Community Forums

Mitchyb · 03-05-2013, 07:59 PM

Now I promise this is not out of jealousy, cause I do love my beautiful vintage c but I am totally perplexed of the extreme popularity of the large class A coaches including DP. Now I do understand that a lot of people have them as their retirement dreams being fulfilled, and believe you me, as soon as I am in the position to retire ( 30 yrs) i will be probably doing the same. But what boggles my mind from what I can tell by user profiles how many of these high dollar units are " 30 something's " and with kids yet!!! I don't know about other parents out there but my kids are well behaved, but still manage to break everything!!! (Half the reason for a 22 yr old Motorhome, they could burn it down i will only be out 10k lol )

I guess what I'm trying to figure out is how people are affording these? I am a Canuck but work or an American based company and it seems like once a week I get a doom and gloom email from our CEO about the state of the countries economy but yet it seems like there is no shortage of 85000+ units cruising around the country at $4 a gallon for fuel. Are the borrowing rules more relaxed down there? Is there more of a " scew it if I'm in debt. I'm gonna be in debt for the rest of my life" attitude ? I am honestly not asking the state of my fellow RV'rs finances, just what their attitude towards actually " owning" their coach. To the folks that are doing it and loving it, please keep it going because tourism is still a viable income to the American economy and yes I do think us campers are the biggest, friendliest and happiest community, if I haven't met you yet, I can't wait to meet you soon

t55watson · 03-05-2013, 08:08 PM

Many of the 30 somethings you mention work at home. Kids are home schooled. I have met a few who made their fortunes young and now free to do as they wish.

PyrateSilly · 03-05-2013, 09:40 PM

Our oldest is 28. Taught him well about getting a good job and handling money. He did test very high for brains (thou sometimes his street smarts is low). He went into the Marines right out of high school, learned IT and got all his security clearances. When he left 4 yrs later he went and got a contract job at the Pentagon. He makes 6 figures. He did give us a very smart and lovely (now 6 yrs old) granddaughter. He bought a townhouse. Now he is remarried and they are buying a house with 5 acres while still paying on the townhouse. They will remodel the house and shop on the property before selling the townhouse. Yes that means 2 mortgages. He is very smart with money and can do it.
He could buy, with no problem, a million dollar coach but right now he is staying put in one spot so instead is using his money in a different way. While he may get things like a house on 'credit' he will also pay it off way sooner to make it cheaper. So there are some "kids" out there that do things the right way.

GaryKD · 03-06-2013, 07:52 AM

Hi Mitchyb,
There are many reasons young folks can handle a coach purchase. I got my first class A coach when I was 31. Had a wife, 2 kids and a mortgage payment. The $s I earned easily paid for all we needed to live and do what we wanted. Our goal was to show our kids the 48 USA states before they went to college. The goal was accomplished. We like RVing so much we decided to continue RVing as part of our lifestyle after the nest became empty. Over the years we always had a class A coach and used them extensively. Now we are almost done showing our grand children the 48 USA states.

I guess if you talked to young families who have a large coach, you'll get a wide variety of reasons as to their choice of purchase. Everyone spends their money a bit differently.

vraines · 03-06-2013, 08:28 AM

I am 70 years old and own a DP, but it was a lifetime dream and we were fortunate to achieve that dream. I am totally convinced that in spite of all the doom and gloom that I hear and read, that a reasonably intelligent and motivated young person can achieve this dream probably much earlier than myself and my DW. I see that every day, so it is true. I also see and meet many who are convinced that they will never achieve that independence, and that is a self-fulling prophecy. I am not selling anything here, but the thought that it is still possible to succeed in this great nation if you are willing to commit to plan.

topdownman · 03-06-2013, 08:35 AM

I'm 54 and my wife is 47. We both have decent jobs with decent income. I look at my RV payment as just another car loan, and I don't have car loans. My RV payment on 10 years is about what the average car payment would be. Also, I consider it a toy. If bad things happen, the toy goes away.

