RV's & Campers are a Money Pit

[Fishindude77]

So we purchased a 27' brand new pull behind camper approx. Feb 2022 to stay in while we did a gut and remodel on the house. Pulled it inside the barn, hooked up utilities and had lodging on the property while doing the construction, we lived in the camper from March to September of 2022, 6-7 months and it provided what we needed for that period of time. They aren't all that comfortable, lots of little things went wrong and had to be fixed, but it worked. We bought a new one, because at the time the late model used stuff was only a little bit cheaper and had no warranty.

Following construction we moved into the house, pulled camper out of barn, cleaned it up, winterized it and listed it for sale on both FB Marketplace & Craigslist at about 78% of what we paid for it. Very little interest, only showed it once, and sat on in till June. In June we took it to an RV dealer to sell on consignment and lowered our price we would accept to approx. 67% of purchase price. There deal was ..... If we can't sell it for you in 90 days, you can re-list or we will give you an offer. Long story short, we just sold the thing for approx. 45% of purchase price and was glad to be rid of it.

My advice to anyone thinking about buying a camper is to buy used and wait around for a deal because they are out there. When we bought Covid was still in full swing and toys like campers & boats were selling like hotcakes and they were getting premium price as those were activities people could still partake in. With the major Covid scare behind us, higher interest rates, high gas prices and crazy inflation, they can't hardly give these things away now. The majority are sold on loans and the typical buyers don't have the spare $$ now.

We knew it was going to cost us to live somewhere during construction, so losing a little $$ was expected, but the way that camper depreciated makes cars look like a good investment.

[myrdale]

I've never owned one, and hope I never do.

My understanding is warranties are a pain to get anything fixed. There are separate companies that are responsible for the water, electrical, roof, flooring, axles, etc. That a simple "drop it off at the shop for the week" can turn into months to get a warrantied problem resolved.

[Fishindude77]

I've never owned one, and hope I never do.

My understanding is warranties are a pain to get anything fixed. There are separate companies that are responsible for the water, electrical, roof, flooring, axles, etc. That a simple "drop it off at the shop for the week" can turn into months to get a warrantied problem resolved.

You are correct. Our brand new microwave puked in first couple weeks. The dealer got me taken care of in a week or two, but he had to go beyond the camper manufacturer to the microwave supplier to get it replaced.

[ua_guy]

Market conditions were certainly not in your favor buying or selling. Feb 22 the RV market was still red hot coming off the pandemic. Rising interest rates and the reality of owning an RV (storage, upkeep, planning vacations) hit a lot of people, leaving a glut of used rigs for sale, and a tough sell on new ones at 10-12%++ interest. The RV market has been taking a beating. Not that most RV's have high resale value to begin with.

The only way to get value out of an RV is to use it. So, you'd have to figure what temporary housing would have run you for 6-7 months compared to what you lost in the RV purchase/sale. How do you think you did overall?

My husband and I have been doing a lot of RV (motorhome) travel since 2019. We've already logged 14,000 miles on our new motorhome in a year and have spent more than 100 nights in it. We've been across the country. I'm writing this from Moab, UT and will be headed to Yellowstone next week for a relaxing fall trip before heading back home.

[disneysteve]

you'd have to figure what temporary housing would have run you for 6-7 months compared to what you lost in the RV purchase/sale. How do you think you did overall?

I'm curious about this, too. You were basically renting living space for 6 months. Do you think what you spent to own the RV for that time was worth it? I guess the only alternative would have been to rent an apartment or house nearby but that wouldn't have been nearly as convenient as remaining on the property.

[Fishindude77]

Yea, we knew housing was going to cost something, and being on site was worth a bit more.
Even though we didn't pull it down the road, I guess if you look at the fact that that RV got slept in for 6-7 months straight it got used more in that short time than most RV's do in a five year life span.
It's been my experience most camper RV owners used them no more than 2-4 weeks per year.

The good news is, we're rid of it and won't have to worry about keeping insurance, plates, winterizing it, selling it, etc.

[disneysteve]

Even though we didn't pull it down the road, I guess if you look at the fact that that RV got slept in for 6-7 months straight it got used more in that short time than most RV's do in a five year life span.
It's been my experience most camper RV owners used them no more than 2-4 weeks per year.

That's true. You probably got the equivalent of 3-5 years worth of use out of it, except you didn't put any of the wear and tear or mileage that it would get under normal usage. Imagine how little it would have been worth if you had.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Yea, we knew housing was going to cost something, and being on site was worth a bit more.
Even though we didn't pull it down the road, I guess if you look at the fact that that RV got slept in for 6-7 months straight it got used more in that short time than most RV's do in a five year life span.
It's been my experience most camper RV owners used them no more than 2-4 weeks per year.

The good news is, we're rid of it and won't have to worry about keeping insurance, plates, winterizing it, selling it, etc.

So how much would renting an airbnb or apartment for 6 month? Less or more? Also would you have gotten more space in a rental?

[Fishindude77]

So how much would renting an airbnb or apartment for 6 month? Less or more? Also would you have gotten more space in a rental?

Hard telling and doesn't really matter now anyway.
Had we chosen to live somewhere offsite it would have required moving in and moving out, and hauling things some distance away which we did not have to do.
By staying on the property, we just stored everything we were going to keep in space on the property which simplified things when the work was done.

[bjl584]

Sounds like it worked out in the end for you, but RV's are a money pit and depreciate fast.
Plenty of used models on the market at deep discounts.

Most RV's are cheaply made and good luck getting a warranty to cover something.

[Fishindude77]

Sounds like it worked out in the end for you, but RV's are a money pit and depreciate fast.
Plenty of used models on the market at deep discounts.

Yep, right now would be a great time to buy if you were interested in owning an RV.

[bjl584]

Yep, right now would be a great time to buy if you were interested in owning an RV.

I thought about it, but I probably wouldn't use it enough to justify owning it, and I don't want to go through the winter storage routine with it.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Then it seems like a good deal.

[Fishindude77]

If you're just thinking about an RV and thinking you might enjoy traveling in one, rent one for a few trips first.

[disneysteve]

If you're just thinking about an RV and thinking you might enjoy traveling in one, rent one for a few trips first.

Sage advice. I think for the vast majority of RV owners, renting would probably be the better choice financially speaking. Just what you pay in storage fees alone when you aren't using it could probably cover the costs for when you are using it. Unless you're planning on living in the RV or taking a few really extended road trips - like months at a time - buying probably doesn't make sense.

I do know that around here, especially down toward the Jersey shore, there are some pretty nice RV parks where people have their RV set up basically as a vacation home. They don't really take it on the road but they go down there every weekend from May through October as well as maybe one or two full weeks during that time. I have a friend who does that. I've never been to her place in person but I see her photos and it really looks nice. They have outdoor furniture and a grill and fire pit and it's really set up as a second home. In that sort of situation, owning makes sense.