Keep or buy new

[Joe]

We have a 1995 Xplorer 230 on a Dodge 3500 frame. It only has 68,000 miles on it. We love it and have owned for 10 years or so. Question is should we buy something newer or keep her. Other than normal things with camper parts and truck parts. No real problems. Has been well maintained by us. She has cost us a few bucks over the years as most vehicles and campers will. Affrade she might let us down one day on a long trip to Florida from Maryland. Any thoughts?

[peteco]

Originally Posted by Joe

We have a 1995 Xplorer 230 on a Dodge 3500 frame. It only has 68,000 miles on it. We love it and have owned for 10 years or so. Question is should we buy something newer or keep her. Other than normal things with camper parts and truck parts. No real problems. Has been well maintained by us. She has cost us a few bucks over the years as most vehicles and campers will. Affrade she might let us down one day on a long trip to Florida from Maryland. Any thoughts?

Sounds like a keeper to me. Yes, it is probably less reliable than a new one, but most any repair shop can fix it if a breakdown occurs on the road.

[k1hog]

New is Nice
Keep is Cheap

I made a rhyme.

Maybe newer would be an option, money is the question, how much to spend.

Johnnie

[Boxster1971]

Joe - I think it depends on where you are in life and your financial situation. How much longer do you plan to travel in a van? Do you have the money to buy new? Those are questions I face myself as I have an 8 year old Sprinter B-van with 120,000 miles on it.

Good luck with your choices.

[Ron J. Moore]

We have a 1995 Xplorer 230 on a Dodge 3500 frame. It only has 68,000 miles on it. We love it and have owned for 10 years or so. Question is should we buy something newer or keep her. Other than normal things with camper parts and truck parts. No real problems. Has been well maintained by us. She has cost us a few bucks over the years as most vehicles and campers will. Affrade she might let us down one day on a long trip to Florida from Maryland. Any thoughts?


I would surely keep it. Yours is from an era when quality and pride of craftsmanship were the norm. You have kept it in great shape, and under the hood maintenance.....I would really appreciate it and roll on proudly.

[jrobe]

Originally Posted by Boxster1971

Joe - I think it depends on where you are in life and your financial situation.

I agree with this. When I was younger and didn't have a lot of disposable income, I would have definitely kept it. Now that I am older and more financially secure, I don't need the hassle from old things giving me trouble. Every nut, bolt and gasket on that RV is 25 years old. I recently replaced a 12 year old gasket on one of my cars and the the hard brittle thing practically crumbled in my hand. Old is old. Someone else can have the hassle. Of course, new things can cause problems too but the odds are far lower. That is just me though.

[avanti]

Do not underestimate the value of the new active safety features such as lane-keeping, blind-spot detect, and backup pedestrian warnings. Having experienced these, I would NEVER buy a new car without them, and I really mis them on our older vehicles. Doesn't matter how careful a driver you are, you CAN'T do what these systems do.

[Beachlife]

Originally Posted by Joe

We have a 1995 Xplorer 230 on a Dodge 3500 frame. It only has 68,000 miles on it. We love it and have owned for 10 years or so. Question is should we buy something newer or keep her. Other than normal things with camper parts and truck parts. No real problems. Has been well maintained by us. She has cost us a few bucks over the years as most vehicles and campers will. Affrade she might let us down one day on a long trip to Florida from Maryland. Any thoughts?

Hello, I just saw that Thor came out with some new Class B's called the Senerity and Tellaro. They look very much like the Travato K, but sell for a lot less. I see the differences, but the basic Dodge 3500 is present. Worth checking out. New comes with warranty, less headaches and Dodge dealers to serivce (well where they have Promaster certified mechanics). I can't wait for this virus to be gone, and get back out on the road. Safe travels everyone.

[Joe]

We are currently finishing up a trip to Florida. Was supposed to be 3 months. Cut it a month short because of all the stuff going on. Don't want to go back yet lol!!!

[k1hog]

Somewhere there is a balance between the cost of a thing and the practically of same.
Each of us must choose.

Johnnie

[Peder_y2k]

Key words..."We love it". New is not necessarily better, it is just different. You don't know if you will love a new/er rig
Keep what you know you love.

[TatraDog]

Joe,

I prefer to "keep it simple" with the "old tech". But it depends if YOU want a new RV with all the latest hi-tech gear, systems and gadgets. It will take a little time to work out the bugs and system issues of a new RV. Sure you will have a warranty - but there will still be "shop-time" to work out these new bugs. I'm not saying that NEW is bad, but it will be different. And different can be good.

To me, a new RV is kind of like a wife/spouse. If the marriage is good and still works well after 25 years why leave it? Sure I could get a new younger wife that looks nicer, goes faster and does all kinds of new fun stuff, but she's going to cost me a lot more.

However, if the old wife is treating you badly, doesn't want to do anything fun anymore, doesn't want to go anywhere and you want something different, then trade her in for a new one!

If you have the $70k - $120K for a new RV and want the modern engines, safety systems and RV systems, then go for it.

Just my opinion.
Dave

[drsdig]

I have a 2000 Xplorer extra wide with about 88,000 miles on it. I too wonder if it is time to get something newer with a bit more room. Xplorer made quality RV's and it is hard to match with some of the newer models. This RV has served us well. About 5 or 6 years ago, I had the electric couch removed and twin beds put in. That has restricted some of the indoor space hence the thought of a little more room, but part of me does not want to let it go. Like you it has been well maintained. The only problem I have encountered is that some of the "house" parts are no longer available, so instead of replacing just a part, we had to replace the entire appliance. However, my auto mechanic tells me the 3500 will go on for a lot more miles. It is a hard decision to make. I have owned 3 different Xplorer since 1975 and they all served me well. I wish you well with your quandary.

[GeoB]

Joe, you’ve received a lot of good comments re new vs old and as said it mostly depends on your economics vs tolerance for adapting to surprises. We have a 2000 RT 190P Ram3500. Based in Florida we’ve manage to run it 280,000 miles...so far. Our plan is to stick with it. Of course we’ve had some major issues along the way even though we keep up with maintenance....rear end bearing burnout in S.C., lost transmission in Knoxville, Water pump in Jasper, brakes in Maine, etc. They were solved with minimal stress. We’re at another decision point now, with several trips to Maine and at least one to AZ in near future. we have your same worries.plus it’s a good comment on safety features. However we too love ours and find it our favorite bed. We know it and have records on all repairs and Maint.. also at 80 we’re probably not going to spend $120k to replace it and a newer used just puts us in an unknown vehicle which will require going through the repairs again. Good luck with your decision but I think the MD-FL run should be fairly stress free...and there are good shops along the way. Recommend truck repair facilities.