Class A for Weekends and some vacation?

[BirchyBoy]

Originally Posted by jk70

Thanks Dan. Yes, i am trying to keep it ~$100k. In the running is the Holiday Rambler 36H, the Baystar Sport (waiting to see what they have for the new ones; not out yet), tiffin 36UA. haven't looked at the winnebago's yet but I won't go near Thor at the lower end.

I think a class B would be to tight for the 4 of us. I may consider a class C but I like the big windows of the Class A's. WHo knows but thanks for your response

Our '17 Winnebago 31BE has two bunks and a drop down "full size" bed over the front seats. We paid $95k for it and love it. My biggest complaint is that the hot water heater is gas only, and I may change that in the near future.
Winnebago does make an identical class C.

[slowmachine]

We bought a Class A diesel pusher to do weekend and summer trips with our girls, now ages 10 and 13. We bought what we could afford to pay cash for, and have "free" parking on a gravel pad in our yard. Cost for sitting still is $1200/year for insurance and tags. No payments = no stress. On my worst day, I can still book a flight and hotel, just like we did before the MH. We chose the Class A and CR-V over pickup and 5th wheel because it's more comfortable to drive at home and on vacation.

[Dan McMartin]

Originally Posted by jk70

Thanks Dan. Yes, i am trying to keep it ~$100k. In the running is the Holiday Rambler 36H, the Baystar Sport (waiting to see what they have for the new ones; not out yet), tiffin 36UA. haven't looked at the winnebago's yet but I won't go near Thor at the lower end.

I think a class B would be to tight for the 4 of us. I may consider a class C but I like the big windows of the Class A's. WHo knows but thanks for your response

Look here for the Bay Star Sport info. The info isn't on the web but you can see floor plans on the build sheets (first link) and see some pics on the FB page.

https://comnet2.newmarcorp.com/insta...Mode=&nextURL=

https://www.facebook.com/pg/gonewmar...37907809573719

https://www.facebook.com/pg/gonewmar...37909786240188

There's other info in this thread:

http://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/2018-bay-star-intelligence-337457.html

One model, the 3113 and little cousin to our Bay Star 3113, has a king bed! Good luck in your search

[msturtz]

We do tow a car depending on what we are doing. For instance we didn't when we went to crater lake because we had babies and it was more comfortable for all of us in the motorhome while we were touring the park. On destination trips we take a toad. We use our rig a lot many weekends and a few week trips per year. Much more than we used the towable. I can just disconnect and go. We keep it heated in the winter and cooled in the summer. It is packed with clothes, food and full of water at all times. In short, no we don't feel bad with it in the driveway. Our kids love trips. We positioned them so they can see out the 4' x 8' front windshield.

[msturtz]

Originally Posted by jvanick

I had a toyhauler for 10+ years, towing behind a dodge 3500... we used it for 5-6 weekend trips a season + a week or so long trip.

this past spring, we upgraded to a used Bounder gasser class A

There is absolutely NO comparison to camping in the trailer vs. the class A... the journey is more fun, my wife, dogs and other family if they come with ride in comfort and start the party on the way.

we would have never bought a new class-A, and likely would have continued down the truck + trailer path, but this makes our trips so much more enjoyable... so much so that my wife calls it a marriage saver LOL.

(Many times we start our camping weekend at 5pm on a friday after work, it's so much easier to just pull into a spot, hit the levelers, push out the slide, and we're set up).

We keep the coach stocked with our basic essentials, so if we get a free weekend, we can literally be on the road in 5-10 minutes.

Frequently I don't even hook up water until later.

[msturtz]

Originally Posted by jk70

Hi Betr:

I am 46, wife is 49. How my finances stack up currently: Kids 529 plans are maxed so I don't have to worry about college education

- I have a mortgage with ~$170k in equity. I also have a HELOC of $40k balance.
- Retirement: I have never worked for a company that offered a 401k, unfortunately. That being said we have maxed our IRA's most years so far. We have close to $350k currently in retirement accts.
- My taxable stock accounts are fine, also.

