Here is Why You Must be INSANE to buy an RV These Days, Steve Lehto

[rruff]

Oh, we have plenty of regulation, but it was co-opted to favor big business a long time ago....

 

[matthew.swickard]

Well, I originally came to this site to ask advice/opinions about an RV or travel trailer to use for about a year or 18 months on the road (likely several stationary months in an LTVA in the winter)....but now i am doubting my whole RV/Trailer idea:-/

 

[bullfrog !]

Well, I originally came to this site to ask advice/opinions about an RV or travel trailer to use for about a year or 18 months on the road (likely several stationary months in an LTVA in the winter)....but now i am doubting my whole RV/Trailer idea:-/

It isn’t as easy as many have made it seem unless you are willing to compromise the life you have in a sticks and bricks. Most RV’s from the factory are poorly built as cheaply as possible in my opinion. Yes you can live cheaply in them but they do require more work on your part in general.

 

[Happy Camper]

Well, I originally came to this site to ask advice/opinions about an RV or travel trailer to use for about a year or 18 months on the road (likely several stationary months in an LTVA in the winter)....but now i am doubting my whole RV/Trailer idea:-/

A travel trailer might be your best bet according to many. Do you want to buy one complete or build one out inside?

 

[matthew.swickard]

It isn’t as easy as many have made it seem unless you are willing to compromise the life you have in a sticks and bricks. Most RV’s from the factory are poorly built as cheaply as possible in my opinion. Yes you can live cheaply in them but they do require more work on your part in general.

I appreciate the input and info! Yeah, I have noticed the quality is definitely NOT there, unfortunately. I am hoping that things will be fairly trouble free since I really only plan to do this for maybe 12 months or so then it can become someone else's worry, lol. Kidding, but not kidding

 

[matthew.swickard]

A travel trailer might be your best bet according to many. Do you want to buy one complete or build one out inside?

That has been my thought as well. I definitely would just buy one. I had considered the whole cargo trailer conversion idea though. I am NOT the least bit handy or mechanically inclined. I think if I were to commit to this for the long term, the cargo trailer route is the one I would take.

I'm at a real crossroads in life. (mid-life crisis?) I have spent the last 9 years as a solo caregiver for my mom, the last 6.5 years of which was full time care. She passed away the morning before mother's day this year. So i am nearly 50 and been out of the corporate job world for almost 7 years and missed out on doing basically anything for the last decade. So i am planning (that is the key word) on moving overseas but I want to take a year to see some things in the US, visit friends etc. But more importantly, I want to use the time to get my mental and physical "health" in order, see how I fare traveling alone, and most importantly: test out financially supporting myself for a year or so before moving abroad.

 

[frodo2222]

Having had many kinds of campers B, C trailers and fifth wheel unless you are a very experienced towing driver I'd skip the trailer..the most unstable of them all..and as you age the vans are a bit harder due to hight restrictions, I've lived in my 30 foot 5er for the last 12 years and gone from Oregon to Mexico back and forth several times and AZ..no issues..it's a older one so built way better than the new ones for sure..
I also have a Hi top E150 van..both are outfitted with solar to allow off grid camping and that is 1 thing I would totally encourage someone to do..save on camp fees, see better places etc etc..and they are both for sale since I've moved to Nicaragua!!! I'm 65

 

[bullfrog !]

Towing does require more attention as you get older but a smaller trailer is doable. You can always have it delivered if doing longer stays. A 4 to 8 year old trailer is definitely a better buy in most cases as many problems may have been fixed or made themselves apparent. Van is a good choice if you can deal with a small space and the high prices. For me driving a high top van with little or no side vision is more difficult than towing a trailer but I do have a lot of experience pulling trailers.

 

[matthew.swickard]

Towing does require more attention as you get older but a smaller trailer is doable. You can always have it delivered if doing longer stays. A 4 to 8 year old trailer is definitely a better buy in most cases as many problems may have been fixed or made themselves apparent. Van is a good choice if you can deal with a small space and the high prices. For me driving a high top van with little or no side vision is more difficult than towing a trailer but I do have a lot of experience pulling trailers.

