Travato 59K second home tax deduction

[Roadtoad]

My wife and I are interested in buying a Travato 59K to escape the cold winter weather in Northern New Mexico and live as snowbirds in the winter. I plan on talking with my CPA about deducting it as a second home.

[Davydd]

What tax do you have on an RV? I had sales tax when I bought it and that was a deduction as any sales tax would be. I don't have any yearly taxes on my RV to deduct other than sales tax on parts.

[MsNomer]

We applied solar tax credits to the van's solar system.

[jrobe]

I assume he is talking about deducting the interest that he would be paying on a loan that he took out to buy his RV. I think it is possible under certain circumstances to deduction RV loan interest if someone had to borrow money to buy an RV. Of course, that brings up a whole other conversation.

[stevanpierce@gmail.com]

It may qualify for fed and state rebates if treated and qualifies as a second home.

https://programs.dsireusa.org/system...am/detail/1235

In my case, I'm in Oregon and need to have a licensed contractor install it and only get $0.5 per watt, which is better than nothing imo. https://www.oregon.gov/energy/Incent...omeowners.aspx

[Davydd]

Originally Posted by stevanpierce@gmail.com

It may qualify for fed and state rebates if treated and qualifies as a second home.

https://programs.dsireusa.org/system...am/detail/1235

In my case, I'm in Oregon and need to have a licensed contractor install it and only get $0.5 per watt, which is better than nothing imo. https://www.oregon.gov/energy/Incent...omeowners.aspx

Without getting into politics because everyone is for it, those solar rebates are a disguised benefit for the well off. People who are income challenged can't afford the first cost for solar and are punished monetarily if renting for the benefit of the well off owner. I questioned whether those rebates truly pay for solar in either the perceived benefit of energy cost or first cost, or lessen the need for fossil fuels which are going to come soon anyway if you ask the "experts." You know the people who predicted we would run out of oil in, what, the year 2000? Yeah, it may happen maybe a decade earlier and we would probably have a economic shock anyway. Are incentives worth it? Do you even have a payback?

I didn't put any solar on my current Class B because I had 460 watts of solar on my last RV and it didn't do diddlely, and if it did, it would benefit the campground owner mostly for his energy cost. The second alternator on an RV is more benefit than all the solar you could put on a Class B and I don't get a rebate.

I'm not new on this subject. My architectural firm in the 1970s was designing zero energy homes before it appeared to seem necessary for government or society. There wasn't a payback as it was a desire by feel good clients mostly and a challenge for me. There were no solar rebates nor where thare photovoltaics. I designed my own home circa 1980 with the roof to maximize solar on the come but never put it in because for one, I would have to replace it in less than 20 years (hydronic) and I designed a zero energy house anyway so solar benefit was never needed and as I found out accidentally a secondary heat source I planned for a Rumford fire place in the center of the house. During construction I realized the house would not go below 50 deg. when it was a -20 degrees outside with just plywood construction doors. I did have passive solar which you can't do in an RV. I had an all electric house with no gas or left out secondary heat like wood. So, I was only paying for hot water, refrigerator, dryer and stove which at the time amounted to less than $16 per month at the most. Solar would not payback that.

Save your Class B roof for other benefits like racks for storage or roof decks. I couldn't get anything like 460w I had on my extended van now on my short van opting for the air conditioning, two skylights, a Maxxfan and an over the air TV dome. that all practically fills up my roof.

[BillsPaseo]

Originally Posted by Davydd

I didn't put any solar on my current Class B because I had 460 watts of solar on my last RV and it didn't do diddlely, and if it did, it would benefit the campground owner mostly for his energy cost. The second alternator on an RV is more benefit than all the solar you could put on a Class B and I don't get a rebate.

Save your Class B roof for other benefits like racks for storage or roof decks. I couldn't get anything like 460w I had on my extended van now on my short van opting for the air conditioning, two skylights, a Maxxfan and an over the air TV dome. that all practically fills up my roof.

That is fine if you always camp where there are hookups, or you drive your van every day...

But we just returned from a trip to Death Valley where we were camped for 5 consecutive nights with no hookups, and a very strictly enforced no generator and no engine idling rule. We brought motorcycles with us for touring the park, so the van was parked the entire time.

