We’ve been looking at some of the larger 5th wheel units and there you can easily spend $100,000 putting together a 5th wheel and a good truck to pull it.

I know that rv financing is somewhere between like debt on a car and a mortgage on a house. You see, you can always get better rates if you have good equity to back the loan. It just simply offers much better security to a financial institution in case you default on your loan.

But with an RV rig, it’s easy to head for the hills and it will be a lot tougher to track you and your RV down. Hence, the higher interest rates. So, let’s just think about financing for a moment. If you are looking for rv financing, you can expect to pay higher then prime rate interest rates.

For example, it wouldn’t be too far fetched in today’s economy to pay 5% of that $100,000 loan.

We would be looking at payment of $791.00 per month and we would pay close to $42,334 in interest in a 15 year period.

So, this is one serious expense. Not for the light hearted or the weekend or very occasional RV warrior. RV financing is like taking out a mortgage on a second house!

We haven’t equated the cost of a pad per month to sit our RV on either. And i feel that it’s wize to consider around $500 per month for that alone. Together, we are now looking at $1291.00. Sounds definitely like owning that 2nd house!

It would be idea to be able to sell your current home to reduce the amount of rv financing that you’d require, especially if you are looking at full time rv living. But there’s one more fly in the ointment, so to speak.

Whereas your home will continue to appreciate in value, your RV will depreciate! I’ve been studying the values on RV units across the board and it’s not unusual for a new RV to depreciate by 25% in the first year and around 10 to 15% there after. Thus after even 10 years, your $100,000 investment is probably worth maybe $15,000! Ouch.

RV Financing – Real World Example

To give you a real example, if you don’t believe me, I just took a look at a 2005 diesel pusher that sold for around $350,000 in 2005 is up for sale at $150,000. It’s literally worth less then half it’s original value in little over 5 to 6 years. Meanwhile, the rv financing on the unit has to be costing way more then $350,000 at this point.

In comparison, 5th wheel units that are two or three years old are also only worth about 1/2 their original sales cost. That could be great for us, but when we get it, we too will feel the continued depreciation.

So I think it all comes down to considering your rv financing very carefully. Make sure that you understand the pitfalls of the unit you’ll be purchasing. It’s easy to get lulled into a unit that is very expensive because it’s so nice looking and heck, you’ll be full time rving! So, it’s got to be good!

RV Financing – Wrapping it Up!

But you do have to remember that this is a depreciating asset and your rv financing must reflect that. Best of luck and be sure to tell me if you agree, disagree or have a better idea below in our comments section. Thanks for reading this article on rv financing.

So, I’m hoping the changes you’ll notice will be small and significant and not big and bothersome.

Also, I’ve been mulling over the idea of having a full forum on this site and I’m defnitely considering it. I did build a forum into the site about six months ago, but I found it unstable and not that great. Since then, I’ve discovered how to build out a forum with the site that a bit more flexible and stable. My only other consideration is making sure that it’s pretty protected from spammers.

Next, I’ve been working with a person who knows classified ads and I’ll soon be able offer you the services of classified ads on the site. I’ve had several requests for different forms of this and well, maybe it’s time to test it out.

Finally, I will be doing a bit more searching on the net and republishing great RV Living content right here, so www.bestrvliving.com will become more of a one stop shop for finding information that all about rv living!

Anyhow, I’d love to get your feedback as it’s you our visitors who really will be the ones who like the new furniture or not. So, please feel free to submit your comments below!

Thanks!

Frank and Brenda of Best RV Living

I want to be able to offer you tremendous value for your visit and make Best RV Living your one stop shop for information, ideas and an active marketplace.

I’ll be shortly adding in a full classifieds section and I’m also looking for authors! Especially those of you who already are RVing full time and have adventures to share with us. Believe or not, I’ve gotten some glowing comments from others who have read what you have to say and they have been helped significantly!

So, there’s a few things that I need from you. First, tell your RV friends about us! Help us to raise the awareness of Best RV Living!

Next, I need you as a contributing author! If you love to tell stories and you have a bit of time, think about contributing your experience to the readers of Best RV Living.

Finally, if you have things that you want to sell, I’ll ask you to list them here. For the next 60 days (till March 15, 2011), all listings will be 100% free! List your RV related goods or even your RV right here!

Thanks and I do look forward to taking Best RV Living to the next level with you!

Things are pretty new on this, and it will take me a couple of weeks to put together the forum into appropiate sections.

But as things progress, I’m looking forward to creating categories for you to comment on different aspects of full time rving.

But hold on temporarily, I hope to have all done shortly!

Cheers!

Frank

This individual had attacked many web sites, mine being one of them. Fortunately though, I’ve been able to reverse the damage to the site and restore it with more security in place.

Please feel rest assured that I care for this site to be available for those who come to visit. I know that you love RVing and I love RVing, but this hacker doesn’t seem too?

