Are you the type of person who drives your car the equivalent of a dozen times around the world before sending it out to pasture — in other words for a long time? Well, how about your RV? Do you keep one for years and years, or do you get itchy feet and buy a new one every year or two?
We know from a previous survey that two-thirds of our readers have owned at least three RVs. Half have owned four or more. So that tells us that many of you are hanging on to your RVs for quite awhile.
So let’s see how long we’re keeping our RVs before selling them, or buying another one. In this case, we’re asking about the last one you owned before your current one.
Remember, if you’re on a slow connection, the poll may take a few moments to appear. Hang on: it’s coming, we promise.
Bought the first one in 78 & sold in 96, Bought the current unit in 09 and have no thoughts of selling. Unit is a 95 with a Cummins 12 Valve and no slides. Perfect for the two of us and our two cats.
We bought a 75 in 2001 and sold it in 2006 when we bought our current camper. We’ve had it for 17 years. Just needed to find the right one.
We’re newish to camping. Spur of the moment purchase of #1 which we bought Labor Day weekend of 2019. It was not the camper for me & my physical issues. Traded after seven weeks.
Bought a Keystone Bullet that we loved. Decided after a year to go seasonal while my husband is still working. Brought the Bullet in for a minor fix and went to the lot, just to look. We now own a Keystone Cougar 32 rli. Perfect camper for us. No plans to ever trade.
Bought a new Coachmen Catalina in 1994. Bought our Heartland Bighorn in 2017. They were built better back then and ours was maintained to like new condition inside and out. When we sold it, the buyers couldn’t believe it was as old as it was!
Bought an Entegra 42′ Anthem diesel pusher new in 2012 and sold it in Dec 2019. It was a beautiful coach and great to drive but was just TOO expensive to operate and maintain. Bought a 2019 33′ Forest River FR3 gas motorhome new in Jan 2020 and really like it with no plans to ever sell it!!
Bought a 2016 FR Grey Wolf toy hauler brand new. Had it back to the dealer 4 times in the first year. Each time it sat for at least three weeks before anything was looked at. Three of the problems were minor and didn’t require any parts replacement. The fourth was a problem with the shower door being misaligned. Waited over a month for the parts to arrive from FR.
When we picked it up, all they did was replace the bottom door seal. Door still misaligned. We were told that FR would not approve replacing the entire shower.
Then while loading my motorcycle for the first time, the ramp cracked in the center. The trailer was 13 months old. Dealer said I had to call FR. I called and they refused to do anything since I loaded a 700lb motorcycle, said it was to heavy for the ramp. The ramp was rated at 1500lbs. Then their excuse was the ramp could only handle 500lbs per wheel.
I finally contacted the door manufacturer and after sending pictures, they agreed to replace the door.
PS: Neither the dealer nor FR would cover the cost of installing the new door. A month later the trailer was traded in, at a loss, for another brand.
I had a 2004 Keystone Zeppelin, bought new. I really liked that trailer however going down i-15 the Wall came off the floor. When we started looking at it we could only find 2-in screws placed every 6 ft apart holding the wall to the floor. I bought a 2009 Jayco Eagle new that I’m still using to this day.
I upgraded from a Grand Design travel trailer to a Grand Design 5th wheel because we decided to go with a seasonal site.
We count nights spent in the camper instead of years old. Last one was 450+, this one 600+.
And the missing option… We are still on our first RV.
Bought a 2 year old Minnie 324F in 2006. Used it for 11 years and the only reason to sell it was because of the over-cab bed. Night time bathroom needs became a problem. Bought a “gently” used Class A in 2017. Should have kept the Minnie. Lots and lots of problems with the A.
1986 Prowler 25N, bought as the 3rd owner in 1998. I got real good at all the repairs necessary to keep it healthy. Besides a refrigerator replacement and complete axle replacement, rebuilding the front end by stripping the aluminum siding, replacing the 2×2 structure floor to ceiling and reinstalling the siding was the most extensive. When we went full time, we upgraded to a 37′ NUWA and gave the old Prowler to a buddy with a special needs adult son.
I didn’t answer as I’ve only had the first one for eight years. It’s 45 years old and still chugging along.
Just under 6 years. We bought on July 27, 2016 and traded on July 12, 2022. I am amazed by all that changed/becam available over those 6 years. The safety stuff now (?, maybe our unit just lacked them in 2016) available on a driveable is considerable! AN escape door with ladder in addition to an escape window, 360° camera/software system, adaptive cruise control, and lane-departure warning are all now available as standard features or available options. How very cool! Given all these driver-assistance features we expect to keep this RV until we can no longer RV.
Previous motorhome for 5 years, present motorhome for 9.
The data fit surprisingly well to an exponential decay curve with a 3.6 year half-life (ignoring those selling within the first year or after more than 20 years). Or 50% of surveyed owners bought their current RV within 3 and a half years, 75% within 7 years, 88% within 10.8 years, 94% within 14.4 years, 97% within 18 years, …
We had the first two RVs for a year or less (each) until we found the one we now have. We have had this one for 12 years and have no desire to change.
