I have questions about TC dealers and what I should offer on a new TC. My wife and I are pretty much decided on the 2021 Northern Lite 10-2 Limited Edition with the new dry bath. I’m currently shopping on-line at Truck Camper Warehouse in NH, D&H in NC, Parkview RV in DE, and Mike Jones RV on OH. I’m in N. VA so all these dealers are a bit of a drive. No sales tax in NH or DE, and I’m not subject to sales tax in OH. Not sure about NC. It looks like the listed prices for this model range from about $52,000 to $56,000. I could save if I went with a ’20 model but my wife loves the new dry bath design. I plan to do all my negotiating before driving out to take delivery. Mike Jones has three 2021 10-2 dry baths inbound.Anyway, what’s a reasonable (how much below asking) n ? Also, does anyone have experience with the dealers above? Thanks - Brian

52k for a truck camper? I,d be looking at motorhomes.

We have had good luck at Truck Camper warehouse. They treated us fairly and we paid a little below MSRP on our Northstar. They also have more inventory than many other dealers around and Bill and Ryan know their business.Pricewise, for new campers you are going to pay $40k up. I loved the look and fit and finish on the Northern Lites but thy were $10k+ more than the $40 I paid for my Igloo 9.5 with all the tie downs and truck suspension work TCW included as part of the price.Because there are so few TC manufacturers of quality, and because demand lately has been pretty strong, I suspect you will be able to get some discount but don't expect to get 25% off. Just my opinion.

Certainly be concerned if your state will tax you on this purchase but if you consider buying out of your state forget about taxes and get a complete OUT THE DOOR price. Make that very clear to the dealer. NO ups, no extras.

Lwiddis wrote:Certainly be concerned if your state will tax you on this purchase ......I had no issue with this. In fact I picked out a camper on Long Island. It was shipped to NH and I traveled there to make the purchase without sales tax. The cost of shipping was way less than the almost 9% sales tax. Don't try this with a motor vehicle. Many States have a system to tax these when you go to register a recently purchased out of State vehicle. With rare exceptions, a camper is not a vehicle and is not registered.

Interesting, Parkview extended their TC lineup, I got my Lance from them. They were OK, the sales staff was nice but the service department I expected better from them being a Lance dealer. I am guessing whoever you get it from you are not factoring in Service since you live so far away from them?

Seeking advice on new TC purchase | Good Sam Community

19 Replies

zb39
Explorer
Nov 04, 2020
I bought from D&H in Apex, NC. I actually bought twice from them. I would at least get ahold of them and let Dave give you a price. They won't charge sales tax if your out of state. They treated me more than fair both times I bought from them. I also got a great discount on the new Host I ordered from them.
Mojave_Red
Explorer
Nov 04, 2020
otrfun wrote:
Mojave Red wrote:
I have questions about TC dealers and what I should offer on a new TC. My wife and I are pretty much decided on the 2021 Northern Lite 10-2 Limited Edition with the new dry bath. I’m currently shopping on-line at Truck Camper Warehouse in NH, D&H in NC, Parkview RV in DE, and Mike Jones RV on OH. I’m in N. VA so all these dealers are a bit of a drive. No sales tax in NH or DE, and I’m not subject to sales tax in OH. Not sure about NC. It looks like the listed prices for this model range from about $52,000 to $56,000. I could save if I went with a ’20 model but my wife loves the new dry bath design. I plan to do all my negotiating before driving out to take delivery. Mike Jones has three 2021 10-2 dry baths inbound.

Anyway, what’s a reasonable (how much below asking) n ? Also, does anyone have experience with the dealers above?

Thanks - Brian
Last year we discovered it was very difficult to get much more than 5-7% off MSRP on a new NL that wasn't new, old stock (we shopped nationwide). Demand is much higher now, so 5-7% might be very difficult to impossible. Also, freight charges on NL's go up substantially at dealers located east of the MS river (NL factory is located north of WA state in Kelowna BC).

We saved almost $8000 (on sales tax, freight, plus the cost of the camper itself) purchasing our '19 8-11 out-of-state at Apache Campers in Portland OR vs. purchasing in-state. The downsides to this purchase: 1) the 2800 mi. round-trip drive, and 2) it's more difficult to resolve warranty issues that cannot be taken care of DIY with parts alone.

Good luck! 20,000 mi. of cross-country travel with our NL! Still lovin' it!

I think you're spot-on with regards to 5-7% I spoke with Charlie at TCW and he laid out the pricing for me. It looks like they'll offer a small discount. I'm familiar with Apache as I used to live in Pierce County. I actually considered flying to WA, buying my truck and camper, and driving back to VA. Bottom line, this was not a money saving idea. Thanks for the advice. Looking forward to our new NL. - B
Mojave_Red
Explorer
Nov 04, 2020
aruba5er wrote:
Before I signed on the bottom line, I'd ask for a REAL weight on the TC. The dealer gave me a figure that was over 800# off. He took the factory specs and did NOT add the options.A cat reciept would have been great. Any truck would work. Just add or subtract the camper.Saving money would be great, but getting it fixed in warrentee might be difficult unless you take it to the dealer. And you know there will be something.

