Best rig set up for 40-something solo to full time in?

[JamBand]

I'm serious thinking of going full time RV following the weather in the western U.S. What is the best rig set up for a single 40-something?

Some thoughts are:
-Small trailer (Casita, SCamp, T@B, Taylor Coach, Aliner etc..) - would have to buy a truck to tow it as my current car is a sedan
-Class B
-Class C + toad
-Customize a cargo van like a Chevy Express (put a hi-top in, hire a carpenter/electrician to put in some shelving, bed, etc...)

Would want to limit depreciation as much as possible if I decide to sell the whole set up in a year or two.

What would you do if you were me? Thanks so much for your help!

[Isaac-1]

The problem here is there is no one size fits all answer (Insert car for RV in that question and you will see the issue), but if you could tell us more about what you want to do maybe we can help you narrow down the options:

1, Where do you want to be able to stay, full hookup camp grounds, minimal service campgrounds, or boondocking off grid?

2, Do you plan to travel extensively, being on the move every day or two, or go one place and stay there for a while?

3, Do you need 3 or 4 season insulation, or are you going to chase the pleasant weather?

4, Cities or Country, an exploration vehicle is much more important to have around cities?

p.s. generally the best way to limit depreciation is to buy an older (over 10 year old) RV, particularly a upper quality built motorhome, as most finance companies will not finance ones older than 10-12 years of age. So at beyond this age it becomes much more about conditionh

[theoldwizard]

Originally Posted by JamBand

I'm serious thinking of going full time RV following the weather in the western U.S. What is the best rig set up for a single 40-something?

Some thoughts are:
-Small trailer (Casita, SCamp, T@B, Taylor Coach, Aliner etc..) - would have to buy a truck to tow it as my current car is a sedan
-Class B
-Class C + toad
-Customize a cargo van like a Chevy Express (put a hi-top in, hire a carpenter/electrician to put in some shelving, bed, etc...)

I would go with a TT, but you have to make sure you can LIVE in a really small space. Teardrops are out as far as I am concerned. Just too small. I like "eggshell" TT (Scamp, Casita, Oliver and LilSnoozy). Even a CampLite 14DBS is a possibility.

These can all be towed by a properly equipped mid sized SUV. You biggest issue is going to be storage. If you are going to "full time", you are going to need a couple of golf cart batteries, at least a 1000W inverter and a 2000W generator.

Having said that, consider moving up to something in the 20-22' range BUT with a gross weight of around 6,000 lbs. A lot more space and it still can be towed with some thing like a Explorer.

Originally Posted by JamBand

Would want to limit depreciation as much as possible if I decide to sell the whole set up in a year or two.

Anything custom made, you will lose you butt on ! Same with any NEW RV. Class B or C are harder to sell.

If you want an exit, then buy something 2-5 years old. If you like the lifestyle, you will probably want to upgrade any way

[JamBand]

Originally Posted by Isaac-1

The problem here is there is no one size fits all answer (Insert car for RV in that question and you will see the issue), but if you could tell us more about what you want to do maybe we can help you narrow down the options:

1, Where do you want to be able to stay, full hookup camp grounds, minimal service campgrounds, or boondocking off grid?

2, Do you plan to travel extensively, being on the move every day or two, or go one place and stay there for a while?

3, Do you need 3 or 4 season insulation, or are you going to chase the pleasant weather?

4, Cities or Country, an exploration vehicle is much more important to have around cities?

p.s. generally the best way to limit depreciation is to buy an older (over 10 year old) RV, particularly a upper quality built motorhome, as most finance companies will not finance ones older than 10-12 years of age. So at beyond this age it becomes much more about conditionh

Thank you Isaac for your response.

1. I am not entirely sure where I will stay. I plan to play it by ear. I like the savings of boondocking, but may be too isolated for me and I would need the solar set up. Might do a mix of campgrounds, state parks, boondock. I'll have to figure out what works.