Our NovaKool fridge runs on 12V only, and with low temps each night in the upper 30's, we needed to run our TrumaCombi furnace which requires 12V to run the fan.

To camp like this, you can either spend a huge wad of cash on some really big Lithium batteries, or you can spend a few hundred bucks on solar panels. We got through the week just fine with two 125AH AGM batteries and 380W of solar on the roof.

I was checking my meters every day at sunrise and about an hour after sunset... each morning I would be sitting at about 12.2-12.3 volts, and by evening I'd be back to 12.9. If your van came pre-wired for solar, it is a fairly inexpensive way to greatly extend your boondocking capability.

[jrobe]

Originally Posted by BillsPaseo

That is fine if you always camp where there are hookups, or you drive your van every day...

I agree that there can be some benefit to solar in certain circumstances especially if one camps regularly in the sun at Death Valley. The benefit goes down in the nice wooded campgrounds parked under the cool shade.

[avanti]

I put a single 200W panel on our new van. Its purpose is to keep batteries topped up and the automation stuff powered when the van is in storage. I have no expectations wrt extended camping time. If it turns out that it can keep my fridge running, that will be a bonus. As others frequently point out, with a good under-hood generator, you can get a day's worth of solar power in a short drive.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by stevanpierce@gmail.com

It may qualify for fed and state rebates if treated and qualifies as a second home.

https://programs.dsireusa.org/system...am/detail/1235

In my case, I'm in Oregon and need to have a licensed contractor install it and only get $0.5 per watt, which is better than nothing imo. https://www.oregon.gov/energy/Incent...omeowners.aspx

I often found solar panels on camper vans/B discussions as one of these: “you don’t need it” or “you need it” vs “I need it” or “I don’t” and why. Right answer depends on individual users' needs. For some quasi 460 watts does diddlely for some 300W is OK.

We have 300W of solar, camp in West Coast and stay on the campground for days without moving. We found 300W sufficient for our refrigerator, fan and furnace needs. Mounting 300W on 20’ van was reasonably easy without AC. I could still do 300W if I would replace the fan with an AC.

[Davydd]

I had practical experience with solar use as I said with 460w on my previous van. I think I don't have to be told what solar can do. I didn't think I even ask for solar but ARV wanted to max out, provided it routinely at that time and I could afford it so why not? Maybe I talked too much about ARV's Solar Womp that had 1200w of solar to go to Burning Man in the summer Nevada desert.

I can probably idle or take a short drive for 10 minutes and a cup of diesel and replace all the electricity that any solar can produce on a Class B in a day. I can park 3+ days boondocking without idling in my current van with all electricity and no solar or propane. I historically determined that that is my antsie stay before moving on so downgraded my amp hours of my batteries. I bet I boondock more than the average Class B as I mostly try to use Harvest Host sites when traveling to a destination and have been to Quartzsite, slab city, BLM lands, national forests and stayed at a Cracker Barrel when O degrees F. On my last trip, I moochdocked or Harvest Host for 6 days before reaching South Padre Island and yes an electrical hookup since I parked 14 days without moving. No solar would provide that electrical use. If I stay a night or two at a hook up site I don't bother to plug in because I can make up two days driving at least 100 miles the following day. When I stay home I park in a garage where solar is nil and I can't top off batteries. We just had 7" of snow on April Fools day. I don't want to brush that off. And there is no solar at night and little in the winter time. In the summer in the north woods on Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan's UP where we camp mostly they are so wooded solar too is almost nil. I don't bother to go south in the summer and you need air conditioning there where solar or batteries can't provide. That sums it up and as I said I have better use for my roof. I treasure my two skylights more than solar panels. Maybe I could have gotten a 100w panel forward of the air conditioner where the air conditioner would shade it most of the time.

[Rafa1]

I just stumbled upon this post and wanted to chime in. It sounds like you and your wife have a great plan to escape the cold winter weather and become snowbirds with a Travato 59K. I think talking to your CPA about deducting it as a second home is a smart move, but I would caution you to make sure you understand all the tax implications before making any big purchases.
As you probably know, each tax policy has its own set of loopholes and regulations, and it's important to know the specifics before making any decisions. I suggest you use paystub maker to keep track of your finances and potential tax deductions.