I bought my 1st RV today excited but nervous

[summerbreeze]

Hi I bought my 1st RV today after years of dreaming about it I actually did it. But now I'm second guessing the decision on the RV I purchased. I bought from a dealer a Class A 2010 Winnebago Vista 26P. I love the floor plan and it is very clean. I pick it up in a week. I'm second guessing my decision because the miles are high 63k and the generator is at 900 hours. I put my deposit down today and am still deciding if I should pay the remaining balance in cash or credit. Any suggestions there would help me a bunch. I'm excited but a bit anxious at the same time. I'm excited to hit the road and finally travel a bit but am wondering with a generator with that many hours and a coach with that many miles even if it was meticulously maintained, am I looking at a money pit in a few thousand miles? Any advice or suggestions would be most appreciated.

[2gypsies1]

hussbuss wrote:
Ok. Now its about 5 days from her last post. Did anybody notice where she lives? Now that the hurricane is in full force in Hunting Beach, is there still a camper left to purchase or is it under 3 feet of water.

Huntington Beach, CA has a hurricane?

[hussbuss]

Ok. Now its about 5 days from her last post. Did anybody notice where she lives? Now that the hurricane is in full force in Hunting Beach, is there still a camper left to purchase or is it under 3 feet of water. Does she have storm damage to worry about where she lives? Wishing her the best and hope she and her son is safe. Really want to hear how this works out for her. PS. I am in agreement with Dutchman Sport. Almost have the same rig. Worry every time I leave the yard, and I've been doing this for 50 years.

[myredracer]

The very best thing you can do when buying a used RV is hiring an independent RV tech to get a thorough inspection done. Before owning is better but even after can help, especially if it's your 1st RV and/or you're not handy with tools and fixing things. You don't want to overlook some important maintenance or repair work that should be done and you can create a to-do list of things to do down the road.

Even hiring an RV tech on a brand new RV can be a good idea (long story for 'nuther day)...

If you're planning to travel around to various RV parks and do some road trips, I would suggest looking on Craigslist for a pre-owned Thousand Trails membership. There are some excellent memberships you can pick up for around $1K. We got ours for $800 and can stay in any TT CG in the US for up to 21 days at a time and can stay "in their system" continuously. We only need to pay the annual dues which is pretty reasonable. You can buy one from anyone in the US or Canada. If you are interested in this, make sure to research all the contract details and features & benefits there are as there are MANY different versions of TT memberships. Some memberships have frozen dues for life. There's some excellent info. on the web that explains how to buy one.

Otherwise, enjoy!

[Grit_dog]

So summer breeze, being a dream of yours forever or however you put it, leads me to believe you're not too young and just want to enjoy your life for a while.
Take the financial advice for what it's worth and prioritize your wants, needs and funds.

$40k is a lot of money for someone who doesn't typically have $40k in disposable income.
Possibly think about a more economical approach.
1. It's fall now, so RV deals will pop up. Search more for a deal than "ideal."
2. You can get very nice motorhomes for waaaay less if you search. $10-20k can find you a very good Moho if you're patient. Example, our friends just found a 200X nice class A V10. Decent condition, stored inside, 30k miles for like $10k.
3. Class Cs can/do have the same amentities and can sometimes be had for a little less for a comparable size.
4. Think pickup and TT maybe as well. Presuming you have/will tow a car with you. Turn that car into a truck. Spend a little more, but it's dual purpose and trucks hold their value better than average, at least currently. Get a nice TT for $5-10k and then you have options rather than having all your eggs in one basket, or motorhome as the case may be.

[Grit_dog]

DownTheAvenue wrote:

summerbreeze wrote:
I think it just hit me like a ton of bricks that I actually purchased it and it's a lot of money to spend on something that will depreciate so much...I am low income and alot of what I inherited was put into this purchase but it has been a dream for so long

What are you thinking? You have low income and used inherited money to buy something you can't afford. Take the dealer's offer and get your money back!

I guess who are you to judge his decision?
You don't know any of the details, but it sure is cool to basically degrade someone who's asking for honest advice.

