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Old 02-14-2017, 04:04 PM   #1
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New to this site and RVing

New to RVing and have many questions so will just start with one. My wife and I are thinking about RVing full time and wintering in south Florida. We are both on social security and don't have any other retirement income. We are thinking of selling our house and should have about $25,000 equity to by a motorhome with. I've found a few motorhomes that are about 15 years old with less than 40,000 miles on them with gas engines and 35-36 feet long. Some of them are around $20,000. So my question is this: is that to old to be able to last us for quite some time. Even though we will be parked all winter long, we would like to travel east coast and west coast not all in one year but over several years. Probably spending summer months in mountain areas. So any advice you could give us would be greatly appreciated.
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Old 02-14-2017, 04:10 PM   #2
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Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

If you could find an older unit like that from an individual, AND you have the skill and physical ability to do most of the work yourself, then I think you would be fine!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!
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Old 02-14-2017, 04:11 PM   #3
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I am not the expert...I would definitely get a good inspection and then prepare for costs after. The older gas motorhomes had to work real hard to get down the road. Just be careful and expect failures..I will happen. I would keep some required parts on hand....belts, alternator, starter, etc... the gas big block Chevys had exhaust leak trouble/burnt manifolds. Fuel injected, electronic timing and temp control helped when it came out....I am old.
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Old 02-14-2017, 04:17 PM   #4
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Once you start hitting that 15 year age, you have to start worrying about a major mechanical item like the transmission or other drive-train item going bad.

I follow a few YouTube channels who bought that 15-20 year old Class A or C, that had transmission failures within the first few months of going full time. A lot of brake repairs too.
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Old 02-15-2017, 04:25 AM   #5
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It would be nice if you could find a MH similar to this one. They are out there if you hunt and look hard enough.
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f65/1993-...ed-321850.html

But yeah, if you're handy to do your own maintenance it is doable.
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Old 02-15-2017, 05:47 AM   #6
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Any motorhome you buy is going to require a certain amount of upkeep, those that are in the 15 year age range may simply have some deferred maintenance issues that have slipped through the cracks as 15 years is about the maximum life expectancy for many rubber parts that people don't tend to think about (suspension bushings, shock absorber end bushings, leaf spring shackles, rubber brake hoses, bump stops, etc.) Replacing all of these rubber parts can run a couple of thousand dollars not counting labor. Having said that, you can buy a 10 year old motorhome for about twice the price of an identical 15 year old motorhome and then have these issues to deal with over the next 5 years.

As to what you can find for your money, you should be able to find a high quality 15 year old gas Class A motorhome that has been well updated and in overall good condition for $25,000 it may however take some shopping to find the right one and to avoid the overpriced junk. I would also tend to say that there has not been a lot of fundamental change to class A gasoline powered motorhomes in the last 15 years, the newer ones may have more and bigger slides, and more bells and whistles, they will also have flat TV's instead of tube TV's, however many / most 15 year old models will have been updated to flat TV's, have nav systems, and modern backup camera added, etc. Engine / power train wise you will have either Chevy/Workhorse until its demise in 2009 or Ford, from 2001 onward you will find the 8.1L Vortec engine in the Workhorse platform or the 6.8L V10 in the Ford, although the newer Ford's will have an updated version of this same engine.

At your $25,000 price point you may be able to find a good deal on a 15-18 year old diesel pusher, although it might have to be one without slides. Motorhomes without slides generally have a much lower selling price than similar ones with slides even if they are the same vintage and had similar original selling prices. Overall my suggestion is to buy a quality built coach, quality tends to last, full body paint lasts longer than vinyl decal, real wood cabinets last longer than particle board, fiberglass or Aluminum roofs last longer than rubber ....
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Old 02-15-2017, 07:35 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ketilla View Post
New to RVing and have many questions so will just start with one. My wife and I are thinking about RVing full time and wintering in south Florida. We are both on social security and don't have any other retirement income. We are thinking of selling our house and should have about $25,000 equity to by a motorhome with. I've found a few motorhomes that are about 15 years old with less than 40,000 miles on them with gas engines and 35-36 feet long. Some of them are around $20,000. So my question is this: is that to old to be able to last us for quite some time. Even though we will be parked all winter long, we would like to travel east coast and west coast not all in one year but over several years. Probably spending summer months in mountain areas. So any advice you could give us would be greatly appreciated.
In 2012 wife and I bought a 33' 1998 National Dolphin 50K miles for cheap. We graduated from travel trailers to our first class A. We bought it as a "tester" to see what we would want in our future MH when we went full time.

It was a dependable vehicle and we learned a lot:
-The TV was replaced with a flat screen. The satellite system was ancient and hard to find parts for, even with the internet.
-The 8 cylinder gas engine was awful on hills. The longest trip we took was 42 days and that was from Florida to NC, IL and states in between. I was towing a car and it struggled on steep uphill grades. Most interstate hills were at 40-45 MPH max. At one point we could only manage 20MPH. This was with towing our CRV.
-Fuel MPG was 6-7

We are in our FT diesel rig now. No comparison on the hills. After driving both there is no way I could go back to gas.

If you are planning on driving mountainous areas, get a diesel.
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Old 02-15-2017, 12:24 PM   #8
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I have to ask which V-8 engine was this, I assume this was on a Chevy platform, as there is a big difference between the 230HP throttle body injected 454 used up util about 1997-98 vs the 290 HP Vortec 454 used until mid 2001 and the 340HP 8.1 Vortec used from 2001-2009.
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Old 02-15-2017, 12:58 PM   #9
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I have to ask which V-8 engine was this, I assume this was on a Chevy platform, as there is a big difference between the 230HP throttle body injected 454 used up util about 1997-98 vs the 290 HP Vortec 454 used until mid 2001 and the 340HP 8.1 Vortec used from 2001-2009.
Ford 7.5/460 if you were asking me.
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