Prepping for sale

[Veebyes]

This is a new one to me. No, not ready yet but the thought has been there.

When the day comes to sell, that will be it. We won't be getting another so transferring stuff from old to new is not even an option here. We don't have a house in the US so moving stuff out & storing it someplace is not an option. Shipping stuff home to Bermuda is not an option. Way too expensive & most is RV specific anyway.

Coming from the marine world cruising boats, watergoing RVs, are often sold 'turnkey'. The owner removes all of his personal stuff, clothing etc, but the boat is ready to go. This often includes all manner of spares, tools, flatware, everything in the galley but the food, & linens since it is often custom fitted.

How often are RVs sold in such ready to go condition? Given my situation my plan is to sell ready to go right down to the marine grill & tank. All the new owner will need to put onboard will be food & personal effects.

I carry much more than the usual fuses & lightbulbs as spares. As examples there are spare lug nuts, hinges, a selection of nuts bolts & eashers, landing leg parts, 12 ton bottle jack, 50lb of tools, compressor, extra 50amp & 30amp extension cables, all manner of adaptors including a 30amp for marine use even a spare axle & wet bolts. It goes on & on.

I figure that I will save somebody thousands in outfitting a bare bones trailer.

[2012Coleman]

IMHO, you need to not be living in it when it is time to sell it. The person who may be interested in buying it may not plan on living in it. Maybe find some rental property where you could live and park your camper, then unload everything, clean it top to bottom, and organize your RV stuff in bins as stated and make it available with the sale if wanted. Maybe do this at the indoor storage? I've sold a used camper before and overheard the woman saying how she planned on using the various storage cabinets in the bathroom. It's kind of hard to see what kind of storage there is available when it is all filled up. All your extras will most likely not be as meaningful to others - lug nuts? If something happens, it's not a boat - you can get out and go someplace else. Then as others have stated, sell or give away the left overs . I did read your post - and I don't think your going to pull off living in it until the day before the eventual buyer takes possession. That may be what you want, and maybe I'm wrong, but you need to have a plan B.

Good luck.

[JAC1982]

valhalla360 wrote:
Unless it's some absolute horrendous stuff left behind (ie: you come across as a hoarder or something weird)...it's not going to hurt the sale. Worst case they will throw stuff away.

On the other hand, it may encourage me to pick yours over a similar at similar price, but I'm not likely going to pay any extra for it.

This is my opinion too.

And, if the buyer doesn't want the stuff and refuses to buy it with the stuff still there, box it up that minute and take it to a nearby donation site. If it's absolutely junk, throw it away. Even poor people don't deserve broken/dirty things. You may even be able to post it on the local Craigslist "free" section or on Facebook marketplace (if you're on Facebook) and someone will come get it.

[goreds2]

valhalla360 wrote:


In most cases, it will make no difference at all in the sales price.

This is probably true but including misc. items may help the RV sell faster.

[valhalla360]

Unless it's some absolute horrendous stuff left behind (ie: you come across as a hoarder or something weird)...it's not going to hurt the sale. Worst case they will throw stuff away.

On the other hand, it may encourage me to pick yours over a similar at similar price, but I'm not likely going to pay any extra for it.

[Veebyes]

We shall see when the time comes. RickJay has hit on it pretty good I think. Bottom line. It depends. Depends on lots of things. Not the least of which is are we starting with a well respected builder? Alpenlite was a well respected builder in its day. Ours has many miles & many nights on it. A bad thing. However the seven months each year when it is not in use it has had full indoor storage. A good thing. Also it gets its roof reconditioned twice a year, sides & rear cap waxed once a year & the front cap, looking almost fresh out of the mold gets a light compounding & a waxing with nothing but the finest marine wax 3 times a year. It is a late 2007 but I have seen neglected 2-3 year old units looking far more aged.

We shall see. It all depends on who comes sniffing when the time comes.

[Grit_dog]

And fwiw, sold our lightly used camper a few years ago, fully outfitted save for the things I wanted to keep, like a few tools etc.
Was not an issue and probably an advantage of sorts as the buyers didn’t have a camper so they got a turn key setup, not 3 trips to Target to outfit it.

[Grit_dog]

Veebyees, you just asked for opinions, which instead of listening, are refuting because your mind’s already made up.....
That aside, the prospective buyers that are going after 15 year old campers, especially ones that have that “lived in” feel, are probably going to be more receptive or appreciative of the-repair parts, tools and dishes etc. So, in general I agree with you.
There’s a big difference between an older RV that was used for summer vacations and seen very little wear n tear and one that has been well used.

[Dick_B]

I sold my boat many years ago and it had many `need to have' options. Turns out that those options added a lot to my proposed selling price but did not add much to the price the buyer was willing to pay over the bare bones boat. There is a moral here somewhere.

[CFerguson]

midnightsadie wrote:
I think its a great selling idea ready to go camping. you don,t need the equipt any more. so pass it on. sold my farm equipt that way and got a better price.

I agree.
The money is in the pitch- write it up showing how YOUR RV is better than all the others on the market by having all those accessories one has to accumulate. You will appeal to the 1st time buyers and those folks with prior RVs can always just throw away what they don't want.

[Rick_Jay]

Veebyes,

In my opinion, I doubt you'll be able to get any extra from the sale of the RV if it has all of these extras.

