Dear Joe and Vicki: Until now, our RVing experience has been limited to a folding tent trailer. Now that we’re about to retire, we’re thinking seriously about buying a larger trailer or motorhome. We have a few pretty good ideas about the costs of traveling and camping in an RV but were wondering if you could shed some light on the financial considerations when purchasing and owning a larger rig.
Joe: A lot of buyers, caught up in negotiating the purchase price of an RV, overlook the impact that sales tax and registration fees will have on the bottom line of their payment contract. Together, these two items can add as much as 10 percent to the purchase price.
Insurance is another immediate expense. State law and, most likely, the finance company will require liability and collision insurance. At some point, most RVers also will acquire some sort of roadside assistance or towing insurance.
Then there are the necessary equipment purchases. Trailer owners may have to purchase a tow vehicle equipped with the proper hitch and towing apparatus. Motorhome owners who intend to tow a car will have to equip both their car and RV for towing.
Additional post-purchase hardware will likely include stabilizing jacks for trailers and perhaps a king-pin stabilizer for fifth-wheel trailers. Owners of both motorized and towable RVs will eventually acquire leveling blocks to ensure level parking, wheel chocks to keep their RV in place and jack pads to keep their leveling jacks from sinking into soft ground or pavement.
Seemingly unnecessary but inevitable purchases include utility-connection equipment. New RVs usually come with the basics, but you’ll find (or invent) a need for extra lengths of water hose, sewer hose, electric power cord, cable-TV cord, phone-hookup cord and an assortment of connectors and adaptors for all of them. Some kind of water filter is usually purchased as well.
Eventually, you’ll also end up buying optional necessities like folding chairs and table(s), an outside door mat or patio-size mat, a portable grill, vent covers, a stepladder, storage boxes for outside cabinets, cleaning and maintenance supplies, and an assortment of tools, gauges and meters. Motorhome owners may want a windshield shade or cover to protect their interior from the sun. And who knows when you’ll discover that you’re the only camper in the park without a satellite TV antenna?
Vicki: You’d think it would be easy to control the expense of furnishing the RV’s interior. But you just bought a new RV and you’ll probably feel compelled to buy new towels, bedding, linens, food-preparation and eating utensils, throw rugs, pillows and other decorator items. To this you’ll add a vacuum cleaner, portable electric heater and electric fan. Some items may have been overlooked, but you get the picture.
The expense of renting a storage site for the RV will add to the budget if it’s not possible or desirable to park the rig at home.
RV maintenance and repair can be expensive. The good news is that routine maintenance is easy to figure. Your RV’s owner’s manual will provide the intervals for oil and filter changes, lubrication and periodic mechanical adjustments and replacements.
Also, the manufacturer’s warranty should handle any defects you identify during the warranty period. But eventually the need for repairs arises. An RV is basically a house on wheels that’s being subjected to a moderate earthquake as it travels the highways. Things can shake loose; stuff can break. And then there are the stealth obstacles (attack trees, hidden curbs and the like) that simply wait for an opportunity to inflict damage to the exterior of a rig. Last but not least are the occasional malfunctions, mechanical and otherwise, that occur with any vehicle. Repairs happen.
Tires wear out, and, even if they don’t, tire experts recommend replacing RV tires by the time they’ve reached seven years of age. It’s the fortunate but rare RVer who hasn’t experienced a flat tire or tire failure (or two) during a trip.
RV appliances, just like household appliances, don’t last forever. If you doubt that statement, take a look at the space that RV parts and accessory catalogs devote to selling replacement refrigerators, microwave ovens and other appliances.
So, yes, there are significant financial considerations when you purchase and own an RV. And a larger RV will probably involve more expensive considerations than a smaller one. But then, you were going to spend that money somehow, weren’t you?
Got a Question?
Send your nontechnical RV-lifestyle questions to RV Insight, Highways, P.O. Box 8545, Ventura, California 93002 or to
highways@goodsamclub.com.
Buyers Be Ready
Thinking about buying a new rig? Before going to the dealership, download Joe and Vicki Kieva’s e-book RV Buyer’s Homework, which walks you through the process of choosing the best RV for your needs, selecting the right floor plans and features, determining the RV’s cargo-carrying and towing capacities and evaluating its livability. Also included are tips on how to conduct the all-important predelivery inspection. To learn more, visit the Kievas’ website,
www.rvknowhow.com.
Another great place to do your RV-buying homework is the Trailer Life RV Buyer’s Guide. The annual guide contains photos, floor plans and specs for more than 400 new RVs. Printed editions can be ordered for $6.99 at
www.rvbg.com or by calling 800-309-0311.