For all the road warriors out there: Is it better to stay away from RVs or not? For some, the American dream is simple: own a house with a cute picket fence. For others, it’s honestly equally straightforward, but in a different way: a house on wheels.
Whether we’re talking about a motorhome or a fifth wheel, some Americans dream of a “home” that can take them wherever they want, whenever they want, and vacation on the cheap. However, RVs are a huge investment, especially if you’re looking for one with all the comforts of a home.
Buying an RV can be no less than a minefield
Only a few people look forward to setting foot on a car dealer’s lot, and when it comes to RVs, it isn’t any different. Buyers might as well brace for diverse frustrations, from rampant upselling and scare tactics, all the way to pricing games and salespeople being quite ignorant about what they’re really selling.
So, make sure you study really well before you even think about going to a dealership, and never be afraid to ask plenty of questions and test every single part of the RV. You know, just to make sure it will really fit your future purposes.
RVs can be insanely expensive
Are you planning to go quite big? Well, a new class A motorhome starts at around $10,000 to $400,000, but one with all the bells and whistles might push a million bucks. One of the most expensive, the EleMMent Palazzo, comes in at a surprising $3 million.
Smaller motorhomes won’t even get close to seven figures, but still could range from $40,000 to $100,000. Travel trailers, pop-up campers, and even fifth wheels are definitely more economical, as they start around $8,000, sometimes even topping out around $50,000.
Do you know what might help? Joining an RV membership club. It can save you plenty of camping fees, RV accessories, and gas. You can check out the Good Sam Club for RV discounts and roadside assistance.
RVs depreciate really fast
Just like any other vehicle, simply driving the RV off the lot might cause a huge loss in value. Around 21%, to be more specific. No matter what the size, in more typical cases, as soon as your RV is 5 years old, it will have lost from 36% to 38% of its value. When it’s 10 years old, you should count yourself lucky if you get half of what you paid, which often makes buying used the best financial move.
RVs are basically gas guzzlers
Well, no one ever accused RVs of being fuel-efficient. In fact, the biggest motorhomes, Class A, will get only 7 to 13 mpg, according to the Camping & RVing British Columbia Coalition. Downsizing to a Class B or Class C could really point to anywhere from 14 to 25 mpg, but obviously, a lower number is a better bet.
At 10 mpg, the short 500-mile round trip can really cost $150 or more in gas, but it all depends on gas prices. That 2,500-mile cross-country dream trip you’ve been thinking about, you should expect to spend over $775.
RVs can be quite terrifying to drive
RVs should be driven by confident drivers who truly understand that larger vehicles need special skills behind the wheel. For example, you might need to learn how to efficiently park using mirrors instead of simply being able to judge distance and potential obstacles over your shoulders.
You should also practice driving downhill without stomping constantly on the brakes. And whatever you do, always remember that an RV cannot, and will not, stop on a dime!
You can’t really escape housework, even if you’re in an RV
In an RV, chores vacation with you. No dishwasher, you have to wash the dishes by hand. There’s also the good old sweeping and vacuuming that needs to be prioritised, especially since floors and upholstery get dirty quite fast when people tromp in and out all day long.
There’s also laundry, which often involves hunting down a laundromat or even doing the tiniest of loads in a portable washer. Not to mention, there’s a lot of cleaning to be done after a trip.
RVs aren’t really meant for urban exploration
Well, compact cars aren’t marketed so heavily to city dwellers for nothing. Space, especially parking, is a premium one, so good luck finding the 40-foot behemoth! Motorhome USA even goes as far as to recommend ditching the RV for a city soujourn, leaving it at a shopping mall or other location with plenty of parking and using public transportation from there.
Campanda has some great suggestions for cities that are a bit friendlier to RVs, such as Las Vegas and Orlando.
You can’t just park an RV anywhere for the night
Naturally, if you really want to have the proper hookups for electricity and water, you will have to find an RV park. Penny-pinchers could wonder if they can just pull over and try to “rough it” to save some dough. Well, it depends, but if you don’t make sure it’s kosher ahead of time, you might get hit with steep fines for not respecting laws and regulations against overnight camping.
Even Walmart, which is famously welcoming to RVs, might not permit overnight parking, depending on local laws and management. However, certain road trip apps, such as Walmart Overnight Parking, can definitely help you find camper-friendly lots.
It’s quite hard not to feel cramped at times
Even in a huge RV with slide-out rooms, you won’t have too much space. Models generally top out around 400 square feet; anything more, they might be seen as manufactured homes. It’s enough to say that sometimes sharing one small bathroom doesn’t even cut it. The feeling that there’s zero privacy can really go beyond the campground, where there are other travelers living only feet away.
You will have yet another insurance bill to prepare for
To stay fully street-legal, you need to pony up for insurance. The bigger the RV, the bigger the bill. Maybe even $2,000 a year or more for Class A motorhomes, as Trusted Choice shared. Naturally, many other factors could affect the rate, including whether you will actually be tooling around on the occasional weekend or simply living in it full-time, as well as driving history, which is somehow deductible, and extras, like coverage for personal belongings and roadside assistance.
Upkeep is quite expensive, too
Just like other homes and cars, RVs are quite pricey to maintain. Mobile Home Parts Store has already surveyed plenty of RV experts and found they spent an average $1,410 a year on RV upkeep, or almost $118 a month.
Naturally, that can also include routine tasks like replacing tires, getting oil changes, and keeping brakes in their best shape. However, there are other RV-specific things to worry about. We’re talking about broken generators, awnings, windows, and slide motors.
You might need a place to park the RV when you’re not using it
RVs are quite fabulous on the open road, but what about when you’re not planning to go anywhere? After all, not everyone is lucky enough to have a huge garage or a long driveway. Just parking your RV in the driveway might not be permitted, especially if you have a homeowners’ association that perceives it as an eyesore.
Naturally, there are facilities that could store the RV for you, but that’s another bill you need to consider. Depending on the size of the RV and the type of storage, you might end up paying anywhere between $30 to $450 a month.
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