Forum Discussion

ecksdude's avatar
ecksdude
Explorer
Aug 04, 2015

Deposit on a Travel Trailer?

What is the customary deposit to put down on a TT when ordering one from the factory through a dealer?

I've been working through CW, and at first I was asked for a $5000 deposit.

Later (negotiations still ongoing through email exchange) she said a $3000 deposit would be fine since that's the max limit they could charge on a credit card and I wasn't physically in the store.

Now that the negotiations are (more or less) completed, I'll be going into the store later this week to finalize the order. I'm anticipating them asking for $3-5000 for a deposit and wondering it this is normal.

$3000 is more than 10% of the final price of the trailer, by the way.
  • APT: FYI; The last time I worked with RvDirect, about four months ago, they requested $1000.00 to order.
  • We paid a $500 deposit on our ViewFinder TT and it was factory ordered.

    $5,000 deposit on the MH, which we purchased at an RV show and could not take delivery on for a month due to our schedules.

    From your dealership's point of view, it doesn't hurt to ask for that much, I suppose. But that's alot to ask for!
  • dodge guy wrote:
    $500-$1000 deposit to hold an in stock trailer would be normal. $3k-$5k for a special order seems normal! you have to think about it their way, if you decide to back out on a special order they will get stuck with something that will not be as easy to sell because you ordered it the way you wanted it.


    I agree. We ordered ours through Camping World. Everything went smoothly. No problems.
  • Community Alumni's avatar
    Community Alumni
    Never needed more than $1000.
  • $500-$1000 deposit to hold an in stock trailer would be normal. $3k-$5k for a special order seems normal! you have to think about it their way, if you decide to back out on a special order they will get stuck with something that will not be as easy to sell because you ordered it the way you wanted it.
  • When we ordered ours earlier in the year they asked for a $2000 deposit. Seemed reasonable to me. I'd not go much past that.
  • $500 to $1000. I would run from that dealer. In fact, I have yet to hear a flattering story about any Camping world when it comes to RV sales.

    What does RV Direct, RV Wholesalers, Holman RV, or Lakeshore RV ask for a deposit? They sell lots of custom orders.