Advice for a Truck Camper novice
I have owned everything from an Airstream travel trailer to a 40' Eagle I never converted. Had a Airstream B190 that I loved, but sold about a decade ago. I have wanted a truck camper forever but neve...
Forum Discussion
All good advice here. Some very smart and experienced TCers out there.
I have to agree on not necessarily buying new. Don't get me wrong, because buying new is just great if you can afford it and know for sure you want a TC. But we have found two consecutive truck campers that were used, but like new. What we have noticed with the TCs is that people love them or not. So some folks who have always wanted one will buy a new one, find out it is not for them, and then turn around and sell it for quite a bit less than they paid for them. The last two, an '08 Arctic Fox 990 and a '12 Arctic Fox 990, both were only used about 3 times when we bought them, and the price each time was a good $10K or more less than a new one. We sold the '08 for more than what we paid for it and the '12 we bought for only about $4K more than we sold the '08 for. Both times we have a virtually new TC. I think buying new is great if you want that, but we have had pretty good luck carefully buying used. Incidentally, we have never lost a dime buying and selling a used TC. We tried out an older Jayco that we bought for $2500 to see if we really wanted a TC. When we found we loved it, we sold it for $2500 and bought the 08 AF. We also have a 37' Class A motor home which we use as home base when we are campground hosts and we use the AF for all side trips, day trips, and everything else they are so great for including long road trips. If we had to sell one of them, it would be the Class A, and we'd probably lose money if we did that.
I have to agree on not necessarily buying new. Don't get me wrong, because buying new is just great if you can afford it and know for sure you want a TC. But we have found two consecutive truck campers that were used, but like new. What we have noticed with the TCs is that people love them or not. So some folks who have always wanted one will buy a new one, find out it is not for them, and then turn around and sell it for quite a bit less than they paid for them. The last two, an '08 Arctic Fox 990 and a '12 Arctic Fox 990, both were only used about 3 times when we bought them, and the price each time was a good $10K or more less than a new one. We sold the '08 for more than what we paid for it and the '12 we bought for only about $4K more than we sold the '08 for. Both times we have a virtually new TC. I think buying new is great if you want that, but we have had pretty good luck carefully buying used. Incidentally, we have never lost a dime buying and selling a used TC. We tried out an older Jayco that we bought for $2500 to see if we really wanted a TC. When we found we loved it, we sold it for $2500 and bought the 08 AF. We also have a 37' Class A motor home which we use as home base when we are campground hosts and we use the AF for all side trips, day trips, and everything else they are so great for including long road trips. If we had to sell one of them, it would be the Class A, and we'd probably lose money if we did that.
