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657 Enterprise Parkway SalesMon - Sat: 8AM - 6PM ServiceMon - Sat: 8AM - 5PM Hammond, LALocated off I-12 | Exit 35 10241 Destination Drive SalesMon - Sat: 8AM - 6PM ServiceMon - Sat: 8AM - 5PM Columbus, MSLocated Along US-45 8971 US-45 SalesMon - Sat: 8AM - 6PM ServiceMon - Sat: 8AM - 5PM Hattiesburg, MSLocated Off I-59 | Exit 67 7696 US 49, SalesMon - Sat: 8AM - 6PM ServiceMon - Sat: 8AM - 5PM Tupelo, MSLocated Off I-22 | Exit 76 55 Wallace Drive SalesMon - Sat: 8AM - 6PM ServiceMon - Sat: 8AM - 5PM Calera, ALLocated off I-65 | Exit 234 1150 George Roy Parkway SalesMon - Sat: 8AM - 6PM ServiceMon - Sat: 8AM - 5PM Grand Bay, ALLocated off I-10 | Exit 4 12167 Interchange Drive SalesMon - Sat: 8AM - 6PM ServiceMon - Sat: 8AM - 5PM Heflin, AL 6400 SR 46 Huntsville, ALLocated Off I-65 | Exit 340B 21768 State Hwy 20 SalesMon - Sat: 8AM - 6PM ServiceMon - Sat: 8AM - 5PM Defuniak Springs, FLLocated off I-10 | Exit 70 328 Green Acres Drive SalesMon - Sat: 8AM - 6PM ServiceMon - Sat: 8AM - 5PM Memphis, TNLocated Off I-69 | Exit 5 1145 E Brooks Road SalesMon - Sat: 8AM - 5PM ServiceMon - Sat: 8AM - 5PM #Vanlife is suddenly all the rage. First, New Yorker magazine wrote an article about the lifestyle, then Bloomberg followed up with an article talking about how hard to find or expensive the necessary vans are. To which we say, hogwash. We recently wanted to downsize from a bigger RV to a van for our full-time travel. We found a Class B RV for under $10K. Here’s what we learned in the process. Build?I’d love to build a van. Build videos like this one are church for me. All that organization and order. Size the van around your stuff, not your stuff around the van. I’m no stranger to vehicle projects. I was into 60’s era Jeeps before we hit the road. I know how timelines can slip. It took me 6 months to rewire a complete Jeep. I watched the time it took our friends the Longneckers to build their Airstream. I didn’t want to wait a year. And then there’s the budget. The big things aren’t the budget-killers. You could find a suitable starter van for a few thousand dollars. It’s all the $100 trips to Home Depot for miscellaneous bolts, connectors and brackets. Custom build projects are never cheap. or Buy?I could find used camper vans for $12K and under. That, we could swing. Would a factory-built van work for us though? I saw three ways it could play out:
No bad outcomes, there. We decided to buy a used factory-made Class B RV. Our maximum budget was $12K. Turns out we didn’t need to go that high. What to Search For?“Factory-made Class B RV” covers a lot of different vehicles, rooflines and floorplans. How to narrow that down? I wanted something I could stand up in. I’m 6’3”, so that limited the search. I focused on Class Bs that have a taller fixed roofline including:
I didn’t rule out other brands, however. Other brands have a lower profiles, but they drop the floor 3-4” inside for additional headroom. These brands include:
Pop Tops?Another option was campervans that have a “pop-top”. With a pop-top van, a portion of the roof raises up once you are parked. The raised section has a fiberglass top and canvas sides. I liked how steathy these were when down. You can hardly tell it’s more than a basic van. They would be great for road trips - but did we want to live full-time in something that was half-tent? I didn’t know. I kept them in my search. Pop-top brands include:
Class B ClassifiedsI used the following sources for my search: CraigslistI looked on Craigslist, but using Search Tempest to do nationwide searches. You can find good deals on Craigslist. I found two challenges:
I called on several campervans only to lose out to local buyers. We did put a deposit down on a Craigslist Class B in California, but turned it down once we saw it in person. We kept looking on Craigslist. We still dealt with unresponsive sellers, high turnover, and vehicles that weren’t as described. eBayeBay is a natural place to shop for special-interest vehicles. I’ve purchased 3 cars off eBay in the past and had decent luck. The Class Bs that show up on eBay are usually creampuffs. Some are older models, but in near-perfect shape. The seller puts them on eBay because they want top dollar. They often get it. There is a specific Class B RV category, but I found campervans just listed in the normal “Van” category as well. You can setup alerts on eBay to get emailed when a new campervan gets listed. For our budget eBay was a great place to research models and see photos, but I never bid on anything. They all looked like they would top out above our budget. Facebook MarketplaceI hadn’t used Facebook Marketplace before. I did find some campervans listed, but none of them ever worked out to go look at. In some cases the sellers were non-responsive. Others took a week to respond to inquiries. Like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace is regional. You can change your search city to see what comes up in other areas. Facebook GroupThere is a specific group for Class B RVs for Sale. Group members post local findings or link to ads they find on the internet. RVTraderRVTrader.com is a popular choice for RV sellers. The site always features a good selection of Class B campervans. Sellers are a mix of dealers and private parties. I contacted several private party sellers and never heard back. You’ll often find the same rig posted here and on Ebay, or Craigslist, or all three. RVTrader also lets you setup email alerts for new rigs that match your search criteria. Search TermsHere are the search terms I used on all of these sites:
Brand-Specific SitesI ran across a couple of brand-specific sites where I found rigs in our price range:
