Considering Purchasing a Used Travel Trailer
Hello, Our family recently decided to take up a new hobby. Weve run the financials on both other hobbies, talked to owners themselves. Now i turn to you for your knowledge. Our list of hobbies is bas...
Forum Discussion
ckc3 wrote:
Hello,
Figuring $45-$50 to camp per night. Also trailer would just be stored outside on our property.
Look at buying a campground membership. You can get a Thousand Trails membership for $500 per year which will give you unlimited nights, subject to some restrictions. 20 nights would cost you $25/night. There are other campground networks like Coast to Coast, Passport America, etc. These can cost several thousand $$ and up plus annual dues, but if doing a lot of camping, can really save in the long run. You could look for a pre-owned campground membership on CL as sometimes you can find excellent deals and sometimes they have extra benefits that are NLA or normally cost a lot in the initial purchase. Some memberships have frozen dues for life. Be careful of the fine print and restrictions on any membership.
ckc3 wrote:
Now generally speaking, are these travel trailers considered huge money pits like boats?
Used ones can be if not careful. Water damage can be very serious but is not always obvious unless you know how and where to look. The best thing you can do is when you find something that looks good, hire a reputable RV tech. to do a pre-purchase inspection. Besides possible water damage, you don't want to end up having to spend a ton of $$ upfront on new tires, brake and bearing work, defective appliance(s), faulty converter, suspension work, slideout repair, etc....
We met an older guy last year that found a 1990s TT for a few thousand $$ that had hardly any mileage on it, had been kept in a garage and was like new. That's the sort of TT you want to find (although a rare find), not one that has been sitting outside neglected for years, no matter how cheap it is and how good it may *seem*.
If you've never used a TT before, I highly recommend renting one, borrowing one from a friend (use in driveway if needed) or find a CG that has rental trailers on it. There are thousands of TTs out there with different floor plans, lengths, features and options. If you find what you think is a nice one, you could find soon afterwards it has some things about it that aren't working well for you.