Just before the pandemic we bought our last motorhome a 2020 in the fall of 2019. Luckily we have had very little problems with it and so far have driven it 32,000 miles.
1-1985 Winnebago Chieftain (1986-2000)
2-2000 Itasca Suncruiser (2000-2015)
3-2016 Itasca Suncruiser (2015-2022)
we’re ending our RV adventures and selling our Suncruiser due to health issues.
We bought our first, new to us, class A in ‘13. While it served us well, we upgraded to a newer unit with slides in ‘17, and it will likely be our last. Rising fuel costs have led us to consider downsizing, but don’t think we’d break even financially if we did. We love our MH and will continue to use it to enjoy our Pacific NW locale.
We have a 1997 National Sea Breeze. Previously we went from a tent to a truck camper then a 5th wheel to the current Class A Motorhome. The Sea Breeze has some wear as expected for its age, but the interior is well kept, very nice condition with around 60,000 Mi. We don’t travel much as we used to, would like to downsize. Not comfortable anymore with a 33Ft towing a motorcycle trailer.
I still own my first RV. I bought a 1981 19 foot Jayco JayRaven and dragged it around much of the Southeast USA and the Smokey Mountains. It was parked in the side yard during Hurricane Katrina (2005) when a pine tree top stabbed through the roof, basically ruining the TT. I patched up the metal roof, but could not stop the leaking so I use the old TT as a storage building now.
Graduated from Travel Trailer to Class A after three years.
We purchased a 2000 38ft Dutch Star motor home taking delivery on Laborday weekend in 1999. We just sold it after 22 years. We full timed 9 years then used it about 6 months work camping summers in the northeast. We now only camp about 6 weeks a year so have bought a Coachman Catalina I can pull with my pickup.
We traded our last RV after 2.5 years because of a tire blowout. Took the tin below the seam off from end to end. $4400.00 in damages plus the tire. Time did not allow us to wait for repairs so traded for a present RV. That was in 2015 and the unit we have now is very satisfactory, also has 14 ply heavy trailer tires. Both Montana RVs.
Bought a 2000 Dutch Star in 2010 and traded for a newer one in 2016.
The 1st was a 1994 Fleetwood Class C (12 years) Sold within a few hours of trading it in.
2nd was a 2006 Jayco 5th Wheel. Traded it in at same dealership where we bought the Fleetwood. (8 years)
3rd was a 2015 Thor Siesta Class C on a Sprinter chassis. Bought new, again, at same dealership. Chassis was fine, the coach had terrible workmanship issues. Also, we decided that we needed something more than a 24′ with 2 slides. (3+ years)
4th was a used 2017 Tiffin Breeze Class A. It was about 2 years old. This may not have been Tiffin’s “finest hour”. It was a constant source of frustration with breakdowns and again, more workmanship issues in a coach where our expectations were so high, based on the frequently touted Quality. (3 years)
5th – our new 2022 Dynamax Force Super C. Have had minor issues, but not show stoppers in the 2 months we’ve owned it. Again, great expectations that have so far been, met.
Bought a 20′ TrailBlazer TT in 1972, lived in it while going to college (graduated 1976), used it for actual camping until 1989 when again lived in it with my wife while building our log house in Tennessee, again used it for camping until 1994 when I “converted” it into a utility trailer by removing the entire body and installing side rails. Finally, in 2019 built a 8 X 16 X 10′ tall box on it and use it for a storage trailer in Naples FL where we snowbird. It lost its roof recently to Ian’s winds. We have a 2014 Thor DP for our fulltiming adventures now and sold the S&B.
We had a Tiffin diesel for just over 20 years. It was getting harder and harder to find a station that had ethanol free diesel as the 1998 Cummins engine couldn’t handle that. (Per many annual calls to Cummins – “The engine will be destroyed with the ethanol mix.”)
The 2 Class A motorhomes before the current one were each with us only a couple of years. The first one was a University level education (in relatives and RV issues). The second one was a lot better, but it got to where it needed to be worked on every time it went out. Current one is the only one we ever bought new. Still happy with it.
My Wife’s parents lived with us for 9 years in our home before they passed away in 2008. In 2009 we bought a TrailManor Elkmont Upright 24’ trailer. We could tow it with our car. We spent 11 years fixing it up just the way we wanted it so it was almost perfect. Every Spring we would get excited about spending time together camping. In 2020 COVID closed the State Parks. In May of 2021 FEDEX drove down our driveway to deliver a package, put his truck in reverse and floored it without looking. He pushed our trailer 4 feet and totaled our trailer and destroyed our ability to go camping. We fought with FEDEX for months. I even sent emails to the CEO but they would only pay us slightly more that our own insurance company, not enough to replace our beloved trailer. We have looked but no one makes a super lightweight trailer like the Elkmont that we can tow with our car. They are tiny pieces of junk. We would have to buy a trailer and a truck to tow it. Thanks FEDEX. We loved that trailer.