2. Again, not totally sure how much I will move around. I have already car/tent camped the whole western U.S. the last 25 years, so since I have seen most of the west, my guess is I will stay longer in once place vs. tons of jumping around site seeing. Mid Nov-April I would plan to stay mostly low desert AZ. April, May and Oct & some of Nov I would plan to be in Utah, NV, Eastern Sierra, or higher elevation AZ. June-Sept I would be western WA/OR probably mostly....I may go to CO, WY, MT summer some too...but probably not BOTH PNW and Rockies (I would pick one area each summer), as I want to cut down on tons of driving, gas, wear and tear, hassles of finding new campgrounds. I'm thinking right now I plan to stick around places a longer period vs. being constantly on the go. Especially the 4 winter mos in low desert AZ and the 3-4 summer mos in OR/WA...I may stay in one place for long periods...but I may jump around more during my migration north in spring and south in fall.

3. The thinking now is definitely going to chase the nice weather, this is one of the big reasons I'm going to FT RV.

4. Probably more likely going to do smaller towns/smaller cities....if I did urban if would likely be the far exurbs of an urban area.

[JamBand]

Originally Posted by theoldwizard

I would go with a TT, but you have to make sure you can LIVE in a really small space. Teardrops are out as far as I am concerned. Just too small. I like "eggshell" TT (Scamp, Casita, Oliver and LilSnoozy). Even a CampLite 14DBS is a possibility.

These can all be towed by a properly equipped mid sized SUV. You biggest issue is going to be storage. If you are going to "full time", you are going to need a couple of golf cart batteries, at least a 1000W inverter and a 2000W generator.

Having said that, consider moving up to something in the 20-22' range BUT with a gross weight of around 6,000 lbs. A lot more space and it still can be towed with some thing like a Explorer.


Anything custom made, you will lose you butt on ! Same with any NEW RV. Class B or C are harder to sell.

If you want an exit, then buy something 2-5 years old. If you like the lifestyle, you will probably want to upgrade any way

Thanks. That is good advice on bad resale value on putting in a hi-top on a cargo van. I could easily tear out all the wood shelving, bed...but could not reverse the hi-top.

Some respects I really love the ease of traveling in something like a Roadtrek 170 (decent gas mileage, only one vehicle to worry about, no set up when park at camp site, easy to park anywhere randomly along the way, etc..). But they are VERY expensive. And I feel if that was my only vehicle, I would put probably at least 15k miles a year on it and lots of wear and tear (thus heavy depreciation). They are also smaller. I wish they were a bit less cluttered inside too. I would probably find other places to shower than in the Roadtrek.

Rpod and Hi Lo are interesting too as well as Casita, Scamp, Burro, Taylor Coach. I've seen a pretty good T@B I liked...but I'm 6'2" not sure how great that would work.

Some others I have on my list to research:
-Lazy Daze, Born Free, Rialta (Class C)
-Pleasureway, Toyota Chinook (Class B)
-Aliner (pop up)

[JamBand]

Timing I imagine is a BIG FACTOR in terms of how bad of a hit you take on depreciation with RV's and tow vehicles. Just like buying and selling real estate. If I wanted to sell my rig in 2 years and gas prices were high and the U.S. was in a bad recession, I would probably take a huge bath if I wanted to sell a gas guzzling tow vehicle and RV. I can imagine from 2008-2012 there were probably some screaming deals from motivated sellers on RV's & trucks/SUV's during the depths of that recession.

[theoldwizard]

Originally Posted by JamBand

I like the savings of boondocking, but may be too isolated for me and I would need the solar set up.

Solar is nice, but expensive and not mandatory. A generator IS mandatory for boondocking, especially in the SW.

[theoldwizard]

Originally Posted by JamBand

Some respects I really love the ease of traveling in something like a Roadtrek 170 (decent gas mileage, only one vehicle to worry about, no set up when park at camp site, easy to park anywhere randomly along the way, etc..). But they are VERY expensive. And I feel if that was my only vehicle, I would put probably at least 15k miles a year on it and lots of wear and tear (thus heavy depreciation). They are also smaller. I wish they were a bit less cluttered inside too.

15K/year is "nothing". Depreciation is related more to age and condition.

