Life Span

[TexasGolfBum]

If you keep your RV under cover, and take care of it, what do you find to be the average lifespan? Also many camp site will not let you camp he used on the year. Do you find these owners to be black and white about camping on the grounds?

[ColoradoRick]

Originally Posted by TexasGolfBum

If you keep your RV under cover, and take care of it, what do you find to be the average lifespan? Also many camp site will not let you camp he used on the year. Do you find these owners to be black and white about camping on the grounds?

I honestly have no idea how long they are expected to last.

But with the modern RVs and their superior fiberglass and new, composite roofs, I'm hoping they last so long I have to give mine away in my will!

I'm greatly encouraged when I spot a 30+ year old classic RV sailing down the road onto the next campsite or when they camp near me.

I'm sure I'll have to replace stuff like the water pump and fridge and A/C (eventually) but maintaining her and fixing stuff just adds to the overall enjoyment for us.

On our last camping trip, I discovered our DVD player doesn't play BluRay disks so one of the future upgrades will be to replace the console with one that does. (But I may just wait a few years when 4K TVs are cheaper and they come out with a 4K console for RVs.)

[NMWildcat]

I think the level of maintenance you do regularly for your rig affects lifespan more than covers. Just my opinion. Of course, if you don't use it much and it is stored in a barn, you will have a longer lifetime. But I think normal covers cause about as much wear as they prevent.

And yes, we are finding more and more RV parks/resorts that require your RV to be less than 10 years old. Some parks are strict, others want a picture of the rig for assessment.

I personally think the way most rigs are manufactured now that lifetimes are around 6 - 8 years before you start major repair/replacements.

I plan on replacing ours at 8 years, IF I can convince my better half, as she hasn't seen a fiver she likes better.... YET

[Jeff_and_Abby]

Gotta wonder ... with the growing interest in nicely restored "vintage" units, something will have to give ???

Hopefully the national / state / county parks don't get this itch. What next, BLM and COE ???

Privately owned parks, yeah, the owner / operators control the rules, just as they control their own destiny.

[tkmi]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

I think the level of maintenance you do regularly for your rig affects lifespan more than covers. Just my opinion. Of course, if you don't use it much and it is stored in a barn, you will have a longer lifetime. But I think normal covers cause about as much wear as they prevent.

And yes, we are finding more and more RV parks/resorts that require your RV to be less than 10 years old. Some parks are strict, others want a picture of the rig for assessment.

I personally think the way most rigs are manufactured now that lifetimes are around 6 - 8 years before you start major repair/replacements.

I plan on replacing ours at 8 years, IF I can convince my better half, as she hasn't seen a fiver she likes better.... YET

After so many yrs. And so many models, you would think they could make one with everything we need.

[TexasGolfBum]

Thank you guys. I don't use a cover, but it's under a shed. The only wear is the nose where it hangs out into the sun.

[Restcure]

Originally Posted by TexasGolfBum

Thank you guys. I don't use a cover, but it's under a shed. The only wear is the nose where it hangs out into the sun.

Make sure the part in the sun gets waxed!

A few years ago we saw a 30+ year old trailer at one of our favourite parks. I talked to the owner and he told me it and the tow vehicle (a 20+ year old Ford van) were always parked indoors. You could tell... both looked as if they had just rolled off the showroom floor.

It's how you take care of it!

[Octopus Prime]

Originally Posted by Restcure

A few years ago we saw a 30+ year old trailer at one of our favourite parks. I talked to the owner and he told me it and the tow vehicle (a 20+ year old Ford van) were always parked indoors. You could tell... both looked as if they had just rolled off the showroom floor.

It's how you take care of it!

I think this is a major factor. We know of people that have sheds built on their property to store their motor homes/RVs/boats; I wish we could do it. Even if we could afford it, there is no space for it and deed restrictions do not allow it. But I can see where it is worthwhile and incredibly smart.

We do, however, keep both of our vehicles in the garage. Doing this protects them from sun damage, storm damage, and from theft. We find that our vehicles last longer and stay nice longer by doing this. (We bought a small, hard plastic shed for the back yard from Amazon for lawn tools to keep them out of the garage.)