Do You Finance Your RV or Purchase Cash

[f5moab]

Pay cash for everything but the house. But if I wasn't making more interest on my investments than the interest on the house, I would pay that off too!

[Freetyme1]

Financed almost everything or would have nothing. Always tried to have a sizable down payment, enough to have a manageable monthly and a term of 4 yrs. or less. It's the American way.

[mikel68]

First one cash, 2nd two financed, new one cash. Definitely less people to deal with you finally break it to the dealer this could be cash. Try to get everything you can before they know how you're gonna pay.

[LTRVing]

Cash, spending the kid's inheritance. Thank goodness they don't need it.

[syogerst]

Cash
It was my gift to me when I sold my home and retired😊

[Terier]

I paid cash and for me it was the right choice. However, a couple months ago when I was considering upgrading my TT it would been easier to exchange one monthly payment for another.


Cash or finance is a personal choice. I'm on a snug budget and paying cash kept me within an affordable range.

[PenJoe]

Our daughter was the first born and we recall her sleeping in a bassinet in our Winnebago class A. Eventually, we bought a new class C at the Chicago show. The kids grew up camping. Both campers were financed, because we wanted to do things while the kids were growing up and couldn't afford to pay cash.

We lived in the Class C for 6 months while building a home (saving $1,000/mo rent), used it on multiple short and long vacations, and used it to combine job related education with vacations. Though we made payments, for several years, it was worth it. At that time, consumer loans were a tax deduction. The bonus? More than ten years use and we sold it for nearly what we paid for it. New RV prices had escalated. Was it a good investment? It was a great investment.

Several years ago, we purchased a new slide in camper, payed cash and used it full time for six months while we were building our second home out of state. We decided to sell after 3 yrs use and again, nearly got our money back. Another good investment.

We go along with GOTTOYS. Now,we own everything free and clear and could afford to have paid cash. However,we put a healthy deposit and will try payments for awhile. Low interest rates, an income tax deduction, and the safety net in investments were key factors. DW and I have always discussed the options in depth before taking the bite. Our decision was not to go with the mostist we could afford, but something we were both comfortable with. If we passed away, the money is there to pay it off.

The Fed gave us the first bump in interest rates recently. Not much, but a start. If choosing to finance, now is the time because rates will go up. As long a camper loan is considered a mortgage, it is pretty cheap money. As long as the RV industry prospers, new prices will go up. So will your residual value.

[Life Without Whine]

Had decent cash saved then put as much as they would allow on my credit card (so I got all that cash back) that was paid off immediately then used home equity loan to pay off the balance, get a lower rate & tax write off on interest ....

[The_Rhino]

Previously I owned a business & would just take-on extra work to either pay cash or pay stuff off quickly... However, this mentality drove me into working 6+ days per week, 50+ weeks per year...

After having 3 kids I made a mid-life career change & now am an educator with less pay but summers off & more evenings/weekends w/family. However, this (good) trade-off means that we now have to find good deals AND finance major purchases... When the kids are grown I can always resume the business - but I will never get-back missed time with them now during their early formative years... (They actually like spending time with mom & dad right now...)

Because we were new to camping, we needed to buy our TV & TT within the same year. First, we bought a 2 year-old Ram 2500 for $14K & 6 year term @3.5% for a monthly payment of just $220. Then we bought a 3 year-old Tracer 3150 TT for around $20K & 12 year term @ 4.5% with monthly payments of just $180.

Since our combined TV/TT payments are only $400/month we have extra every month for camping, Christmas, kids' sports, emergencies, etc. & can easily double payments 6-8 months out of the year. At this rate, we will have the Ram paid-off after 4 years of ownership & the TT after 6 years of ownership...

[PenJoe]

Good choice, Rhino, the kids won't wait to grow up. We always had the kids camping. Even got the in-laws into it. You are making memories for them that they will cherish for life. A family that plays together, stays together!!

[hotzfamily]

We used our home equity line of credit. Interest deductible. Paid at an accelerated rate, so we were 'ahead' of the depreciation. If you take 10 years to pay for it (which they will let you), you'll always be upside down.

[spock123]

I financed our camper, for 20 years, now I have a bank praying that I live that long.


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[debandi]

Finance every time. Keeps Credit Bureaus in business

[MartiB]

Originally Posted by 5er_tom

We finance. Low interest rates plus the RV qualifies as a second home so the interest is a deduction on our taxes.

I've financed my new one this summer for these same reasons. Plus I didn't have the total cash available.

[00buck]

I've done both. I've decided it works better for me to split the baby and make at least 1/3 down payments and finance the rest. I pay my bills much better than I save money. I consider the interest to be a reasonable fee for imposing external discipline. I've wasted so much money on RVs and guitars that I need all the help I can get. (Moreover, not paying cash leaves a little more money laying around for the inevitable repairs.)

[mike.t]

Interesting stuff. Can you write off the entire interest?

[5er_tom]

I believe you can write off all the interest. Most RV's have a kitchen, bath room and bedroom so they qualify as a second home.
I am not a tax person, but I do believe it is true.


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[PenJoe]

It is my understanding that it qualifies as a 3rd home, as-well.

[Donamac]

Good question about the tax deduction. I have owned and financed two TT's and now a MH over the last five years (kept moving up). The first salesman told me the interest was tax deductible but the CPA who did my taxes said not. I asked the next CPA two years later and she said she wasn't aware of it. I didn't bother to ask the third one last year. Are there any tax experts out there with the knowledge and can reference the tax code location?

[Shady camper]

Mine is written off... My tax guy suggested we finance instead of cash for that very purpose.

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