As always I continue to welcome your comments and enjoy when we can share good RV information together.

Thanks!

Frank Thomas
www.bestrvliving.com

After looking around, I’ve come up with some good to know points when you are looking at RV insurance.

I did find that most auto insurance policy insurers will allow you to add your RV or motor home directly to the normal personal automobile policy. But I did find some flies in the ointment, so to speak with this approach.

Since an RV can be a huge investment, your personal auto policy may have places where things are not covered or there is too low a replacement value for loss or damage.

When talking with your personal insurer, make sure your rv insurance also covers the following items:

Many Personal Auto Insurance policies will allow an insured to add their motor home or RV to the personal auto policy and some estimates indicate that as many as half of the RV owners do just that. It’s important however, to understand that an RV is a huge investment and instead of insuring with the same coverage’s as your family car it might be wise to consider specialty insurance specifically designed to cover RV’s.

Every RV owner should consider these insurance needs:

Extended Road Side Assistance and Towing

 Many standard policies will either offer limit or no coverage for this situation. Even when you consider 3^rd party road side assistance from places like AAA or CAA, you need to ensure your RV is covered too.

Nothing is worst then discovering that your coverage will tow your truck but not the attached RV when you are stranded on the side of the road.

Also, temporary lodging when in concert to a break down will fall into this category. Again, it’s prudent of you to be sure. Especially when inexpensive RV insurance can save you $100’s for a night’s stay.

Making an Accident Claim

I’ve read on other forums that normal car adjusters are not experienced at adjusting RV claims. Be sure that your insurer is knowledgeable when it comes to handling a high RV unit claim. Nobody likes hassle or being left in the cold when trying to replace an RV unit because their RV insurance was inadequate or the adjuster isn’t knowledgeable.

Insurance Against Theft or Replacement

If you find yourself in the situation where you have to have your RV replaced because of theft or it’s been totaled in an accident, then you need to know now, not then, what you’ll be getting for it in replacement value.

Are you going to be remunerated at the actual cash value or at a total loss replacement value? This could be a big difference in how much you’ll receive in a settlement.

Items Stolen From The Recreational Vehicle

Here’s a real ouch to look out for. Did you know that many personal auto insurers will not pay for the replacement of stolen, lost or damaged personal property?

Normally you will need a special policy to cover the loss of personal effects. Again, be sure, as having your flat screen stolen from your RV can be quite sickening. Think about the latest 5^th wheelers that can have up to five of these in one unit.

I chatted with a dealer, who had a ton of the TVs stolen from the lot overnight, told me it takes good thefts about 15 minutes to take them all from one unit!

Personal Liability in Regards to Your RV

Did you realize that you could be liable for the area where your RV is parked when in a campground? If someone hurts themselves, you as the RV owner could be sued. We live in a crazy world and you don’t need your year messed up with a personal liability claim. Make sure your RV insurance covers you against this liability.

To conclude, make sure your RV insurance is covering your needs before you hit the road. Paying that extra bit can save you a lot. When it comes to RV insurance, don’t be sorry, be sure!

I was just down in the USA and looked at a bunch of them from afar. You really do have to take the time and check out a used RV before you decide to purchase. On many occasions I would check out a used 5th wheel to find the advertising to be not the same as the actual unit.

I don’t believe that people will falsely advertise, but I think it’s more a matter of just not seeing things in a unit after owning it for some time.

The second problem I’ve come across on many occasions is the actual cost of the used RV for sale. On many, many occasions, the price is much too high. I feel for the owners, but unfortunately, the depreciation on a RV is pretty drastic in the first five years.

Back to the problems I have found and look for now.

The number one thing I look for is water damage. I’ve done a fair bit of research and the one thing that is almost impossible to fix on a used RV is water damage. Once it starts to show, the real damage is done.

It’s very hard to fix an rv that suffers from water damage. It’s not impossible, but from what I’ve read, it’s pretty near. The trouble is when you see mild water damage, underneath the surface, is normally a ton of damage that just isn’t seen.

Second thing I look for is easy to find damage. I’ll normally inspect the inside and outside pretty closely. If the owner is hovering over me, then I’ll normally tell them thanks but no thanks. Hovering is normally a sign of something not been told.

If I’m pretty satisfied with what I find or don’t find and the price is in the right ball park, then I’ll ask to see it connected to electricity and water. I’ll want to test both of these systems out in conjunction to the waste systems.

I’ll normally ask where the unit has been stored. Specifically, I’m looking to see if the unit has sat in a field or next to a field for some time. This will normally turn me off too. Many people will put their used RV up for sale at the edge of a major road, sitting in a farmer’s field.

