OT - for all you campers/outdoor folks

[Fliger]

Last year I sold our pop-up trailer, it was getting old and needed to be replaced. I bought it used, for ~$2,500 just to see if I'd actually use it. We did use it a fair amount (whenever an undisclosed reefer would loan us a tow vehicle :lol: ) and definitely want to take the next step. I'm either thinking of a nicer pop-up, with AC/fridge, all that stuff, or a full camper. I don't really have a vehicle to pull one of the larger ones, just an 8-Cylinder SUV so I'm guessing if I get something other than a pop-up, I should get one of those Class C or higher (I think they're Class C) - the ones with engines like those Cruise America ones. I was told by someone at my son's school that Class C are actually tax write-offs since they're "second homes" - not sure if this is true.

Anyway, could anyone recommend some good options? I really have no friends familiar with these, and after seeing that Glamis thread I figured this might be a good place to ask! Should I look at used ones, are they like boats where people buy them and never use them - then sell them at a loss? I'd love to NOT spend a fortune on this - but I really don't have a lot of time to bargain shop. I've been traveling like mad and I'm starting a new business this year.

My boat is slipped up at Canyon so we'd mostly use it there, but would love to be able to use it elsewhere, for camping. I'd probably never use it for "Glamis" type trips - not that I don't love ATV's but I don't need another expensive hobby right now. Maybe when my kids are bigger.

Anyway - thanks in advance. Any advice, dealers, recommendations would be GREATLY appreciated!

David

 

[OceanLyons]

There's some stuff listed in here...

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/rvs/

 

[Richard Walston]

David

It is true about the tax right off. If it has a bathroom (shower & Toilet) it is considered a second home and you can right off the taxes that you paid on for the year just like you do your home mortgage. Have you thought about a toy hauler. you don't have quads now but in the future you are set. I have a pop up as well but my brother in law has a toy hauler and they use it to go every where just like a normal pull trailer (bikes or no bikes)

Rich

On another note if you are going to finance one. Try to get a used one that is relatively new. Get a secured loan from the credit union using the trailer as collateral. If you finance a new one it is like a house 15 or 30 year mortgage. Everything is going to the interest for the first ten year. You end up paying $400 a month for 15-30 years. If you go the other way it is like a boat payment. $400 for 5 years.

 

[AZDesertRat]

David, Check out www.RV.net . Its easily the most popular RV related website around. You might even see occasional posts by some guy known as AZDesertRat on there occasionally!

 

[bajabum]

Ford Transmissions in class C are bad news. 60, 000 miles to a Ford engine($8000) or transmisions ($4000) if you are lucky. Temperatures above 100 are bad news. Hills getting out of Phx are bad news. In arizona headed north a diesel might work. Tires tend to be under rated and blow often in the heat ($100*6). If you don't drive it often enough, you lose the transmision seals.

After 20 years, I opted for an Alaskan Guide tent and AWD Outback.
As AJ pointed out, don't find yourself underwater with financing when the RV begins to fall apart. For my example:
Ford Class C 29' RV $35,000 new. With in first 6 months all major components in House part failed. Ford did not honor warrenty. Fourwinds finaly steped in and fixed everything.
First 5 years maintance: 4 batterys $250
18 tires $1800 or more
2 engines $14,000
2 transmission $8000 3rd never worked right
Awning $1000
Airconditioner $500
Refrigerator $1200
Front springs $400
Hot Water Heater $300
Towing $2000
Drive Line $500
Basicly everything in House part failed again within 5 years. The cost was with me doing most of the repairs except transmision and engine replacement. I have a similiar example with a Ford van bought at the same time.

 

[Fliger]

Thank you everyone for the help, I'm gonna take a look at new ones this week and then check out some of those on Craigslist - thanks for the link!

Baja - Ford in general is bad news. They lost over $12 billion last year and the CEO made over $39 million for four months on the job! And they wonder why they are getting their butts tarred. You'll love the Outback - before my wife's Outback virtually saved her (and my son's) life last year in a +35mph head on collision - it was an awesome ride! She just got a new car and the ONLY thing she cared about was safety ratings.