As I understand it, NL weighs every camper as it comes off the assembly and stamps the actual weight on the builder's plate. It'll be up to me to guesstimate water, gas in stuff. Anyway, I just picked up my new 2020 Ram 3500 dually so I think I'll come in under my max payload.

Thanks for reminding me about warrantee work. That's definately something to factor in. - B
otrfun
Explorer II
Oct 31, 2020
Mojave Red wrote:
I have questions about TC dealers and what I should offer on a new TC. My wife and I are pretty much decided on the 2021 Northern Lite 10-2 Limited Edition with the new dry bath. I’m currently shopping on-line at Truck Camper Warehouse in NH, D&H in NC, Parkview RV in DE, and Mike Jones RV on OH. I’m in N. VA so all these dealers are a bit of a drive. No sales tax in NH or DE, and I’m not subject to sales tax in OH. Not sure about NC. It looks like the listed prices for this model range from about $52,000 to $56,000. I could save if I went with a ’20 model but my wife loves the new dry bath design. I plan to do all my negotiating before driving out to take delivery. Mike Jones has three 2021 10-2 dry baths inbound.

Anyway, what’s a reasonable (how much below asking) n ? Also, does anyone have experience with the dealers above?

Thanks - Brian
Last year we discovered it was very difficult to get much more than 5-7% off MSRP on a new NL that wasn't new, old stock (we shopped nationwide). Demand is much higher now, so 5-7% might be very difficult to impossible. Also, freight charges on NL's go up substantially at dealers located east of the MS river (NL factory is located north of WA state in Kelowna BC).

We saved almost $8000 (on sales tax, freight, plus the cost of the camper itself) purchasing our '19 8-11 out-of-state at Apache Campers in Portland OR vs. purchasing in-state. The downsides to this purchase: 1) the 2800 mi. round-trip drive, and 2) it's more difficult to resolve warranty issues that cannot be taken care of DIY with parts alone.

Good luck! 20,000 mi. of cross-country travel with our NL! Still lovin' it!
aruba5er
Explorer
Oct 31, 2020
Before I signed on the bottom line, I'd ask for a REAL weight on the TC. The dealer gave me a figure that was over 800# off. He took the factory specs and did NOT add the options.A cat reciept would have been great. Any truck would work. Just add or subtract the camper.Saving money would be great, but getting it fixed in warrentee might be difficult unless you take it to the dealer. And you know there will be something.
Mojave_Red
Explorer
Oct 30, 2020
Thank you everyone for the great advice. I'm going to contact TCW in the morning to see what's inbound. While I was hoping everyone received deep dicounts on their TCs, I kinda figured ther wouldn't be much.
akaPedro
Explorer
Oct 30, 2020
Hi Red....we had a 11'6 TC, 20 years ago. Are there just 2? No critters or grandkids or ? If so...think again. If not, do your negotiating via email or fax and get offers signed by sales manager, not salesman. Be sure you have enough truck with proper transmission. Sometimes, if you buy away from your area, and not from the place where you will get service....you could be put off for awhile. You might have to go to the factory for serious repairs. Is that feasible ?
billtex
Explorer II
Oct 30, 2020
If you purchase from TCW they have several full hookup sites there. They will load you up, go thru EVERYTHING with you and then you can spend a night or two to test everything yourself. This way you know you are 100% when you hit the road.
They can sell you a truck (if needed) or install tie downs, hitches, etc on your truck.
Really is one stop shopping for a TC.

I can confirm the lot was full (more then I have ever seen there) but almost every one had a “sold” sticker on it.
As noted, all of a sudden everyone wants an RV.

Give Bill at TCW a call and see what is up. They are straight up Folks to deal with.
mbloof
Explorer
Oct 30, 2020
I would not expect much of a discount (a few thousand maybe). NL's are in high demand and low supply. (many are sold before they hit the lot)

Some folks venture from far away to the PNW and Apache Camping centers for the deal that can be had there. You might want to give them a call and see what their pricing is just for a data point.

- Mark0.
JimK-NY
Explorer II
Oct 30, 2020
You asked about experience with dealers. I am another satisfied customer of Truck Camper Warehouse. I have no idea if it would make sense to drive the long distance to try to save sales tax and to get a deal.

I would not expect to get much of a deal at this time. I understand Covid has made RV sales brisk. A quick look at the TCW webpage confirms that. They have almost no used and very minimal new inventory.