Should we Rent or Buy an RV?

[boulter]

Our family (my wife, 3 kids, 11, 8 and 3) is planning a month long vacation this summer. We're going to hit the midwest including the Dakotas, Yellowstone, Glacier NP, some of Utah, Colorado and as many other places we can fit in.

We rented a Class C RV in Alaska for 2 weeks a few years ago and had a great time. My wife grew up camping with a pop-up trailer.

Looking at the cost of renting, it seems like buying would cost about the same. I got quotes from about 10 different rental companies and the average is about $288/night with all the miles, taxes and fees included. $288*30 = $8,640.

If we buy a $60-70k used RV, the costs look similar. $4k in sales tax, $1k in excise tax, $1200 for insurance, $3k in depreciation plus some more for maintenance and registration. We have a place to store it at no cost. The cost of flying out to say Minneapolis and renting is about the same as driving there from Boston if you include gas, food and campground fees. My wife and kids have the time to drive out, so that's not an issue.

We like small class As (under 33') especially if they have a bunkhouse so we don't have to break down the kids' beds every night and it gives us extra room. We went to an RV show a few weekends ago and liked the Thor ACE, but reading up, it sounds like a lot of people have had quality issues with them. We’re looking more towards a Winnebago Vista or Intent.

If we bought an RV in the next few months, we'd probably take it for a test run for a couple weekends before our big trip. After that, I'm not sure if we'd want to keep it or sell it.

Are my numbers in the right ballpark for a used unit? If we own it just for the summer, is it worth the hassle?

Thanks for your thoughts.

[2gypsies1]

Wow! Impressed that the OP returned with an update after 8 months. Thanks!! Wish more would do this. We always wonder what the outcome was. Sounds like a perfect trip for you!!

[boulter]

I just wanted to follow up and say thanks. We ended up renting a 2019 Thor Chateau 28Z from a local place in Denver and we had a great time. We visited 12 National Parks and a bunch of National Monuments over 32 days and 5200 miles. It wasn't cheap, but it sure was nice to just drop off the RV at the end and be done with it.

Maybe we'll do another big trip in a couple years. Thanks, everyone!

[Bumpyroad]

patchelect wrote:
! Unless the OP has long term plans of camping with this specific camper, from what I see the logical route is rental. All the spreadsheets in the world couldn't convince me otherwise. !

the main advantage of a spread sheet is that you can skew the results to come up with what you want to do. want to rent, slant it that way, want to buy, slant it that way.
bumpy

[patchelect]

Day late and dollar short, but from my standpoint renting is a fixed expense with the entire repair issue being on the renters head. Buying adds the potential cost of repairs to the unknown. Granted, the vehicle may be trouble free and need nothing in the course of ownership but the big IF is that statement is an unknown. Rationalizing a camper of any sort is like rationalizing boat ownership, and I've owned a few of them! Unless the OP has long term plans of camping with this specific camper, from what I see the logical route is rental. All the spreadsheets in the world couldn't convince me otherwise. At the moment I'm still an outsider with ideas for camping but from what I have determined with my limited decision making process is that we will never be buying as long as the appropriate rentals are available. The upfront and ownership costs are far too high to consider it. The OP is talking almost like this is a one time 30 day vacation with limited likelihood of being repeated. I say bite the bullet, spring for the rental, and drive on, knowing the owner will be responsible for breakage and breakdowns. There's a good number of suitable vehicles available on RVShare.com that can be rented and returned with no concern for depreciation, selling, or repairs, spreadsheets be damned!

[Bumpyroad]

toedtoes wrote:


Personally, I'd rent and spend my time planning the actual trip than worrying over buying and selling a large item I only want to use once.

yep, a lot of fussing around about something that basically he has no control over.
bumpy

[toedtoes]

Bumpyroad wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
^ Drop the price or hang onto it.
It’s not going to rust to death in one year sitting on the lawn, especially if you’re selling it.

folks here fuss about lot rot.
bumpy

My comment had nothing to do with rot. I was pointing out that the loss of interest on the money used to buy, the insurance, etc., will continue to increase the longer it takes to sell. Finding that "breaking even point" on outgoing money versus what you will make back is important if you are looking at this as an investment/cost effectiveness purchase rather than an "I want an RV" purchase.

