I don't see a problem with the dealer's "tactics". Why should the dealer waste their time without a commitment of purchase aka a $1,000 deposit. That seems to be pretty standard. If you were ordering a new RV from a dealership, you'd have to put money down without seeing it to have it manufactured. Where's the difference? You don't even get to see that rig until you take delivery.
Our first RV, a pop-up, we bought used from a dealer. They just took it in as trade-in, literally it was being pulled onto the lot after their customer dropped it off, and I helped the salesman set it up for the very first time. We liked it and told him we'd buy it. We left a $500 deposit with it in writing that any issues would be addressed and everything would function properly when we picked it up.
Our 2nd RV, a Hybrid TT, we purchased new at a show from a different dealer we purchased our pop-up from. Everything worked on the model we used to base our purchase on, but we didn't get that unit. We had to order it. We put a $1,000 deposit on it and waited 8 weeks to take delivery. When it was delivered to the dealer, they looked it over and made sure everything worked and then setup a pick-up date.
Our 3rd RV, a Class C motorhome, we purchased new off the dealer's lot. We put a $1,000 down, they locked it up and put a sold sign on it. They went over it and checked it for issues (found none). Filled fresh water, propane and gas tank. We picked up the MH 5 days after we gave them a deposit after we were satisfied after the dealer guided walk-through and demo.
Dealers have so many people that walk through and kick tires. It would be a complete waste of time for them to demo it to every single person that walks in the door. If it is a motorhome, take it for a test drive. As long as you have it in writing that they will take care of any issues that should suffice that your RV will be fully functional when you pick it up.
-Michael
