Trying to finance a Travel Trailer under 10k for 144 mths.

rvhippo wrote:
You will be upside down on the loan for nearly the entire period. You will not be getting out without taking on more debt. The only trailers I've seen that last 144 months are stored indoors and are meticulously maintained. Maybe if you have indoor storage and spend thousands on maintenance you will finally be able to get out of the loan at break even after a decade or so.

If this thing will be stored outside and you don't maintain the seals and caulking (get up on the roof every 6-12 months, clean it, caulk it or pay someone $500 to do it), it will be destroyed by the elements well before you've finished paying for the loan.

Also, figure out how much you're going to actually use it. Renting is usually cheaper if you use it for less than 3 months per year. Maintenance, insurance and storage costs are above and beyond the monthly payment to the bank. The average person uses their RV for 30 days per year.

A 144 month loan on a large boat or diesel-pusher motorhome is financially do-able because they have such long service lives and maintenance / insurance / storage is such a small percentage of their total cost. A 144 month loan on a travel trailer is digging a financial pit you'll regret for 11 out of 12 years (you may enjoy the first year until you realize the total costs involved). Travel trailers don't last very long without meticulous maintenance which costs either lots of money or lots of time (or both).

The only exception I can think of is if you live in a desert climate. Trailers last longer where it's dry and doesn't rain.

If cost is an issue, just rent if you're going to use it for less than 3 months per year. You'll come out way ahead financially. Most people with jobs and family can't spend 90 days camping because they are too busy. If you have nothing better to do with the money, then buy. If you're going to be inside of it for more than 3 months per year, buy.

Your assuming a large deposit isn't put down and that only minimum payments are being made. And the little interest paid, at least in our case, is a tax deduction. We're paying less than 2.99% on our RV loan with credit union bonus points factored in that allow the rate to be lowered in steps every 10 mos. Compare that to our investments where we're earning 8%+ the past 2 years.

You do have to be careful and not get sweet talked into bad upside down debt. But there is also smart ways to use financing in some situations. And not all credit unions are equal. Our's values long term membership (we're at 16 years) so they are very flexible on terms and rates. Excellent credit and long term stable employment is also a factor.


As far as the post about caring for your TT--everyone needs to be re-sealing, waxing or polishing, covering or properly storing, whether you have a loan or not. Our last RV, a 4+ year old HTT that we used a lot, looked like new when we sold it our self (crazy if you trade it but that's another post). Our 2012 Bullet looks better than new with several valuable mods while sitting in a very nice storage building on a concrete floor at a very reasonable fee until the snow is gone.