RV purchase pros and cons

[frankxtc]

This is my first RV. Retired, no hurry for anything.
Even though all the comments about fixing things are right, I don’t mind, as I am the fixit guy around the house and cars anyway.
Feel sympathy for RV owners that can’t /won’t do anything involving tools.
Anyway, I spent the Summer of 2019 in Alaska in the RV, can’t imagine a much better way to do that kind of vacation.
Drove from Florida. Took a while.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

It helps if you buy quality. This is all aluminum and Azdel. No wood or steel except the axle and steps. No rust, rot, or water damage.

The frame is aluminum as well. Airstream uses a steel frame. This thing is built more like an airplane than an RV. I was intending to never sell it but due to overwhelming use and overcrowded campgrounds and the inability to go just about anywhere w/o dealing with a bunch of people, we sold it a few months ago. I did sell if for more than I paid five years ago.

 

[hlee]

We have a nice house in a nice neighborhood outside of Houston and could not afford a nice RV for the price of our home. F that. If I want to camp in a NF, I'll take a backback and a camping hammock. If I just want to drive around and see the county, I'll stay at a Marriott and count the $100s I'm saving over buying an RV.

 

[eflyguy]

Friends of mine sold everything and went full-time a few years ago, they love it. They ride "ADV" style so their 5th wheel is the garage for storing and working on the bikes. They went with a small "semi" style tractor, and it's big enough to park a small car or the bikes between the cab and the trailer (had to be "converted", obviously). The garage can also house the car, whichever suits them best when they are moving around. They had a Mini, but I think they switched to a small jeep. Stay mostly in the SouthWest - Utah, NV, NM. Weeks at a time. There's a whole community and they often all pack up and move together to the next location.

 

[BullGear]

This is my first RV. Retired, no hurry for anything.
Even though all the comments about fixing things are right, I don’t mind, as I am the fixit guy around the house and cars anyway.
Feel sympathy for RV owners that can’t /won’t do anything involving tools.
Anyway, I spent the Summer of 2019 in Alaska in the RV, can’t imagine a much better way to do that kind of vacation.
Drove from Florida. Took a while.View attachment 7697615

How were the flies and other flying bugs???

 

[frankxtc]

Flies not too bad, mosquitoes very thick in some of the trails, had been advised to take a hat w/ net, that worked great.

 

[lonegunman762x51]

So you could sit around the campground and talk about it. You'd be amazed at the number of RV owners who want a repair made (under warranty) just because they heard about an issue at a campground.

Oh, not surprised at all. My mother and her last husband made their schedules around fucking with RV dealers and repair shops. They pissed away $350K on some frigging Allegra Bus and then stopped at every warranty repair facility between Florida and Washington state, and every Cat dealer and they no shit bought five sets of tires for it in four years. Some fascination about tires rotting and becoming unsafe in only a few months. The last three sets, their tire guy actually paid them $400 a tire for the old tires and resold them to other customers.

They once had a coolant burp and my DOT certified truck inspector brother told them to add a clamp to the upper radiator hose, they drove to a CAT dealer and the CAT dealer said, "Buy a five dollar clamp and do it yourself, the minimum shop charge is $250 to pull in the garage." Her halfwit husband insisted and was charged $265 bucks, the min charge, the clamp and tax, in and out in under 10 minutes. He was pissed and deserved the screwing he got.

Thru them, I've learned to despise any RV owner over 65, hahahahaha.

 

[The King]

Oh, not surprised at all. My mother and her last husband made their schedules around fucking with RV dealers and repair shops. They pissed away $350K on some frigging Allegra Bus and then stopped at every warranty repair facility between Florida and Washington state, and every Cat dealer and they no shit bought five sets of tires for it in four years. Some fascination about tires rotting and becoming unsafe in only a few months. The last three sets, their tire guy actually paid them $400 a tire for the old tires and resold them to other customers.

They once had a coolant burp and my DOT certified truck inspector brother told them to add a clamp to the upper radiator hose, they drove to a CAT dealer and the CAT dealer said, "Buy a five dollar clamp and do it yourself, the minimum shop charge is $250 to pull in the garage." Her halfwit husband insisted and was charged $265 bucks, the min charge, the clamp and tax, in and out in under 10 minutes. He was pissed and deserved the screwing he got.

Thru them, I've learned to despise any RV owner over 65, hahahahaha.

If you think the over 65 crowd are assholes....wait till you see the tech-bros who are living it large in their RV's now.

 

[BadDogPSD]

We have a 30' Desert Fox toyhauler. It's fairly well made and no repairs needed in the 7 years we've owned it, but I wouldn't want to live in it!
For the most part it's used when we go hunting. The neighbor wants to buy it for what we paid in 2014. He might just convince me!

 

[EddieNFL]

Oh, not surprised at all. My mother and her last husband made their schedules around fucking with RV dealers and repair shops. They pissed away $350K on some frigging Allegra Bus and then stopped at every warranty repair facility between Florida and Washington state, and every Cat dealer and they no shit bought five sets of tires for it in four years. Some fascination about tires rotting and becoming unsafe in only a few months. The last three sets, their tire guy actually paid them $400 a tire for the old tires and resold them to other customers.

