The mythical? $10,000 motorhome?

[Isaac-1]

We are always having people come in looking for a cheap motorhome, many times they show up asking about one money pit or another, that is not exactly what I am asking about here. Instead it seems we often end up giving advice saying a good older used motor home will cost $10,000 - $15,000. My question is, is this good advice? Can one actually buy motorhome (Class A, B or C) in this price range and have something that is fully functional, ready to go on a multi thousand mile trip without needing another $5,000+ worth of work. Or instead should we consider the $10,000 motorhome to be potentially economically repairable, often needing another $5,000+ for new tires, batteries, and maybe a bit of other work to be travel ready?


I know each of us defines travel ready differently, 6 months ago I bought my first Class A motorhome, a 15 year old Safari Trek which was located over a thousand miles away in Florida for just over $20,000. And while I did fly down and drive it back over a thousand miles right away with no major mechanical problems, I have also been spending $600+ per month fixing it up, either through maintenance items or upgrades and still have a ways to go. So for the sake of this topic, lets use the standard of roadworthy and reasonably functional, meaning you can drive it with worn out shocks, but not worn out tires, that the generator and fridge work, but maybe the dash air blows hot or similar...

[George Schweikle]

Hi Isaac-1,

Just for a data point, in 2009 we bought a 1999 Safari Trek to replace our 1995 Trek that had 137,000 miles. The '99 only had 52,000 miles, was in very good condition, and the price was too good to turn down. We began immediate use and only replaced tires. However, over the next 50,000 miles and 7 years, the usual maintenance, repairs and replacements have been needed.

[PanJH]

I purchased our first Class A for $5k, that was in 1995 or there abouts. We drove it for several years including two cross country trips from Florida to California and back and many times from FL to New England.
The only major issue I had was a leaking front seal on the tranny. Of course, normal maintenance,tires,etc. We sold it to a family and a few years later came across it i South Florida, still on the road and going strong.
So... yes there are reasonably priced units out there. I probably looked at 50 MH's before I decided on the one we bought. I looked for one in good condition that had been used frequently. I think that is the key, getting one that is exercised and used vs one that's been sitting in someones back yard unused

[Lifemember]

We bought a 1996 Damon with 35k miles and drove it 300 miles to get it home. I then took it in and had another 1,100 put in for ball joints and front tires. In the two years we have owned it I replaced shocks, rear tires, front air bags, rubber bushings, brake booster. Mechanical repairs less tires and shocks have cost me 1700.

[jleamo1]

Our first motorhome (31' class C) was 9 years old, needed a bunch of coach work, tires etc. The dealer had a list of everything wrong with it, which was nice. I picked it for $19,000 bought all of the parts and over two months had it all done ready for the season. I put another $6000.00 in parts and we ran that for 7 years 37,000 miles and with little problems, traded it on a DP. Still lost a few $$ but we had a lot of great memories with us and the kids. I guess if the structure is solid its not a problem, if it as water damage, then that's a different story.

[Hit_the_Rhod]

Let's divide repairs into two categories.

First, Scheduled, or expected Maintenance. In this category, I would put things like:

• Tires
• Batteries
• replacing that cracked windshield
• updating the interior
• replacing flooring
• upgrading to flat screen TV's

and the list goes on.

These items can be factored in when considering purchasing a used coach, and generally found during pre-purchase inspections, either by the potential purchaser, or by a professional inspector.

The Second type of repairs are unscheduled, or unexpected repairs. By their very nature they cannot be planned for, happen at inconvenient times, and inconvenient places, often incurring additional costs in lodging, changed trip planning, lost reservations, higher repair costs due to unfamiliar shops, possible price gouging etc.

The second type of repairs can become necessary on ANY coach, whether brand new, or used.

Can you find a "good" coach for $10,000 where a thorough inspecting reveals NO expected maintenance required after the initial purchase? By that I mean that you can feel confident that you can depart in a week for a cross country trip with no major expenses? Possible, but HIGHLY unlikely. Not impossible, but not very likely!

Can you purchase a brand new coach, or a "cream puff" and have the engine or transmission fail on the way home from the buyer? Yes, you can.

Bottom line, the answer to your question IMHO is "NOT LIKELY"!

If you put the bar up to $45,000, I would say unequivocally, that YES, you can purchase that coach, with required upgrades of less than $1,000 in order to be able to take off across country with no worries. I can say that because we did it.

Somewhere between $10,000 and $45,000 is the figure you should look to tell people in my opinion. I would narrow in the about the $35,000 range being more likely.

Hope this helps!

[NITEHAWK]

Bought our 1989 36' Foretravel for less than $20,000 ($5.00 less). It had 62,000 miles on it. Drove it from N Wis. to Tex/Mex border & back three times.
One set of new tires plus repair a blocked fuel line.
Rest was regular maintenance plus updates we desired but not needed.

[twinboat]

3 years ago I paid around 14,000 for a 1999 30 ft Class C. It had 16,000 miles on it and 6 hours on the generator.

It took me from PA to FL and back to NY, without any issues. While in NY, I replaced the calipers, due to rotted caliper piston boots.

The next round trip I did all 6 tires due to belt separation at 7 years and 8000 miles.

Sure it's a work in progress, with a bad overhead floor and upgrading many components and fixtures but being able to handle it all myself, it's not to costly. It just turned 40,000 miles and the generator has 479 hours today, as we head north again.