Yeah, I am not too worried about the towing side of things. I have towed trailers before and towed my convertible on a car carrier from Indiana to Oregon for a cross country move. Any trailer I got would be like 18ft or so, so nothing like one of those 30ft monsters people haul around. I'm a bigger guy, so space is a concern. I originally just wanted to do "minivan life" but thoughts of a fat guy having to wallow around in the back of a minivan to sleep and cook dissuaded me

Ideally, I'd love to time it so that the bulk of the "year in an RV" would be a season at an LTVA. I kind of picked the Imperial Dam LTVA as my ideal destination for this, so hopefully, I wouldn't have so much towing I'd have to do anyway.

 

[bullfrog !]

Really any trailer up to 25’ fits easily most places. Larger people usually like the one open room 18’ trailers but hate the small bathroom/shower. Our 25’ is pretty much a straight walk thru with large curved stand up shower between the kitchen/living area and the bedroom. We replaced the bathroom doors with curtains which makes access much easier. Our friends in 18’ envy our layout and storage space of our 25’. It does take at least a 3/4 ton truck to tow it well in the mountains. I pull my friends 18’ for him and in return he has a small mini truck we use to get around when parked. We only move once a year at most. Before he used a Uhaul for moves.

 

[afblangley]

Well, I originally came to this site to ask advice/opinions about an RV or travel trailer to use for about a year or 18 months on the road (likely several stationary months in an LTVA in the winter)....but now i am doubting my whole RV/Trailer idea:-/

Perhaps you're putting too much pressure on yourself. This doesn't have to be a big decision. You don't need to throw a lot of time or money at it in advance. Just get a vehicle, incorporate it into your life and see what emerges.

This is what that looked like for me: I decided to replace my daily driver (an SUV) with a van. I spent a few days and a few thousand dollars kitting it out according to how I thought I wanted it. And I went about my life. No pressure, no expectations. Three years and 90k miles later, having a van has dramatically impacted my life. But I didn't know that would be the case and I explored the possibility in a risk free manner.

 

[frodo2222]

Yeah, I am not too worried about the towing side of things. I have towed trailers before and towed my convertible on a car carrier from Indiana to Oregon for a cross country move. Any trailer I got would be like 18ft or so, so nothing like one of those 30ft monsters people haul around. I'm a bigger guy, so space is a concern. I originally just wanted to do "minivan life" but thoughts of a fat guy having to wallow around in the back of a minivan to sleep and cook dissuaded me

Ideally, I'd love to time it so that the bulk of the "year in an RV" would be a season at an LTVA. I kind of picked the Imperial Dam LTVA as my ideal destination for this, so hopefully, I wouldn't have so much towing I'd have to do anyway.

I had kitted out a minivan man for camping. But my knees dictated that I get a high top because it was too hard to crawl around on my knees and had both replaced, but yeah, it's nice to have a place I'll tell you where I live in snowbird, West RV. Park in salome Currently it's $800 a year you can leave your rv sheds etc there all year round. It's only open 8 months out of the year from October 1st. To I think April 1st, but you can leave your stuff there you can come and check stuff. You know, during the summer you just can't live there. We have water. We have a truck that comes to your space and pumps you out. We have a Clubhouse, we have showers. Laundry room someone called it gold plated boondocking

 

[bagabum]

I feel the main issue starts with the change in operating context. An RV's life use to consist of taking it out on the road once or twice a year. They could kind of handle a little exposure to humans and roads and element. Now people are hauling them in the backwoods, thousands of miles down the highways and living in them 12 months a year with 1 to 6 dogs in them. Some of them have an interior stapled together with Luan plywood. They are thrown together with a new generation that has no pride in craftsmanship or any thing (Hence: the kid that rides up to a spot and throws the bike on the ground, won't bother with the kickstand. There are exceptions and yes, your trailer is excellent, I am talking about the majority of others. I bought a hard sided fold up, spent about three days fixing (making right) all of the crap craftsmanship. Had a punch list of about 20 issues. Got rid of it within a year. Never again. I now build out boxes and fit them out for me for a fraction of het cost. I must admit, they end up looking kind of "home made" well really "homemade"!