They once had a coolant burp and my DOT certified truck inspector brother told them to add a clamp to the upper radiator hose, they drove to a CAT dealer and the CAT dealer said, "Buy a five dollar clamp and do it yourself, the minimum shop charge is $250 to pull in the garage." Her halfwit husband insisted and was charged $265 bucks, the min charge, the clamp and tax, in and out in under 10 minutes. He was pissed and deserved the screwing he got.

Thru them, I've learned to despise any RV owner over 65, hahahahaha.

Ah, a Bob Tiffin special.

We had a minimum as well. Seems the more money they had, the louder they complained.

 

[lonegunman762x51]

Ah, a Bob Tiffin special.

We had a minimum as well. Seems the more money they had, the louder they complained.

They call them "custom builds" on those RV shows on TV for one reason. None of the idiots building them can follow the instructions for their tasks so every one of the same model is different. hahahahaha This turd was allegedly built to order and brand new. Here are the problems I knew about. It had two different AC units on top of it, both discontinued, various things were wired hot, not thru breakers or switches and this killed the house batteries constantly, two recliners that flipped up the foot rests so hard they would launch your shoes into the ceiling, every single hot wire was unmarked and red for some reason, a selection of non-working lights, including clearance lights and for some reason the headlight switch was installed behind your left elbow out of reach when driving.

I'd rather tent camp that own anything the Alabama pig fuckers make.

 

[Jim Out]

You should try here if you want to talk to fulltimers.

HDT

Heavy Duty Trucks (Class 7/8).

www.rvnetwork.com

My RV when we bought it:

 

[308pirate]

Can’t speak for a RV, but boats have some perks and draw backs.

That said, the RVs I’ve seen seem pretty poorly built compared to a comparable yacht, as in they seem very life limited.


There is a benefit of not having the same level of fixed address and being able to fuck off at a seconds notice, also location wise, I’ve had my boat at places a home would be seven figures.

Size wise, depends on you, if you’re a home body I could see it being a issue, if you’re a out on the town, work, or hobbies all the time, it’s great.

I’d say the largest factor is how much time you normally spend at home, if it’s a ton you might want a larger space

+1,000,000

If you know how to sail, the world is your oyster. If you know how to shop, you won't spend much more than what you'll spend for a comfortable, liveable, high quality RV. If you know how to fix shit, sailing yachts are typically cheaper to maintain than a boat or truck with one or two huge diesels. A sailing yacht is orders of magnitude cheaper to operate than a motor yacht or RV.

If you have the scratch, something like a Hallberg Rassy 49 is choice

You get real wood (teak mostly) inside and super strong fiberglass as the structure.

Yeah the heads are small, but that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone considering an RV

 

[Alpine 338]

I want one of these.

Actually the modern version you can get with propane fridge and stove top, sink, and full electric/electronics, and still have a wood burning stove.

The problem is they are very heavy because they are built like a tank, and designed to be used off-road/off-grid.

Even the small one (modern version) that is 16-ft weighs like 4500-lbs

 

[EddieNFL]

+1,000,000

If you know how to sail, the world is your oyster. If you know how to shop, you won't spend much more than what you'll spend for a comfortable, liveable, high quality RV. If you know how to fix shit, sailing yachts are typically cheaper to maintain than a boat or truck with one or two huge diesels. A sailing yacht is orders of magnitude cheaper to operate than a motor yacht or RV.

If you have the scratch, something like a Hallberg Rassy 49 is choice
View attachment 7698582


You get real wood (teak mostly) inside and super strong fiberglass as the structure.
View attachment 7698583

View attachment 7698584

View attachment 7698585

View attachment 7698586

Yeah the heads are small, but that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone considering an RV
View attachment 7698587

That's a throne fit for a king if you've ever flown on a C-130.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

View attachment 7698623

I want one of these.

Actually the modern version you can get with propane fridge and stove top, sink, and full electric/electronics, and still have a wood burning stove.

The problem is they are very heavy because they are built like a tank, and designed to be used off-road/off-grid.

Even the small one (modern version) that is 16-ft weighs like 4500-lbs

View attachment 7698634View attachment 7698635

That first one is a hut for a goat/sheep herder. I haven't seen one of those since I was 12 or 13.

 

[TurboTrout]

+1,000,000

If you know how to sail, the world is your oyster. If you know how to shop, you won't spend much more than what you'll spend for a comfortable, liveable, high quality RV. If you know how to fix shit, sailing yachts are typically cheaper to maintain than a boat or truck with one or two huge diesels. A sailing yacht is orders of magnitude cheaper to operate than a motor yacht or RV.

If you have the scratch, something like a Hallberg Rassy 49 is choice
View attachment 7698582


You get real wood (teak mostly) inside and super strong fiberglass as the structure.
View attachment 7698583

View attachment 7698584

View attachment 7698585

View attachment 7698586

Yeah the heads are small, but that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone considering an RV
View attachment 7698587

The trick with a boat is the size, too big is as bad, if not worse, than too small, and the prices go up on a non linear scale from 30’ on up.

If one has the money, a Amel is a very good just go type boat, the little Sharki is a great value, size wise 39’ is a very good number.

