Talk me out of it...

Well the wife has wanted a motor home since we got our fifth wheel. We went to a RV show today and looked and I actually like the diesel jayco Seneca better than most of the class A's. I definitely can't afford the one I like more. Regardless I was pretty taken aback by how much I liked it. I knew the wife would. My thought is to sell my 2015 Denali dually and the road warrior and get the Seneca. I can find them online for around $150 new so I'd have some gap to cover but not an incredible amount. What am I missing guys. Why should I not do this. There is a retirement construction auction in a couple weeks and my dad is going to buy a new grader and hey have a 2015 motorhome with no reserve. We called the auction and they said so far no one has called even interested in it. I might be able to get it for pretty cheap...

Confused...
Nick


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Are you full timing? If so, how would you go to dinner...to the store...etc, without having to break down camp every time you wan to do something?

...or are you going to purchase a small "Toad" to pull behind the motorhome?

If motorhome has an issue, you loose both your home and your transpiration. With a 5th and truck, you normally have 1 still available.

I like motorhomes, but it just seems like a lot of space is missing due to lost height and cab of motorhome isn't really useful once parked.

We were close to getting a motorhome, but without buying a diesel pusher, the tow limit was 5k. That limited what vehicle we could tow and I wouldn't be able to get my dirtbikes loaded.

We aren't fulltiming. We usually camp 15 weekends or so a year and sometime a week here or there. I use the toyhauler to haul my SxS. I would setup one of my vehicles to pull behind for city camping trips for transportation and just use a small trailer I have for my Offroad trips.


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Well I've been in that position many times. You sound really eager to do something you might not be ready to do. If the time is right it will happen.
If it were me I would wait until you find the right RV at the right time. I wouldn't want to end up with a 100K or 150K motor home sitting on the side of my house.
Also If you sell your truck, you will no longer have a multi purpose truck. you'll just have a one use motor home. More Insurance cost, more registration cost,

Hope this helps

Look at the cost to insure it. Also if you use your truck as a daily ride then you would need to replace it. Don't be in a hurry to make a decision.
Don

After 8 winters in the SW as a snowbird, and going to coffee in the morning with a fairly large group, one thing I learned is the cost of ownership of motorhomes is a lot more than a pickup and trailer. Routine service for a diesel motorhome at Freightliner or other big rig shop is very expensive. If they have propane they pay a lot more to have a mobile guy fill their on board tank. If they have an Aqua Hot system they are expensive to maintain. They have more complex systems. Tires are pricey and age out just like trailer tires do. Fuel mileage??? The list goes on and on.

With cab forward, you are the first one at a wreck. The Super C's would be better that way.

I have had the urge to buy one a few times, but know that I do not have the money to afford one.

Chris

Insurance is a valid point... I need to look into this. I'm going to replace the truck with a used jeep or a half ton truck. But it wouldn't be a $60k vehicle because I don't need that anymore. I figured a $25k replacement budget on a vehicle for me would get me something comfortable that isn't going to break the bank. The propane tanks looked just like mine I have now. They were on the passenger side. I will look into the aqua hot. Didn't know anything about that. What kind of maintenance is a truck of this age going to have??? I figured just oil changes for quite a while due to it being a new diesel. I know tires would be more expensive over time.

What else you guys got? Good stuff so far.


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Will she drive too?

Replacement values. You could up grade your 5er at some point and still run the truck. Or vers visa. Motor home is all one shot. I know you can't go get tires for it at discount tire, or let alone have them check the air pressure. So you limit your self there. I think it's a tuff call. For me the registration cost and maintenance turn me off ATM. When I get close to closing in on retirement. My view may change.

Before we bought our Bighorn, we were actually in the market for a Class A. We had previously owned a motor home at one time, and had also had a TT for a while. We liked the convenience of the motor home, but realized that we would take a HUGE hit on the resale later on due to depreciation. Also our past experience taught us that maintenance on the MH was much more expensive generally than on a truck and trailer combo. I find there is more actual living room in our fifth than in most motor homes, but that depends a lot on what floor plan, model, etc. you are looking at; no matter which way you go. So far, we feel that we did the right thing with the truck and fifth wheel, and we are pretty confident that we will have no problem selling either or both in our local area when the time comes to park it for good. Class A's seem to take a little longer to sell. If you can find a good used Class A at a price you like, you might not do too badly on the resale later.

When we looked at the MH's before we finally joined the Heartland family, in addition to the points raised above, my main concern was the cargo carrying capacity. Since we full-time, this is important to us. The MH's seemed more limited in that category, maybe because of everything has to be loaded on the suspension. Now, passengers, fuel, and other sundry cargo is carried by the truck and, while that weight needs to be accounted for, it doesn't load down the rigs suspension. Just my "2 cents worth," YMMV. Lou

Have you looked at where the television is in most of the motor homes? Class A or C they put them up high, or high and behind the kitchen. Think about your neck. Several in our local club have class A's. The switched from a fifth wheel when they got to an age that setting up became difficult for them. They miss their fifth wheel. That being said, they don't travel very far any more and camp for three to four days max at a time. The cost of an oil change, filters, etc. is reason enough to take a good look before you jump. They take gallons and gallon of oil.