Debt doesn't bother me. Actually, negative equity doesn't bother me either - as long as I have the money to pay it off outright. ie, if I have $100k in a stock account and a class A MH costs $100k, I will borrow the full $100k (if rates make sense) and leave the stock account alone. The math makes more sense this way.

I am actually sitting in a hospital in the midwest (I am from North Carolina) as my son recently received a bone marrow transplant. I sold the pop up last year with intentions on buying a travel trailer. Bought a truck but then got hit with the news that my son would need the transplant. Sold said truck. As i sit here I started thinking about our next camper and thought, "why not a class A". But it may not be the most practical - financially or otherwise.

I agree with you that financially, any RV makes no sense....but where's the fun in that

We made the same calculations but in then my son was in a major motorcycle accident and almost died and in the same month I almost lost my wife and twins. That was 2013. It had a major effect on me. The Dave Ramsey style of no debt pay only cash is valid except when I realized that it isn't money that I care about it is the people I love. If I am stingy and my kids grow up with dad and mom always working never any fun and then when they are gone we can afford luxury items what's the point? We have a limited amount of time before our kids are gone. Then its too late. Does this mean we spend more than we can afford: of course not! It is just that I don't see manageable debt as evil.

[BirchyBoy]

It's funny you say that. I'm the same as you when it comes to manageable debt. We're starting to read the Dave Ramsey book and the RV is one thing we won't give up. It will be the last item that is part of the snowball. Thankfully, we don't really have too much above it on the list, either.

[jonesdg]

Amen to that statement. I totally support everything you stated.

[jk70]

Originally Posted by BirchyBoy

It's funny you say that. I'm the same as you when it comes to manageable debt. We're starting to read the Dave Ramsey book and the RV is one thing we won't give up. It will be the last item that is part of the snowball. Thankfully, we don't really have too much above it on the list, either.

I think Dave Ramsey and what he is doing is noble but it doesn't always make sense to me. He hates debt, no matter the rate it seems, which is wrong. Although, this is just one example and not necessarily why I am okay with debt but:

I knew someone who threw his extra savings at his mortgage. By 2008 it almost cut his mortgage timeline in half which seems great. Then the financial crisis hit and he got laid off for a while. Well, the bank still wanted his monthly payment for the mortgage but he ended up having a problem paying for it because he had no investments or savings due to throwing it all at the mortgage. In the end he lost the house. He could have put that extra into the stock market every month and even after the crash he still would have had money to ease everything for a lot more time.

Strategic debt is perfectly okay and if rates makes sense. If we go back to the days of 10-12% mortgages I may change the strategy somewhat but I have a 30 year fixed (at 25 years now) at 3.375% - I literally caught the bottom a few years ago....I will never pay that mortgage off early even if it takes me into retirement.

And the fact that my son had a transplant tells me to just get out there and get a class A like I want. I will get a loan for it just because I don't want to touch my stocks and savings...and go enjoy life

[Charlie 5320]

I don't have a problem with young people going into debt to get what they want when they are young enough to work and pay for it. I do see so many that strap themselves too close for comfort though. I took out loans for my toys from the time I was 18 till about 50, then I paid cash or did with out. My wife was 8 years younger than I and she believed we should have saved and did things as we got older. We compromised, we had a pretty good nest egg. She was diagnosed in November 2015 with stage 3 ovarian cancer, she died May 19th this year at 59 years old. She worked until about month before she died. She had an inheritance that wasn't expected of $194,000 that she left to my son. She told him right before she died to use that money to make him and his family happy, but don't waist it. She was so sick she couldn't even take the check to the bank, but she did get to sign it.

On the other hand, myself I wouldn't be going for a brand new coach for the first one. I'd rather buy one that is a top of the line gas coach that is maybe 10 years old or so. There are many with very few miles on them at 1/2 the cost of a new coach. They may be even better than a new one.

[Radacravitz]

Originally Posted by jk70

I am actually sitting in a hospital in the midwest (I am from North Carolina) as my son recently received a bone marrow transplant. I sold the pop up last year with intentions on buying a travel trailer. Bought a truck but then got hit with the news that my son would need the transplant. Sold said truck. As i sit here I started thinking about our next camper and thought, "why not a class A". But it may not be the most practical - financially or otherwise.

