Brand New, Just beginning process
Hello! Empty nesters looking into first traveler trailer purchase and already overwhelmed. Is there a really good resource/guidebook to navigate through all the brands, models, best/worst years, revie...
Forum Discussion
Here's some additional that hasn't been mentioned:
1. Test EVERY appliance and system in the trailer. If the seller gives you a reason why you can't test it, walk away. It will never fail - you won't test the water and when you get it home you find out the hot water tank has a hole. Or you don't test the electrical on 120v and 12v and find out the converter is bad. Test everything - no excuses, no reasons, no "we have to charge you to plug it in (yep, had that one on a lot- wanted $400 to plug it into an outlet for 5 minutes).
Stove
Fridge
Water heater
Electrical - 12v and 120v
Propane
Water pump
AC
Toilet
2. Check under cushions, mattresses, in corners of cupboards, etc, for signs of leaks.
3. Consider your "test the waters" minimum usage plan. For me, it was three 4-day trips per year for three years. As long as I met that minimum, I felt having a camper was worth it and I could consider upgrading to something I liked better. I also used that as an idea of how much to spend on a camper - my minimum usage equated to $2700 for lodging at $100 per night. So that was my max budget for a camper I didn't know if I would really enjoy.
My first trailer cost $1700. I used it just over my minimum usage. After three years, I knew what I liked and didn't like about the floorplan, rv type, etc. I was also much more knowledgable about maintenance and identifying issues. I also knew that I was going to use it a lot, so putting money into a camper wouldn't be a waste of money.
4. Nada, etc, mean nothing. Determine what the trailer is worth to you, add 5-10% (most of us lowball what we want to buy and highball what we want to sell) and offer that. As mentioned, right now prices are off the chart so it may take a while to find something.
5. When you check out the trailers, walk through your morning ritual, meal preptime and eating, and your nighttime ritual. Those are the times when a floorplan will fail.
1. Test EVERY appliance and system in the trailer. If the seller gives you a reason why you can't test it, walk away. It will never fail - you won't test the water and when you get it home you find out the hot water tank has a hole. Or you don't test the electrical on 120v and 12v and find out the converter is bad. Test everything - no excuses, no reasons, no "we have to charge you to plug it in (yep, had that one on a lot- wanted $400 to plug it into an outlet for 5 minutes).
Stove
Fridge
Water heater
Electrical - 12v and 120v
Propane
Water pump
AC
Toilet
2. Check under cushions, mattresses, in corners of cupboards, etc, for signs of leaks.
3. Consider your "test the waters" minimum usage plan. For me, it was three 4-day trips per year for three years. As long as I met that minimum, I felt having a camper was worth it and I could consider upgrading to something I liked better. I also used that as an idea of how much to spend on a camper - my minimum usage equated to $2700 for lodging at $100 per night. So that was my max budget for a camper I didn't know if I would really enjoy.
My first trailer cost $1700. I used it just over my minimum usage. After three years, I knew what I liked and didn't like about the floorplan, rv type, etc. I was also much more knowledgable about maintenance and identifying issues. I also knew that I was going to use it a lot, so putting money into a camper wouldn't be a waste of money.
4. Nada, etc, mean nothing. Determine what the trailer is worth to you, add 5-10% (most of us lowball what we want to buy and highball what we want to sell) and offer that. As mentioned, right now prices are off the chart so it may take a while to find something.
5. When you check out the trailers, walk through your morning ritual, meal preptime and eating, and your nighttime ritual. Those are the times when a floorplan will fail.
