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My wife and I are looking to make a run at full time RVing in about 4 years. My thoughts are to purchase a used Montana 5th Wheel to use for a couple of years and then purchase a Mobile Suites that is only a year or so old to full time in.
Question: Should the Montana be 4-6 years old (say $30K-$40K) or an older model ($20K)? I realize that it is a depreciating asset but where does the depreciation start to slow. Since we would be only using it for a few years, would I be better off with something nearing the end of its life or middle age? The purchase would be a cash sale so financing need not be considered.
I'm not sure if I have expressed by thoughts clear enough so any additional information needed can be given. Any thoughts or advise would be appreciated.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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We are not going to full-time, but do plan a lot of travel when we retire in 3-4 years. We bought a new trailer, and truck. They will both be paid off when we do retire, and we can do 3-4 trips a year in the meanwhile to become accustomed to it. We can also do any modifications, add or change things to suit us as we discover things that we may have overlooked. For example, we changed the bedroom TV to a smart TV to use the personal wifi hot spot when in areas with no antenna reception. The first few trips have been great fun.
We have a simlar plan, except we are leaning toward a DP instead of 5er. We are still considering 5th wheel an option however.
I have been doing a lot of research on this, it is almost an obsession, probably die down in a while. A few things have learned:
DRV seems to be having quality problems. You might want to look at Luxe or Vanleigh instead. There were a couple of other top end brands, I would have to go look them up on my list.
Some people buy older rigs with good frames and chasis and just rebuild the inside over time. This allows them a customized set up at a much lower cost than buying a higher end unit.
One thing to watch for is independent suspension and better ground clearance. Quite a few people spend a lot of moeny fixing damage from steep driveways.
I recently learned you can often run your shower drain through the floor. This lets you put in a shower at floor level instead of 4 - 6" above the floor height. This gives you up to 6" more headroom in the shower. Whatever we buy, I am going to do this. If it cannot be done, I will buy something else. Most of the showers are too short.
I have seen motor-homes with no engine or chassis problems but lots of inside problems for as little as $5995. We really have not looked for a battered 5er yet, but if you go to Campers world and find their sales on out of style furnishings or cabinetry and the like, you would build yourself a really nice unit for very little.
Everything and nearly everyone seems to say buy used. The first couple of years are mostly waiting for warranty work to be performed. Also the depreciation is astronomical. IN ten years you will pay about 1/4 of the new price.
High end motor-homes and 5th wheels are expensive. Very few people are going to buy a $300,000 DRV and leave it sitting outside and do no maintenance. Thus, what we have looked are are usually extremely well maintained and often like new, even if they are ten years old. A lot of them do not get used all that frequently either. Cheaper rigs or third or fourth owners are often not taken care of well. I am unlikely to consider something that is not being sold by the original owner, or at worst a second owner who bought it when it was only a year or two old.
[*]Still has plastic covers on carpet and upholstery (My mom bought 4 rvs still 'good as new')
That is probably a rare find.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens
We have a simlar plan, except we are leaning toward a DP instead of 5er.
Thought on that for a while but would rather only have one engine and transmission to service. The systems are also much less complex on a 5th Wheel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens
DRV seems to be having quality problems. You might want to look at Luxe or Vanleigh instead. There were a couple of other top end brands, I would have to go look them up on my list.
This is probably going to be true across the board due to the economy doing so well. The industry as a whole is loosely regulated and they are trying to pump out units as fast as they can.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coldjensens
Cheaper rigs or third or fourth owners are often not taken care of well. I am unlikely to consider something that is not being sold by the original owner, or at worst a second owner who bought it when it was only a year or two old.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheepdog5749
That is probably a rare find.
....
Actually, not so rare, Many people buy a NEW RV, and find they do not have time to use it. Or more common, they buy it and find they are too old to use it.
Check estate sales and retirement communities.
As with a home... I would NEVER buy from a dealer / realtor. You need to hunt and drum up your own bargains. If it is already listed for sale by an agent... you are too late and must compete with hundreds of potential buyers.
Benefit of RV is buying in the fall or winter. Owners consider the costs of storing for another winter and are incented to sell.
According to what I have read/been told, you do not want an older RV with almost no miles on it. If it has not been used much at all:
1. The normal bugs they all have when new well not have been discovered and repaired under the warranty.
2. Tarious seals and gaskets may be dried out, various lubricants and fuels may have separated.
3. Maintenance is likely to have been ignored. "Why do I need to change the oil? It only has 1500 miles on it?"
4. Items that wear with age like tires will not have been replaced. It seems to be uniformly accepted that you must replace all tires after 7 years regardless of wear.
5. It will not have the upgrade people figure out they want/need after a bit of use.
I like the buy from an owner idea even though there may be more risk involved. one reason is it is considerably cheaper. Another reason is they often include the "stuff" - specialty tools, outdoor folding tables and chairs, an outdoor rug, pots and pans cups plates, etc. Sometimes even linens and sheets (RV beds are often odd sized and require special sized and pricey sheets. Some of them even have a vehicle already set up to tow or be towed induced. Some DPs even have a matching trailer. Except for the tow/toad or a trailer, it is less the cost of these sorts of items as the hassle of locating and buying them - and in some instances figuring out what you need and what works. If a certain type of camp chair collapses the fourth time you use it, they will have bought that one, broken it, and bought a better one. Now I do not have to go through that process. It seems to me to be a major time and hassle saver as well as a minor expense saver.
If you buy from an owner you will need: a professional inspector; a professional detailer inside and out (or you do it); a lot of time and cost to run around looking an one rig at a time and having good prospects inspected.
With a car, I normally inspect myself but and RV, I do not have the expertise nor experiences in what normally goes wrong or what to watch for (e.g. certain brands tend to rot out at the floor of the slides; or how do you test the airbags on a DP? - that kind of thing). Cleaning the inside - I would just pay my daughter, she is a professional cleaner. However I would not likely do it all myself. I do not get that "like new" result that professionals can. Part of it is knowing what tools to use an having access to them.
In 2012we bought a used 98 class A with 52K miles for $16K as a trial unit for what we did and did not want in our full time class A. Put $3K in it, mostly tires and tune up stuff. Sold in 2016 for $13K. This was well worth it and we learned a lot. This was our first class A after owning a succession of travel trailers over many years.
I don't know where the depreciation curve sits with RVs. I just accept it as a cost of RVing.
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