 

[frodo2222]

I feel the main issue starts with the change in operating context. An RV's life use to consist of taking it out on the road once or twice a year. They could kind of handle a little exposure to humans and roads and element. Now people are hauling them in the backwoods, thousands of miles down the highways and living in them 12 months a year with 1 to 6 dogs in them. Some of them have an interior stapled together with Luan plywood. They are thrown together with a new generation that has no pride in craftsmanship or any thing (Hence: the kid that rides up to a spot and throws the bike on the ground, won't bother with the kickstand. There are exceptions and yes, your trailer is excellent, I am talking about the majority of others. I bought a hard sided fold up, spent about three days fixing (making right) all of the crap craftsmanship. Had a punch list of about 20 issues. Got rid of it within a year. Never again. I now build out boxes and fit them out for me for a fraction of het cost. I must admit, they end up looking kind of "home made" well really "homemade"!

Very.
True, especially with the new ones.I have a nineteen ninety eight thirty foot fifth wheel which has been great But it was made before they went to wires for slides and really cheap stuff. It's fairly heavy, but I've taken it from Oregon to Mexico to new Mexico. And everywhere in between with no problems... But yeah I wouldn't buy a new one..just gold painted junk

 

[WinneNomad]

5 Most Common Faults on Used RVs!! This is a You Tube from a dealer in Coldwater, Mi, Good info in 12 minutes. Look at the right wall of the ext storage area. It's interior 5.2mm Interior Luan which Box stores RVs use, We only sold Exterior which was pennies more.

Very informative video. Thank you for sharing it.

 

[LargeMarge]

... I am hoping that thing...will be fairly trouble free since I really only plan to do this for maybe 12 months or so...

.
a)
2003, we built our ExpeditionVehicle to be 'fairly trouble-free'.
.
To accomplish this astonishing impossibility, we eliminated everything.
Some people might say:
... 'eliminate anything offering a warranty (implying it is fairly trouble-free)', or
... 'reduce electrical and plumbing to the point it is fairly trouble-free', or
... 'only use this computer because it is fairly trouble-free',
but we think these admonishments are merely a good start.
.
We went 'primitive'.
Examples:
...Instead of one yuge water-tank -- susceptible to contamination and fluid leaks -- we use small hand-held jugs and kegs.
...Instead of a dozen blue-boxes to fuss with our electricals -- color!-coordinated! single-source so they can 'talk to each other' -- we have pretty much zero electric, with just only one cable to entertain as we excitedly watch-n-wait to see if it breaks-n-leaks the factory-installed smoke.
... Instead of a 'Control Panel' to help me wonder if each of the hundreds of (dependable!-n-accurate!) 'sensors' is operational, we eye-ball fluid levels... and often enjoy simply fondling-n-groping a jug for to verify our eye-crometer calculations.
.
.
[edited to add]
b)
"I have plans!"
Yeah, well, about that...

 

[twomountainlions]

Not all RVs are bad.
I tried all kinds of stuff such as van, different types of trailers including cargo and a small motorhome, the motorhome was the best.
Slightly older used unit with super low mileage because it had little use (good luck finding that in used commercial vehicle or will pay a lot, plus they got manybidling hours on then)
I camp off road 100% of the time, off rough roads too where I saw truck campers dont even try to enter.
Its how you drive that matters.
I see vids of people rushing through rough roads and then something breaks.
Love that I didnt have to build it out, got great storage options/space, big water tank plus enough space to haul tons of extra water as I stay away from civilizaton for long periods of time. Other nice features even though mostly used for sleeping and storing my numerous belongins, the rest was done like in my tent camping days
Didnt find myself limited by size much (box trucks have the same issues)
If I bought a box truck would have to pay a lot for some high mileage previously abused vehicle didficult to insure as non commercial, which I still would have to build out.
I saw those box trucks invade my space earlier because they didnt have that much more clearance than my motorhome and same size limitations, and those trucks love to leak by the way. Campgrounds wont allow them if I needed to stay in one in emergency. To each is own I guess. Ram promasters got tons of horror stories on mechanical side. All the youtube vandwellers are constatly broken down too. School bus, also a magnet for harassment by cops etc. May be box trucks are built sturdier to handle more miles but unless someone is traveling like crazy 50 states in 50 days yearly mileage on camping vehicle doesnt have to be high. RVs are camping just fine all over the boondocks, many more than vans or anything else out there. Areas I like to camp in, its all RVs, remote little known and away from trendy places where van/box truck crowds go.

