When to trade

No hard and set rule on age of trailer trading it seems. Mine is 44 yrs. old and my needs won't change this year so....at least 45 years.

THere's no need to "trade it in" unless you want something bigger or smaller.

I don't see the logic in trading an RV in just for sake of "trading it in"

We just traded in a couple of weeks ago. We wanted space for the grandkids. Our trailer was 9 years old. If i didnt need additional beds, i would have kept the old trailer till the floor rotted and the roof leaked. I loved it.

After 7 years of use, I finally have it almost the way I want it. Not about to trade it for a few more years. It's not eating anything, so what's not to love. Now, if you have a good reason, like the layout doesn't work for you or your situation changes, or maybe it's always been a piece of junk that wasn't right for you from the start, well then jump in and take your lumps. I'll probably run the wheels off this one before I trade up.

Status symbol: why do folks always need a bigger house, newer car, greener grass. But,they have no money in the bank.

Wake up! if its not broken or cant be repaired. keep it

Mine is an '87. It still works for what we use it for (mostly forest land). But it's starting to show it's age in not so great ways. I posted pics of big cracks above the door a while back.

So the answer is that they can last a long time. I think a 1987 trailer that still works good is not far fetched if taken care of. But I believe it's at a point where it will be costing me more than it's worth.

Here's my take on it. I buy trucks and cars with the intent on using them until I just can't anymore. I don't upgrade at any particular year. My F250 is a '92 and will likely last 10 more years before it doesn't make sense. I look at trailers the same way. But there's a problem with that.

Trailers don't seem to be built as well. Some better than others. And their value doesn't hold at all. Even worse, is some "RV resorts" have age restrictions. And that age tends to be right around 10 years. Some people have never encountered this, but I have. I know others who have. I've been turned down just based on age. I've been turned down based on color and graphics scheme. No kidding. In the 80s, they were all tan with red and brown stripes. Mine is, for the most part, in great condition. Looks like it did in '87. Except the graphics are faded. That right there got me denied at two spots. Both in Nevada close to Carson City. Now with those two cracks being epoxied, it's gonna be worse.

For the record, I called about 11 campgrounds in both Oregon and Washington for an upcoming vacation. None of them had age restrictions. Most had never heard of it. So that was nice.

With age restrictions and it starting to fall apart, we're upgrading next year.

I'll also agree that 10 years seems reasonable. But I bet after 5 years, you'll not get much money for it. I'd try to private sell it first.

I've had my TT for 10 years. Last year we got the trailer detailed and replaced some of the decals that were peeling off. It looks so nice now. We are going to go clean out all the junk we have accumulated in it soon.

Then we are probably going to have the inside cleaned professionally as well.

We may only keep it for another couple of years and then get a 5er. But it works for us now.

I bought a popup, kept it less than a year because I discovered I didn't care for all the set up, etc. Traded for a bunkhouse because I thought the grandchildren would go with me a lot but when I got ready to retire I wanted to spend months at a time in the TT and the BH didn't have enough floor space, so after four years I traded for the double slide I have now. Although I have averaged about 180 nights a year in it (had it for three years), it's still in nice shape and I plan to keep it for four or five years, then get something a little smaller and easier to manage. The advice "you'll know when it's time" is very good.

Sandia Man wrote:
I don't think there is a magic number since the reasoning varies as outlined above. We have had our current rig 8 years this coming Spring and it is still filling our needs. We go to all the area RV shows but nothing has caught our eye as of yet. Maybe in a couple of years we'll make a change, but we will not trade in current RV as we plan to place it on a piece of property we own.

This is the post that rings a bell with me. I dread the day I will "have" to replace my truck and this camper, because they both meet my needs so well, and in spite of constantly looking, I never find anything ( in either trucks or campers ) that I like as much as what I have. All in a pretty good place to be....except when they finally simply wear out.
To the OP, I think the key is the old standby statement, "you'll know when it's time".

If you are looking for a time period as a guideline. I believe it is 10 years.
No hard facts but I feel a well used unit will be showing its age at that point.
It will be easier to trade the unit vs, refurbishing it.
I do believe with proper care and preventative maintenance an RV can easily last more than 10 years,but 10 is a good guideline.
As Dutchmansport mentioned above there are lots of reason to trade that are not based on time or years of ownership.
While time of ownership is often a factor it is seldom the sole deciding factor in determining the trading point.