Should we buy used 5th wheel
True newbie to 5th wheels. Looking to retire. Should we buy used and if so - how old ? What to look or ask for? Desperately looking for some guidance in purchase of our retirement home :) Thank you
Forum Discussion
laknox wrote:
goducks10 wrote:
Yes buy used. RV's are depreciation money pits. They all lose their value fast. My guess is the bad reputation for used ones comes from all the horror stories about all the problems people have. Mostly from neglect but also from poor quality parts and assembly. Buying one thats 2-3 years old and in great shape will save you many $1,000's. Just look at the prices of used compared to new.
Biggest issue that I've had in looking at nice, used, rigs recently, is the inflated values people place on them. Talked to a guy selling a used '16 Jayco Eagle HT at $41k, with $40k being his "drop dead" price. The guy acted surprised when I told him that I could buy a very similar new '17 model for not much more, but wouldn't budge off his price. IMO, the guy's going to be sitting on it for a while, or some sucker will come along and pay =way= too much for it. Meanwhile, there's a dealer selling one that's better equipped for $12k less.
Lyle
Thats very true. I think it can go the other way too. There's always someone dumping one cheap.- A 2-4 year old unit usually has all the bugs worked out and will cost considerably less.
- I believe in used RV's, and all types of motor vehicles. Many reasons- less depreciation, new does not guarantee problem free at all. OK, there's the warranty, but what if the dealer is lousy or you break down no where near a dealer. You just don't loose that much by not buying new if you look carefully.
- Private sales are sticky! Call him back in a couple of months and see if it is still sitting there. If it is, give him a big "I told you so!!".
Meanwhile find what you want at the price you feel is fair. Floor plan is more important than model year. goducks10 wrote:
Yes buy used. RV's are depreciation money pits. They all lose their value fast. My guess is the bad reputation for used ones comes from all the horror stories about all the problems people have. Mostly from neglect but also from poor quality parts and assembly. Buying one thats 2-3 years old and in great shape will save you many $1,000's. Just look at the prices of used compared to new.
Biggest issue that I've had in looking at nice, used, rigs recently, is the inflated values people place on them. Talked to a guy selling a used '16 Jayco Eagle HT at $41k, with $40k being his "drop dead" price. The guy acted surprised when I told him that I could buy a very similar new '17 model for not much more, but wouldn't budge off his price. IMO, the guy's going to be sitting on it for a while, or some sucker will come along and pay =way= too much for it. Meanwhile, there's a dealer selling one that's better equipped for $12k less.
Lyle- Yes buy used. RV's are depreciation money pits. They all lose their value fast. My guess is the bad reputation for used ones comes from all the horror stories about all the problems people have. Mostly from neglect but also from poor quality parts and assembly. Buying one thats 2-3 years old and in great shape will save you many $1,000's. Just look at the prices of used compared to new.
Gloria E wrote:
True newbie to 5th wheels. Looking to retire. Should we buy used and if so - how old ? What to look or ask for? Desperately looking for some guidance in purchase of our retirement home :) Thank you
Posting without reading ahead...
No problems in buying used and, if you find the right one, can save you a lot of money as well as headaches, a$$-u-ming it's been well-maintained and the inevitable problems have been properly fixed. Shoot, I saw a 1938 travel trailer that has been stored in a climate controlled shop that sold for over $100k at auction. It was only used about 8-10 times, then stored. Everything was in excellent condition and worked as it should. You find something like that, and you're golden.
As far as looking, PLEASE find the FW you like, then see what it will take to tow it. Most common mistake is buying the truck first, then finding out that you need a semi to tow the FW you want. :-)
Don't be afraid to hire a professional RV inspection service, either, as that's well-spent money, IMO, especially if you're new to RVing or have little knowledge of what to look for.
#1 issue to look for is water damage =anywhere= in the coach. It's the biggest killer of an otherwise fine RV and it doesn't stop, even when the leak is fixed. The original damage can "creep" and start causing other problems, especially if it causes structural damage. Don't forget that leaks can be caused by external factors, damaged roof and bad caulking around all the "stuff" that extends out of the exterior, window and slide seals, too. Then there are internal leaks, caused by faulty plumbing.
These are just a few things that come to mind and I'm sure all the others have posted good things to watch for.
Lyle- I'm getting close to retirement and we started considering RV'ng about three years ago. We bought a used 2002 Prowler Fifth wheel that was in real good condition and at a good price. We weren't sure if we were even going to like Rv'ng and didn't want to spend a lot of money on a unit if we didn't like it.
Well, yes...we love it!!! Just bought a Primetime Crusader. retiring in 7 more months, and can't wait to do some extensive traveling.
I guess what I'm trying to say is, it won't hurt to buy a used one, find out if you really like it. Plus, you can make a bunch of "newbie" mistakes on your used one, before upgrading. And believe me, we made plenty. - Another issue. One thing I noticed over my years of reading on here is that people would say that many of these rigs are not intended to live in. I bought my FW from an older couple who only used it a couple times a summer to go with their grand kids. It was in excellent condition for 14 yr old. During our first 3 years we have been in it for 21 months. When I looked it over the bottom of the slide was like new with minimal witness markers where the slide travels on 5 rollers. I started noticing the travel path of the rollers more and more and it has now pushed up into the osb bottom of the slide enough that it's dragging on the bottom rubber lip. I'm going to use aluminum sheet to give the rollers a solid path to roll on. This is what they are talking about when they say not designed to live in. I didn't do anything wrong with the rig, I travel easy and slow down for any rough areas as best I can. Like most stuff on lower or mid level RV they design everything at the minimum and I exceed that. You cant run a piece of plastic fabric covered osb over a 1 inch diameter roller that many times without the roller eating itself into the osb. It's also strange that it's worse in the position where the side is out (inner edge of slide) instead of the outer edge where all the stress of rolling down the road is. I put far more miles on it in 7 months than they did in 14 years. Be handy or have a lot of money is often said on here too.
- We agree with every one else. We bought our TT new and had to take it back to the dealer for warranty issues before we even used it, When we did take it out on our second trip... water pump failure, again warranty issue. Kept it for 9 yrs. including across the country twice. Bought our 5'th wheel used 3yrs. ago. Not a problem with it at all. Like was stated, if you don't know anything about campers or 5'ers, get some one who does to inspect the unit before purchase, esp. if you buy used. Good Luck and Happy Camping !!
