Travel Trailer Buying/Financing Questions

Rjpoog1989 wrote:
Hello all, this is my first post here. I’ve been lurking here a while looking for info on campers. I’m looking to buy a TT for the 2020 camping season and I’m trying to plan my finances accordingly. I’ll start with these three questions and go from there.

1: Do most dealers require a down payment to finance and if so, what % is typically required.

2: From what I’ve observed, it seems the best incentives are in December. Is this an accurate observation? I’m looking to get the best price by buying at the right time.

3: it seems like Camping World has the best prices and selection. Are there reasons not to buy from them?

From our "newbie" buying experience...

Usually no down payment if your trailer is valued more than the asking price, percentage of that can vary.

As stated, incentives can vary. Like autos, end of the month is good. We got a steal in late Oct. They would not let us go! Advantage you as you walk to the door...price will go down.

Camping World experiences vary. Salesman was great and did crunch the numbers on our TV to ensure we could safely tow it. If they don't collect your TV data then I'd be leery of them. They did search rates and got us to 3% financing. The closing was very high pressure for extended warranties which we turned down (explain below). Reaching dealer support (service and parts)? I have a better chance of reaching the President on the phone.

Advise to look often, stalk RV Trader and walk through everything at RV shows. We looked for over a year and when we walked into "the one", my wife and I immediately knew it.

A LOT of great advice for selecting. Our priorities were floor plan and weight (we were not going to have white knuckle travels). Number are VERY important for the safety of you and the fam. Maybe look for something with a dry weight about 60% of TV's rating as loading it will push you to around 75-80% of rating. Focus as much on the TT's GVWR and remain well under it. Stay away from "max" anything where RVs are concerned. Please know manufacturers of TV's can OVERSTATE tow capacity and from our personal experience, TT's dry weight and tongue weights were UNDER estimated. You see the issue. Look for the moderate weight/length and stay safe for the haul. More likely to have a good towing experience as hauling to the site is half the fun for us, admittedly.

Pass on extended warranties. And dealer might push VERY HARD and even seem aghast that you'd turn one down. Please know for most RV manufactures there can be serious lag time and finger pointing when it's time for basic warranty work. Serval threads on how "the repair system" is broke. Not to be a downer on your search for the perfect respite, just passing on a bit of reality. Don't take just my word for it, read the blogs.

Do be ready to work on a few things here and there that would otherwise be covered. We did so we could go camping instead of calling the dealership (who never answers the phone) to find out when the unit will be fixed. Or do your own test...want to buy from "that" dealer? Call their service and parts dept to ask general questions to see if you can even reach a human.