That's why I bought a low milage high quality 1 ton diesel ambulance, last full year with no computer so no EMP issues, always very well maintained, rust free, new tires, 250 amp alt & serp belt, heat/air front & rear. Over 1/2 million to replace it new. Too bad I can't use it.

You might have lucked out with that purchase but I know of others who had major expensive breakdowns with ambulances they just bought, and insurance problems. To buy low mileage ambulance costs *a lot* of money now. Another thing is they idle then a lot which is not reflected in the mileage.

 

[Gr8ful]

You might have lucked out with that purchase but I know of others who had major expensive breakdowns with ambulances they just bought, and insurance problems. To buy low mileage ambulance costs *a lot* of money now. Another thing is they idle then a lot which is not reflected in the mileage.

I do my research. I had no problem with insurance & no problem getting a motor home title. It was from a small town & was the second aka spare ambo of a fire house, thus the low miles. I talked to the guy in charge & believed him that all the maintenance was done on time. Even the driver seat edge by the door isn't torn or worn & I'm 6'4" & still slide out. I drove it over 300 miles home @ 75 & it drove hands off. Firemen usually take pride & great care of their equipment.
As far as RVs all I know is what I've seen in the factories in Elkhart, Goshen In & a few over the border in MI. I've known several people who worked in the factories & they were paid by production & I know what material goes into them. RVs were/are made to go camping 2-3 weeks a year.

 

[twomountainlions]

I do my research. I had no problem with insurance & no problem getting a motor home title. It was from a small town & was the second aka spare ambo of a fire house, thus the low miles. I talked to the guy in charge & believed him that all the maintenance was done on time. Even the driver seat edge by the door isn't torn or worn & I'm 6'4" & still slide out. I drove it over 300 miles home @ 75 & it drove hands off. Firemen usually take pride & great care of their equipment.
As far as RVs all I know is what I've seen in the factories in Elkhart, Goshen In & a few over the border in MI. I've known several people who worked in the factories & they were paid by production & I know what material goes into them. RVs were/are made to go camping 2-3 weeks a year.

I do my research too and know the truth about ambulances and box trucks, not the kool aid from youtube.
But even those youtubers seen them stuck in the woods with broken ambulance they just bought multiple times, thats just not safe for me, I need a reliable low mileage vehicle. What you bought isnt going to be a typical situation with those vehicles, and you might have bought it before current price and homlessness explosion which makes it very hard to find one. Not all of us have home to live in while looking for elusive deal, or a place for building a vehicle out.

I don't know about new RVs, mine's older but not too old. Firemen idle vehicles plenty and drive them hard. Also, all these commercial vehicles often got barely enough minimal mainenance. I got my RV from retired couple who took care of it with maintenace records and put only 10k miles on because they camped in nearby state parks.

Would not buy a used commercial vehicle to live in again, I don't trust what people tell me, their tales, most will lie when selling a vehicle, seen that over and over, all I know most commercial had been abused and they offload them when they run them into the ground. Why they would sell a good commercial money maker? Nope.

Building out a used vehicle I dont trust, I wouldn't bother, to build it out nicely like RV would be lots of hours and money spent not recouped on resale, with RV one can just move in, load my stuff and go. Then insurance bs with commercial, not easy in every state. Moderately priced RVs come with hardwood floors and cabinets too sometimes, since particleboard was mentioned here.

Would not buy a vehicle with over 40k miles on it, unless its a Toyota, in commercial that costs a fortune and still gazillion idling hours. I'm on the road full time in random remote places, I don't have trusted mechanics to go to in the middle of nowhere all over the country, so no, I'd not want that run down box truck stuff.

 

[Gr8ful]

Whatever you've convinced yourself is fine with me. Does your MH have particle board floors, PB cabinets, seamed roof that will leak, Quest plumbing that was made in Goshen until all the fittings failed, etc? Enjoy you're one off brandless, yearless, no named engine Wonder mobile! I'm glad it's working well for you