So, when you see someone driving down the road in one of those fancy pickup trucks just think, they can't even use the bathroom in that thing.

Also, I get frowned on a lot because I've financed my motorhome. To those I say I've been to nearly every state in an RV and seen so many things, the money I've spent has been well worth it. If I died today, it was quite a ride. I didn't want to wait until I was retired and could pay cash for something, then maybe not be able to enjoy it.

Selah · 03-06-2013, 08:46 AM

First you must be fortunate enough to have the opportunities. Second you must have the fortitude to take advantage of those opportunities. Third, once those are accomplished, what do you do with it.
During our working careers we put our money into various retirement plans and paying off our house. Others may choose a different route and i dont think one is necessarily better than the other. It is just what you are comfortable with.
Now retired and traveling the U.S. we are financially secure and having a great time. Our biggest worry is where to go next and when do we go back home.

RickO · 03-06-2013, 08:51 AM

Hi and welcome to the forum.

You've made a good observation. I'm 30 years past my 30's so I can't explain how younger families can afford a quarter million dollar DP. They are certainly a big cash sink... especially if they're not being used a lot.

I've always felt that the best reason to buy a DP (instead of gas) is because you WANT one... but that assumes you can also AFFORD one.

Many here will throw stones at those who finance as though they presume to know what's best for everyone but my guess is that the young families you see with DPs cover the spectrum from those who are quite wealthy to those who've made a big financial mistake and just don't know it yet.

At any rate, these folks are making memories with their families and doing it in style.

Rick

doc · 03-06-2013, 09:52 AM

Can't answer for the kids out there. We paid cash on the last one simply because there was no decent income on savings accounts, money markets and low risk investments. Why finance if you are paying a higher rate than savings are making?

Fuel prices are sorta scary at $4. Do you want a quarter million dollar coach setting up and NOT being used? We have cut back on really long trips but cannot see that much difference in personal finances. I try not to think about the total cost per mile when factoring in the cost of coach , upkeep and fuel

. But there is not a lot of noticable total dollar difference in $3.80 fuel and $4 fuel on a cross country trip.

Trekkers · 03-06-2013, 10:11 AM

We are stimulating the economy!

Tha_Rooster · 03-10-2013, 09:54 AM

My wife and I are 52 and 51 and our kids are 32 and 25 both boys. I set a goal of my income so far so good and to make sure our kids had good credit also no matter if you use it life is much better with it. One son is a computer tech married and doing good the other owns his own custom screen and door company and doing real well. We did finance our Rv but we have a house and cars payed for which the Rv will be payed for when I retire that's our plans. Our first Rv was a 35,000 used suncruiser our second was a 2004 new vacationer and now our 2007 new rev. RVing is a hobby for us not a life style we could quite at anytime if times got tuff.Although the economy is still alittle slow there are a lot of people doing well.

Clayobx · 03-10-2013, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trekkers

We are stimulating the economy!

X-2....

wincrasher · 03-10-2013, 10:10 AM

I think if you are basing assumptions on what you see on the forum, you have to keep in mind that the membership on these things is primarily enthusiasts. Most people are not on camping forums.

In the broader market of RV's, motorhomes of all kinds are a very small percentage of the total. Owners in their 30's are even smaller slice. And the minutest of slices would be those youngsters who bought new. Those are the folks you see on here exercising their enthusiasm for RV's.

The overwhelming majority of the RV market is towables. Particularly campers 25' or less - primarily those of working families. If you could actually collect the data, I bet it would show you that the majority of all RV owners are working families in their 30's & 40's and own smaller towables that are 5-10 years old.

Mitchyb · 03-10-2013, 10:27 AM

Windcrasher that's a good point and for some reason eluded me when I started this post. It looks like what ever rig people by its justified and within budget. I just know that a lot of people get ino the thinking of " what I can afford monthly " rather than their total debt overall and the RV dealerships can do a great job of encouraging this with 25 yr financing on 15,000 trailer. I guess if your diligent you will pay it off way before that but the interest payment on that is worse than a mortgage if you let it go the entire term!