As to whether all of that will attract or deter potential buyers, I think that will depend upon the buyer.

Hear are my thoughts. Personally, as someone who has had our first motorhome since 2004, I would appreciate the spare parts & tools, but not so much camping gear as we already have that stuff. However, yours might be better than what we have, so that could be my decision. Extra chairs, grill, etc. could always be put to use at our regular house or given away to friends & family. But to be honest, I would see these as "added perks", not something I'd be willing to pay extra for, or not too much, anyway. (And yes, I too, carry a spare water pump with me. It's the difference between having water flowing in 15 minutes and waiting hours or days.)

I suspect other seasoned RV'ers might be similar, as they KNOW things will break and if they've been doing the maintenance on their own rig, they'll appreciate getting a head-start on the spare parts base. At this point, they most likely don't know what they're getting into.

As to complete newbies, as we were back in the early 2000's, I would think they would appreciate the camping paraphernalia as they probably have little. However, I think that most might be deterred if there were too many tools or spare parts available. Maybe a few, but most of them don't fully realize that there will be maintenance that needs to be done. In fact, I think we can split this pool of potential buyers again. Those who do or will do their own maintenance, would see more of a value on parts & tools. Those who don't know which end of a screwdriver to hold will definitely NOT be impressed with tools & spare parts, and most likely would be deterred.

For all of the above, I would expect that things be neatly organized in bins & plastic boxes (for smaller items) with labels. If it looks cluttered and unorganized, that looks like you just want them to throw your stuff away for you.

Knowing you'll be on a tight timeline, perhaps you might just list the rig itself in any ads you place, and perhaps a slight mention that standard items needed for camping are happily included in the price. You can decide what those might be. But don't list too many as to deter those who might already have chairs, a grill, mat, or whatever else you list.

Once you have potential buyers, you can hopefully get a better sense as to whether or not they're seasoned RV'ers, or novices, and adjust your sales pitch and the included items based upon that. Some people are minimalist and probably won't want anything. Others, like us, tend to be "hoarders in training" 🙂 and would probably take anything of value IF we thought someone could use it. (I HATE seeing things go to the landfill that still have some life left in them. Hmmmm...maybe you should advertise it as a "Hoarder's Special". LOL ) Whatever isn't taken, hopefully you can donate it or just pay to have it all disposed of properly.

Good Luck,

~Rick

[Veebyes]

A shame more people did not read all & take in the original post. In between last day of use & transfer of title there is no alternate accommodation for us. It is hotel or street living.

From a boaters perspective, having bought used boats much larger than trailer boats over 30 years of boating, what is with the boat says much about the previous owner. Spares, new & still good used, says that the previous owner took care of it & was prepared should there be a need. Anyone who travels with spares stored at home is plain foolish. They are no good to you there.

Anyone who knows anything knows anything about fitting out knows that starting with nothing more than a basic dump hose & shore power cable is going to cost well over $5,000.00 if you want to be well fitted out & upgraded with quality stuff. The ignorant quickly find out for themselves. That still in the box waterpump may seem worthless till the day comes when you are miles from a source on vacation & the original pump packs up. Nice to have some unused spring shackle pins onboard when you discover one broken or badly worn.

These are the types of things the novice RVer won't think of but the experienced RVer will appreciate seeing on the 'comes with' list. I would think it much easier to sell a fully equipped unit to an experienced cruising boater or experienced RVer than to a novice RVer who wants to see everything new & does not think of the fitting out costs. How many RVs come with a 2000W Pure Sine Wave inverter & multi stage programable charger? Won't mean much to the novice. AH HA! to the experienced.

The extras are deeply discounted. Understood. However I believe they are appreciated by those who would know what they are looking at & understand replacement value. True. Most don't. We see it here daily by those who don't know the difference between a converter & an inverter, for example.

[DutchmenSport]

westernrvparkowner wrote:
...such items would convince most people they were buying a lemon on wheels ...

Spot on! Agree 100% It sends a horrible message to the buyer.

When we traded our last TT for our current 5er, I did include the original manual tongue jack that was replaced with an electric one. I tossed it in the pass through. We replaced the awning after it started ripping. I tossed the old one in the pass through too. And of course, I added the original tools that came with the camper, including the original bed spread, that was never used.

Items specific for the camper, yes. Keep them with the camper. Personal camping gear or an array of half-hazard tid-bits of this and that ... no.

[westernrvparkow]

I woulpd pare it down to a pastic tub or two of basic items and tell prospective buyers they can have them if they want them. Adapter, extension cords and common items such as wheel chocks should be included. Camping gear optional.
Some of the items mentioned might turn away a buyer. A few basic tools would likely be welcomed. An extensive collection of specialty tools, an array of replacement parts, tubes of caulk, cans of body paint, rolls of wire and other such items would convince most people they were buying a lemon on wheels that only a master mechanic could keep on the road. That stuff might be better used as garage sale inventory.

[valhalla360]

Boats or RVs...if bought from a private individual usually come with miscellaneous stuff (typically non-personal). It's not required to include it but no harm either.

Used units from a commercial dealer will typically have most miscellaneous stuff removed unless it's bolted on.

In most cases, it will make no difference at all in the sales price.