Upgrade RV or keep current

[WhittleBurner]

Actually, Gary, research shows that five years is the point where depreciation starts leveling off and continues at a much slower rate than during the first five years. You took the biggest hit - about 23% - when you drove your new RV off the lot. Keeping it from five years on is where you take a much smaller ding in the value. There seems to be very little difference in the depreciation of a fifth wheel and a travel trailer (same is true for class As vs. class Cs, too), and very-high-end fifth wheels (think Luxe, DRV, etc.) tend to depreciate a little more quickly.

Rob

Thank you for that. makes me feel better for having to wait now a little while.

[Malco1]

Well, you bring up a good question. We are in the same position with our 2014 GD 303. We love it, it’s paid for, we’ve made many updates, but my wife would like auto leveling, which wasn’t available in 2014. I’ve a mind to sell now, and buy next year used when all these newbies decide RVing is not for them. Good luck on the thought process.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Smart thinking!

[Redapple63]

All very good questions. We traded our 14 year old class a for a 2020 Reflection 315rlts. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the class a other than it being 14 years old. In many ways it was much better built than our current rig. We love our rig, totally works for us, but we were ready for a change. I agree with others that 5 years is a somewhat magic number for ownership. More options after 5 years.

[SleepsInLakes]

This may seem bizarre, but bear with me... decades ago my late wife (she and I were both part-time musicians) wanted a new professional grade synthesizer. A relative by marriage was a music professor, producer and director and had a lot of knowledge on the subject, so I called him for advice. He asked two basic questions. He said this would work for almost anything you are thinking about replacing, but to think of the synthesizer as a car and asked these two questions:

1) Is it doing things you don't want it to do? I.e., is it backfiring, smoking, lurching, making knocking noises, etc.?

2) Is it not doing things you do want it to do? For example, will it not start in the morning? Does it not reliably get you to work? Do the brakes or steering not respond properly to control input?

He said if we couldn't answer "Yes" to one of those questions, we probably couldn't justify the expense of replacing the keyboard. Ever since, I have called this the "Jesse Peterson theory of equipment obsolescence." Properly maintained and by replacing the expected items (such as tires, batteries, perhaps springs), your current six-year-old RV should have years of service left in it... if you didn't answer "Yes" to one of the questions above.

That said, we replaced/upgraded our RV earlier this year. There was nothing wrong with our previous RV (a 2016 Reflection 337RLS fifth wheel), but as full-timers and not getting any younger, there were features I knew I was going to need in the coming years that our Reflection didn't have: auto-leveling, dual pane windows, a residential refrigerator, and a dedicated washer/dryer closet being some of the big ones. So, to Jesse's criteria above, I would add "required features." Interestingly, the Solitude 310GK-R we bought is very similar in size and general floor plan to the Reflecton 337. We had learned what worked for us and replicated it with the features we needed.

Finally, the fact that your current RV is paid for is a huge plus - especially in today's uncertain employment and financial environment. Only you can make the call on that one.

Rob

This is spot-on advice as far as I am concerned. We kept our last TT 10 years because it just did everything we wanted/needed and was really the perfect floorplan for us from day 1. Being paid off for well past most of that time was just a bonus. We'd look at new campers and just never see any model that added a must-have for us, especially after looking at the resources it would consume to purchase it. We did pick out the GD 303 as our next camper but that was a full 3 years before we made the decision to purchase. Speaking only for myself, if I am still questioning whether to do it or not - then I'm not ready and I need to wait longer. When I want to upgrade and know it, then it is time. Then I can start shopping. Good luck in your search.

[MOShorthair]

Thanks for the input. I didn’t even think about all the people that are buying now only to realize it’s not for for them. I may do the same thing, sell now, buy next year before our Myrtle Beach trip.

I just sold my camper with the thought of buying a slightly used one next year. Already starting to see some listed by people who have decided they are more Airbnb type people.

[WhittleBurner]

I just sold my camper with the thought of buying a slightly used one next year. Already starting to see some listed by people who have decided they are more Airbnb type people.

I agree we'll be seeing that more by springtime it might be an overload to pick from. Many made hasty decisions and don't really understand the work that is still involved in trailering, that it's not just an up and go thing unless you stay packed likw we do also with maintaining and trip prep etc. I'd love to take advantage of someones bad decision