, but not so with a MotorHome. I have my doubts on re-couping costs on any RV, which is why I have factored in the potential of only getting back 10% of what I pay for the RV.

Also, I am inexperienced but from what I have seen thus far, you just cannot find nice MotorHomes at good prices, maybe a CLASS C, maybe...

In my calculation, I will get at least 70% back for the truck and 10% back for the RV (if something goes wrong with it), otherwise if I am lucky I expect at least 50% back for the TT or 5th, and 70% back for the truck.

As far as other costs, remember I am leaving behind $2,000 in monthly expenses as a start and I still have a regular income. So I have some wiggle room here for sure.

[StukInTexas]

wbwood wrote:


Also don't forget about breakdowns to any of the units that you are purchasing used. Will it need new tires? Will you have a blowout and have to replace a tire or two at a couple hundred bucks a pop? What happens if the a/c quits on you? Or the fridge? What if you do develop a leak? In any of them. What do you do if something happens to the vehicle you are towing with? Maybe you tear up the transmission or the motor blows. There are a lot of what ifs that you can not control. RVing is not done because its cheap. It's a lifestyle.

As far as unknowns, well obviously I'm planning to have plenty of savings still available in case something happened, and I still have my full regular income, so I'm not sinking all my money into this, which is why I wouldn't be stupid enough to go all out and buy some multi-hundred thousand Class A and have no money left.

[beemerphile1]

StukInTexas wrote:

...You make a VERY good point about California RV expenses, so I will look into if I can find any cheaper places to stay in California....

You want cheap? Check out Slab City.

[StukInTexas]

rockportrocket wrote:
....You are not going to find a moho in the same condition without a toad for that kind of money.

The thing you don't mention is in calif , you are going to pay upwards of 65.00 per night for a decent park.

The insur and both will run you about 800 per year.

Comparing a fiver/trk combo to a tt/anything or moho is like comparing apples to lemons. No such thing. A truck fiver combo gives so much more more, value, resale and ROOM/ROOM/ROOM, there is no comparison .

Thanks for the info about the 5th vs TT. I currently have a Mazda 6 in pretty decent condition with 80k miles, I bought it new so I'm the only owner. Definitely an ok vehicle for a TOAD if I went the CLASS C route.

I will keep looking and comparing. I have been crunching numbers all week in Excel, got lots of charts going on the expenses and downloaded some other peoples Excel spreadsheets as well.

You make a VERY good point about California RV expenses, so I will look into if I can find any cheaper places to stay in California. I was hoping to find an ugly RV park in the desert cheaper, or maybe stay in state parks (more than likely a mix).

@Others
There is actually cell reception in most of California to some degree as long as you bring both a Verizon and an ATT phone, until you get between cliffs (so there are dead spots). As far as Internet, I only need cell reception to receive alert messages and to talk, Internet by cell is usually always within a 20 mile drive (there really aren't that many dead zones anymore, especially in CALIF). Wyoming and New Mexico and Montana can suck for cell reception still, but the coastal states have cell towers everywhere as long as you are not too far away from either a small town, a HWY, or a FWY.

Kind of going to debate the Class C vs. the Truck + 5th vs. SUV + TT. I think I've just about ruled out the CLASS A Motorhome.

The Class C potentially sounds like a good idea, though my fear is that I may get claustrophobic. I am used to having a lot of space, as my apt is 1450 sq. feet and I'm the only one here. I just am not sure that a CLASS C would really be easier to sell, will keep researching.

I am not worried about being alone, I am already a recluse and am usually alone anyways. Plus I will be visiting friends, so it would be nice to have a good setup to have them come visit me as well.

I think the easiest thing to resell is the SUV and maybe the 3/4 truck. That is why I like this idea the most so far...

