Question from Kim G
Hi Debra,
I’m looking into purchasing a Class C motorhome (as a tiny home on wheels) for full-time travel but I’m concerned with the level of toxic materials used in construction. I’ve thought of purchasing an older model so that I can do renovations with non-toxic materials but I’m not quite sure where to begin my search.
Any advice on the topic of motorhomes is much appreciated!
Debra’s Answer
Well as it happened, Larry and I were just discussing the same thing this week! So we put this on the top of our to-do list and I can give you some up-to-the minute information.
We went out looking at motorhomes at a large RV dealer so we could see a lot of options.
It sounds like you already know that you want a Class C.
We had already looked at some new motorhomes and found them to be too toxic. But then we looked at some that were 2007 returns that had been take out of rental service and each one of them was acceptable to me. So the materials were about 11 years old.
I didn’t like the design aesthetic, so we would be remodeling anyway, but it wasn’t toxic.
So if anyone reading this wants to buy a relatively nontoxic home-on-wheels, look for a motorhome circa 2007 or earlier. None of the motorhomes I looked at had any fragrance, cigarette smoke, pesticides, pet smell or other human-use odors that I could detect, so this is a viable option.
We’re going to continue our search on lots and on Craig’s List. EBay also has them but I wouldn’t buy one sight-unseen. You can’t tell if there’s something toxic from looking at a photo.
WHY WE ARE LOOKING AT MOTORHOMES INSTEAD OF TRAILERS OR TINY HOUSES
We’ve been researching all these options for almost two years now.
There are a lot of factors that go into choosing a tiny house vs a trailer vs a motor home.
The main thing that has kept us from moving forward with a tiny house or trailer is where to park it. You can’t park them on the street. You have to park them in a trailer park, which can cost $1000/month or more depending on where you are. And we’ve checked out trailer parks. Virtually all of them had people cooking outdoors with lighter fluid, the smell of which was all over the trailer park at dinner time.
On the other hand, you can park a motorhome on the street and sleep in it for up to 72 hours. You can park them in parking lots. You can purchase unbuildable land and park them on your land. There is a lot more freedom regarding where you can put them.
In our case, we will be parking ours on family property near Larry’s mom’s house. And then when the time comes when we will no longer need to live here, we can just drive off and still have a place to live while we establish our new home. And we’ll be able to just drive around all we want while we look for the best place to live for the next chapter of our lives.
A motorhome just seems more do-able.
So that’s where we are with this.
And yes, we’ll be ripping out the interior and remodeling. Although, if we get an older model and the built-ins are real wood…that would be ideal.
This is the interior of an Airstream “Land Yacht” from 2000. After 18 years these materials would have gassed out. This one is very spacious. Sold for $30,000. A lot for a car, but not much for a tiny house on wheels.
As Debra said, be careful about mold in a used motorhome. We bought a 2004 Newmar Mountain Aire. There was no smell in it when we bought (weather was cooler here in ND at that time), but as weather warmed up, mold smells were huge around the shower area. After three weeks in the motorhome, I ended up with pneumonia and my lungs have been affected negatively ever since.
Also, if camping in campgrounds, be aware that people often have bonfires. Also, some of the class A’s have washer/drier combos in them, so you may also get fabric softener smells.
We traded for an Airstream, and after the trip South, I am a bit scared to take another trip. I am excited about using it fir backup when we have some work done to our house.
Yes, one very big caution about this is if you are traveling, a motor home and trailer park is NOT a place to stay. Or even a campground. LOTS of lighter fluid for barbecue grills used for cooking.
One of the reasons we chose a motorhome instead of a trailer is YOU CAN PARK IT ANYWHERE–on the street, in a parking lot. Wal-Mart WELCOMES motorhomes and trailers to stay overnight in their parking lots. Now that we know that, notice them all the time when we drive by a WalMart.
Before you get a trailer or motorhome, consider where you will be parking and what the exposure might be. Larry and I have been visiting trailer and motorhome parks to see what they are like. Do ask much research as you can before you buy.
Thanks for addressing this real life concern. $1,000 per month for lot rent is a staggering amount, but in your neck of the woods I could see that happening. I have a friend who converted a small Bluebird school bus to avoid leaks that plague other boxy topped roofs. It was a ton of work, though and insulation is an additional concern.
You would be happy with Airstream also. Cabinets are real wood, look for well maintained used ones, not made anymore
Yes it would have to be a used one. However, that said, it’s not difficult to replace cabinets.
Let me just say…I now have a 1986 motorhome that Larry and I are gutting and I am horrified to see some of the materials we are pulling out. Wood, for example, it not even particleboard, there’s styrofoam under the veneer. So don’t think it’s just a matter of replacing cabinets. If you want a trailer or motorhome, you’ve got to remove the entire interior. More about that coming soon as we continue with our project…
I appreciate the updates and looking forward to hearing about your experiences with your project. We spoke before, I’m still interested in going that way myself. I had to move before I could go that way so currently renting a townhouse at $1165/month.
Updates coming soon. We’ve had a little delay but we’re getting back to it.
Are you saying then that 2007ish or older model motorhomes wont have outgassed and be safe? That one must totally gut it and rebuild interior even if one doesnt detect adverse odors? ty
It depends on the person and what the individual can tolerate. New motorhomes are built with no consideration regarding toxicity and there are many factors that would affect how much any given motorhome would outgas over time.
I recently purchased a 1987 motor home and while the original materials have pretty much outgassed we are gutting and rebuilding because it’s just not in good condition.
So Larry and I are in the midst of our experiment (we’re still gutting because we’re doing it all ourselves on limited time availability) and then we will know that the entire motorhome is clean and sanitized and we’ll know exactly what the materials are.
As long as it’s used and the cabinets are wood. New ones are not wood cabinets. Locally I wasn’t able to find an old Airstream trailer for less than $25,000, but they are worth looking for. Watch for water leaks and mold.
Hi Debra, Did you find a motor home. If you did what did you end up with? Are you planning on renovating and would you give us updates as to what you are doing?
Thank you,
J
Yes, yes, and yes. Coming soon.
Hi Debra, Any chance you could do a YouTube video series on your remodel? This would give you a chance to talk about what is being done and why. A lot more people watch videos than are willing to sit down and actually read. You might reach more people this way. I’d certainly watch. We own a 2003 RV that we are talking about renovating. Good luck with yours. Hope all goes well.
Yes I’m just learning video and could easily do that using Facebook Live. Shooting and editing a video series would be a technical challenge for me and slow down the process. But I do plan to make Facebook live videos. Still learning about how to share those videos beyond Facebook.
So far we haven’t done much because it’s been raining raining raining here in California. We almost have it all cleaned out. But now that it’s spring we’ll be doing more. Every night we’re watching back episodes of tiny house shows and getting ideas. We’re starting to talk about materials. So soon…