The campground we worked at last summer had a bunch of class A's come in a couple of times. They were attending a FMCA rally and used the campground for their pre & post "rally". Most of them were seniors, and I heard several of them say that if they were younger, they'd sell their class A, & get a 5er. Didn't get a chance to talk to any of them to find out why, but like has been said above, higher insurance, maintenance cost, higher repair bills, and the list goes on. Another thing to think about is that cars & pick-ups have crash standards to adhere to, where the class A's don't. From what I've been told all you have to protect you in an accident is wood, and light metal. I've heard of them being sideswiped, and having the side pealed back like a banana, with the driver or co-pilot (if they didn't get taken with the side) sitting out in the open air. Have you priced just replacing the tires? I looked at a higher end MH last summer, not looking to buy, just looking. Got to nosing around in the basement compartments, & found it had 10, car type batteries on it. Couldn't figure out why it had that many, but it did!

Consider fuel costs. A good friend of mine has a class A and said he only gets 6-8 mpg. I get between 11 & 12 in my truck.

Just remembered a story a friend told me about his sister's MH he had to drive from Florida to Kansas City a few years ago. Don't remember what kind it was, think it was a gasser, but it was a class A. He said he had to fight it all the time to keep it on the road, especially when passed by an oncoming semi. When he saw one coming he'd start hugging the centerline to keep from being blown off the road, and then fight it until the wind & it settled down. Also when going over a bridge if the pavement & bridge didn't match & there was a hump that also caused some problems. Don't know if the rear axels were too far forward or to the rear or what the problem was. This wasn't an old rig either if I remember right his sister & BIL bought it new.

Think I'll just stick to my fifth wheel!

Just to clarify. The unit we are looking at is a super c not a class a. It's on a freightliner chassis (air ride) with a Cummings 6.7 (same as new dodge truck engine). I'd be way more protected I would think in the front seats than in my own truck. From what I've been told from browsing their forums, 8-12mpg is what they are averaging. That's what I get now in my truck while towing. I will price the service and tires tomorrow.


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We traveled with very good friends for many years that upgraded their TT and went to a high end MH for convenience. It was BEAUTIFUL and really nice to be in, but she had half the kitchen prep area I did and it drove her crazy. The batteries were a once a year replacement, the washer dryer either was leaking or not working and OH did I tell you about the front window popping out twice?? All of her maintenance costs were very high..they eventually sold it when her husband refused to go anymore because it was either too much work to maneuver or too much work to maintain. They had been rv users for over 30 years. They traveled across country 3 or 4 times and she said they never got more than 6 mpg. Towed a jeep

just saw your msg regarding the super c class. The Seneca has had our eyes for a long time- but for where we go and what we do, the 5er and truck work much better. Good luck on your decision.

We had some church friends that had a motor home, and sold it for a bumper pull trailer. They said they had to drive the motorhome monthly, whether they were going somewhere or not, just to maintain it. It was not worth the extra maintenance in their eyes.


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olcoon said:

Just remembered a story a friend told me about his sister's MH he had to drive from Florida to Kansas City a few years ago. Don't remember what kind it was, think it was a gasser, but it was a class A. He said he had to fight it all the time to keep it on the road, especially when passed by an oncoming semi. When he saw one coming he'd start hugging the centerline to keep from being blown off the road, and then fight it until the wind & it settled down. Also when going over a bridge if the pavement & bridge didn't match & there was a hump that also caused some problems. Don't know if the rear axels were too far forward or to the rear or what the problem was. This wasn't an old rig either if I remember right his sister & BIL bought it new.

Think I'll just stick to my fifth wheel!

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Had the problem with my old class C. D*m near got killed coming out of San Diego. Road dipped badly and was being passed on the right by a large semi and unknown to me while counter steering over a half turn a big buss came and started to pass me on the left. It almost pushed me into the big rig. Don't know how I didn't run into him. Had to be a few inches at best. I told this to a friend who had a class A. He told me he had the same problem until he added a Safety Steering system. Purchased it at Camping World. It was a spring loading that added 200lb to the steering wheels. Then added Firestone air bags to fix the rear droop. Cured the problem. After I could drive with a finger on the wheel and not have a problem, but didn't.

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TravelTiger said:

We had some church friends that had a motor home, and sold it for a bumper pull trailer. They said they had to drive the motorhome monthly, whether they were going somewhere or not, just to maintain it. It was not worth the extra maintenance in their eyes.


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Click to expand...

Had to do the same with the class C. Go to the storage facility, uncover the wheels, connect the batteries, start it up, run it till it warmed up, put it in drive and run it around for a few miles and put it back into storage. Then start the generator and load it down for twenty minuets. Then disconnect the batteries and lock it up. Every month we did not use it. Not so with the fifth wheel.

My dad just traded for a diesel pusher. He tows the Jeep behind it. So far- it's nice. He likes the coach a lot. But, he has three long slides down each side. Every time he gets into the basement he has to bend over and crawl under the slides. He has slide out trays that help, they aren't under all compartments. Also, he lost the nice reclining chairs that face the tv. So many of the coaches lack the entertainment area and the seating is odd. I think it's due to the traveling aspect for passengers. They also said its loud going down the road. So far they have bubble wrapped nearly everything in the cabinets and drawers. Then there is the kitchen oddities. Because the kitchen is in the slide, the place where you would put your feet to stand at the sink is angled up for the slide. Total tripping hazard. They found one where the sink is on an angle and this isn't a problem, but it was hard to find. Other coaches are getting away from propane be using residential fridge, induction cook tops, aqua hot, and convection ovens. That's part of why they put 10 batteries and one massive control center for all the electrical. He also is an electrical hog- pulling 60 amps with three AC's and accessories running. He has a shed system that starts turning things off when power is limited. Neat feature, but tells you how much power they use for everything. I'm not trying to be harsh, but I can tell he's having a hard time adjusting.

On the other hand, they love all the features, towing capacity, comfort, and overall build. He doesn't miss driving the dually one bit.


Carleen
2011 Ford F-350 6.7
2011 Big Horn 3585RL