The OP is calculating using a set time of ownership. That's not realistic - the RV may not get any lookers for months or it may only get offers at a significantly lower price than calculated. If he's going to do all this work to determine the value of buying over renting, then he should include those variables and determine what the lowest he can sell it for and the longest he can wait out for the price he wants to get.

Personally, I'd rent and spend my time planning the actual trip than worrying over buying and selling a large item I only want to use once.

[Bumpyroad]

Grit dog wrote:
^ Drop the price or hang onto it.
It’s not going to rust to death in one year sitting on the lawn, especially if you’re selling it.

folks here fuss about lot rot.
bumpy

[Grit_dog]

^ Drop the price or hang onto it.
It’s not going to rust to death in one year sitting on the lawn, especially if you’re selling it.

[toedtoes]

boulter wrote:

toedtoes wrote:

I would also include in the spreadsheet, the "cost of ownership" in monthly breakdowns. Include loss interest on the purchase cost, insurance, etc.

My spreadsheet assumes a full year of ownership - buying and selling at high season. If I sell it before then, I'll save me more money I guess.

What if it doesn't sell at or before the one year mark?

[boulter]

Matt_Colie wrote:
Boulter,

Ok with the storage, but a word of warning, do not store the coach over open soil. Ask anybody you know that has looked at a "field car" the top may look great, but the bottom is GONE. This is because moisture transpires out of the soil and continuously collects on the metal. It's as worse that a 50 hr salt spray test.

That's good to know. We were going to put down some crushed stone to level out the area and keep it from getting muddy, but are you suggesting it should be on a concrete pad, even for just one winter at worst?

Matt_Colie wrote:


I seldom see such a rational approach to RV ownership and this is
pleasant.

Ha, thanks!

[boulter]

toedtoes wrote:

I would also include in the spreadsheet, the "cost of ownership" in monthly breakdowns. Include loss interest on the purchase cost, insurance, etc.

My spreadsheet assumes a full year of ownership - buying and selling at high season. If I sell it before then, I'll save me more money I guess.

[boulter]

2gypsies wrote:
OP: Here's a clicky for your spreadsheet.... looks very thought out to me.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wmKZeY1EWC7Q5uUiy3RntuztcQIUWNudRpVBOX9hIO0/edit?usp=sharing

Thanks. For some reason when I put in a link it removed it.

[toedtoes]

I agree with both of the above.

I would also include in the spreadsheet, the "cost of ownership" in monthly breakdowns. Include loss interest on the purchase cost, insurance, etc.

Right now, you are looking at being able to sell at a fairly specific price right after you no longer need it. But, as mentioned, you may have to wait a good while to get that price or sell it for much less to get rid of it quickly. Knowing how much it will cost you each month while trying to sell it will help identify your breaking point (minimum sale price and longest time frame before your investment is a bust).

[Matt_Colie]

Boulter,

Ok with the storage, but a word of warning, do not store the coach over open soil. Ask anybody you know that has looked at a "field car" the top may look great, but the bottom is GONE. This is because moisture transpires out of the soil and continuously collects on the metal. It's as worse that a 50 hr salt spray test.

Your value for maintenance is a little high for multi-year ownership. Tires are best amortized over there calendar life. (~8years)

You guess for first year depreciation I believe to be low. I have seen way higher values than that. It has been my experience that depreciation flattens after 5 years so I do agree with the right hand end.

I seldom see such a rational approach to RV ownership and this is
pleasant.

Then, over on a famous social website you can easily find writers that think living in RV will be cheap.....

Matt