 

[GOLDMAROON]

Fliger,

I have a 26 ft toy hauler that I pull with my chevy suburban. I stayed away from the class c motorhomes primarily because of the breakdwon issues. (8 cylynder ford motor hauling 3x the normal weight.) and if its not a ford then its a dodge.

THe toy haulers are half the cost still a tax write off and if you need fianancing on them chas bank is extremely resonable.

I use mine a lot and its a nice item to have if you camp, fish or hunt. I have mine out right now in fron of my house because my wife had friends that flew in from out of town. this has been a nioce thing since it saves my family and friends a ton of money on hotel costs and we get to spend more time with them when they come into town since all the have to do is walk out into the trailer.

I looked very long and hard and did about 4 years of research on pop ups and toy haulers. I stayed away from the pop up because for a little bit more money you can have a nice toy hauler and less agrevation in setting things up plus you have more room.

My toy hauler will sleep 10 and has the capacity to sleep 12. I have had 9 people in it at one time 4 adults and 5 children and there was plenty of room, i can;t say that is was spacious but the sleeping arrangments were fine and no one had to sleep cramped up in a corner. The other nice thing about the toy hauler is you dont have to worry about weather. I have had it in snow, rain wind you name it and never had to worry about anything.

Ill have my toy hauler in front of my house til about tuesday. If you want shoot me a pm and you can come buy and take a look at it and I can give you a no BS assesment with out all the sales jargon.

 

[aztbs]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9673451#post9673451 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GOLDMAROON
I have a 26 ft toy hauler that I pull with my chevy suburban.

Wow - how does that pull up the hills to the north? Can you go more than 40?

We are shopping for a 5th wheel toy hauler trailer. A couple times of year at the fairgrounds, the raceway or the convention center they will have huge RV shows. Anything from teeny pop ups to Class A motor homes. It is great to walk around and really check out all the options and talk to several dealers all at the same time.

If you are looking at something small and simple, we have always been a fan of the little teardrop trailers. We don't have kids though so it probably wouldn't be enough room for you. But they sure are cool.

I'll remind you the next time the show is in town.

 

[DjScibbity]

My buddies Weekend Warrior is made well. Ive seen a lot of toy haulers that are made with cheap components. Yes, they are cheaper initially, but you pay for it in the end. Id spend a few more bucks early on a good brand rather than have to re-design or fix problems that frequently occur on the cheaper ones. (Heard bad things about the "Gear Boxes"). I second a toy hauler...you dont have to haul toys with it and it is still nice inside...and if/when you decide to get toys, you have the option... You can fit jeeps and other small SUVs inside some of them for transport as well.

David, Im working on getting a boat in the water...when its ready, we'll have to hit the lake sometime.

-JP

 

[AZDesertRat]

Hey! Be careful how you talk about my Ford, you'll hurt her feelings. I pull a 24' Shasta Fifth Wheel with my 2006 F-150 1/2 Ton no problems. I did pay extra for the towing pkg, upgraded tranny, lower geared limited slip rear, and 5.4 liter though. My old 98 F-150 4x4 with its 4.6L, non limited slip and higher rear end just didn't have the poop to get up the hill from Camp Verde to the Rim even with a chip, cat back and FIPK.

 

[sidewinder770]

What a nice reefer friend to let you borrow his tow vehicle .

For what it's worth here's my opinion, and what I would do depending-

If you're not going to use it much (by much I mean more than 6-8 times a year) just rent one- you don't have to worry about paying for something you don't use much, you always get new vehicles, you don't have to insure it, store it, maintain it, fix it when it breaks, worry about depreciation, etc etc. A 3 day weekend at the lake in a nice 26-28' class C would run you about $300 (maybe less depending on time of year) and more than worth it compared to the hassle- they even rent toy haulers if you want. You can also rent personal coaches if you don't want the "cruise america" sticker. I would rent when I went to Glamis and that was when I went about 10 times a year- glad I did! Pick it up, use it, drop it off and not have to worry about it the rest of the time. Just my $.02

Not only that- renting lets you see what is out there, try different models and if you find you use it more you will have a better idea of what you want if you decide to buy.

