To RV or Not To RV...

There you have it.......

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk


Wow. THANKS.
I hate debt...so would definitely be paying cash...IF I do this...which I am now feeling less interested in so doing.

You mentioned mice...I hadn't considered this and the wife is scared to death of mice.
I must point this out to her.

ALSO...I hadn't even considered storage of the thing...only parking it in the driveway (long driveway).

originally posted by: IAMTAT
a reply to: Flyingclaydisk


Wow. THANKS.
I hate debt...so would definitely be paying cash...IF I do this...which I am now feeling less interested in so doing.

You mentioned mice...I hadn't considered this and the wife is scared to death of mice.
I must point this out to her.

ALSO...I hadn't even considered storage of the thing...only parking it in the driveway (long driveway).

I didn't realize mice were an issue. One of the vloggers I follow did a video on it. The apparently discovered solar powered lights keep them away.

a reply to: Edumakated

I've never seen any kind of a light, regardless of how it is powered, which will keep mice away! If there was such a thing, whomever invented it would be as wealthy as Bill Gates!

I could believe mice won't enter a space with people when the lights are on (but they do, just not as frequently), but I have a really hard time believing lights would deter mice from the places where they are most destructive (i.e. behind walls, in tiny crevices you can't get to, places where there's wiring and tubing (which they gladly eat).

The most effective repellents I've seen so far for rodents (and I've seen a bunch) are deterrents which use smell or sound. Otherwise your only other two choices are trapping and poison. We're kind of off-topic here, and we could probably dedicate a whole thread to pest control.

In any case, I've never seen any lights which are truly effective at controlling pests like mice.

ETA - I wonder how a high intensity strobe light would work?? Hmmmmm.... **thinking about that idea**

a reply to: IAMTAT

Parking it in your driveway is fine, if you have the space, and you don't live in an area where this is prohibited (which is most places). Fortunately, storage is no issue for me, but for a lot of people it's a huge deal.

The other thing about storage is, you never own the storage space. You're just paying rent, which is just money out of your pocket into someone else's.

My wife and i are also looking to buy a class C rv in the near future. We plan on selling some land we have, and just paying cash for it. But our plan, we live in the south, and we are looking to stay up north for the summers, and come back down home for the winters. Rather than buy a second home, we are planning on buying the RV and staying in a different state each summer.

I lived in a fifth wheel camper for a year, it was parked at my big garage. It sucks in the winter but then again it is all right if you are driving somewhere where it is not buried in the snow all the time. The heaters are ok as long as the temp doesn't drop below zero. Sometimes the heaters overheat and shut off during the night if they run all the time. Frost on the nose in the morning isn't fun and starting the furnace again in your underweaer when it is real cold sucks.

My cousin bought a big RV and used it to go around the country a couple of years ago. He had fun, but he got out of the snow before it got bad. He towed a car around with him and stayed in the south which was all right. Remember, if you get sick, they are somethimes difficult to drive if your head is not working right.

They are also hard on fuel, it could be cheaper to fly if you are alone than take the RV. With two people it is usually cheaper. If you stay with your relatives it is cheaper to drive, if you have to stay in motels, the camper is cheaper.

There are pros and cons to owning an RV.

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a reply to: IAMTAT

You can find a quality used RV quite eaisly. Most have hardly any miles on them and if they are stored inside, they will be in good shape. Sun and weather are the enemies of RVs. If the inside is shabby, they are pretty easy to renovate. Just make sure your air, fridge and stove work well.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Lights don't deter the white footed mice or some other mice at all, in fact the white footed mouse often sits up in a begging position when they see us and they sing if they are happy. We get the white footed mouse and the shorter tail version that is a little grayer here a lot. The little voles I do not like but those white footed mice like it indoors. They must think it is safe in our house because my name is rickymouse.

originally posted by: IAMTAT
a reply to: Flyingclaydisk


Wow. THANKS.
I hate debt...so would definitely be paying cash...IF I do this...which I am now feeling less interested in so doing.

You mentioned mice...I hadn't considered this and the wife is scared to death of mice.
I must point this out to her.

ALSO...I hadn't even considered storage of the thing...only parking it in the driveway (long driveway).

Strange as it sounds...mothballs and sheets of bounce dryers sheets Work like a charm for us for years. You do have that mothball smell but it clears out pretty fast. Put the mothballs in pouches of panty hose and place them everywhere mice would run. Of course remove all food from RV when not in use.

originally posted by: Bluntone22
I worked in the RV industry for about 10 years.
The only thing I've ever found to be a bigger waste of money is the boating industry.

Honestly with the cost of campgrounds per night coupled with the fuel and vehicle payments you might as well stay in hotels.

We stayed right on Turtle Beach in Sarasota under the palm trees and had full hookup and it was like $35 a night. The hotels there were at least $175 where we needed to stay.

You can get computer chips in the engine that help quite a bit with mpg. It does sucks filling up your gas tanks.

originally posted by: IAMTAT

originally posted by: Fools
I would say that it would be cool to have one for one long road trip and then try to get rid of it. I view it like gambling, don't do it unless you are sure you can afford to lose money. I have no recommendations on a model. I haven't hit a point where I can have that much leisure time.

I'm not retired...but my work allows me to work anywhere.
I'd only use it to visit...and it looks like these things really depreciate in value quickly.

I would never buy an RV new, waste of money.....look for divorces and you can get some steals. A friend of ours got a 3 year old Class A for $18,000 and it was a beaute. Look around and you will find bargains.

