Still homeless (venting)

[TXinPA]

It looks like I may not be getting the motor home I wanted.

I was going to borrow the money from my ex, but he's being stupid about the whole thing. He looked the motor home over, said it was in good shape, just needed rear brakes. I've given him money down on it and told him to go ahead with getting it. If you're wondering why he's doing a lot of this (instead of me) it's because I've been in Massachusetts the last three weeks, and I don't go 'home' again until Wednesday.

Anyway, he e-mailed me and said I shouldn't get that motorhome because it was junk. Then, I got another e-mail where he was giving me phone numbers to people with other motorhomes. Toyota motorhomes. Sooo, I call him to see what the deal is and he thinks the thing is too big - 28 feet long - and he doesn't want to drive it for me. So I'm thinkin WHAT! - I never wanted him to drive the thing for me! I don't want him at all.

The whole deal is that he thinks I can't drive it. I know it'll be hard to learn...a 28 foot RV isn't exactly a Mustang. But, I gotta do what I gotta do. So now I have to decide whether to take his advice and get something else, or just get that one. I did find another I liked that's a 23 foot long, 1983 or '84 model Ford. He said it was junk and they broke down all the time and cost twice as much to fix.

The thing is; I don't really know what to believe, because I don't know anything about motor homes. I might/should get an apartment, but I don't want to be tied to a lease, plus I'm out of town most of the time anyway. So, I have no idea what to do.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS?

I could really use some advice here. Pleeeze?

[Five0]

I wish I could help but I don't know anything about motor homes. Sorry

[6T9PONY]

Me either.....

Has anyone ever tricked a motor home out and made it fast? I saw that UPS truck......any motor homes?????

[bri32z]

If you are single go for the motor home not an apartment. Have a mechanic look at the thing for ya and make a decsion from there. You will have a home for life with that thing. No lease or mortage for 30 yrs. When u get tired of it just sell it in fl for what you bought it for. Can you say freedom? If I could move my house all the time I would be in heaven. But my wife wants the big house thing--go figure

[Five0]

I am with you bri32z but you need a place to park the mustang.

[Mr 5 0]

TXinPA:
I don't advise buying a 28-foot motorhome.

Bunch of reason;

Repairs are very expensive and you're looking at old models so they will need repairs - guaranteed.

Insurance is expensive on Motorhomes.

They really are a pain to drive and parking is almost impossible in many cases unless there is a big lot available.

Gas mileage is a joke. A 400 HP Mustang gets better mileage than a 28-ft Motorhome.

That's just a few of the negatives to owning a Motorhome. Ever notice it's mostly well-off old people that have these things? That's because they can afford them and they buy them new for $60,000 to 80,000., drive the crap out of them as they tour the country, then they get rid of them.

Here's my suggestions:

Look into renting a small apartment on a month-to-month basis. Sometimes these can be rented furnished, too.
That way you can get out of it easily and no furniture to lug around.
I did this for 18 months when I lived in California. Worked out great.
Check with a Real Estate agent in your area.

If you don't want to lease an apartment, look into buying or renting a Travel Trailer that you keep in a mobile trailer park (not a regular, fixed-spot trailer park).
It has about the same space as a Mobile Home but it's a lot cheaper and you don't need to drive it around. I had friends who did this and they loved it.

Some options to consider, anyway, as a Motorhome is a big investment and could end up being a big headache.

Originally posted by Mr 5 0
TXinPA:
If you don't want to lease an apartment, look into buying or renting a Travel Trailer that you keep in a mobile trailer park (not a regular, fixed-spot trailer park).
It has about the same space as a Mobile Home but it's a lot cheaper and you don't need to drive it around. I had friends who did this and they loved it.

You are talking about a camp ground. I've delivered to campgrounds before.. people actually live there year round. Some are nasty and some are pretty nice. You can even fix the lot up and have a garden at some that I've been to. I'm not saying that is a bad idea at all. Get something without a motor therefore, no 'big' insurance.

I really don't know what your exact situation is but I think a small house would be a good decision(unless you planned on paying cash for the motorhome/trailer), tax wise. You could get a trustworthy roommate to pay rent and you could get the tax break, all the while someone is home with your stuff or you could rent a room. I personally don't like roommates so that wouldn't work for me.

The non-motorized mobile home in a campground doesn't sound like a bad idea though. You buy the home and pay very little for the lot, monthly. Some of these campgrounds have pools, hot tubs, cable(or you could get a little satellite) and security. They actually lock the parks up after a certain time of night. I bet you could look on traderonline.com and find one in the area you want to live, already set up. You may be able to find one by just cruising a campground and seeing a "For Sale By Owner" in the window, I've seen that before.

Good Luck