Purchasing a Winterized RV

I just bought a winterized RV from a dealer. There is anti-freeze in the system and no leaks. Plumbing is not that hard to fix. I never want to buy an RV with water damage or one needing a new refrigerator for instance.

New or used?
Wait a week or two for the thaw, then go and have a look. Ask them to de-winterize it first. If they say no, ask them why, and then deal with it from there.

If you like the camper and intend on buying it, ignore the fact that you haven’t tested it and make the deal contingent on operating all the systems before you sign on the line.
Heck, don’t even make them re winterize it. Good practice to do yourself anyway when the conditions are not as severe (coming into spring time).
Or if winterizing intimidates you, then make them re winterize it. It literally will take them like 30 minutes so they shouldn’t have issue with that to sell a RV unless they’re sketchy.

Thank you for your advice; I appreciate it.

It is used. It looks to be in great shape. It's a 2017 Starcraft Launch 28BHS.

It's for sale at the local dealer. (The one we like. ;) ) I am worried that it will sell before then.

That's a good idea, Grit Dog. I'm sure they will work with me on that.

Put it in the purchase contract, in writing, that you have however long to find problems. And if the problems are great, then the contract can be voided, with all your moneys refunded. Get it all understood, AND IN WRITING AND SIGNED! Then go ahead and get it. Just remember that verbal promises are not valid outside hearing range.

I just sold a truck camper in January- living where I do it was obviously winterized. For prospective "tire kickers" I did three things regarding the plumbing:

1) I told them it has been winterized.

2) if they questioned further the integrity, I would open a fresh bottle of RVAF, close all the valves and turn on the pump to suck some the pink stuff through the system to prove there are no leaks once the pump ceased operation and fully pressurized the plumbing.

3) if the prospective buyer wanted to take things further to insure water heater operation I would then propose a fee for my time and materials for full de-winterization/ re winterization; the fee of $100 would be deducted (or applied) to purchase price should they decide to buy it.


This method told me who is and is not a serious buyer. I am not going to waste my time on the casual inquiries during winter. Sumner would be a totally different situation as I would have these system fired up and operating by default.
The person to whom I sold the camper chose option #2 to get a gist of the plumbing. No charge for materials as I was including as terms of the purchase some 5 gallons of RVAF anyway.

I would do #2 on d3500ram's list as a starting point. That would let you know the basic water system doesn't leak.

If everything else worked and I was prepared to buy it, I would then ask the dealer to de-winterize (showing me how they do it) and then I would check the hot water tank to make sure that did not have a leak as it is normally bypassed in the winterization process. If they wanted to charge me for that, I would have it put towards the actual purchase if I buy it. Then you could add a contingency in the contract that you have X days to verify that the water heater is functional and, if not, they will fix/replace it at no charge. When you get it home, it will be unwinterized, so you can add water and start up the water heater to make sure it works. Then re-winterize as needed or return it for repair.

When I bought my clipper, I was unable to ensure the fridge cooled down at the dealer's - since I was trading in a TT with the same size fridge, I had them add into the contract that I had 48 hours to verify the fridge worked and if it didn't, they would switch out the two fridges at no cost. I took the clipper home and plugged it in. In two days they came and got the trailer. By then I knew the fridge worked so nothing else was done.

I’d wait until you could see it, inspect it, test it under camping conditions before signing for it. Things get fixed faster on a pending sale than they do after the sale. While you may have the itch to buy one now, now is not a good time. Unless of course it’s a really really good deal.

The_Northwoods wrote:
That's a good idea, Grit Dog. I'm sure they will work with me on that.

that's what you usually have to do anytime you buy a trailer. They won't take the time to test everything for you on a hope you will buy it. Make the deal contingent on all systems working. Then they also have motivation to fix everything fast.