I agree with you that financially, any RV makes no sense....but where's the fun in that

i've got a stack of kitchen remodel things to do today so can't respond in detail about our tent -> old class c -> bounder 27(<- all when our kids were kids and young adults) -> and our new-to-us '95 monaco dynasty, but i wanted you to know we're sending our best vibes to you and your family wrt your son's health circumstances.

best wishes.
rad

[Dan McMartin]

You've got to incur some debt. If you waited to buy a house, a MH or even some vehicles until you saved the money, you'd be waiting many years or decades. Life is too short to forego a little manageable debt.

I bought a 2014 Jeep Rubicon. Not practical in any way, shape or form. But I figured what the heck. I had the income to make the payment and I've since paid it off. I was 47 at the time and had a friend die several years earlier who was 47 at the time of his death. Should I have waited to buy my "dream" vehicle (Jeeps aren't cars ) until I was 50 or 55, hoping that I too didn't succumb to disease?

Same with our MH. We're financing around $110,000. We don't have the cash (we weren't so fortunate in the housing bubble) and it would take us...what? A decade or two to save up that kind of money? We could have bought used but I don't want to spend my time upgrading, repairing and babysitting a 10 year old coach. I want to explore the country, see new things, and enjoy life. Again, life is short and we're not waiting to live our dreams.

We can afford it and much more but we're limiting ourselves to about $100k. We'll go a little over that but for a Newmar, it's worth a bit more. The payment will be about half what we pay in rent now and a third of the mortgage on the house we sold last year (and took a loss on).

Now, to take this thread even further off topic What's manageable debt? We took on $270k in debt when we build our house in 2002. We spent $80k between our down payment and upgrades. We got about a third of that out of the house when we sold, less than our original down payment, but taking out a loan on an RV is a bad idea? I'll never believe that yarn about a house being the best investment I can make again.

Yeah, I'll lose money on the MH but what's the difference? I've said goodbye to tens of thousands of dollars before when I was supposed to make hundreds of thousands and I can do it again...and maybe increase my saving in the process this time since I'm not mailing $1900 a month to a mortgage company for what amounted to rent.

[AITG]

I'm a fan of Dave Ramsey but I believe that he is talking to people who have been debtaholics. Paying off credit cards and installment loans is never a bad thing, nor is having a savings cushion.
Unfortunately, some people become so overwhelmed by debt that, like alcoholics, they can't have that first drink without falling back into the trap. Many people can use debt responsibly just like many people can drink responsibly.

[Easyrider]

I understand why some people prefer a trailer towed by a truck which they use for other things when not camping. But many of those people could get along just as well with a car towed by a motorhome and the car will get better miles per gallon than the truck for everyday use. When we bought our motorhome there were a few reasons that made that the best choice for us. First we wanted to take a motorcycle along with us and we did try "double bottoming" for a few years, but to stay within the law as far as the length of our rig when hooked up, we had to use a relatively shorter travel trailer and short motorcycle trailer, so not enough room for any extras we wanted to bring along. Also we wanted a large fresh water capacity and at the time the travel trailers we were finding that fit lengthwise only had about 35 gallons of fresh water. We like staying at city, county, and state parks more than private campground but unfortunately that means most of the time no water or sewer hookups. Then we found our 2005 Sunrise, 2 slides meant good room for the 2 of us, 90 gallons of fresh water, so no worries about running out of water during 2 to 4 day weekend campouts, and we can tow our Captiva which gets about 25mpg while our motorhome gets about the same mpg we were getting when towing with a pickup, travel trailer, and motorcycle trailer. The ease of setting up camp and the extra water capacity we gained over the travel trailer means we never looked back. We don't see ourselves in anything other than a motorhome in the future. We camp with a lot of friends who are "5ers" and though they have great looking campers and floorplans, we haven't seen anything yet that would make us want to change from a motorhome.