Some insurances will let you take it in and out of storage which will reduce the insurance costs.

a reply to: IAMTAT

Does your state have property tax on vehicles?? If so, create an LLC in a state that doesn't have those taxes, register the RV there. (I just saved you about $5k/year.)

Decide on what size RV you would feel comfortable driving and living in. Rent one of those for a week or so. Take a trip. Figure it out if thats what you want to do.

Do you have a place to park it?

Buy a used one at first. If you really enjoy it then upgrade to a new one.

My experience is second hand. My folks never thought they'd be RV'ers and they went from a 39 footer to a 43 footer and now they're going to downsize again so they can stay in the national parks. They took a 3 month trip around the country and loved it. I talked with them about the pros/cons of everything RV related. And the only downside seems to be the cost. If you're comfortable with big expenditures, then go for it. Also remember that while it's not necessary, a tow-behind is a good thing to have.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: IAMTAT

Oh, and one more thing. People talk about gas, and campground fees, and RV payments. But probably one of the biggest costs people overlook is...storage. A decent sized RV is going to cost anywhere from $100-250/month to store, and you can add that right onto your monthly payments (unless you've got somewhere to store it, which most don't).

I completely forgot about that, storage is something to consider, definitely. For example, in my neighborhood, while personal vehicles can be parked on the street in front of the homes no problemo, RVs cannot be left there for more than 3 days. After that, they gotta go or you get fined. They also cannot be parked in driveways, either, they must be in a garage, or backyard. It can't be in plain sight out front.

One of my neighbors got around this with his trailer by putting up a gated fence on one side of his house and parking it there. Technically not in sight out front anymore, lol.

But definitely check with local codes, I was pretty surprised to see we'd have to have ours not out front & out of plain sight, and not just park it in the driveway if we got one. Evidently many places have this stipulation.

Depends what you are using it for. Full time living, I will give it a big hell no.

I've been living in one for 2 months so far, and another month or 2 to go.

I bought one with cash to use to build remotely up on a mountain, 1000 miles away from home base.

If you do it right, it works out.

I paid $5000 for a 2007 26' bumper pull grey wolf travel trailer that looks brand new.
It's probably worth a refundable $6500 to $7000. It is around 4400 lbs and is easily handled with a half ton truck.

The 3-4 month stay at an extended stay full of crackheads, hookers, bedbugs and sticky carpet comes out to $1400 per month rent, which equals a non-refundable $5600.

The rv rent is $2800 per 4 mnths.

+1500(rv cost)-2800=-1300-3600(food)=-4900 rving cost per 4 months
-5600(hotel)-3600(food)=$9200 extended stay cost per 4 months

It's almost double the price for an extended stay for 4 mnths


It seems like you save alot more on food costs while rv'ing vs. hotel living, with less dinning out and alot more grilling and smoking foods.


I'd get into it for recreational use if you have the extra rec funds of 10k+
Avoid loans, unless it's a cash loan with good terms.

Again, if you plan it right financially, you can do it and have fun.

Motorhome vs. trailer is another good debate. I pick trailer all day long.

If you drive a motorhome, they are bad for driving around after you setup, and you want a runner car, then you are back to maintaining 2 vehicles. Their fuel, oil, transmission, axles, tires, brakes etc,etc...

With the trailer, you don't have much maintainance to worry about, just tires and brakes.

I do see some stupid people who blow way too much money on their setups.

-Brand new $100,000 turbo diesel duallys with $200,000 trailers and no home to live in.

I mean, do what you want with your cash and debt, but gd, I'm building my house for 100k and it's

1600sqft with a 1400 sqft shop.

Living full time in an rv is annoying, it's like being in a giant Tetris game.

Everything takes too much planning, storage, organizing, stacking and shifting.

a reply to: Nyiah

Yeah most city codes do this to keep people from pulling trailer homes onto lots.

You see them quit a bit in rural areas though.

KOA charges $30 a month for storage for anyone interested in avoiding the storage scam prices.

originally posted by: kelbtalfenek
a reply to: IAMTAT

Does your state have property tax on vehicles?? If so, create an LLC in a state that doesn't have those taxes, register the RV there. (I just saved you about $5k/year.)

Decide on what size RV you would feel comfortable driving and living in. Rent one of those for a week or so. Take a trip. Figure it out if thats what you want to do.

Do you have a place to park it?

Buy a used one at first. If you really enjoy it then upgrade to a new one.

My experience is second hand. My folks never thought they'd be RV'ers and they went from a 39 footer to a 43 footer and now they're going to downsize again so they can stay in the national parks. They took a 3 month trip around the country and loved it. I talked with them about the pros/cons of everything RV related. And the only downside seems to be the cost. If you're comfortable with big expenditures, then go for it. Also remember that while it's not necessary, a tow-behind is a good thing to have.

Renting, prior to owning is an excellent idea.
TY

a reply to: IAMTAT

Gonna tell you straight up on this...DO MOT RV-!!!

My wife and I got an 85’ just recently and what a hassle-!!!! We live on the Oregon coast and 90% of RV parks are FULL, even NOW during the slow season-!! There are ZERO rest areas from Seaside to Brookings down the 101, so the state parks can get their $$$, did I mention that the state parks are full or only 1/2 open at this time of year? ?? 😂😂😎👍😏

There’s a housing crisis in full swing across the country due to our manufacturing power was shipped overseas in 2008/9; I haven’t had a FT job with bennies since 2009 until this year in January-!!

It’s brutal to say the least, so thinking we could cut some cost and live a bit cheaper, not even close-!! It’s the same.

She gave away the RV and moved out of state, stick with renting hotels if you value your sleep.