[azrving]

You seem to be asking a math question but have only told us that the MH is $43,000. People can give you ball park information about the year the mileage and the price but without seeing it no one can tell you if it's a good or bad deal. That just pertains to the motorhome itself, the other part you mentioned is low income but no one can really answer that either.

It's all in the numbers.

[LazzzyCat]

I agree with the commentators, don't back down, but still leave a small cash buffer in order to solve the problems that arise.

[Jayco-noslide]

Before my initial replies I hadn't seen the part about being "low income". Not sure how low but that changes everything. Unfortunately, some purchases in life are just not a good idea if one is struggling just to pay for basic expenses and a motor home is one of them. Earlier I stated that we felt we "could not afford" any of our 6 RV purchases but didn't regret them; however, I did have a good job and promise of steadily increasing income. Actually I started mowing lawns to pay for 1 of our pop-ups. I think you can still enjoy some camping with a used pop-up and pulling it with a vehicle that gets decent mileage. Also, nothing wrong with a tent and compact car. The costs of these "RVs" a fraction of any motor home. Stay in national forests for less than $15/night.

[MitchF150]

I don't want to be a "Debbie Downer" either, but have you figured on the miles per gallon those things get? Figure on around 7-8 mpg at best. At $3+ a gallon just going 100 miles is gonna cost you almost $40.. Plus insurance, regular maintenance, storage if you can't park it in your yard and supplying it, tires, winterizing, etc...

I get about 10-11 mpg with my little F150 towing a little #5000 TT and gas is always the biggest expense on even just a long weekend jaunt. I usually end up putting between 300 and 400 towing miles on any one trip and with what gas costs in WA state, that's about $140+ just in gas.. Then I put on another 100+ miles driving around the area being a tourist and whatever else we do to "support the local economy"..

Anyway, if you are paying for this with inherited money, but are also low income, there are many lotto winners out there that file for bankruptcy not too long after their big win fall..

My dad talked me out of several cars I wanted to buy when I was 16 years old... I had the money to buy the cars... Just didn't have that much left to SUPPORT said car... He always had me put all the figures on paper and do the math and in the end, I would not be able to afford them.. I finally did get a car, but it was not the car of my dreams by any means..

I'm rambling now, so I'll shut up.. 😉

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Mitch

[DownTheAvenue]

summerbreeze wrote:
I think it just hit me like a ton of bricks that I actually purchased it and it's a lot of money to spend on something that will depreciate so much...I am low income and alot of what I inherited was put into this purchase but it has been a dream for so long

What are you thinking? You have low income and used inherited money to buy something you can't afford. Take the dealer's offer and get your money back!

[SoundGuy]

Jayco-noslide wrote:
We've purchased 6 RV's of various sorts over 40 years.

Amateur. :W Friends of ours bought their first camper in 2005 and just the other day purchased their 9th! :E

Just kidding - your approach seems a lot more sensible to me. 😛

[ncrowley]

If you are low income, I would consider RVing in a trailer before purchasing a Class A. In my experience, the maintenance costs of a class A are much higher than those of a truck and trailer.

I would turn this one down and take your time to think about what you want to do. This is far from the only RV out there for you - there will be others if that is what you want to do. Put together a spreadsheet with a budget for the initial cost, maintenance, repairs, tires, fuel, RV park fees, insurance, etc. Compare the costs of various types of RVs.

I am not trying to tell you not to RV but take the time you need to feel that you can afford the type of RV you purchase.

[Jayco-noslide]

We've purchased 6 RV's of various sorts over 40 years. In almost every case we felt we couldn't really afford it and had regrets and worries after the purchase but today I don't regret any of them because of the RV life we have so enjoyed. In spite of the high cost and depreciation we are now debt free and enjoying our quite used 30 ft. Class C. I agree they are all sort of money pits and probably not cheaper than other forms of travel if you count ALL expenses.

[Tvov]

When you start looking around, you will find there are lots of campgrounds that are very quiet. In my area the state and federal campgrounds out in the woods that don't have hookups are usually pretty quiet and not crowded.