[lrodTucker]

I am a single late 40's 1st & Full Timer and i bought a Beast.
34ft. Chevrolet bounder w/ Gas 454 amutomatic and after putting about 500 miles on her on 2 different trips i wished i had gotton a Class
B, Big enough to tow my CR-V, but not a gas guzzing monster to mounuver in the mountains of
Western Virginia.
Also do your reserch on you-tube and here aswell and feel free to ask questions.
Thats what the group is here for is to help anyway we can.
Welcome 😎

[JamBand]

Originally Posted by lrodTucker

I am a single late 40's 1st & Full Timer and i bought a Beast.
34ft. Chevrolet bounder w/ Gas 454 amutomatic and after putting about 500 miles on her on 2 different trips i wished i had gotton a Class
B, Big enough to tow my CR-V, but not a gas guzzing monster to mounuver in the mountains of
Western Virginia.
Also do your reserch on you-tube and here aswell and feel free to ask questions.
Thats what the group is here for is to help anyway we can.
Welcome 😎

Thanks rodTucker for sharing your experiences. So you tow your CRV with your Class A bounder? You might not even need to tow the CRV with something like a Class B Roadtrek 170 van. Roadtrek 170 are small enough to work as every day vehicles on the road.

It is REALLY hard to choose a rig for a first time RV-er! And the it can cost you a lot of time and money if you make the wrong choice. I am thinking of starting out with a older Roadtreck if I can find a good deal on one. That way if it doesn't work out, I should be able to sell pretty quick because they are popular and not lose my shirt. But it is just REALLY hard to know up front what is going to work best for you. Renting first might help, but that is not cheap. And even if you rent for a week you might not know if something would work over a longer period of time. Unfortunately it seems like sometimes it takes trial and error. But trial and error can be huge drains on cash and time.

[lrodTucker]

Yeah i got a gr8 deal on the bounder from a older couple ready to retire to louisiana and did't need it anymore they said.
It came full of
80 gal. Gas
30lb. Propane
12 rolls new tp
Bed spread and body pillow/ queen bed.
All sort of plastic/paperware for eating utinsils.
About 6 bottle 1lb lp.
& lp habbotchi grill barley used maybe twice.
Its a 1990 model with right at 30,000 mls on the chassis.
All the manuels are like new.
So im gonna run her till she wont Bounce no moe.
Bouncing Bounder 🚙⏳☉🏅🏆⚀⚀🏳🏁

[okmunky]

Originally Posted by theoldwizard

Solar is nice, but expensive and not mandatory. A generator IS mandatory for boondocking, especially in the SW.

I'm going to disagree with you here, but I guess a lot depends on how you define expensive. There are portable folding solar panels that sit on the ground that can provide plenty of power for a single RVer.

https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Watts-...+solar+charger

Add 2 golf cart batteries and you have a decent power system for less than $500.

And a large inverter isn't essential. I've full timed for over 6 years without one and I boondock 7-8 months each year. My generator is seldom used. I dislike the noise.

I have set my coach up to live on 12 volt power. My TV, DVD player and chargers for phone, mobile hot spot and iPad are all 12 volt. I don't drink coffee or use a blow drier. I have a 150 watt inverter that I use with a portable fan, but there are plenty of 12v options there.

Also, when you consider the cost of a generator plus the fuel and the fuel you use going to buy fuel I bet you'll spend 2-3 times that much on generator provided power.

[okmunky]

Expecting little depreciation on an RV may not work out as the least expensive solution to trying RVing for a year. A lot will depend on your ability to fix what quits working. RV repair shops charge $110/hour and up for service.

I bought a new class C because I had never RVed and I am mostly clueless about automotive repair. As it turned out I wouldn't have needed that warranty, but my RV is the exception. My main motive for a motorhome was safety. I know that I can always drive away from a scary situation even tho I've never needed to do so.

[JamBand]

Originally Posted by okmunky

Expecting little depreciation on an RV may not work out as the least expensive solution to trying RVing for a year. A lot will depend on your ability to fix what quits working. RV repair shops charge $110/hour and up for service.

I bought a new class C because I had never RVed and I am mostly clueless about automotive repair. As it turned out I wouldn't have needed that warranty, but my RV is the exception. My main motive for a motorhome was safety. I know that I can always drive away from a scary situation even tho I've never needed to do so.

Hi Barb, thank you so much for the info. I have a bunch of questions:
-Have you had your Class C all 6 years you have RV'd?
-Do you tow a car behind your Class C?
-How old was the C when you bought it and mileage?
-How expensive have repairs been on the C over your 6 years?
-what do you think of the Class C vs. a pick up truck with a cap (or SUV or cargo van) pulling a small trailer?

Thanks!!!