RV Buyers Stick to Tradition When Financing Their Motorhomes and Trailers

Buyers of recreational vehicles choose to finance their RV through a bank or credit union than by other means according to a March survey by RVtravel.com. Nearly 35 percent of the more than 1,500 RVers who responded to the survey financed their RVs through a bank or credit union. Nineteen percent financed through the RV dealer where they purchased their motorhome or trailer. Surprisingly, less than three percent financed their RV online.

Edmonds, WA (PRWEB) April 5, 2007 -- Buyers of recreational vehicles choose to finance their RV through a bank or credit union than by other means according to a March survey by RVtravel.com ( http://www.rvtravel.com ).

Nearly 35 percent of the more than 1,500 RVers who responded to the survey financed their RVs through a bank or credit union. Nineteen percent financed through the RV dealer where they purchased their motorhome or trailer.

"We purchased a real nice used fifth wheel and financed it at a bank because of the income tax deduction as a second home," an RVer named Pat commented in a response to the survey question.

Thirty-nine percent of the RVers didn't finance their vehicles at all, but paid cash. "I would never have guessed that so many would do that," said RVtravel.com editor Chuck Woodbury, who is also the host of the Better Business Bureau DVD "Buying a Recreational Vehicle" and the owner of RVbookstore.com ( http://www.RVbookstore.com ).

"We used some of the proceeds from the sale of our home to pay cash for our 5th wheel and tow vehicle," reported a RVtravel.com reader named Randy. Other survey respondents said they had refinanced their homes to buy their motorhomes or travel trailers. "We refinanced ours with a 15-year mortgage with a resulting rate much lower than we could ever get from our credit union or bank," one RVer reported. Another also refinanced his home, but noted "it was one of the dumbest things to have ever done. We got a really cheap payment but will most likely have to eventually take money out of savings anyway."

Perhaps the most surprising finding to Woodbury was that less than three percent of the survey respondents financed their RVs through an online source. "With literally dozens of websites soliciting RV loans I figured that at least two to three times that many would have financed that way," he said.

RVtravel.com conducts weekly surveys of the 70,000 readers of its online newsletter. The results of four years of such surveys reveal a fascinating portrait of RVers and the RV lifestyle. A subscription to the RVtravel.com newsletter is free by signing up at RVtravel.com or by reading issues posted every Saturday morning at the website.

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