Cora Young

A refurbished 1988 vintage motor coach Lindsay and Blake Walters bought used in 2024 has served its purpose.

The couple and their two boys lived the RV life while building a home in Fairhope, Alabama.

The plan was to save on rent, then resell the rig to someone else who might want to do the same.

In January, the Walters scrubbed their RV inside and out, then listed it online with social media videos.

While the Walters RV is older than most, the time it's taking to sell is in line with Class A motor coaches built before 2016.

Class As are the big bus-like RVs.

Those 10 years and older make up roughly 40% of the used Class A motorhomes on the site RVTrader, the leading online marketplace for new and used RVs.

And they're expensive, with some selling for more than half a million dollars.

RV traders Juliana Baina says in today's economy, buyers are watching their leisure dollars.

Or the cash.

That's where financing comes in.

But Baina says many banks don't want to finance RVs older than 10 years.

And then there's the price at the pump.

Many Class A motor coaches can hold 100 gallons or more.

Current fuel prices haven't caught up with the sales data, but they're factored into those leisure dollars.

Michael Papa knows about that.

He and his wife own a 2015 40-foot rig they bought used during the pandemic.

Doesn't sound great, does it?

It does not.

Papa recently told his wife high diesel prices mean fuel for the couple's upcoming cross-country trip from Alabama to the Pacific Northwest is far more expensive than planned.