Boats for sale | YachtWorld

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www.yachtworld.com

 

[308pirate]

The trick with a boat is the size, too big is as bad, if not worse, than too small, and the prices go up on a non linear scale from 30’ on up.

If one has the money, a Amel is a very good just go type boat, the little Sharki is a great value, size wise 39’ is a very good number.

Boats for sale | YachtWorld

Find 72887 boats for sale on YachtWorld Europe's largest marketplace for boats & yachts. We connect over 10 million boat buyers and sellers each year!

www.yachtworld.com

I understand. Personally I'm not OK with living full time (with only one other person) in anything under 45 feet unless it has exceptional space efficiency. 50 would be about ideal, rigged for easy singlehanded sailing.

Others are easily able to do a sub 45 boat.

 

[308pirate]

That's a throne fit for a king if you've ever flown on a C-130.

Never been in a C-130 but the crew shitter on USS Sunfish (SSN-649) was not luxurious.

 

[fdkay]

We have lots of folks that live in RV's here in South Texas.
They are never cool in the summer, winter isn't too much of a problem.
The folks that live on their own lot, in the county, will frequently build a "car port" that covers the RV, to prevent degradation from UV exposure, it also helps to keep the temp down.
What was said on the first page is correct, there are plenty of nice RV parks, that will cost a pretty penny to stay in, gray water and black water hook-ups, shore power, sometimes a nice clubhouse and swimming pool, other ones are full of dopers and thieves with RV's that have grass growing up through the floor.
If you have your own lot in the county and can properly prepare, it can be done.
Otherwise, I wouldn't do it as a permanent solution.

 

[EddieNFL]

Never been in a C-130 but the crew shitter on USS Sunfish (SSN-649) was not luxurious.

Basically a toilet seat attached to the side of the fuselage. If you crap in it, you pull the bag out, tie it off and toss it out.

Several decades ago, one of the gunships crews had a gunner that hated officers. Every mission it was his goal to piss them off by taking a stinky crap and brag about it. Word was he ate a special diet just for that reason. One evening a young (and dumb) LT decides to teach him a lesson and cuts slits in the bag. AC reaches altitude and gunner climbs aboard and downloads. He pulls the bag, ties it off and opens the paratroop door. Of course, as soon as the wind hits it, crap starts streaming out the slits soaking his flightsuit and blowing inside the AC.

He begged the AC commander to RTB so he can shower and change, but the major ain't having it. They charlie miked until all was expended and RTB. The oxygen system was depleted long before they landed and word was it took a couple days to get the smell out. He was removed from flight status and last I knew still not a popular guy.

 

[fdkay]

Never been in a C-130 but the crew shitter on USS Sunfish (SSN-649) was not luxurious.

I made a short trip on the USS Oklahoma, while cramped, the toilets were alot better than the ones we had on Avenger Class MCM's.
On the MCM and MHC's the shitter was sealed with a spring loaded flapper valve. The flapper valves would quit working correctly within two weeks of replacing them (always stuck partially open), so you got to smell all the old shit in the GATEX system every time you went to the head.

 

[buffalowinter]

Looking at this right now on e-bay motors:

1992 International Harvester 4700 Armored Truck​

Pre-Owned
$45,000.00
Aug-30 21:58
or Best Offer
Year: 1992
Free local pickup
Miles: 3,655
11 watchers
Make: International Harvester

 

[BullGear]

Only issue I'd have is that you have to exist the driver's compartment in order to get into the back. I guess you could cut a hole between the two areas.

 

[memtb]

One important thing that I failed to mention, especially if buying a new unit to full-time in..... many manufactures will not honor the warranty “if” there unit is used for full-timing! That alone should give good insight as to there faith in their product! memtb

 

[BullGear]

One important thing that I failed to mention, especially if buying a new unit to full-time in..... many manufactures will not honor the warranty “if” there unit is used for full-timing! That alone should give good insight as to there faith in their product! memtb

That's interesting. I'd say that speak volumes.

 

[acudaowner]

you will always be close to a bathroom stocked with toilet paper without having to share it with 600 other people , never again need to use the porta pot at the range always a plus that alone makes the idea of owning one worth it to me .

 

[uffduh]

Basically a toilet seat attached to the side of the fuselage. If you crap in it, you pull the bag out, tie it off and toss it out.

Several decades ago, one of the gunships crews had a gunner that hated officers. Every mission it was his goal to piss them off by taking a stinky crap and brag about it. Word was he ate a special diet just for that reason. One evening a young (and dumb) LT decides to teach him a lesson and cuts slits in the bag. AC reaches altitude and gunner climbs aboard and downloads. He pulls the bag, ties it off and opens the paratroop door. Of course, as soon as the wind hits it, crap starts streaming out the slits soaking his flightsuit and blowing inside the AC.

He begged the AC commander to RTB so he can shower and change, but the major ain't having it. They charlie miked until all was expended and RTB. The oxygen system was depleted long before they landed and word was it took a couple days to get the smell out. He was removed from flight status and last I knew still not a popular guy.

Then there was always this guy. Seemed to make it on my boat, too.