Best Time to Trade In 5th Wheel

After year 10.

After rig turns 10 years old then financing for the buyer sometimes gets tricky. No real data to go on but 6 years appears to be a sweet spot for some value remaining before repair and maintenance costs start to climb.

They take a real nose dive the first year on value. These are a depreciating asset and to fully get the value, you use it until it is used up.

Ken

The value is going to drop most the first year, but is going to continue to drop each year by lesser amounts. So the longer you wait, the less the value. Just a matter of how long you want to wait to get that new one. It's a losing proposition no matter when you do it.

My parents bought their RV new in 2003. They have had much use out of it and spent very little on maintenance. I think they paid about 55,000 back then and could likely get 10k out of it now. That's $3000 per year. I think it's pretty tough to do much better than that.

Check the NADA value and divide in half - that's your trade in value.

If you bought it right you don't get hit quite so hard. You should be buying for 35% off list. Even then you won't get much. I traded after 5 years and did O.K. but just that. What they "give" you is meaningless. All that matters is the difference you pay. Spring is probably the worst time because dealers aren't willing to come down on their prices as much.

B.O.

Hey, if you REALLY love it, why do you want to get rid of it?

Have you found a better floor plan? A 2016 is pretty new in my book. What upgrades are you looking for that a 2016 doesn't have?

We loved the floor plan of our 2009 but traded it for a 2019....it was still in very good shape. We wanted some of the new bells, whistles, and technology advances that were not available 10 yrs prior....and yes, the cost delta between the 2 was getting wider.

If you're worried about depreciation on a camper your only choice is to take advantage of it and buy used. You will lose your tail on any new camper purchase outside of maybe an Airstream - they seem to hold their value fairly well.

Definitely before it hits ten year old for finance reasons.