The only reason I am not ALL for the truck and 5th is that I much prefer the rides the V8 SUV's give over the 3/4 truck around town, but I know having a V8 SUV will limit me to smaller TT's vs. a truck allowing me to get a 5th. Also the safety issues of towing a TT with an SUV are so much worse than towing a 5th with a truck.

Thanks again.

[beemerphile1]

I think it is a great idea and sounds like a fantastic adventure. The terminology of what you are considering is RVing fulltime but for a limited span of time.

The least expensive option would be to tow with the vehicle you have now. What do you have?

[rockportrocket]

First off, buy you a good used 3/4 truck for 15,000. Then seek a used 28-30 ft fiver with one slide. You can get them for 7500.00. Put new tires on both the truck and fiver. 500 for the trl 1000.00 for the truck. Now you have 23-24,000 in both the truck and fiver. You are not going to find a moho in the same condition without a toad for that kind of money.

The thing you don't mention is in calif , you are going to pay upwards of 65.00 per night for a decent park.

The insur and both will run you about 800 per year.

Comparing a fiver/trk combo to a tt/anything or moho is like comparing apples to lemons. No such thing. A truck fiver combo gives so much more more, value, resale and ROOM/ROOM/ROOM, there is no comparison .

[wbwood]

One thing the OP might want to consider is if getting a truck to pull a fifth wheel or travel trailer (and even a TC) and then use it for his driving vehicle, then how much driving will he be doing with out the campers? He's talking about moving to one spot and sitting there for a couple months. If he does any substantial driving, then the cost of gas on that vehicle will be greater than a toad behind a motorhome.

I would crunch the numbers there if its going to make a difference.

[2gypsies1]

Personally, I think you have a great idea! Nowdays you definitely can work and travel with your job. We know many full-timers who are doing just that. There are many great blogs out there of young folks working on the road with their computers.

I think you should look into a small Class C motorhome - approx. 26' would be ideal for one person. You already have the car and Class C's sell easily. If you have the funds to switch around vehicles to a truck, then a 5th wheel would be a good choice.

Best of luck to you and I think you'd really enjoy it!

[wbwood]

Eycom....a TC was exactly what I was thinking and definitely what I would do if I were single. But I got from his posts that he was looking at something more substantial than that.

[Eycom]

Here's a thought I literally stumbled onto 10 years ago while I was in fact thinking about something else. My challenge; I was engaged in traveling sales/management (on a 1099 and W-2 overrides), driving my Town Car 30-35k mi/yr, all over the east coast. Back then, for 10 days to 2 weeks out of each month, the roach-coach motels were $35-$40/nite and "greasy-spoon" restaurants were common fare. To compound the issue, I might move 100 miles between towns during that 2 week road trip.

Having camped in my younger years, I decided to give RVing a thought. I initially looked at MoHo's, 5ers, and TTs as an alternative to Tom Bodett and the "Awful House". I had eventually decided on a 5th wheel and was ready to make the jump when I called a long time RVer friend of mine. We talked at length and I explained my needs... something highly mobile, versatile, with 4 season capability to handle winter travel for 10 days to 2 weeks. He told me to look at truck campers. What the...??:h

He was right. I traded my 4 wheeler for a used 7.3 diesel dually ($23,000 at the time) with 39k on the clock and bought the biggest self contained TC w/slide and on-board genny that Lance made ($24,000 cash). My first night of camping cost me $47,026 for FHUs. The size has given me reasonable room as a solo and I can fit into virtually any place. I've traveled and camped in temps ranging from -8° to 100°+. When I'm in an open campground, I can off-load the camper at the site in 15-20 mins and use the truck as a daily driver. Tiring of the commute, I went f/t almost 3 years ago averaging about 10k mi/yr.

Over the years, my camping fees have been between $10-$20/nite mostly in government parks. Their 2 week stay limit has worked out fine. I can't tell you how many nights I've dry-camped off grid, camped at a business with an electrical hookup, or parked in a relative or friend's driveway with E&W hookups. The "geezer" pass I picked up a few years ago has lowered my camping costs, as has my membership with Passport America. However, in recent times, I've augmented my travels with monthly stays at small mom and pop parks, thus reducing my camping fees even more.

