Unasked questions

[BobandBarb]

Hi all!
My wife and I are seriously considering going to full time rv life.
We used to be long haul truckers so we know what it is like living in a small space.
I would imagine living in a truck is different than living in a rv tho.
Some questions I have are,
What does it cost to live full time in an rv?
What do you do if you break down?
We are looking at a 3 axle 34' pace arrow from 94 ish. It has 60k ish miles on a 454. Allegedly it was gone through top to bottom a few years ago when the current owner purchased it. They were really too old to safely drive it when they bought it and it has mostly sat.
I have seen it, everything appears to work as it should. The only thing I could see that needed attention was one of the hydraulic levelers blew a seal.
So what questions do I need to ask?
My biggest concern is a break down and how to pay for repairs on the little retirement we have.
We are not in a position to keep our house AND own an rv, so test trial really isn't feasible.
Any juice to get the mental gears going would be appreciated.
This rv...the current owners still owe 6k on it. They want to get out from under the payments. We are thinking about approaching them with a take over payment offer, but we have never done one. Any advice there? I would imagine they would want to be bought out in some fashion, but not really sure what to expect.
Thanks and have a great day!

 

[shadowmoss]

I bought my '98 Class A for $6K 3 years ago so to offer to just buy them out is in the correct ballpark. I've seen one likeine that was in top condition go for $10K. Yours is older.

I'm putting around $3K into it this year, put around $1K into it last.year and almost that the year before. After this I may get a break for a couple of years, hopefully.

More later.

 

[landyachtman]

Welcome to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.

Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.

We look forward to hearing more from you.

 

[eDJ_]

Welcome to the CRVL Forum  

A lot of big Class A  RV's do a lot of sitting around.  In fact some only get used once or twice a year.  It isn't good to leave vehicles sitting without operating them some each month. 

If this RV has an Absorption Refrigeration System the RV needs to nearly be level before it is used if parked.  On the road it can be operated some while underway.   This is why you would want to get the leveling system attended to.

There are two links below.  The bottom one would pertain to you more.  In it there is a section regarding parts and maintenance where this link to "Lazy Days RV" which has several video's that will advise you about the many things about an RV you should be aware of.

There are NADA Books regarding the value of used RV's.  You may need to get the exact details about this Pace and visit an RV Sales Floor where someone there could show you the stated value of it. 

You would need a rainy day fund too should the rig break down. You need to know how old the tires are that are on it now.  New ones could be $100 to $150 dollars each.  

If your finances are tight you may want to find a part of the country where you could "show bird" and not have to travel more than 200 to 500 miles north or south to be in comfortable weather.

But do check out the site below as there will be a lot of answers for you and plenty of them for questions you haven't thought to ask yet.

Good Luck

RV Appliance Maintenance and More
https://www.lazydays.com/rv-lifestyle/rv-appliance-maintenance-what-you-need-to-know
https://www.lazydays.com/rv-lifestyle/rv-appliance-maintenance-what-you-need-to-know

 

[nature lover]

Welcome to the Forum Bob and Barb. I’m in a van that are remodeled myself but very simple arrangements. Having a big RV involves an off a lot of small systems that are more complicated and expensive to fix than I am really willing to get into. First thing if it’s been sitting a long time your tires are probably gonna be completely replaced that’s a major expense. Tires that don’t turn for several years are dangerous. You could pay a dealer go in and do an assessment of it for you. taking over their payments were there at sounds reasonable. I just hope they’re not wanting to get Alot of cash for themselves out of it. Which ever way you go welcome to the road and enjoy it. God bless the nomads no matter what Rig they are in.

 

[BobandBarb]

Is there break down insurance?
I figure the unit would hold about 100 gallons and I expect that would get me about 500 miles. Does that sound right?
What does it cost on average to park at a rv spot in a rv park?

 

[bullfrog]

You have a lot of research to do. First your finances need to be such that you can afford to lose everything. Motor home and everything inside it and still be okay finding some other means of living until you can afford to replace it or get it repaired. Your age and physical health also need to be considered. What happens if one of you gets Covid 19 and is hospitalized will the motor home still be a viable option for living. My wife and I in 2003 at 46 and 52 years old sold our house using the equity to buy enough years of retirement to retire early. Our main concern after paying $11,000 for a rebuilt/restored 1983 Barth 28’ motor home was health insurance. We had an emergency fund of about $25,000. We had belonged to Escapees(a full timers association for nomadic workers at the time) for 3years. I had followed blogs of full timers like George and Tioga also later RV Sue from their beginnings. We traveled for about two years and the motor home worked great for us as we moved at least every two weeks usually more often. we started workamping an taking minimum wage jobs like Walmart and Lowe’s for 6 months at a time to build back up our emergency fund. Motor homes do not like to sit, todays gasoline goes bad quickly and treating 100 gallons gets expensive. Running the generator and exercising the motor homes drive train once or twice a month gets old. We are still living in our motor home 6 or so months a year but it has been stationary for over 10 years. It would cost more than we payed for it to get it road worthy. I would check out Escapees site as they tend to be older well off living full time in their motor home and have solutions for all the related problems usually expensive ones but it will give you some idea of what the upper end living costs are.

