Don’t spend a lot of money on your first RV
Several years ago, we started on our RV adventure. We weren’t sure if we would really use one, and we didn’t want to spend a lot of money for it to sit in the backyard and not be used. We are a family of scouts, so we like camping, but we just didn’t know if we had the time to actually use one. So instead of buying an expensive new one, we bought a used one for $2000. Yes, it was 20 years old, but it had a slide out and it was roomy enough. From my calculations, we only needed to use it about 4 times to pay for a cabin for 4 weekends to get a return on our investment. So we went to local lakes and campgrounds with family and friends over a couple of years. We discovered that we did use it, at least once a month from April until September.
What we also discovered were the things we didn’t like about it. After a couple of years, we decided it was time to buy something newer that we could get paid off before we decided to retire and use it to travel across the country.
Our short list of must-haves was created based on our experience with the $2,000 one.
1. A pantry (our last one, we had to convert ½ of the closet into a pantry)
2. Large shower (our last one had a small raised bathtub/shower that you had to duck to take a shower)
3. Be able to walk around the bed (our last one you kind of just crawled into the bed from the steps)
4. Two recliners (our last one only had one recliner and guess who got that one?)
5. Television must be close to the recliners (not sure why this was a requirement as we rarely use the TV while camping, except when it is raining or a football game is on).
6. No longer than 30 feet, so we could easily pull it and fit in most all national and state park campgrounds.
After going to multiple RV shows and becoming discouraged, we had almost decided that we were not going to find our complete wish list. But we held out, determined not to settle, since this was going to be our retirement RV. It paid off and we finally found the RV we were looking for just a few blocks from our house no less.
So now I introduce to you our Travel Bug (yes we named our RV, but that’s a story for another time)!
Before you spend a lot of money on an RV:
1. Make sure that you are going to use it. Buy used and cheap if you are not sure and try it out a while to make sure it doesn’t just sit in the driveway. Better to waste $2000 instead of $20,000 or more!
2. Use the time you have using the cheap used one you bought to figure out what you do and don’t like about it, and make a list of your absolutely must-haves.
3. Don’t settle, get what you need and want. There are all models and cost ranges out there, so find one that fits your lifestyle and needs.