In thirteen days I reach the ripe ol' retirement age of 65. While I'd appreciate a little more room, specifically a Barcalounger and a bed I don't have to climb up 4 feet to get into, I'm a bit conflicted with giving up the awesome advantages of the TC that I've come to appreciate. I have no idea what my 10 year old TC is worth today. But, it's got to be a little more than a big cigar box of motel receipts.:B Good luck in your decision.

[Toxictoy]

I don't know why the poster was flabbergasted that there are jobs you can do remotely let alone get Internet while you are on the road. As a 45 yr old person in the IT industry myself working remotely from home my husband and I are contemplating the same decisions in terms of travelling and what to buy. A great blog is technomadia.com and nurvers.com for great info and insight regarding us younger folks with the itch to travel and remote working options. The best bet for Internet seems to be a combo of wifi hotspots and plans from mellenicom which use the 3G cellular network. Good luck to you OP and may you have the experience of a lifetime!

[wbwood]

Don't forget about insurance. We had a TT and now a MH. Our MH insurance is not a whole lot more an the TT insurance was for the year. Plus we had the truck insurance which was more than the TT insurance.

As far the SUV prices. Is the price of gas going to go down in a year enough to offset the cost of the SUV? Or is it going to be worse and it will be harder to sell the SUV? How hard will it be to sell the motorhome? Also don't forget about breakdowns to any of the units that you are purchasing used. Will it need new tires? Will you have a blowout and have to replace a tire or two at a couple hundred bucks a pop? What happens if the a/c quits on you? Or the fridge? What if you do develop a leak? In any of them. What do you do if something happens to the vehicle you are towing with? Maybe you tear up the transmission or the motor blows. There are a lot of what ifs that you can not control.

RVing is not done because its cheap. It's a lifestyle. It can actually be more costly than staying in hotels. Don't forget about your rv park costs. I don't know what the going rate for fhu in a decent park in California is going for, but out here, you are looking at around $30-40 night easily. You can stay in a state park with just water and electric for $25 but you agave a two week limit and you have to move on. Most public (govt) parks are that way. Private parks offer monthly rates, but many of them have 10 yr rules on the campers. Keep that in mind. Also, if you are going to need the wifi or cell reception for work, then remember that more remote locations you may not get any reception on your cell at all. And wifi in parks are sometimes spotty and sometimes have restrictions on it and its use. And most of the time they are not very fast.

[HappyKayakers]

6.7 tow rig wrote:
Either buy it to keep or go hoteling.

This ranks up there with the most bizarre post on this forum in awhile

I have to agree with this. You're adding up a lot of risks but not the risks that you won't be able to resell whatever rig for a decent price or even resell it at all.

[OwenKS]

My uninformed opinion: Airstream trailers never go out of style; they are expensive but if you buy well they hold their resale.

[StukInTexas]

Correct, that is why I first thought of the MotorHome idea, it just seems they are so expensive for what you get and then the RISK is betting it all on one thing.

When you buy a truck or SUV + Travel Trailer or Fifth Wheel, you are spreading your risk out. Even if one vehicle falls apart, you at least don't lose all your money at once.

Well believe it or not, there are some SUV's dirt cheap in the used market right now due to rising gas prices again. I just saw a 2007 extra large SUV at a dealer here for $13,000 that was in MINT condition, V8 engine and can tow 7500 pounds. Get this, the same vehicle was listed at $17,000 on Carmax's site.

The local ads are flooded with cheap SUV's here, as the gas prices have jumped 10% to 20% in only one month. The deals on big trucks are far and few between and are MUCH more expensive though generally, plus I'd be more comfortable driving a large SUV around town, than a heavy duty truck.

I know SUV isn't as safe, so gotta think about it.