Full timing is NOT cheap!

[shootist]

I guess everyone forgot the white elephant in the room because of covid and a few rounds of inflation. Depreciation is a large part of an RV. A house can literally be eaten apart and still appreciates. We've all been blessed these last couple of years with used coaches holding their values. I may go a little overboard on maintenance as doing it myself makes it seem cheap. Being handy I usually get invites to stay free for the winter in some of the best western towns for rvrs , it does require being helpful though. I do get a little wearied at repairs but they seem trite once they're fixed. I don't know if I could stay with it if I had to go in and wait for repairs. It's time consuming enough doing them at my own leisure. It's not cheap, but for me anyway, cheaper than renting and a rewarding life. I do get the urge to settle into a house but I just wouldn't know where I would be content.

[followingsea]

Originally Posted by shootist

..... Depreciation is a large part of an RV. A house can literally be eaten apart and still appreciates. .....

My life style choices are based enjoyment not investment value.

The return on new sail I bought last year is zero. If I did not have the cash, I would kept the old sailing going.

I did use cash from my IRA to buy a nicer MH, a summer RV lot and a house for a winter base. Not having bills keeps the cost down.

As other have said, it does not matter if you are full time.

[Bobertgoes]

He might be getting super cheapo radiators put in, no knowledge of cars can precipitate the mechanic installing cheap parts. Some mechanics are honest, some are not.

So, if you had a house and a regular job you drove to every day... After 7 years of driving how much do you think auto repairs would add up to?
That same house will cost you $1,000 per year just to replace the roof every 20 years (or 500/year bc every roof is different).
That same house will have lots of other expenses attached including the cost to keep up the yard maintenance.

You are at a little over $1,000 per year average. That is not expensive. Expensive is a radiator that only last a few years, or batteries that have a shortened life.

[Bobertgoes]

Originally Posted by darrellr

For anyone saying that owning a regular home is not cheap either, you need to consider that in most cases a regular home will appreciate in value and will typically overcome the cost of maintenance. A motor home/RV, in most cases, will quickly and deeply depreciate. Like of like renting a home, you may not have anything when you are done with it to show for your money (memories, enjoyment, etc., notwithstanding).

Did you include inflation in your "increase in value" calculation. Not the number of dollars the house cost 20 years ago compared to the number now, but the adjusted for inflation dollar value. Everything cost more dollars because the dollar loses value constantly, but the true cost might stay the same.
Unless your area becomes more valuable then your house really does not go up in value, the dollar just loses value so more bills are needed to buy the same value house.
A house is land, parts, then the actual cost of labor for guys to build it. Construction workers get about the same income as always - not the numbers, but the relative income level.
Yes, a vehicle almost always loses value because the more miles means the closer to death the trans and engine are, the closer the electrical system is to being too worn out to fix anymore.... RVs will always hold some level of miinimal value because the motors and trans can be replaced as can everything.
Where I live a pick up truck is worth $1,000. One that runs is worth double that. Always some value in everything.

[darrellr]

Originally Posted by Bobertgoes

Did you include inflation in your "increase in value" calculation. Not the number of dollars the house cost 20 years ago compared to the number now, but the adjusted for inflation dollar value. Everything cost more dollars because the dollar loses value constantly, but the true cost might stay the same.
Unless your area becomes more valuable then your house really does not go up in value, the dollar just loses value so more bills are needed to buy the same value house.
A house is land, parts, then the actual cost of labor for guys to build it. Construction workers get about the same income as always - not the numbers, but the relative income level.
Yes, a vehicle almost always loses value because the more miles means the closer to death the trans and engine are, the closer the electrical system is to being too worn out to fix anymore.... RVs will always hold some level of miinimal value because the motors and trans can be replaced as can everything.
Where I live a pick up truck is worth $1,000. One that runs is worth double that. Always some value in everything.

I don't have to. The RV will be subject to inflation as well, just not over as long of a lifetime. Housing, with some exceptions, will outpace inflation over the long term. But nothing will help the 25-50% drop in value your RV has after you drive it or pull it off the lot.

[paul65k]

Originally Posted by shootist

I guess everyone forgot the white elephant in the room because of covid and a few rounds of inflation. Depreciation is a large part of an RV. A house can literally be eaten apart and still appreciates. We've all been blessed these last couple of years with used coaches holding their values. I may go a little overboard on maintenance as doing it myself makes it seem cheap. Being handy I usually get invites to stay free for the winter in some of the best western towns for rvrs , it does require being helpful though. I do get a little wearied at repairs but they seem trite once they're fixed. I don't know if I could stay with it if I had to go in and wait for repairs. It's time consuming enough doing them at my own leisure. It's not cheap, but for me anyway, cheaper than renting and a rewarding life. I do get the urge to settle into a house but I just wouldn't know where I would be content.

50K is very doable if you own everything outright. We elected to buy a little older RV, spend a year modernizing it, and added solar with lithium batteries, dual inverters, etc... so all told we have about 60K in a better than when it was new (>$300K), high-end pusher that works very well for us.

I LOVE to cook but we certainly don't pass up a great place to eat if we happen to be somewhere special. We do a lot of boondocking and also utilize Elks Lodge parking and National Park Access pass for "Fill and Dump" occasions but we chase the weather and look for cool (Actually and figuratively) and run our generator less than 75 hours a year.

I budget $4K a year for maintenance and insurance and we maintain a reserve (savings) to handle anything outside of regular maintenance. We also shop at Walmart as it's cheap but more importantly convenient in most locations.... and also maintain a Costco membership which also allows us to save $$ but we certainly have to be careful with what we purchase but.... you can't beat the $1.50 hot dogs and $4.99 roasted chicken

The most important thing is to just get out there and enjoy yourselves, you'll figure it out as you go....everyone before you had to do it too

[Denie]

Originally Posted by darrellr

But nothing will help the 25-50% drop in value your RV has after you drive it or pull it off the lot.

RV's do not drop in value up to 50% the minute you drive off the lot. Our 2012 Jayco Seneca sells now for well over $100K and we paid $160K. One here for sale is much more.
https://www.rvtrader.com/2012-Jayco-...ar=2012%3A2012

[paul65k]

Originally Posted by Denie

RV's do not drop in value up to 50% the minute you drive off the lot. Our 2012 Jayco Seneca sells now for well over $100K and we paid $160K. One here for sale is much more.
https://www.rvtrader.com/2012-Jayco-...ar=2012%3A2012

They certainly do if you buy from Camping world....... Just sayin'