One thing I do know is farmer’s fields and RV’s just don’t get along for one reason. Mice. If you leave an RV sitting dormant in a farmer’s field or close to a farmer’s field, the unit can become infested with field mice. And they can cause havoc.

To be honest with you, no used RV has made it this far. Either there is damage that I wish not to own, or the price has been just a little too steep for me. So, I’ll keep hunting. I’d like to hear your stories about you buying or selling a used RV. Please leave your comments below.

We’ve personally struggled to find a layout that works for us. But I’ve stuck to my guns and felt that when we find the best layout, we would know it. Well, I’ve found out that this it is a bit true and a bit false.

I would recommend that you walk through several of the best rv layouts that you can find. Even ones you may not like, will show you things you may like or dislike in the long run. For example, we were looking at the toy hauler layouts.

Now, I feel that the toy hauler layouts waste a ton of space, especially when you want to maximize your living space and don’t need to haul around things like dirt bikes or quads. But what I did find out was that it was nice to have the flexible storage available in the rear of the toy hauler.

This added in a new wrinkle to our search when looking for best rv layouts for our needs.

We looked extensively at motorhomes, even though they do not fit our purposes at all at this time. But when our oldest son heads off to university, that situation can completely change. Motorhome manufacturers have recognized that more and more middle aged couples have enough disposable income to afford the more expensive motorhomes.

And they’ve stepped up to the plate offering some of the best rv layouts I’ve seen that contain a double bunk unit for two children. I think the only downfall to this design is that the children are literally a couple of feet away from your bedroom. That could be an intimacy killer right there.

You also have to really look at the features offered by the layout you’ve selected. You may find with careful scrutiny, that this really isn’t the best option for you. One example I can offer was on a Jayco unit.

It contained a double bunk unit plus the extra bed for our third child. Fantastic! But because the unit was only about 34 feet long, there was loss of storage space for this bunk unit. In the long run, the lack of storage was a bit of a killer for us. Especially if we decide to rv full time.

But some of the best rv layouts that we’ve found to date have been simply by looking at rv after rv. Only through comprehensive examination and asking a ton of questions, have we been able to weed out the layouts that would have been unsuitable for us as a family at this time.

In closing remarks, you need to do a ton of searching to find the best rv layouts that would suit you and your circumstances. It may take a bit of time, but if you consider that you could be spending more then $20,000 on a rv unit, I think that this is time well spent!

Unfortunately, I cannot give you any more dynamics of an RV refrigerator, but I did come across a great video on caring for your fridge unit.

To recap from the video, things to keep watch for when caring for your rv refrigerator are:

• Ventilation is critical – we need to ensure that the area around the refrigerator is clear of cobwebs and squirrel’s nests.
• Don’t over pack your fridge. Air has to be able to circulate around the food for it to keep the food cool.
• To assist with air circulation, consider purchasing a small battery powered fan that will move air around in your rv refrigerator.
• Check the drain tube on the back of the fridge. Ensure that there are obstructions.
• Regularly have the refrigerator flue cleaned and serviced.
• Be sure to test the rv refrigerator in AC and LP (propane) modes. Ensure that the RV is level as the refrigerant will not circulate properly otherwise.

I would recommend viewing this video just to be sure you are properly caring for your rv refrigerator. I found it quite enlightening, as I am not experienced with this type of appliance just yet.

Well, I’ve discovered that rv manufacturers really didn’t get into the business of adding slides until about 7 to 10 years ago. Now they are definitely the rage. No doubt about that. I’ve seen some older units that pre-date about 1996 and they are small without the feature of an rv slide.

I’ve also read that you may need to replace the seals in the slide about every seven years. This has controversy as salespeople will tell you that they will last forever. That I cannot believe! But what I did find out that was unanimous was you do have to maintain them.

First and foremost, if you use your slides and you don’t have some sort of awning that unrolls over the top of the slide while it is extended, you will need to ensure you clear all the stuff that can land on the top. This will be a fast track to ruining your rv slide if you are not vigilant in this area.

Next, I did find out that you need to make sure you fully extend the slide mechanism in the full open or full closed position while in use. I’ve heard that it puts pressure on the seals if you do not properly open or close them.

I have read issues with motors on slides, but again, I’m guessing as I don’t have experience. I do know if there are any mechanical parts that should be greased, then they should be greased.

Finally, from experiences of other friends who own rv slide units, using a rubber rejuvenator once per year on the seals can extend the life of the seals. I know from my own vehicles for this to be true. Seals will last for many years if you care for them.

Oh, and apparently replacing them in a certified repair shop isn’t too hard or too expense. That’s good to know. Again, I’m recalling what I’ve heard from vendors as I couldn’t find anyone who as of yet has had to repair a rv slide.

So, as far as I can see, there is very little downside to having rv slide units on your 5th wheel or motorhome. Just tons of upside! I’d love to hear your comments about what you’ve encountered with your rv slides.