Prepping for sale

A shame more people did not read all & take in the original post. In between last day of use & transfer of title there is no alternate accommodation for us. It is hotel or street living.

From a boaters perspective, having bought used boats much larger than trailer boats over 30 years of boating, what is with the boat says much about the previous owner. Spares, new & still good used, says that the previous owner took care of it & was prepared should there be a need. Anyone who travels with spares stored at home is plain foolish. They are no good to you there.

Anyone who knows anything knows anything about fitting out knows that starting with nothing more than a basic dump hose & shore power cable is going to cost well over $5,000.00 if you want to be well fitted out & upgraded with quality stuff. The ignorant quickly find out for themselves. That still in the box waterpump may seem worthless till the day comes when you are miles from a source on vacation & the original pump packs up. Nice to have some unused spring shackle pins onboard when you discover one broken or badly worn.

These are the types of things the novice RVer won't think of but the experienced RVer will appreciate seeing on the 'comes with' list. I would think it much easier to sell a fully equipped unit to an experienced cruising boater or experienced RVer than to a novice RVer who wants to see everything new & does not think of the fitting out costs. How many RVs come with a 2000W Pure Sine Wave inverter & multi stage programable charger? Won't mean much to the novice. AH HA! to the experienced.

The extras are deeply discounted. Understood. However I believe they are appreciated by those who would know what they are looking at & understand replacement value. True. Most don't. We see it here daily by those who don't know the difference between a converter & an inverter, for example.

westernrvparkowner wrote:
...such items would convince most people they were buying a lemon on wheels ...

Spot on! Agree 100% It sends a horrible message to the buyer.

When we traded our last TT for our current 5er, I did include the original manual tongue jack that was replaced with an electric one. I tossed it in the pass through. We replaced the awning after it started ripping. I tossed the old one in the pass through too. And of course, I added the original tools that came with the camper, including the original bed spread, that was never used.

Items specific for the camper, yes. Keep them with the camper. Personal camping gear or an array of half-hazard tid-bits of this and that ... no.

I woulpd pare it down to a pastic tub or two of basic items and tell prospective buyers they can have them if they want them. Adapter, extension cords and common items such as wheel chocks should be included. Camping gear optional.
Some of the items mentioned might turn away a buyer. A few basic tools would likely be welcomed. An extensive collection of specialty tools, an array of replacement parts, tubes of caulk, cans of body paint, rolls of wire and other such items would convince most people they were buying a lemon on wheels that only a master mechanic could keep on the road. That stuff might be better used as garage sale inventory.

Boats or RVs...if bought from a private individual usually come with miscellaneous stuff (typically non-personal). It's not required to include it but no harm either.

Used units from a commercial dealer will typically have most miscellaneous stuff removed unless it's bolted on.

In most cases, it will make no difference at all in the sales price.

If you are expecting a higher resale for the RV because you've included an already outfitted unit, you might be waiting for a buyer for a long time, if ever. There may be exceptions, but normally, RV's are sold empty, and at best you get a starter kit, which is a sewer hose, a pressure regulator, and a toilet paper sample.

However, buying-selling from a private individual, well ... anything is permissible. But don't expect more money for the sale because it is outfitted with items that worked for you, but may be total junk to the new buyer. The new buyer may say, take the 'junk' and knock off $2000.00. Here again though, it's your sale, you can do whatever you want, just don't be upset at people because they are not accepting of the stuff you found valuable.

If you have "stuff" it makes better sense to part with it, Good Will, give it away to a fellow camper, yard sale it, or trash it. If you have some items you really want to get rid of, tell the buyer those things go with the camper, but you won't get any more $$$ out of it anyway, as the alternative was the dumpster.

We've accumulated a lot of "stuff" over the years. Tent camping, to Pop-up, 3 travel trailers and a 5er. Each step to a new camping style meant getting rid of stuff we no longer wanted or needed and getting new for what we did.

We gave everything away. When our last travel trailer had an outside kitchen sink and propane stove, we finally got rid of all our Coleman camp stove stuff. Actually, because of an on-line swap group my wife belong to, we ended up giving the two Coleman camp stoves, all the hoses, a 20 pound propane tank, propane T's, regulators, a gas lantern, the whole enchilada to a local Boy Scout troop.

I gave away all our Dish Sattlite system stuff, including the antenas, tripods, receiver, wires, everything. Just about 2 months ago I gave away a 1400 / 14000 pound Equal-i-zer weight distribution hitch to a colleague at work who just bought a new travel trailer. I have a 5er, no need for it any more.

Just a couple weeks ago, I gave away the last few items I had at a campground. I walked around and found a trailer that could use those wind flappers for their awning. It's stuff like that, we've giving away to fellow campers as we've no longer needed it.

We figure, we have received our money's worth out of the item. We will never use it again. "It" served us well. We expect nothing back now. Give it to someone else who can benefit using it, and save a few dollars.

That's how we've always done it.

When the time comes to hang it all up, we'll probably just give away everything we've got. Leopards don't change their spots, no matter how old they get.

I think its a great selling idea ready to go camping. you don,t need the equipt any more. so pass it on. sold my farm equipt that way and got a better price.

My solution is to pass the RV off to a family member.

Mine came with sewer and water hoses, 2 power cables and a few dogbones. I've accumulated a bunch of stuff (spare parts, screws, light bulbs, hardware) that I would just leave with the bus if I were to sell. Right now it looks like it will go to a relative.

Try selling it that way. If no takers, donate and sell the bare unit.