Friends, Family, Social Networks, etcClass B RVs in the $10K range are out there. They are hard to find and sell quickly. The more people you have looking for you the better. We told everyone we knew that we were shopping for a campervan. We put the word out on all of our social media channels. We were hoping to get a line on someone’s parents or grandparents selling, etc and avoid competing with other buyers on the open market. In the end this is how we found our campervan. A reader of our mailing list has a sister-in-law who owned a Class B she needed to sell. We bought it before it ever went on the open market. Where to LookFlorida is the best place to shop for cheaper Class Bs. Along the Pacific Coast the street dweller and surfer cultures drive the values up. In Colorado it’s the rockclimber / dirtbagger crowd. Florida is where people age out of them and there isn’t as strong of a demand from the younger crowd. Class B RV ScamsBe aware of scam ads for Class B RVs. I saw several of these. Mostly on Craigslist, but I also ran across shenanigans on eBay. These don’t have to all be true, but if you see ads where more than one of these is true, it’s probably a bogus ad:
Traveling to View a Class BTo shop in this price range you have to be willing to travel. We visited vans in Texas, California, and Florida. In Texas we drove 4 hours each way to go look at one. It was in rough shape but it was our first time actually stepping into a Class B. We confirmed that we could fit and live in one full time. We took the Amtrak to California to see another campervan. The tickets were roughly half what air travel would have cost. The van didn’t work out but we made an adventure out of the trip. We found $45 airline tickets to get to Florida. We lined up 5 campervans to look at and flew over. We ended up looking at two, then circling back to buy the first one we looked at. CostsWe bought the Pleasure-Way Class B RV for $7K. We immediately spent another $1500 on tires and fluid changes. Other pre-fulltiming expenses include:
We still need to buy replacement smoke, propane, and CO2 detectors plus other supplies for organizing life into such a small space. Upper Window LeaksIf you are looking at a campervan that has windows in the raised roof section (like Coachmen), take care. These are notorious for causing leaks into the unit. Either the weep holes get clogged and the water backs up, or the seal around the window fails. Look for soggy wood rails that support the upper bunk bed. Look for replaced wood, new paint, new wallpaper, etc - basically any signs of fixes around and under these windows. Dodgy Dodges DodgeIf you are looking at a 1990’s era Class B RV based on the Dodge B3500 platform (like many Roadtreks and Pleasure-Ways) take note - they can be hard to drive as a result of wandering and sway. There are several things you can do to correct these issues. I’m listing them below so you can factor the costs into your shopping budget (or look to see if they’ve been installed already). Wandering is due to loose steering issues. You’d see this more on higher-mileage units. If the unit hasn’t had a front-end rebuild that would be the first place to start for a fix. There is also this $120 steering stabilizer that I’ve heard good things about. Our Pleasure-Way only had 69K miles on it and it doesn’t wander. If the winds are low and the road is good the unit drives easily. Sway is due to wind. Wind pushes the van around and you have correct against it. Our van definitely has sway going on. It’s like driving a houseboat on the Mississippi with constant steering corrections. Fixes include:
We’re starting with rear wheel spacers on Sally. I’ll post results once we have them installed. DIYThe more you know about cars and are able to work on them yourself, the better you’ll do shopping for a Class B RV old enough to fall in this price range. The nice part about buying a 1990’s vehicle is the 25 years of experience people have had with them. Any issues are easily researchable with a few Google searches. Even if you need professional help, most mechanics will be glad to see an older rig pull in. They’re just easier to work on. Are You B-Shopping?Are you shopping for an older Class B? Let us know in the comments. Maybe we can help. How long do Class B motorhomes last?Class B motorhomes are the campervan types. Because they're just a bit bigger than a regular van (and sometimes they're the same size), they are cheaper and easier to operate. They should also be good for twenty years or 200,000 miles, but many can go longer if you take good care of them.
Are Class B motorhomes worth it?They are easy to park and maneuver. Comfort while driving: Driving a Class B is more like driving a van than a truck, which makes for a smoother, more comfortable experience. Additional uses: Class Bs are so easy to use, you will find yourself taking them out more often than a trailer or larger motorhome.
What is difference between Class B and B+ RV?Unlike Class B RVs, Class B+ motorhomes have an attached cab, or what they call a “cut-away” or cab chassis, which includes the same cockpit set-up as a B Van, but the RV manufacturer adds a body to increase living space.
Will used RV prices go down in 2022?There will still be enough demand for RVs to keep prices high through most of 2022. The good news is that we are unlikely to see further increases in RV prices as the market stablizes. The bad news is that we are unlikely to see prices go down substantially on new RVs.
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Used class b rv for sale under $10000
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