Forum Discussion

Chuck___'s avatar
Chuck___
Explorer
Jan 25, 2017

Northwood/Arctic Fox prices vary so much. Any advice.

I finally figured out that my old 99 Dodge 2500 can't safety haul much. Safely 9500 lbs. That is why I think of moving up to a new/used 3500 one ton. Really don't want much over 30 foot 5th wheel in order to get into most state camp grounds. I heard the Northwood/ Arctic Fox units are good, so I have been trying to find a good use unit about 5 years old or so. Still the price for a unit within six years are $39,000 and up. Yes, budget wise I want a used truck and 5th wheel.

Just for fun I was looking at the new Northwood 27-L5 5th. Here is the problem. The prices I found on a new unit are advertised anywhere form $40,000 to as much as $71,000. These prices are off of the computer sites and adds around the country; examples are on smartrv.com & rvtrader.com site.

How can there be that much difference in price? I can't see how a person/dealer can add that much extras to justify an extra $30,000 plus. Any advice and in put!
  • we purchased ours from Apache in Portland, they are a decent dealer. Don mentioned Thunder RV in LaGrande and I've heard nothing but good about them. I believe a lot of dealers play the game of showing MSRP to then show something better. Some don't even post prices on their website as they want to get you to their lot. The model you like is very popular so keeping you eye regularly on various sites will help, even the Arctic Fox users forum.

    Good Luck
  • X2 for Nelson's RV.......There building a new larger facility, nice folks that will deal with good fair prices. We were able to buy our unit, timing our wants and needs with a factory build so we could get a loaded unit for just over 50K.....Good luck in your search
  • We bought ours from Nelson's RV in Boise. They treated us right and did good on pricing.
  • I bought mine last year for $25k (5 yrs old at the time) from a dealer. I'm sure I could have done better with a private party. But there just aren't many on the resale market as you are discovering. Make sure you get A LOT of truck. Even though the 27-5L is short, it is very heavy for its size.

    And get an exhaust brake! They're well worth the investment.
  • donn0128 wrote:
    Two dealers that I found years ago that will give you the best deals are Thunder RV in Lagrande and Apache in Portland.


    Apache is also in Everett. I would add to that list Sumner RV
  • Chuck .. wrote:
    I finally figured out that my old 99 Dodge 2500 can't safety haul much. Safely 9500 lbs. That is why I think of moving up to a new/used 3500 one ton. Really don't want much over 30 foot 5th wheel in order to get into most state camp grounds. I heard the Northwood/ Arctic Fox units are good, so I have been trying to find a good use unit about 5 years old or so. Still the price for a unit within six years are $39,000 and up. Yes, budget wise I want a used truck and 5th wheel.

    Just for fun I was looking at the new Northwood 27-L5 5th. Here is the problem. The prices I found on a new unit are advertised anywhere form $40,000 to as much as $71,000. These prices are off of the computer sites and adds around the country; examples are on smartrv.com & rvtrader.com site.

    How can there be that much difference in price? I can't see how a person/dealer can add that much extras to justify an extra $30,000 plus. Any advice and in put!


    Mostly it's because dealers seem to pull so-called MSRP numbers out of their nether regions, with little resemblance to reality. You can find =identical= units a couple hundred miles apart that have "MSRPs" that are thousands different. The stealers try to palm it off as "delivery and documentation" differences. Used units are a whole 'nother ball of wax, with condition being the driving factor in that market. You can have a "rode hard and put up wet" loaded to the gills RV sell for half what a stripped, but always garaged/waxed/maintained unit sell for.

    In searching for a used rig, please don't forget www.rvt.com. Great people there and their search engine has yet to give me a false positive on my saved searches, whereas rvtrader's search is about 75% false returns, wasting a =lot= of my time. Trader =is= the 600 lb gorilla of listings, though, so you still have to use them.

    Lyle
  • Two dealers that I found years ago that will give you the best deals are Thunder RV in Lagrande and Apache in Portland.