Estimate Monthly Payments for 2023 Reflection 315rlts TT

[OshawaDave]

My opinion it's a bad idea to finance these RV's for 20 years. I doubt it will last that long and as previously stated you will be upside down in your equity for most of the loan period. I would suggest looking for a used trailer 2-3 years old. Pay less, finance less for a shorter period.

I thought 240 months was a typo.....I can't imagine financing a RV, boat, car, or any other depreciating asset over 20 years. Total cost of ownership is 2-3 times original cost.

As others have said,I would base my negotiations on final price and I would look at private lenders as well. I wouldn't finance it beyond 5 years- even that's pushing it.

[NB Canada]

I thought 240 months was a typo.....I can't imagine financing a RV, boat, car, or any other depreciating asset over 20 years. Total cost of ownership is 2-3 times original cost.

As others have said,I would base my negotiations on final price and I would look at private lenders as well. I wouldn't finance it beyond 5 years- even that's pushing it.

Those type of loans have always been 240 months. Nothing new

Like I said above if it wasn’t for the people who take out these loans the rv and boat companies would not exist

[kenmason11]

Reading this thread I had a couple of thoughts not yet discussed. First, you never mentioned where you were going to store your RV when not in use. Unless you can store it rent free, that's probably $100 month for outdoor covered which I would want at a minimum with a brand new RV. Second, you mentioned remote working for you and your wife working locally as a dental hygienist. Someone else will have to chime in, but I'm pretty sure if you live in your RV for more then 6 months a year for work, you can call that your primary residence and then the interest can be deducted from your taxes like a home mortgage.

[goducks14]

Reading this thread I had a couple of thoughts not yet discussed. First, you never mentioned where you were going to store your RV when not in use. Unless you can store it rent free, that's probably $100 month for outdoor covered which I would want at a minimum with a brand new RV. Second, you mentioned remote working for you and your wife working locally as a dental hygienist. Someone else will have to chime in, but I'm pretty sure if you live in your RV for more then 6 months a year for work, you can call that your primary residence and then the interest can be deducted from your taxes like a home mortgage.

With the standard deduction so high right now it may be real hard to find other items to deduct to reach the max vs the standard deduction. $25,900 for couples.
If they borrow $70K at 6.5% for 12 years then the 1st year there's only $4400 in interest. That leaves them needing another $21K in deductions. And that interest decreases every year regardless of loan length.
YMMV

[Redapple63]

With the standard deduction so high right now it may be real hard to find other items to deduct to reach the max vs the standard deduction. $25,900 for couples.
If they borrow $70K at 6.5% for 12 years then the 1st year there's only $4400 in interest. That leaves them needing another $21K in deductions. And that interest decreases every year regardless of loan length.
YMMV

Agree with this. It really does make taxes much easier. For those that do have a sizable home mortgage it becomes a bit easier but still a struggle. As soon as you eclipse that number though other things open up.

Our Class A which we sold 3 years ago was financed for 20 years. Will never make that mistake again. As many others have pointed out unless you have a sizable down you will always be upside down. This time we put a good amount down and financed for 10 years. We also make additional principal payments every month with the goal of payoff in 5 - 6 years.

Financing is a tool and can be used responsibly, but it can be a trap if not careful.
One of the questions is how long the intent to keep it. If only a few years then financing is not a bad idea but selling may be a challenge.

For those of you who have gained the status of debt free, I can understand how liberating that is. Our goal is to be debt free before we retire in a couple of years.

Bill

[COGrandDes]

We bought our Montana camper prior to the one we have now and the previous owners of that Keystone Montana had paid full price, added some other dealer options and financed it. When they attempted to sell it 18 months later....they had to take $25K cash with them to closing to get out from under the loan. They were quite surprised how upside down they were. It's something to keep in mind when making RV purchases.

[RubiconMike]

We bought our Montana camper prior to the one we have now and the previous owners of that Keystone Montana had paid full price, added some other dealer options and financed it. When they attempted to sell it 18 months later....they had to take $25K cash with them to closing to get out from under the loan. They were quite surprised how upside down they were. It's something to keep in mind when making RV purchases.

