Is It Time To Buy A New Motorhome?
Is it ever the perfect time to buy a new — or new-to-you — RV?
Apparently, the answer is YES. An interactive online survey by RVTravel.com indicates more than 85% of RV owners have purchased more than one RV in their lifetime – while 50% of respondents have purchased four or more!
As a newbie RV owner, I thought we were once and done with the purchase of Charlie-The-Unicorn RV, four years ago. We went through so much to find our 2016 Entegra Aspire, to make her our own, and get her safely back home.
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Charlie was perfect for us, at the time, and even more so now, as we have settled into full time RV life, work & travel around the country.
But… our Entegra Coach will be 10 years old in 2026.
Some resorts, campgrounds and RV clubs enforce a “10-Year-Rule” limiting access to RVs older than 10 years. Another consideration: It can be more difficult to value, and for buyers to finance, an older RV when it is time to sell.
Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate it might be time to move on:
→ My husband’s parents, although now retired from RVing, owned 12 RVs over 40 years of active RVing, both part- and full-time. In their 80s now, they have settled full time in a lovely condo on the beach in Mexico – no wheels, no maintenance!
→ Counterpoint: NIRVC friends and RV YouTubers, Mark & Sue Chandler of Our Journey in Myles purchased their 2014 Newmar Dutch Star in 2017. Seven years later, they’re still rolling – and making great videos – in Myles, their first, and so far, only RV. However, they recently put us on the fence again with a new YouTube video questioning everything:
→ Tommy & Bonnie Townsend, President and Treasurer of the All-Inclusive Motorhome Club are famous in our circles, not only for hosting fantastic AIM Club Rallies & Events. Since their first luxury motor coach purchase – a 2013 Entegra Anthem – they’ve moved on up to a brand-new Entegra Cornerstone almost every year. Early in 2024, they took delivery of the 2025 Entegra Cornerstone – their eighth motor coach – one of the first prototypes on the new Freightliner chassis.
And that is, finally, one of the incentives that could motivate us to consider making a change: Entegra Coach on a new custom-designed Freightliner chassis.
We do love our 2016 Entegra Aspire. She is truly a unicorn 40-foot Entegra diesel pusher on a Freightliner chassis. Most of the Entegra diesel motor coaches are on Spartan chassis. Mid-2015, there was a huge model year and body style transition for 2016. There were not many manufactured on the Freightliner chassis during that transition. We were lucky! Although we hear great things about Spartan chassis…
We absolutely love FREIGHTLINER:
- We have never had a problem with our Freightliner chassis or components.
- Annual Maintenance is super easy and convenient at our local Freightliner service facility. If we ever have a problem on the road, there are Freightliner locations all across the country.
- In an emergency: FCCC My 24/7 DIRECT App & 1-800 # has been a lifeline, several times for us – even when it wasn’t a specific chassis issue.
- Freightliner Custom Chassis is a Founding Sponsor of the AIM Club. Representatives from Freightliner, including Jeff Sather, CEO & President, and other technical experts attend the AIM Club Rallies & Events. They are incredibly knowledgeable and helpful.
When it does come time to buy our new RV, we know we’re buying right next time, with NIRVC, Entegra Coach & Freightliner! Knowing what we know, we wouldn’t go anywhere else.
As for timing…
Have you heard about NIRVC’s 2024 Music City Motorhome Expo???
This June, NIRVC will launch the very first of this kind of concierge motorhome buying experience – ever! – in Nashville, Tennessee.
In a unique mix of an exclusive AIM Club Rally experience and a private RV Show, NIRVC is bringing the best of the best luxury motor coach manufacturers and their 2025 models to Nashville, along with industry and technical experts, to show and educate and explain and answer every question to help you buy your next brand-new or new-to-you motorhome.
Hopefully, this event will be the first for a new annual tradition. The Music City Motorhome VIP Experience will definitely be the place and time to buy our next Entegra! See you there?! 😉
Sherri Caldwell is the founder of RVWorkLifeBalance.com — Full-time RV Travel Blog & PODCAST! With her husband, Russ, she is currently living, working, and traveling full-time in their 2016 Entegra Aspire: Charlie-The-Unicorn RV.