Selling a Motorhome for Dummies?

[ComputerGuyInNO]

First of all I would like to thank everyone who has helped me on this forum. Your help and advice is very much appreciated. Let me begin by stating that I am not an RV'er. At least not of my own volition. You see my father passed away the day after Thanksgiving last year. After his passing the company that held the loan on his RV called the loan as is normal procedure. Unfortunately my father did not have enough cash in his estate to settle the loan. He did have other assets but not enough cash. I was worried about letting them repossess the motorhome because I figured they would auction it off and go after his real estate for the balance. I ended up purchasing the motorhome from the estate so that I could resell it and try and minimize the loss. He was actually upside down on the loan but I negotiated with the lender to reduce the amount owed. I live in New Orleans and the motorhome was in Greensboro North Carolina. I needed to go pick it up and bring it back to New Orleans so that I could prep it for sale. Before I went to Greensboro I had the motorhome take into the dealer in which my father purchased it. I asked them to go over everything and test everything and make sure everything worked because I did not want to drive it back to New Orleans in disrepair. That ended up costing me $4000. The motorhome was rarely used in the last four years but my father started the engine once a week and had it professionally winterized. He never exercised the generator so we had to have that rebuilt and had to have the whole top of the motorhome resealed. They also tested all the appliances changed all the filters checked everything out to make sure that it was safe to drive. After driving it back to New Orleans we had it professionally detailed and started cleaning it up. We then found that we had an electrical problem and had to replace the power center/converter/charger. So now to the questions I have to see if you all can give some advice. The MH is a 2006 Holiday Rambler Admiral SE model 30PBS. It has 9765 miles on the odometer. My brother, who is the executor of the estate, and I want to make sure that everything is as perfect as can be before we sell it. So on to the questions.

1. Should we purchase a new mattress. We both figured that someone buying a used MH would replace the mattress anyway but what do you think. I figured we could purchase a nice mattress and just leave the plastic on it to show that it was never used.

2. The topper on the slide out was damaged so we had the fabric removed but not the actual bars that hold it. Should we go ahead and replace that?

3. We bought two new front tires but did not replace the rear tires. Since the tires are eight years old should we go ahead and have them replaced.

4. What is the best place to sell a motorhome? I see they are being sold on eBay and craigslist. My father-in-law told me about RV trader.com. Can anyone weigh in on what is the best way to sell a used motor home from a private party?

5. If anyone has any advice on anything else I should check or have done I would appreciate it.

Again, thanks to all for all your help because it is warmly appreciated.

[ComputerGuyInNO]

Kiwi_too, thanks for the link. That is a big help.

Tinmac, if you would have read my post carefully you would have noted that we negotiated the balance on the loan. We had to have the vehicle inspected before driving it through six states.

Rgatijnet, thanks for the input. We do have all previous and current service records. We also have all the owners manuals, even the tv's manuals. The sofa still has the Flexsteel brochure attached to it from when he purchased it!

Bill N, thanks for the tip on the slide out cover. I will look into replacing it.

Again, thank you all for your feedback and help. It is very much appreciated.

[AllegroD]

A links for you to get info and ideas for an add.

A 2006 Holiday Rambler Admiral SE model 30PBS

Good luck

[timmac]

Owner to owner sells will never get top dollar, what you have done is enough, just sell it as it is, do let them know what you have done to it..

Besides that if you knew it was upside-down than why did you put $4000 into it, having a dealer do inspection and to bring it up might have been a slight rip off..

[rgatijnet1]

The main thing about selling an RV, or anything of value, is to make your ad better than everyone else's. Show lots of pictures and give lots of details. Try to anticipate any questions and explain everything in your ad. Tell why your RV is a better value than the others. Explain things so that a new RV buyer, that has never owned an RV before, can understand everything. If there are any flaws, point them out, but don't dwell on them. If you have service records, say so. If you have owner's manuals, say so. Tell the perspective buyers how well the coach worked for your purposes and say that you welcome an inspection by either them or a mechanic of their choice.
You can go on eBay and find completed listings that will show the ones that sold and the ones that didn't. Price your rig accordingly and if you have the best ad, yours will sell also. I would not get hung up on tires unless your tires are obviously bad. Let the buyer, or his mechanic, decide if it needs new tires or not.
My last one was sold using Craigslist and I had several calls from other states. The buyer actually drove over 600 miles to inspect, and buy my coach.

[Bill_N1]

Don't get wrapped up around the tire issue. There are many many motorhomes on the road with tires over 8 years old but a lot depends on how it was stored and if they were occasionally moved. The DOT codes on the tire should show the week of the year and the year in which they were produced. The letters DOT will precede the numbers or you can google for info on how to find and read tire codes. Generally, 7 years is the accepted time before replacement is recommended but they will not all fall apart one day past 7 years. Price it for tire replacement and definitely replace that slider awning - I would never consider a coach with a missing awning - not that it's that bad but it indicates that the previous owner didn't much care (which would not be true here). Leave the mattress in the coach. Some may like it and others may not. If not, they will replace at their expense. Good luck. Born and raised in NOLA but left at age 21 and spent most of life in North Dakota (brrrr) thank to U.S. Air Force.

