WHY WE PURCHASED A 2ND RV

When you think about how much value a brand-new RV loses as soon as you drive it off the lot, it may make you question if you’re not better off purchasing a used RV. But where do you start? Who do you trust? What do you know about purchasing a used RV or RVs at all if you’re new to RVing? It can be a scary thing spending your hard-earned money on that “second home on wheels”! WE KNOW! We have done it MANY TIMES! No worries, we can help you on this journey on What You Need to Know BEFORE You Purchase a Used RV!

But first, let us tell you a bit about why we purchased a 2nd RV when we have a new Perfect RV for Us that we LOVE!

 

 

Behind the Scenes of Needing a 2nd RV

Aiden and I go into “lockdown” every year from approximately November 1-April 1. That’s six months that we do our best not to be in public to protect Aiden from all those nasty germs that spread so quickly in the winter months.

The lockdown months can be very tough, and the older Aiden gets, the harder it is to keep him entertained inside the house. Aiden is now 15 1/2 years old so that’s 15 years with at the very least 5 months of lockdown…75 months of lockdown! That number shocked ME and I’m living it! Aiden does receive homebound services from our school district 3 days a week, so school does help to keep him busy.

We go for rides in the van every weekend we can just to get out of the house, but we need more “life” than that. Mark decided that we really needed to get Aiden and me out of the house more, somehow.

 

 

The Setup of Why We Considered a 2nd RV

One day, on one of our “rides” we went by to check on our RV in storage and Mark said, “I want to show you an RV”.

No way! I’m not getting rid of our beautiful, new RV!

That wasn’t what he had in mind thankfully.

He showed me a 1994 Motorhome. “What do you guys think of purchasing a very used RV and fixing it up so we can travel more on the weekends in the winter months when weather is safe?”

 

 

Our Thoughts on a 2nd RV

Honestly, my first thought was “this is super nice of him to be thinking of ways to allow us to get out and live”. However, my second thought was “Motorhomes, even the very used ones, are VERY expensive right now and the demand for Class C Motorhomes is unreal in the Midwest right now”.

We talked about it for a few more weeks. We did some light searching for Class C’s but put the thought on hold for 2 reasons. First, it was Christmas time and second, there weren’t many listings for RVs around here because IT IS WINTERTIME and people in KANSAS are freezing!!!

 

 

Obsessive Camping Disorder

The loooooong month of January rolled around and so did the daydreaming of camping season again. Oh, how we miss it. All three of us have OCDs of RVing otherwise known as Obsessive Camping Disorder.

Camping for us, as with most people who enjoy it, is a break away from everyday life. A way to get completely away from home, most responsibilities, and for us, it is really a second home. The one we prefer!

 

 

Let’s Do This! Why We Purchased a Used RV

We finally made the decision that we absolutely want to do this for Aiden. He will be graduating in 2 more years and then I have no idea what I’m going to do to entertain him all those months. At least now we have a plan!

Yes, we do have a new RV Travel Trailer we purchased just last year. No, we are not crazy. OK, so maybe we are!

 

 

The Search Begins for a 2nd RV

We began searching diligently for a reasonably priced Class C Motorhome. We must be so very careful with water damage in an RV with Aiden. When we found out that older Class C’s priced around $15-$18,000 have some water issues we were bummed again.

We did find one for $10,000 but figured out the damage was so bad that we would have to gut the entire thing pretty much!

 

The Stress Returns

After stressing over this specific RV for quite some time, I simply prayed about it that morning. Ugh, why do I always tend to forget to do that?? It is so much easier to pray and make a difference than it is to worry and make no difference.

Well, my prayers were answered very quickly. That RV sold while Mark was inquiring about it!

I felt so much relief knowing it sold. I just didn’t feel like it was the right choice for us.

 

 

Forget About It

I finally told Mark that maybe we should just forget the idea of this whole traveling and Class C Motorhome thing!

“I mean really… it would be next to impossible to find a Class C with not much damage of some kind, a Ford E450 Chassis, V10, lower mileage, slide-outs, and a full bedroom. I would need it to be smaller than 30’ because I would like to try to drive it. Then add it must be newer than 1998, have only cosmetic issues to fix, and even more, difficulty to add to the equation, it must not be more than a few hours away from where we live!”

Oh, and did I mention there’s the whole money aspect of it? I really don’t want to spend $15-20,000 for a used vehicle. I know that sounds silly considering they run $75,000 and up brand new but we already have a new RV with NEW RV PAYMENTS and this RV would mostly be for winter months, weekend sightseeing.

 

 

The New Listing for Our 2nd RV

After saying all the above to Mark, I start to close Facebook Marketplace on my phone and see there is a new listing.

Wait, what???

Here’s what we have found:

Class C
Ford 450
V10
Year: 2000
Mileage: 32,000
Slide-Outs: 2
Condition: Everything works.

There had been a leak previously, but it was fixed four years ago and has not leaked since. It is 20 years old so it will need to be cleaned and updated.

PRICE: $8,000.

“OK, Mark, have a look at one more listing and then I’m done thinking about this. I will email the person who listed it just to find out a little more and if it’s a hoax listing, which I’m sure it is”.

With God, All Things Are Possible, just saying!

 

The New Adventures Begin for Us in Our 2nd RV

As I am writing this article, Mark and my father are on their way to pick up our “new-to-us” RV! I guess this would technically be like our 3rd home now, right?