Motorhomes

I Have no idea where to put this.

Do any of you own or have owned a motorhome, or perhaps are planning on buying one?

My interest has been raised in them due to recently seeing a few them on the road here. (never happened before)

I know that they are/were popular in the US and Europe, so was hoping for some first hand experience.

What is the maintenance like?
How much fuel do they consume?
Is driving one tough, especially over long distances?
Do I need a specific driver's license for the big bus ones?
What are the best brands?
Can you park them anywhere or are there specified zones for them?
What's the insurance on what likely to be?
How long do they last, what's their life expectancy?

"A lot." (15 MPG at the absolute peak ideal for a small RV. More likely 6-12 MPG.) 30-80 gallon tanks depending on the size.


Yes. If you're in the U.S. at least, you need a CDL (commercial driver's license) to operate large vehicles.


There tend to be campsites specifically for them that are preferable if only because many have water and electric hookups. You generally can't just sit in any old parking lot overnight, but some places allow it.


They can last for quite a long time, like any vehicle, given the proper care and maintenance. Bring us to:


Well, imagine maintaining a heavy truck. Now imagine keeping up a small home or trailer home. Put the two together.

This may help.

RV FAQ's & Tips: Considering RVing

thanks for the link and answers.
(Damn i thought they could run on their own fuel and be parked anywhere)

They're neat, and really convenient if you go to a lot of concerts or big sporting events and what have you.

But they are pretty pricey. You're essentially buying a second home on wheels.

Personally I'll be buying a boat long before I buy an RV. Which is basically an RV in the water. But still.

Edit: As an aside, if AM logs in and sees the thread, he may be able to help more. I know he's got experience with them directly, whereas all of mine is secondhand info from knowing people who own them.

Don't know about you, but here in Texas, a "motorhome" is referred to as this:



RVs are probably what you are talking about, and technically own one (33% ownership, my sister and my father owns the other 67% collectively, for the use of my father).

(mind you, ours is an older model)

That's a "trailer" around here. Hence the term "trailer trash"...*sigh*. I lived in one for several years growing up. Much nicer than that one. They're really not as awful as people make them out to be.

RV/motorhome are generally used interchangeably hereabouts.

People who live in motorhomes/trailers (we use those words interchangeably here) generally do not take care of their property, hence what we call "trailer trash" because their exterior resembles a garbage pit.

Thats a moblehome vs a motorhome. you know your a redneck if you house has wheels and your car doesnt.

Motorhome trash doesn't quite have the same ring to it!

Yeah, I know.

Trust me, that ***was maintained.

Had like three acres to mow every. ***. week. With a vintage early 80s Lawn Boy push mower. Not powered.

And the second I graduate from high school and move out, what happens? They buy a new house with 1/2 the lawn AND buy a riding mower.

What the *** is that!?

But yeah. No lawn gnomes, no NASCAR flags. No motors in the trees or dead cars in the yard, no big dogs on chains. Though my terrier did have a tether.

We didn't do anything to merit Jeff Foxworthy. Please don't be cruel.

Used to, was a 71 Vogue (Dodge chassis, 383 Magnum V8)

Maintainence can be rough, especially if you forget to winterize or just don't do a good job of it.

It's like driving a brick, they consume a lot, even when staying in one while stationary, the on board generator needs to be ran occasionally to keep batteries up, both house and truck.

They wobble if corners are taken too fast, you can't see directly behind you but I'm sure most have rear cameras now.

I believe RVs are classified within the normal limitations of a regular license. When building an RV out of a school bus people have to have them reclassified to an RV.

Not sure, do research.

Some places will allow parking in their parking lots at certain times, cities don't usually just let you camp anywhere. This is part of what is rough about being a "van-dweller" which many people do by choice and actually enjoy.

The insurance was paid under the family business as it was actually my grandpa's motorhome so I don't know, this was in the 90's.