[ComputerGuyInNO]

Dennis, thanks for all the information. We hired a different company to install the two new front tires while in N.C. They also did the state inspection so we could drive it . We asked them to inspect the rear tires and let us know if they needed replacement. They said they were fine. I wish I would have know then what I now know because I would have replaced them before our trip. I know for a fact that they are original to the MH. Thanks for that link. I have only been searching rvtrader.com for comps and it is very hard to find that model which has a single slide out.

[Executive45]

I would leave the mattress issue be. IMHO, there are way more people who see it as a non issue than those who want it replaced.

PPL Motorhomes sold the exact coach in Feb of this year and although it had more miles on it, it's a good comparison. See link below.

The tires are another issue. Check the date codes on them. (If you don't know how, ask) The issues you express here, again IMO, will result in folks hammering you on the price. You've already spent about a tenth of it's value making sure it's safe. That said, I'm concerned why the repair facility in NC allowed you to travel all the way to NOLA with those tires. They may not be original but you won't know for sure without checking those date codes. Do so before putting it up for sale.

Finally, since you are not an RVer, I'd look into letting someone who is market it for you. That's where companies such as PPL come in. I purchased my first diesel from them and found them to be professional and knowledgeable. If I were in your shoes, I pack that rig up and let them do the work for you. Check out their website and you'll see what I mean......Dennis

2006 HR Admiral

[ComputerGuyInNO]

Thanks to all for the responses. I will leave the old mattress and explain and price it to let the buyers choose new tires.

[Escargot]

Honestlt, I'd leave the mattress in the unit so potential buyers get a better sense of size relative to the space it occupies. Just put a new mattress cover on it, or make up the bed entirely for presentation purposes. Just let the potential buyers know it's the original mattress and the reason you didnt change it out.

Good luck.

[Mr_Mark1]

ComputerGuyInNOLA wrote:
Mr.Mark, thanks for the input on the mattress. As for the tires I have already driven it 1000 miles. I wish I would've posted this before my drive from Greensboro to New Orleans. LOL! Are tires like mattresses? Should I let them choose what they want and feel comfortable with?

Tires dry rot, especially, when not used much to mix the chemicals in the tires. Someone explained it like this. A tire is like a bowl of spaghetti, when it's rolling all the sauce is mixed up with the noodles. When it sits, the sauce settles and the noodles become dry. Nobody wants separation of noodles! It's too dangerous!

It's your choice, price the RV for new tires or buy them. Probably better to let the new buyer get them and lower your price.

MM.

[n7bsn]

I'm certainly in the "yes" on the tires. You coulda' died (honestly). Design life for tires is like 7 years.
Mattress, certainly not.

Slider awning, it depends.

I've sold via RV-Trader, Craigs List and the "Nickle" weekly ad.

[Fishinghat]

I would replace the rear tires, but not the mattress. I would have the awning repaired or replaced.

You could advertise it on Craig's List or one of the other web sites and if it is priced right, it should sell. But, since you don't really know much of the history (since it belonged to your dad), potential buyers might be overly cautious. You also won't know certain things a buyer would want to know, like how something works.

I'd recommend PPL, a consignment lot in Texas. They advertise that they sell a lot of RVs every year. Check out their web site and decide if that's an option for you. (I've never bought an RV from them, just equipment and parts.)

[ComputerGuyInNO]

Mr.Mark, thanks for the input on the mattress. As for the tires I have already driven it 1000 miles. I wish I would've posted this before my drive from Greensboro to New Orleans. LOL! Are tires like mattresses? Should I let them choose what they want and feel comfortable with?

[Mr_Mark1]

Interesting about the mattress, we just had that discussion. If I were ever buying a used motorhome I would never use the existing mattress. I wouldn't want the owner replacing it either since we might have different tastes in levels of comfort.

We are getting ready to sell our Motorhome too and I want to take the nice king size mattress out that I paid good money for and use it on a guest bed. I was planning leaving the space empty with the nice bedspread and pillows that came with the motorhome. The consignment dealer might give different advice.

On to your questions.... I would replace the awning. That would be a real turn off to have a missing awning. A slide-out topper shouldn't be too expensive.

The tires are over 7 yrs. old with only 9,800 miles? They are toast. You need new tires or price it accordingly but don't drive it too far.

I think depending on your price range would depend on where you might sell it. People talk about success with Craig's list but I find it so confusing looking things up. Ebay might work. A consignment lot in your area might work too.

Good luck,
MM.