They were lucky to have the $25k to get out from under the loan, many others in that situation don't have that option. I sold cars many years ago and most people shopped monthly payments (can I afford it), and not total of payments (which can be quite astounding on a 20 year loan).

[lorend]

Thanks. We want to spend these years while I can work remotely to travel comfortably. My wife may be able to work in a few states that approve her license for dental hygiene. There are so many non-financial benefits to living this way. But, I will take your advice. The goal is to pay off everything in 14 years and be debt-free while continuing to build the 401k. If Social Security is solvent in 20 years I will be even better.

Here is another old guy letting you know how we did it. I never had a lot of income but still managed to retire at 52 with a pension. As others have stated we started small with the rv's. A 1964 15" Aladdin with no heat, no bathroom and had to pump water by hand but talk about great memories as a family. We eventually did get a dream RV that we did finance on a 10 year plan. Most of that was to get a lower price and actually a kickback from the credit union. We did pay it off in a 6 month time span. You sound like you have a grasp on what your financial situation is and what you want to do. Only you can make an informed decision. I think you have maybe have already made a decision because you have the 315 in your signature. Positive thinking? You stated that your wife may be able to work in some states, maybe it will be an opportunity to make your rv tax deductible? The one piece of advice that I try to give anybody looking toward retirement is to try to be debt free at that point because it is almost a necessity.

[JPS350]

Wow. Read through all of this and can't believe people actually finance rv's for 20 years. Guess I must have been hiding in a closet all these years! That said, there's good debt and bad debt. Business debt can be good if it helps the business grow and make money that offsets the cost of debt. Real estate debt can be good within reason as you have to live somewhere. Credit card debt and debt for toys like boats, sleds, and rv's is bad debt. It just increases the cost of your hobbies.

Want to retire at some point? Simple, live below your means and save and invest everything you can. Pay yourself first for your future. The sooner you do this, the better, as compounding interest on investments is in your favor. Paying loan debt is not. That doesn't mean you can't have your toys, just pay cash for them. If you can't pay for the boat or rv, then look for one you can pay for. We've had boats since we were in our early 20's and I can say a day on the water is fun on a cheap 14 footer and it's fun on our 35' not cheap at all sailboat. Same with camping, it was fun in our tents when we were younger and it's fun now in a travel trailer. Only difference is more cash for the play toys these days. If we managed to sink our boat and insurance didn't cover it, other than the boat loss, it wouldn't affect our bottom line one bit. Try doing that with a financed one.

[NB Canada]

Wow. Read through all of this and can't believe people actually finance rv's for 20 years. Guess I must have been hiding in a closet all these years! That said, there's good debt and bad debt. Business debt can be good if it helps the business grow and make money that offsets the cost of debt. Real estate debt can be good within reason as you have to live somewhere. Credit card debt and debt for toys like boats, sleds, and rv's is bad debt. It just increases the cost of your hobbies.

Want to retire at some point? Simple, live below your means and save and invest everything you can. Pay yourself first for your future. The sooner you do this, the better, as compounding interest on investments is in your favor. Paying loan debt is not. That doesn't mean you can't have your toys, just pay cash for them. If you can't pay for the boat or rv, then look for one you can pay for. We've had boats since we were in our early 20's and I can say a day on the water is fun on a cheap 14 footer and it's fun on our 35' not cheap at all sailboat. Same with camping, it was fun in our tents when we were younger and it's fun now in a travel trailer. Only difference is more cash for the play toys these days. If we sink our boat and insurance didn't cover it, other than the boat loss, it wouldn't affect our bottom line one bit. Try doing that with a financed one.

I think this has been beaten to death in this thread

Waiting until you can pay cash ,which also can be foolish, and miss out on enjoying a lifestyle with your growing kids is silly

Suggesting someone buy a pos used trailer that will still cost a small fortune in this day and age is bad advice as well

I will say it again if it was just cash buyers buying new rv’s the industry would collapse