I Bought A Travel Trailer I Had Never Seen (in person)

[DallasSteve]

I bought a travel trailer that I found on the Internet having never seen it in person. The dealer's ad is still up. I'll post a link below. I searched RV Trader and other websites to get an idea of what was available and what was a good price.

I wanted a new bunkhouse model with a separate bunk room. I'm not using it as a bedroom. I'm using it as storage and for my electronic piano. It's long, 36 feet and my truck is long and it has been a nightmare for me to drive and park, but I'm settled in my summer RV park where I plan to spend 6 months in North Carolina so the stress of driving it is behind me for now.

I started searching back about December knowing that I wanted it before April. I priced similar models in Texas and they were at least $5K more expensive. Some may have had more features like a second AC or something, but I was going for economy and I was even willing to take the "sticks and tin" version like this one. I know the Jayco name so I wasn't too worried about value in that respect. I found this one in Knoxville, Tennessee and I thought, "I'm going to North Carolina. I'll just pick it up next door." So I also saved some money not pulling it over 1,000 miles and paying more short term parks.

I closed the deal in February sight unseen, except I had seen their Internet photos. They agreed to let me keep it on their lot until April 30. I picked it up on April 4. Am I satisfied with the trailer? Well, I don't know if I would say satisfied. There are a lot of cheap build items in the trailer and I'm not happy with a lot of the storage in the kitchen, the bed sucks, and the front door doesn't close very well. I'm concerned some day I won't be able to get it shut. But I can work around those things. I would say I am satisfied with the purchase and I would probably do it again because of the price. It serves my needs and I think I got a good deal.

Edit: Part of the reason I was willing to trust the dealer is because it is part of a chain of family owned dealerships around the Tennessee area named Dunlap RV. I looked them over on the Internet and took a calculated risk. I didn't get burned, but it could be a risky approach to take. Maybe very risky.

My New Jay Flight - The Dealer's Ad

[Grit_dog]

Welcome!!

[dedmiston]

ChadBrook wrote:
After a number of failures I made a habit of never buying anything worth more than 100 dollars without seeing it in person. The habit saved me tons of money and time since then.

New member. First post. Welcome to the forum.

[ChadBrook]

After a number of failures I made a habit of never buying anything worth more than 100 dollars without seeing it in person. The habit saved me tons of money and time since then. Not long ago I managed to finally get Dodge Challenger via abetter.bid. Sheer satisfaction!

[Grit_dog]

Glad to hear it’s all worked out well, Steve.
And that you test drove it and found it acceptable before buying a wdh it appears you didn’t need.

[bikendan]

Back in 2006, we made a 4000 mile trip tp pick up our first new RV, sight unseen other than internet pics.
We saved over $6k because of high West Coast prices. Bought from a family owned dealership.
We would do it again as long as it was new.

[goducks10]

We bought our previous 5er 250 miles away sight unseen. It was a well respected brand and we had toured the same model at a different dealer. They didn't have the reputation of the dealer we bought from so we just went there to look. Spent 45 mins inside checking it out with the idea of normal usage e.g cooking, storage, sleeping, etc.
When I made the deal 250 miles away it was with no deposit and just a phone shake so to speak. Got all the financing approved and drove over to pick it up. Before signing anything we did a walkthrough and were told if we're not happy then we could walk.
That 5er was the most reliable RV we've owned. had it for 6 years.

So yeah under the right circumstances there's nothing wrong with buying unseen.
You just need to do your research.

[PA12DRVR]

fj12ryder wrote:
I guess I have a lower financial risk factor, and less money, than many. 🙂 There's no way I would spend thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars on any product "sight unseen". We negotiated for our last 5th wheel that was 800 miles away, but we reserved the right to refuse the deal if the trailer wasn't to our satisfaction. Locked into something with nothing more than pictures? Not a chance in heck.

^^^^ This. It's the OP's decision of course and I presume there was some sort of backout provision, but I can hardly bring myself to buy clothes off the internet, much less a capital purchase. I would have thought that between Dallas, Ewe-Stun, and San Antonio there were lots of local options that could have been investigated.

[Crowe]

To fix the mattress if you don't want to replace it, just get a mattress topper or a foam pad. Works well.

[DallasSteve]

MFL wrote:
Hey Steve, glad it all worked out for you!

Did you get your brake controller properly set, to slow/stop that long trailer? Did the dealer fix you up with the proper WDH?

Looks like you have lots of room in that trailer! Hope you enjoy staying in it!

Jerry

Those are good questions. I got a factory brake controller added by Ford. I set it to 5.0 after they hooked up the trailer at the dealer and I took off. It was a gravel lot and so I couldn't calibrate it there. I must admit I've been negligent about it because it has been driving well for the 1 week I have owned it and now I probably won't drive it any more until October. I didn't get the WDH because I bought a Ford F-250 and it tows it well, but again only for a total of about 5 hours on the road. Once or twice I felt it was a little loose on the road, but it settled down right away.

[fj12ryder]

I guess I have a lower financial risk factor, and less money, than many. 🙂 There's no way I would spend thousands, or tens of thousands of dollars on any product "sight unseen". We negotiated for our last 5th wheel that was 800 miles away, but we reserved the right to refuse the deal if the trailer wasn't to our satisfaction. Locked into something with nothing more than pictures? Not a chance in heck.

[JimK-NY]

DallasSteve wrote:


I know the Jayco name so I wasn't too worried about value in that respect.

There are a lot of cheap build items in the trailer and I'm not happy with a lot of the storage in the kitchen, the bed sucks, and the front door doesn't close very well.

I didn't get burned, but it could be a risky approach to take. Maybe very risky.

I am not sure I understand the reason for this post. Are you trying to justify taking a chance on buying a used RV without inspecting it?

I would agree that could be "very risky". If it is a late model then perhaps the risk would be acceptable. There is no way I would buy an older model without a thorough inspection.

Even if buying a new RV with a manufacturer's warranty, I would recommend a very slow, careful walk through. With even minimal internet searches, you will quickly find that RVs are very poorly built and are often released with a substantial number of serious issues. Jayco is a middle of the road builder with middle of the road value and quality. You could be lucky if the only issue is a door that does not work well. Even then I would be concerned. It may not work well due to a major structural issue.

[Veebyes]

Flew from Bermuda to Texas to buy a truck & fiver combo. Both were only six months old so call them new. We were very very builder & model specific, & a rare one at that, so it was more or less a done deal before we got on the first plane.

That was seventeen years ago. Still have them.

[MFL]

Hey Steve, glad it all worked out for you!

Did you get your brake controller properly set, to slow/stop that long trailer? Did the dealer fix you up with the proper WDH?

Looks like you have lots of room in that trailer! Hope you enjoy staying in it!

Jerry

[Nv_Guy]

We bought our 5th wheel sight unseen. Drove to Salt Lake City, gave it an inspection, did the deal and towed it home, spending a couple of nights on the way home to shake out the bugs (only found a couple). But as been said, you need to know what you are buying and what to expect. I would not recommend it for first time novice RV'ers.