[Podivin]

I'd say you're in the ballpark with your $10k to $15k recommendation, but they'll have to look at lots of 'junk' to find a good one.
We bought our '96 Southwind in 2015 from a dealer, the out-the-door price was $13,300.

Everything worked with the exception of the dash air.
The tires were 2 years (fronts) and 3 years (rears) old.
It was reasonably clean and didn't stink (those were BIG things to us when shopping).

It was road worthy and campable (if that's a word), fully within your definition of 'ready to go'.

The only even sort of 'safety' thing that it needed was to replace all the shocks. It was a bit bouncy and the push from a semi was quite noticeable (though not scary). New shocks tamed the ride and turned a passing semi into a one-handed steering event.

I did do a full tune-up, brake inspection, coolant flush and fill - that sort of maintenance stuff. But I would have done those things to any used RV I bought, so in my mind those are not 'extra' costs simply because it was an older RV.

[Charlie 5320]

In the fall of 2015 I bought a 98 Daybreak that needed some TLC and the price reflected that. I cleaned it up and waxed it, came out looking real good. I replaced the shocks, tires, brakes and the motor on the HWH leveling system. It still needed a couple of the jacks rebuilt, but I told the guy that bought it that. He didn't care because the coach was really looking good, and reliable when he bought it. I sold it for $10500.00 and didn't make a lot but didn't lose either. He drove that coach to the west coast and back 4 days after he bought it, and didn't have a problem with it. I wanted a little newer coach and bought my Dolphin a couple months ago, it too needs some TLC but I also bought it right. It's a low mileage coach and already had some upgrades done. It's cleaning up real nice. Ya just have to be able to see the diamond in the ruff, and be able to tell them from the junk. There are plenty of those out there too. Most every coach that I looked at all needed tires. Their owners all say the tires look new, but most are over 10 years old. My Dolphin had the original tires on it, but the PO knew they were junk and took off what a new set of tires cost.

[Wbonsell]

In June of 2014, and before any thoughts of full timing, we picked up a 1994 34J Bounder with 3375 miles and totally remodeled with new vinyl, carpeting, window coverings and fridge. Paid $15,000 Only expense was new tires.

In November 2014 we took off to full time and spent the better part of 18 months traveling. Worked perfectly and no repairs needed. When we purchased our current coach, we gave the Bounder to our son. It now has over 13,000 miles and still doing well.

They're hard to find, but good coaches in the $10,000-$15,000 range out there.

[Sandy Swede]

I am happy for all those who posted above that they bought $10k to - $20K MH's and things worked out with minor problems. All good to hear, but please realize that what has been related is anecdotal. If you have no experience owning and/or repairing a MH and you come to this forum looking for advice on whether or not one can buy a $10K MH with none or few problems, what is the probability that said person will find such in the universe of MH's in that price range? Can it happen? Sure, but not likely. How many prospective purchasers will have the time and especially, the patience, to look over dozens of MH's? Perhaps the best argument to be made for buying a MH in the $10k to - $20K range is that, even if it is a total loss, most folks can survive the financial hit. Many think that, "Hey, what's the worst that could happen?" is a rhetorical question. It is not.

[4x4van]

Originally Posted by Podivin

I'd say you're in the ballpark with your $10k to $15k recommendation, but they'll have to look at lots of 'junk' to find a good one.

That is the key statement right there. Our first RV, a 1979 model purchased in 1989 for $12K, had everything we were looking for, but very high mileage (96K). We looked for a long time, and looked at a lot of junk in the $10-12K price range, and finally took the plunge. Drove it for 12 years without it ever missing a beat, including a non-stop (fuel stops only) roundtrip run from SoCal to northern Oregon and back. Our 2nd RV, a 1988 model purchased in 2001 for $18K, also had exactly what we were looking for for our next rig, with lower mileage (32K). 3 months after purchase, the trans went out (go figure) resulting in a $1200 repair bill, but other than that it was nearly bulletproof for 16 years, until just last year when we sold it to purchase our current ride; 2004 class A for $30K with 26K miles. Significantly higher price than our previous rigs, but a significant step up in size/amenities as well.

So yes, a decent starter RV (likely class C) CAN be had at the $10-15K price point, but you would, as said, have to filter through alot of junk to find it, and I probably wouldn't want to immediately head across the country with it first thing without putting some local miles on it to "feel it out" so to speak.

[Charlie 5320]

Originally Posted by Sandy Swede

I am happy for all those who posted above that they bought $10k to - $20K MH's and things worked out with minor problems. All good to hear, but please realize that what has been related is anecdotal. If you have no experience owning and/or repairing a MH and you come to this forum looking for advice on whether or not one can buy a $10K MH with none or few problems, what is the probability that said person will find such in the universe of MH's in that price range? Can it happen? Sure, but not likely. How many prospective purchasers will have the time and especially, the patience, to look over dozens of MH's? Perhaps the best argument to be made for buying a MH in the $10k to - $20K range is that, even if it is a total loss, most folks can survive the financial hit. Many think that, "Hey, what's the worst that could happen?" is a rhetorical question. It is not.

Same could be said for $30,000 coachs too. People tend to neglect them when life changes happen, then they don't sell until they've become rundown from sitting. A $30,000 coach will soon become a $10,000 coach if it has not been taken care of. How many do you see that have become dull and nasty looking ? Even some newer coachs have never see a coat of wax for a very long time.