The life expectancy is good if maintained properly. My advice is to not let anyone actually live in one, my brother lived in ours for about a year then one of my cousins, that killed it. Lastly they are usually furnished in particle board, moisture wreaks havoc on them, my suggestion would be to keep a dehumidifier handy, check for leaks often, and in the months you aren't using it fire up the truck engine and the generator at least once a month for a few minutes.

That, and it helps if you store a RV in a larger, specially built garage.

Kids be expensive, yo.

Yeah, leaks in fiberglass roofs happen more often that you might thing. Did for us.

If you get that black weathered fiberglass crust, you can clean it off with Simple Green though.

Thanks for all the feedback and insights.

So over here there is a dealership offering a 500$/month finance plan for what looks like a bus converted into a motorhome. It fits 8 people and sleeps 4. I took a walk inside. Its pretty awesome.
I intend to do a lot of traveling across Asia and Europe in the next few years.

Ramyrez, my grandparents are fighting me on this as they own both a motorhome and yacht. They say a yacht is a much better investment and much less cost overall as long as you don't do any damage to the body. Also, its cheaper to birth a yacht at a marina than it is to pay for parking of a motorhome according to them.

I'm not going to make an impulse decision. If I do make a decision it will between june and august '15 sometime, God willing

It really depends on what you plan to do, how often you plan to use it.

In a financial sense, your grandparents aren't wrong.

But ultimately, it comes down to what will ultimately benefit you the most, the kind of scenery you enjoy, and method of travel.

A Yacht will get weathered worse than a motorhome and a motorhome will get road wear. Honestly, they may be right on the yacht being a better investment but I'd rather get a motorhome. Motorhome has a flat, you just pull over, not drown. =D

You don't even have to get a full fledged yacht. A houseboat can be a better investment than a RV, since RVs tend to be more effected by the weather than houseboats.

You could say you are arguing over which of two bad investments is "worse".

Frankly, get the one that you would feel that you would get the most out of, and buy to whatever level of risk you are willing to lose.

If your goal is to only use it for a couple of uses or years, that's a signifcantly different proposal than one for 10-20 years.

I would doubt that berthing for yachts is less expensive than motorhomes, but that probably depends on quite a few factors regarding locations (including distance to the location from your residence), security, faciilties/hookups, if it is in dry-dock/dry storage, etc.

Like you said, it all depends on the intent and purpose of these vehicles.

Since its already on the subject of mobileish home type thingies...
I was wondering how they prepare the ground for setting those mobile trailers (w/e they are called). I know some ppl renting one and it got me wondering. Cause from the outside it looks like a one story house type place. But they said underneath it there is actually the wheels and everything that makes it mobile. But i was wondering how they prep the land for something like that.
I would guess they have to dig at least a little bit down to hide the lower part away. And they have to set up some type of water and waste system. Just curious as to what all goes into it.

I don't know the details, but odds are, the wheels on those trailers are either removed or set to not roll at all (either blocks on all sides of all wheels or a break).

As for plumbing, it's pretty easy to set it up, along with electricity. Just connect the lines to the right spots and there you go.

thats assuming the land is already prepared for a house like that. What if its a new lot or something that doesn't already have those connections?

It's the same kind of pre-planning that goes into setting up a house for electrical and plumbing, but just fewer steps, because your home (which is easily made mobile by virtue of it's design to be easily moved) is already built.

Thus, trailer parks are born!

Bloodrose nailed it. Trailer Parks are where people generally set up their trailers.

There are exceptions, and those exceptions the land owner sets it up for a trailer to settle on there.

interesting you mention that because being from new jersey the term 'trailer park' and 'trailer trash' as beyond common. But up here in PA everything ive seen involving trailers like this are just a trailer on a piece of land. Independent. Not a 'park' like place with 20 different ones.

how much u think setting up a vacant lot for something like that would even cost? Im not rly sure all that goes into setting up plumbing and electric for buildings.