That being said- I'm sure if you bought one that reefer friend would love to come borrow it in return

 

[sidewinder770]

Almost forgot- nothing convinced me more than one trip when the transmission started to go out on a RV I rented- barely made it back to Phoenix (but didn't care if I didn't since they have a tow policy). I drove into cruise America- tossed them the keys and said Oh yeah- "your trannys shot and probably needs to be replaced"- walked out the door and didn't have to worry about it.

 

[GOLDMAROON]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9674877#post9674877 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aztbs
Wow - how does that pull up the hills to the north? Can you go more than 40?

Pulls uphill and upNorth just fine but then again I upgraded the exhaust to a flowmaster series 5, put in a super chips controller and a K & N cool air intake. Im pushing almost 400 horses in the suburban. Just ask Newtanksmell he can vouch for the claw marks in the arm rest on the passenger side. (lol)

I love my towhauler. It's a Rampage which is made by Skyline and I have heard great things about Weekend Warriors but Gearbox is made by fleetwood and they did a rush to try and compete with the current toyhauler market.

 

[azhunter]

fliger, you might want to check out www.ownersrental.com and rent a couple and see what you like. this is a website where people in the valley can rent out their rigs to other people when it is not in use. its a good thing for people who own RVs that sit dormant for months. you can rent everything from pop ups to full blown million dollar motorhomes. the prices are reasonable and the people are usually pretty good about helping you anyway they can. an RV is a pretty big purchase and the resale on them isnt great so you might want to try a couple out and see what you like and dont like (brands, layouts, power, room, etc).
some friends have used the service before for toy haulers and always been happy!
good luck...
Mike

 

[30reef]

Just sold an older Fleetwood class A on a Ford chassis. Glad to see that's gone. Had no problems with it but it was a Ford. Now my wife and I just bought a Winnebego Itasca 32 class A on a Workhorse chassis which uses the Chevrolet 8.1L and an Allison transmission. We use it primarily for Glamis but sometimes find ourselves going to Cali from time to time. RV's are well worth the money if you will use them, but most let them sit and rot. It's really a PITA to have to put your credit card in the gas pump 4 times just to fill up. RV's don't get the greatest fuel economy. This weekend trip to Glamis burned up 75 gallons, and it's only 400 miles round trip from our house in Goodyear. (some of that was from the generator though) We needed the tax writeoff on the interest (20 years). I also tell myself that you only live once, so live it up while you can.

 

[jpslickorocks]

I don't know anything about RV's but I managed houseboat timeshares for years. I would want to rent for awhile before
I purchase. There is a lot of different options out there and it takes time to figure out what you like, don't like, and can't live without.

 

[RODSREEF]

Boat slipped at canyon

Boat slipped at canyon

I'm slipped at 236. I'm out there just about every weekend. Stop by and say hello next time you're out.

Rod

 

[Fliger]

Thank you for ALL the help. I believe I'll rent from CruiseAmerica this time. I think a really nice pop-up might be the right thing for me at this point so soon I'll be doing some research into that. I like that it can easily store in the garage.

Rod - for sure. I'll be up this weekend but I'm not even sure my boat is working. We had a few "issues" last year. I think we were in 255 but I never remember. We've been at Canyon for a few years and really enjoy it up there. The girls in the marina (especially Pam) are super nice. Now don't tell me you live near Higley & Elliott because that would just be weird.

Scott - you know you can borrow the boat whenever you want it. So long as its running. :lol:

 

[Fliger]

@#%@##%!!!*&&$!!! Stupid Country Thunder. Cruise America sold out. Argghh ... might be camping in a tent on an RV site.

Thanks for the www.ownersrental.com site - hopefully I can find something on there.

 

[azlivingreef]

I have a 1990 23' foot motorhome for sale...its a chevy van chassis with a brand new rebuilt 454 and 6 brand new tires. a/c, generator, oven, range, shower, toilet, refer, fridge. It looks super clean inside... its up for sale for 11,500.00. I have room to work on price