deb siems
western washington
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In a recent post on depreciation, several talked about how the RV was a toy. Posted in the Full-time RVing section, I found that a little odd. We aren't full-timers ( I wish!), but we were back in the early 70's when we were married and pulled an Airstream trailer all over the country for work for 5 years. Never at that time did I think the rv was a toy. I thought of it as my home. It was where we lived every day in, where we entertained our friends, hosted family, dreamed and planned our life out, and even where we brought a baby home from the hospital. Every day we thought of it as home and didn't worry about a "depreciating asset".
So, my question to full-timers. Do you think of your rv as a toy?
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bobofthenorth
Somewhere in North America
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I posted that. RVs are toys in the sense that they are not appreciating assets. I also include boats and some vacation property in that category. If it appreciates its an asset - everything else is an expense. The fact that we live fulltime in our toy doesn't magically turn it into an asset.
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marvmarcy
Polson, MT, USA
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I've never met fulltimers, or even most serious part timers, that considered their rv a toy. We have learned through experience that a dpmh costs more to buy, to maintain, and to depreciate than a trailer. We also know some who consider their toy hauler or other rv as a toy just like the boat or atv they haul/drive around.
The difference in perspective can be explained many ways but usually doesn't need to be. We each have our perspective and understand it.
To answer your question: NO! It is home. We love sleeping in our own bed and having our familiar surroundings no matter when we are. I would never recommend fulltiming to anyone, but for those of us that like it, it is hard to explain to others. I guess it just gets in your blood or something like that.
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rolnhome
Pacific Northwest / Mexico
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bobofthenorth wrote:I posted that. RVs are toys in the sense that they are not appreciating assets. I also include boats and some vacation property in that category. If it appreciates its an asset - everything else is an expense. The fact that we live fulltime in our toy doesn't magically turn it into an asset.
What a sad way to look at things 
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SBSJMS
Somewhere in the Pacific NW
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Living in your RV full time without any other place of residence sure doesn't seem like a toy to me. It isn't appreciating in value, but it is paid for so is not an expense and its not a toy. We live in it, we don't use it for entertainment.
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DutchmenSport
Between Anderson, Pendleton, & Lapel, Indiana
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I think is a matter of what you use them for. For example, a computer is a tool because I use one at work. It's my job. I'm a software tester. A computer is a "toy" also, because I occasionally play games on it at home. The same is true for an RV. For some, they are "toys" and for others it's their "home." Others it's its a "hobby", especially for someone renovating a classic or something like that!
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Larryzv7
Fairfield, CA
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Generally speaking a toy is something that you play with, use for having fun, etc., and while some people have considered their car to be a toy, or their T.V., stereo, boat, or other luxury item, to be a toy; I have never, and will never think of my RV as a toy.
Some people use all of these purely economic terms like whether it appreciates or depreciates; well those terms never entered my mind until I started reading some of the posts on this website. The appreciation I find in my RV is greater than money; what I have gotten from my RV is invaluable and I am grateful that I do not go through life overly concerned about how I spend my money.
No I am not monetarily wealthy but I am wealthy in spirit, and when I look at the cost-benefit of my RV, there is no doubt that I have gotten much more from it than I paid for it, or that I might get for it when I sell it.
No, my RV is not a toy! Rather it is a means to and end; understanding that some have less expensive RV’s than others.
So I hope we don’t go down this road of appreciation/depreciation again any time soon.
* This post was
edited 10/31/09 10:44pm by Larryzv7 *
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Gale Hawkins
Murray, KY
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bobofthenorth wrote:I posted that. RVs are toys in the sense that they are not appreciating assets. I also include boats and some vacation property in that category. If it appreciates its an asset - everything else is an expense. The fact that we live fulltime in our toy doesn't magically turn it into an asset.
That makes sense in a financial sense. I had not thought about how much more expensive a MH vs. stick house could be due it to being a wasting asset vs. a gaining asset over the long haul.
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McZippie
USA
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toy
toy (toi) noun
1.An object for children to play with.
2.Something of little importance; a trifle.
3.An amusement; a pastime: thought of the business as a toy.
4.A small ornament; a bauble.
5.A diminutive thing or person.
6.A dog of a very small breed or of a variety smaller than the standard variety of its breed.
7.Scots. A loose covering for the head, formerly worn by women.
8.Chiefly Southern U.S.. A shooter marble.
noun, attributive.
Often used to modify another noun: a toy truck; a toy stove; a toy chest.
verb, intransitive
toyed, toy·ing, toys
1. To amuse oneself idly; trifle: a cat toying with a mouse.
2. To treat something casually or without seriousness: toyed with the idea of writing a
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tonyandkaren
pennsylvania
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Nope, not a toy for us. We consider it our home just as much as our sticks and bricks house was our home.
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