Motor-Home Hacking

Anyone got any advice on these? As with all else prices have come down some since early covid, but curios if anyone here is into RVs.

Fam has a ~2005 Ford they’re looking to switch out of into something newer, but I don’t know much about this space.

Fyi New RVs arent covered under lemon law

Wasn’t going to go “new” new anyway, something lightly used that would be new to them (unless there’s some mystery lease benefits/programs on RVs)

They had the cat converter stolen off the bottom of the current one which was the cherry on top of the other issues this one had, so they are looking at other options.

Your timing seems to be right:

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Drove pass 3 general RVs recently, I am shocked how many RVs are on the lot…
I feel like next year there might be some good deals on them…

Rent these over and over before you buy… they are unbelievably low quality.

We bought a travel trailer in early '20 and it’s falling apart but luckily we paid $26k not the $59k they are asking these days for the same model.

Agree with @darksky the timing is good to buy next year, but buyer beware even at fire sale prices.

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Two best days of owning an RV are the day you buy it, and the day it goes missing and is presumably being used to start a blue rock candy empire.

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Truth! Took mine out last week and electrical issues. 2021 model :cry:

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That doesn’t mean there is no warranty, or that you can’t take legal action.

Friends of my parents spent somewhere somewhere in the $300k range on a new one, and on the first trip a mechanical problem stranded the vehicle somewhere in New Mexico for almost a month while they waited for a part.

I don’t remember many other details, but after a couple of other outrageous episodes in the first ~18 months, they (or rather, their lawyer) compelled the manufacturer to buy it back.

Interesting, Must be unrepairable then, Steve Lehto says that as long as they can repair it, you are SOL if it breaks and breaks again

Nothing is unrepairable unless it’s suffered substantial damage in an accident or natural disaster or something similar.

Or there’s some critical part that’s no longer available.

This thing just had a string of massive problems that began on the first trip.

Lemon laws on passenger vehicles make it easier and offer a more streamlined process to recoup losses.

And of course hiring a lawyer at their own expense was worth it for a $300k product. This wouldn’t be true at every price point.

My dad this summer picked up a 1999 36ft for $20k. He’s pretty handy to be able to address things that need fixing which have been minor and other than the decor (and the current price of diesel) it was an incredible deal for the money and there were a few motivated sellers across the spectrum of the used market.

The play might be buying further down the depreciation curve.

And being able to do your own labor.

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There are dealers selling these at invoice, then they are working with states like Delaware or Montana to get your sales taxes to zero.

My family had an RV growing up and I promised myself I’d never get one, because unless you truly enjoy fixing mechanical things you’ll never use it. My dad is an engineer and gets off on that stuff, even making improvements to the original design.

I picked up the RV up with my dad when I was 12, flying from CA or OR. Finding Nemo was just put out on DVD, and as the movie ended about about two hours down the highway headed home, something broke on front right suspension.

And don’t even get me started on that family trip to CO when our coolant tank melted.

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Ok so they sued directly instead of under Lemon Law.

I was just warning OP that if things go south in a RV, you can’t say it’s a lemon and walk away like a new car.

Gotta work it and work it hard to get anywhere.

Think about how often stuff breaks in your own home.

Now imagine rolling your home down the road at 75-80, and the vibrations and whatnot that come from that. That’s not all though, pressure changes from altitude and frame flex, etc.

Personally I’d never buy an RV unless I was actually going to live in it full time. The juice isn’t worth the squeeze otherwise.

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My parents bought a brand new 30’ class c in 2005 when I was a kid. We have certainly had issues with it, but those few issues have been well worth the memories that were made with it. If you are mechanically inclined, owning an RV is no big deal (imo). If you’re not, then be prepared to spend money to fix it and maintain it. Personally, I’d only buy an RV if you are ready to fix it, whether it be right when you drive it off the lot or years down the road if you’re lucky.

As far as hacking goes, I’d say we should definitely start seeing some deals in the coming year as inventory catches back up.

100%… Not to mention the insurance policies people pay for these things on top of everything else.

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I don’t know if they ever filed suit; I just know that they hired a lawyer and ended up with all of their money back.

They’re not that crazy. My dad pays less for his RV than I pay for any of the 4xe’s