Selling, what needs repair or replacement?

The last two trailers I sold I put new tires on, cost less than $400 and a new battery, cost less than $100. Both trailers got sold to the first person that came. Both people commented about the new tires and battery.
So in my mind for less than $500 I didn't have to waste my time to show a lot of potential buyers over and over again.

While I agree avoid reinvesting too much. A trailer that appears to be maintained
and in good repair will sell faster than one that appears neglected.
THat said if battery is working and holds charge it's OK.
If tires are in decent shape with decent tread. They are OK.
If tires are dry rotted they are not OK.
If unit needs caulking I suggest caulking it.
Curb Appeal is just as important as price.
A wise person once told me:
"You only have one chance to make a 1st impression"...
This is an important concept to grasp if you're selling something.

Tires and battery, maybe if the existing ones are not serviceable. A whole bunch of new caulking may imply you are trying to hide something or were looking for a leak.
I've looked at cars that were newly painted and thought what's under the paint for instance.

Clean the heck out of it. Shine up the faucets, sinks, shower, and toilet. Wax the floor. Polish the countertops and tables. Make sure all lights are working and bright. Clean up and paint the tongue area with a spray paint so it looks like new. Fix and brighten any repair items.

What a buyer is looking for is cleanliness and something that looks well maintained. Shine sells, new black rubber doesn't.

I would put some camping pictures on the table to show a prospective buyer the trailer in use. Along with that, a printed list of any items you plan to include. Those will be incentives for a buyer.

At the very least, I would put new sealant on the roof and clean it. In fact, clean and wax the whole thing. Shine sells.

clean it well and make it smell good. don't spend a dime. price accordingly

This is a very good discussion! On one hand, someone is going to want a deal, so the less you charge the quicker it will sell. On the other, someone is going to want it ready to go and well maintained. I guess if I traded it in, its going as is. If I sell it, I will closely inspect the tires and battery as well as repair the caulking as needed. I will clean it inside and out regardless and take lots of pictures.

I would figure the costs to fix it up and then look at if I could re-coup the amount at the sale. Probably not, except for having a good battery(to show how well everything works) and maybe some tires so at least the purchaser could feel safe about driving it down the road.

Ah, the psychology of a sale. I agree with most of the posters in that you best efforts to clean and shine the unit will help with the sale. If the battery is working and if the tires are serviceable I would leave them alone. If not, replace them.

It amazes me that people are quick to undercut your price. If you have researched the market value you should stick close to your guns. OR, you can do what most people do. Say you want $7K. Price it about $600 above that. If they grumble about the tires you can say you would be willing to knock off $500 to help pay for a new set.

Putting tires on a trialer might back fire on you too. Say you put on a new set of brand A tires and the purchaser would rather have brand B then this might be an investment that the purchaser would see as an advantage.

Funny how we have all kinds of checklist and criteria for buying a trailer.
However when it comes to selling, the advice/idea is do as little as possible and attempt to send it out the door.....
As sellers we seems to take the mindset of the dealers who do as little as possible and attempt to send it out the door

Clean, clean and then come back and clean some more.
Most used RV's on lots are filthy - even the news ones are dirty sometimes.