My 2017 quest for the perfect TT!

jungleexplorer wrote:
Getting a lot of calls today. Not one of them has the money to buy the trailer. Everyone of them said they had to get a loan. I guess it is the American Way to spend money you do not have. Crazy. Every American should be force to attend Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. Not me though, because I have never spent money I don't have. I have always saved up to buy anything I want.

Someone will eventually come along that actually knows how to budget. Or maybe not. LOL!

Because at your price point, you are hitting a wall. Under $5000, you're likely to get cash buyers. At $6000, you have bypassed the "cash only" folks and are now in the realm of financing.

Why? Because once you've saved $5000 cash, you can use that as a good down payment towards a new or almost new (2-5 year old) trailer. Or you can spend $4000 or less on an older used trailer and keep $1000 or more to make fixes, mods, etc. It doesn't make monetary sense to spend $6000 cash on a used trailer when those other options will get your more for your buck.

You've priced yourself right into that in-between spot. People with cash are passing you by on both sides, and you're left with people who have to finance $6000.

jungleexplorer wrote:

rjxj wrote:
Just for the heck of it lets look at it another way. If I owned your TT and wanted you to remove the toilet, dinette, couch etc or whatever is needed so that 3/8 plywood and new tile or linoleum could be laid what would you charge me? Not cobbled but a nice job. Make transition trim to fit the doorway etc so it came out nice. How much would you want for labor?

I have a bad back, so I am not able to do this. On top of having a bad back for the last 22 years, I trip and fell the other day and I am in a lot of pain right now. So, no amount of money could pay me to put a new floor in this thing.

My question is, why would someone to pay the owner to do something that they want, instead of doing it themselves. Makes no sense to me. It's like the truck I bought. It has some problems and needs a few things I want done. It never crossed my mind to ask the seller to do all those things for me. But that is just me.

Sorry I should have explained better. Not asking you to literally do it. Asking what the value or cost of that work would be worth. Hypothetical. I have to believe the materials would be $400 or so. Being that it does not have a slide it is much more possible for someone to do that repair. Might suggest it to someone who can see the value in it. It does look like you took good care of it.

That soft floor is a major problem. Lower your price and unload it.
Or trade it in if you're buying another.
I understand the floor has been that way since day 1. But potential buyers don't/won't understand.
That floor is a major liability to an otherwise fine RV.
Based on everything you have said I would not buy it unless it were bargained priced due to the floor. There are too many other fish in the sea.

Getting a lot of calls today. Not one of them has the money to buy the trailer. Everyone of them said they had to get a loan. I guess it is the American Way to spend money you do not have. Crazy. Every American should be force to attend Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. Not me though, because I have never spent money I don't have. I have always saved up to buy anything I want.

Someone will eventually come along that actually knows how to budget. Or maybe not. LOL!

rjxj wrote:
Just for the heck of it lets look at it another way. If I owned your TT and wanted you to remove the toilet, dinette, couch etc or whatever is needed so that 3/8 plywood and new tile or linoleum could be laid what would you charge me? Not cobbled but a nice job. Make transition trim to fit the doorway etc so it came out nice. How much would you want for labor?

I have a bad back, so I am not able to do this. On top of having a bad back for the last 22 years, I trip and fell the other day and I am in a lot of pain right now. So, no amount of money could pay me to put a new floor in this thing.

My question is, why would someone to pay the owner to do something that they want, instead of doing it themselves. Makes no sense to me. It's like the truck I bought. It has some problems and needs a few things I want done. It never crossed my mind to ask the seller to do all those things for me. But that is just me.

I'd go the other way with the pictures. CL allows 18 or 20 or however many, that's how many I would post. Decent quality in focus pictures. Filter the calls as best you can and deal with some people. I wouldn't expect it gone immediately, might take some time. The time/price curve has to meet somewhere. the sooner you want it gone, the lower the price will be.

How long have you had it on the market?

Just for the heck of it lets look at it another way. If I owned your TT and wanted you to remove the toilet, dinette, couch etc or whatever is needed so that 3/8 plywood and new tile or linoleum could be laid what would you charge me? Not cobbled but a nice job. Make transition trim to fit the doorway etc so it came out nice. How much would you want for labor?

Another thing that you mentioned is that people expect you to come down? I dont remember exactly how you worded it. People on Craigslist are absolutely expecting you to take less unless you have clearly stated that you are firm on the price. If I looked at your ad I would instantly assume minus $500 even if the floor was perfect. Throw in the floor issue and I'm down to $4000 because I have to fix it and I wouldn't live with it.

So now lets move on to who is going to live with it? Someone who has few other choices and little money.

When selling our last house the realtor suggested the pricing after doing a market analysis. It was in a good area yet it had some concentrations of nationalities who it is ingrained in to bargain before they will buy. He said I could list it for half this price and they still wouldn't buy unless I came down more. It doesn't make them bad people, it's just the way they are used to doing business. So you are dealing with people who may be a lot different than you. I would also guess that just because they are in or around the oil industry doesn't mean they have big bucks. There is probably a huge difference in south Tx and North Dakota oil fields.

I keep putting my disclaimers in here because I truly dont want to sound mean. Go read other forums and sources. There are people who will use the little SS money that they have to ride on a buss pass all day and sleep in a tent in the woods. I see people all the time living in cars or ratty rv's. Look at the number of campgrounds that have turned into live ins. The market may be at a record but I believe it's no reflection of life for a lot of people in the good old U S of A.

Other people who are getting by well enough will just go finance a new one for $179 a month. These people cant do that.

One bright spot is that you may just also help some poor sob out.

As I said before My son lives in Tx and he sold his to a person who wanted to live in it. I grew up in Mich so it was interesting to me seeing the number of people who live in something like his or yours. The climate is more agreeable. Maybe you are in more of a market of people living in them than you realize.

So who is going to buy something like that to live in? It certainly isn't about 99% or more of us on here. They are not bad people, they are just people who have had lesser luck or made bad choices or whatever. I joke with my son about his current FW which had water damage that I repaired. I said when he is done with it dump it for X amount to a family in Tx that can live in it. Again it doesnt make Texans bad but I do believe there is a large market for cheap Rv to live in. Yours is just a little out of reach and you are getting the wishers and resellers. If you were in the $40,000 used FW market you would be talking to a completely different crowd.

Again, you say $5,000 is bottom then put it on there for $5,000 and say FIRM. Say in the ad to NOT contact you with any lower offers PERIOD. Let it sit for a couple weeks and if not sold put it out back with a blue tarp over it.

Honestly is your best policy they will see what your not showing in pics when they get there