Buying travel trailer by phone w/o visiting dealership?

Bought my tt 600+ miles away saving around $3000.
Had some minor warranty work local dealers were unwilling to do.
Keep in mind local dealers are not obligated to do your warranty work if not purchased from them.

I wanted to buy a TT that was 2000 miles away. Multiple phone conversations.
However, when I asked for additional pics of certain areas of the trailer he just re-hashed the pics from the online ad.
When I commented on that, he said the shop was a mes and he couldn't get to the trailer.

Well.....if he had no time, I certainly wasn't going 2000 miles.

That was for a new Nash @ $35k.

I ended up buying used locally for $10K.....maybe I owe him a Thank You card?

I bought my new camper this past fall over the phone, 90+ miles from home. Negotiated the price, My trade in value and my agreement to purchase pending my PDI and inspection and their inspection of my trailer. I informed them I would come up on Friday (This was a Tuesday) and expect the camper to be plugged in, slides extended, water tank full with a battery pack hooked up so I could test 12 volt items with shore power unplugged.

I did a roof inspection, ran all the sinks, the shower and toilets multiple times, test all appliances, fridge, AC, furnace, etc. Crawled underneath checked for leaks, loose coroplast, any issues.

I found a couple wires dangling that I made them zip tie up securely and a couple of the bedroom doors seemed borderline out of adjustment. Other than that, found no issues.

Signed the paperwork, went to the bank to get a certified check and paid cash for the balance.

The reason I bought there and not a dealership that is 5 miles from my home is they were about 5K cheaper on a camper that had more optional equipment on it than the local one. I got fiberglass sides, electric stabilizers, a roof ladder, 11cf residential fridge on an inverter for $5000.00 less than the local dealer. Since I'm fairly handy and not likely to take it back to the dealership for service unless it's something major, I felt it a good risk/reward decision. Would likely take it to the local dealership if I do have an issue as they have a much larger service department, I have bought 2 previous campers there and my current truck so I'm feeling pretty good about them taking good care of me.

A class C motorhome is a perfect option for those who want something roomier than the tiny class B but prefer a truck-like driving experience rather than the bus-like setup of class A.

Here is an article that shared good information about small travel trailer that you can check.

https://rvingreviews.com/smallest-rv-with-shower-toilet/

To me a 300 mile trip for the right TT or the right price is nothing especially if you know what you want and are buying new. The down side is after you inspect it and find a number of things to be fixed be prepared to either stay in a hotel several days or return home until the TT is fixed and you have to make the trip again. The other downside is your local dealer my not want to do warranty work if you did not buy it from them. If you can find what you want locally see if your local dealer will match the price.

I am simply amazed and often shocked at just how much effort folks put into finding "the ideal" RV for a special layout or a special deal.

Its a RV folks, basically a SHELTER from weather, a place to lay your head for the night, sometimes a place to cook a meal inside and sometimes a place to get out of the rain, snow, heat, cold..

I would not ever consider driving 100 miles or even 50 miles for a RV, they are a commodity, they are cheaply made for a cheap audience, they are readily available pretty much anywhere you can drive to within 50 miles one way for most folks. Dealerships are everywhere, used ones all over the place also..

Most folks do not keep a RV for long, often suffering from the "super size mentality..

Kind of reminds me of a friend of mine, spent 4 yrs designing the perfect home then finding a builder then having his "dream house" built.. Spent $50K on the ideal 1/2 acre lot in just the right neighborhood and $450K on the house.. 5yrs down the road and ended up in a divorce, lost the house to now ex and kids.. Now lives in a $400 per month shoe box apartment and has another 10 yrs to pay of the mortgage on the ex wifes house..

Find a RV that you can live with that is close at hand and move on.. Folks put way to much effort into a mobile shoe box..

Bought a trailer over the phone from a dealer 450 miles away. Got a super deal and they were great to work with. They let us camp in there lot for a night and next morning they fixed everything we ask them to. Sold it 3 years later for same price we paid for it. Nothing wrong with trailer, floorplan just didn't work like we thought. Bought an Outdoors RV over the phone from a dealer in Idaho 1400 miles away. Treated us great, drove out to get it and camped our way home. We did have an issue with the slide on the ORV, called service, they sent parts and I fixed myself. Both deals were great, would do again.

saguaro wrote:
Of course I realize I would need to have in hand a copy of the invoice before I sent any payments, but other than that what do I need to watch out for?

Can you elaborate a little on this statement?

Are you planning on financing it?
Paying cash?

If you are financing it at the dealer, you likwly have to be present to sign their bank paperwork.

You can arrange your own financing too and have the daler fax / email over a purchase agreement to the bank, the bank can either mail a check or you can take it to the dealer.