Trailer demand and prices

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I think it's going to be another bad year for me. I am trying to find a different used Travel Trailer and the supply of them is limited and the prices are just crazy. I still have hope that in a year or two things might get better.

A lot of things are in short supply around here due to the hiccup in the supply chain. Parts for our Agriculture Equipment are hard to find. Tires for Ag Equipment are in short supply but,, available. I've heard that parts for Semi Trucks are hard to find. Shoes are in shorter then normal supply at some of the local stores. And, lids for my jars are in short supply locally and are still higher priced then normal. ( I have a few months to look around for them yet though)

Yep!

Had to buy new pickup tires, tires that used to cost under $200 recently are $250 each and used to have selection of 5 or so brands and each brand had multiple models and designs I was forced to buy the only single tire version available in the entire US distribution network.

Just seen that GM is experiencing major shortages on their vehicles computer systems due to shortages in the semiconductor chip manufacturing shortages.. I am sure chip shortages are not just affecting GM.. Chip shortages are also affecting the PC markets creating shortages that cannot keep up with global demand..

I think it's going to be another bad year for me. I am trying to find a different used Travel Trailer and the supply of them is limited and the prices are just crazy. I still have hope that in a year or two things might get better.

A lot of things are in short supply around here due to the hiccup in the supply chain. Parts for our Agriculture Equipment are hard to find. Tires for Ag Equipment are in short supply but,, available. I've heard that parts for Semi Trucks are hard to find. Shoes are in shorter then normal supply at some of the local stores. And, lids for my jars are in short supply locally and are still higher priced then normal. ( I have a few months to look around for them yet though)

Gleaner wrote:
Well I got an appointment to look at a 2017 model that looks like would fit our family well. Quad bunks, door to the bathroom, and several other things we like. A lot of used ones advertised seem to be in the middle of the price range on the NADA site, maybe high side. Is that a good indicator?

"NADA" numbers are notoriously always optimistically high in favor of the seller..

While you can use that as sort of a guideline for your budget, the real price will be whatever you and the seller ultimately are comfortable with.

Used values are what you feel comfortable paying and not set in stone from places like NADA.

Right now it is a "seller's market" in other words favoring the sellers with higher prices due to "high demand" and low potential inventory.

Until manufacturers of new RVs are able to operate at full capacity and the raw materials supply chain gets caught up you need to be prepared to pay a higher price than what you would have expected.

The supply chain across pretty much every market for every item has been interrupted, shut down or have gone out of business over the last yr. Causing major shortages and extremely high prices on raw and finished goods.. Prices and materials may take several more yrs to stabilize so you either have to wait a long time or jump in and pay a higher price to buy when you see something that can suit you..

And for those who think sitting around and waiting on folks "just dumping" their "unused RV" at rock bottom prices will work, nope, not gonna happen..

Perhaps take a look at what happened for the "Y2K" scare that was foisted on folks.. Back in 1998 folks got scared that on 12:01 Jan 1 of 2000 all life would cease due to software errors caused by programmers using a shortened yr date of only 2 digits.. Folks were scared silly into thinking that the entire world would shut down from all of the computers shutting down including the POWER COMPANIES!

What happened next is the SAME thing as what we have right now with RVs but with portable generators.. Yep, people bought tens of thousands of portable generators before Dec 31, 1999.. Running the stores out of stock dramatically raising prices on ones in stock, folks were stealing generators by the cart loads out of stores..

After Jan1 2000 came and went without any some much as a flicker of lost power folks had excess quantities of generators sitting around doing nothing..

One would think they would start selling them at fire sale prices.. NOPE, that did not happen..

One would think that every newspaper and ever online websites would have been loaded with bunches of gens for sale.. NOPE, that didn't happen..

To this day there are many "Y2K" gens sitting around with inches of thick dust on them..

Folks that bought RVs, especially new RVs most likely will sit on them until they pay off the loans and buy then those units will be deteriorated, dilapidated and rotted out.. Not unusual for folks to buy even low cost RVs on a 10yr loan.. Fire saleing them would mean they would have to make up the outstanding loan balance that the sale price of used doesn't cover..

Well I got an appointment to look at a 2017 model that looks like would fit our family well. Quad bunks, door to the bathroom, and several other things we like. A lot of used ones advertised seem to be in the middle of the price range on the NADA site, maybe high side. Is that a good indicator?

I thought there'd be a lot more available by now as well, but have seen an uptick on some brand specific Facebook For Sale groups of "used only X days" trailers in the last couple weeks.

Im in Oregon, and local trailers used (1-3 yrs) old are selling like hotcakes. co-worker posted up his 2016 TT for sale for what he paid for it- sold it in 24 hours for more than he asked, as he had numerous people showing up for it, ended up being a "bidding war".
another co-worker sold his pop-up (OLD ONE) for $2200, had over 100 calls on it within the hr he posted it.

We bought a 2020 Heartland torque T314 in January of 2020. The Selling Dealer called us in september, asking if we wanted to sell it for more than what we paid for it, and "upgrade" to a 2021. problem was it would be 3 months out, 2nd- we were currently living in it due to loss of our home to a fire.
It partly depends on where you are, and what your looking for.
We travel to BOISE ID, frequently, it appears their RV lots are loaded with RVs of all types. however- do some research, and some of those places had a LOT of complaints, and BAD reviews.

“By about the 5th year,..”

But with NO roof or seam maintenance...

Yesterday passed by a Camping World and several large and midsized RV dealers and there is no shortage in new units. All classes and sizes are available. Really couldn't tell about used units.

Thanks for all the replies. That all makes a lot of sense. Kind of like last year I passed on something earlier that looks good now. Of course I'd have one to sell too...

Historically, many new to RVing RV buyers use the RV a lot the first year or two and then get distracted with the rest of their lives and do less and less with it. By about the 5th year, they see it sitting in the driveway or they see the storage bills and decide they should sell. They willingly take a loss on it because they realize they are throwing money away having it sit there. A small few hate the RV so much they want to sell it within months of buying - but they want what they paid for it.

With the pandemic, many folks wanted to believe that new to RVing RV buyers were somehow different than in the past and they would "hate" it so much they'd just want it to disappear at any cost.

In reality, they are the same as always. They aren't going to sell until the RV has sat for a few years. If they do sell now, they want the full price.

Those who might have been ready to sell now are hanging on to their rigs because of the pandemic. The RV has become an "in case of emergency" plan for them. They will wait until the pandemic has been over for a couple or so years before selling.

It was all fortunetelling and no data and research.