 

[wayne49]

It's always "Tires and Batteries" when buying a long idled RV. (true for any vehicle)
Then rubber seals, plumbing, plastic parts, window seals, roof vent lids, etc.
Look the roof over, if you haven't already.

Somethings can look okay, but aren't. A one gallon disposable water jug can look fine, even after three years in the desert. Lightly touch the jug and it's a water splash bomb. Roof vent lids are the same, slight pressure and poof.

 

[nature lover]

I guess this all sounds disappointing to you BobandBarb. Don’t be discouraged there’s always a way to work it out. We are just here to tell you about the realities we’ve discovered. There are many people out there who have overcome bigger odds. I think what we are doing here is just letting you know that it ain’t easy. Bob Wells keeps stressing that you have to have an emergency fund. I’m running without one and don’t have much peace of mind about it. I do have the camper coverage by AAA that will get me moved 100 miles in any direction. And I am sort of counting on the fact that I know people all over the eastern United States and I’ll be within 100 miles of somewhere to tow it and sit till the money comes to get it fixed. I hate to think about it and I hate to make you think about it but going into it blindly just leads to disasters. I kind of think that having an emergency fund equal to the amount the RV is worth would be a good place to start. And if you can do more than that it would be good. Again I stress I don’t have that and I know I’m not the only one who doesn’t have it. Your trucker experience out to give you some idea of what maintenance it takes to keep a vehicle running on the road. In any case I wish you the best of luck and enjoyment of your retirement together.

 

[eDJ_]

I guess it is one of the reasons that people are choosing to purchase a larger Van (extended high top), a Step Van,
Pickup Truck with slide in Camper,  or even a larger car to make into a cheap RV.  There are lots of these vehicles out there and if one shops around can find great deals on them.   Then if they aren't too built out and some misfortune occurs (wreck, fire, engine/transmission failure, etc) the owner can walk away from it and find another vehicle to start over again with.    

For a young single person a basic Van could be all they would need.  Living bent over can be a pain at times though, but you'll learn to shuffle around on your knees to feel like you are standing up. 

A Step Van for middle aged people may be more livable for them.

Should either of these break down/wreck the contents could be put in storage until another vehicle is found.

The Pickup Truck Camper seems to hold appeal for the more rugged outdoors types.   The slide in Camper can be
left at camp on it's legs while the Pickup is freed up for mobility.  

Some are able to live in cars but I'll let them speak to that.  I don't think I could.   Although I designed a Bug-Out Car I could only live in it for short periods while traveling somewhere and i wouldn't think of full timing in it.

 

[nature lover]

I just want to say again don’t get discouraged. If you want to you can find a way to make it work out and it can be the best experience of your life. Especially the two of you sharing together and with your over the road experience you can Make a plan that will work.

 

[RvNaut]

Hi all!
My biggest concern is a break down and how to pay for repairs on the little retirement we have.

I am on a similar path.. selling the home and going full-time... 

You have a month or more of reading and YouTube video watching. Especially the videos, because what you will get from them is the breadth of opinion and experience of those that have gone before you.  Text is good, but it can't transmit the inflection and meaning that having someone speak to you directly in video.... there is a , let's say, a wide variety of folks out there full timing and you will eventually figure out where you belong on that scale once you are out there, but these videos can really help you define how you will go about it, and that will save you a lot of time and money even.... 

One item to have, especially with a rig like you are looking at...  ( I am facing the same challenge) is a roadside assistance membership, and that is a subject of study that will encompass a lot of research. It is a concern of mine as well. So that is one point of attack.

Emergency fund. You will find that those that have been there will suggest you do not head out without a major chunk of cash available that will allow you to repair whatever breaks. 

I look at it this way..... I am going to break down at some point.... a flat tire will be almost welcome when it happens, as as fixes go, repairing a flat would be simple compared to other potential issues with waste water, water, electricity, weather tight issues, shocks, brakes, engine, transmission etc etc etc etc etc...  so for me  it is a process of evaluating each potential situation and having a basic plan in the head for what to do.... the advice goes into thinking that your entire life is packed into this traveling circus.... as a rule.. the house doesn't break in the same way as a vehicle.

The suggested amount of emergency funds is to have is at least $5,000 available. 

My own plan ( see vids)  is to reduce expenditures, especially rent/rv park fees by using BLM and other no-cost locations, all of those savings go right into the emerg fund, so hopefully , as time goes on and no major incidents occur, the fund will maintain or grow even.

My plan is to be as well prepared and researched to avoid issues up front and have a plan for when the fertilizer hits the ventilator.

In your case.. if you buy the rig in question.. actually... before I would buy it, I would find a local mechanic that would be interested in working on it, without costing too much, so once you do own it, you can really dig into the mechanicals, to make sure they are in good shape...

good luck

 

[txmnjim]

welcome to the forum B&B! as JJ said, you will find the way that is your best fit. there is a LOT of
good information on this forum and i will be in the planning/retiring phase for quite awhile before
take-off. this thread is awesome and has helped me decide a van will definitely be a better fit than
an RV. i was even looking at a Pace Arrow for some time that was parked at my mechanics and it sure
seemed solidly built. good luck on your adventures!
jim