Purchasing a Winterized RV

[The_Northwoods]

Hello All!

I decided to finally sign-up. BTW, thank you for all of the wonderful information in the forums, it is irreplaceable!

OK, so my question is how do you properly inspect an RV that is currently winterized? I have found a great travel trailer at the local dealer, but I am not sure what it would be OK to ask them to do so that I know all all of the systems are working properly and there are no leaks.
Have any of you ever done that? Please let me know how to approach this. I am sure the dealer will assure me all systems have been inspected and were working fine, but I would like to verify this myself.

Thank you in advance.

[RicknPatti]

We bought our trailer in February and did not want them to de-winterize yet. We have it in writing that when we pick it up in April that they will fix or replace anything not working. It's a used trailer but this dealership thinks long term and they have a good reputation.

[allen8106]

I would ask them to de-winterize. It costs about $4 to re-winterize. If they refuse I would walk and find a dealer willing to work with me or wait and go back after last freeze.

[The_Northwoods]

SpeakEasy, ahhh, those moments in life that give it so much color. It is good that it turned out to be something you could appreciate.

Deb and Ed M, unless the dealer offers a warranty, or something like it in writing, I wouldn't expect them to offer to do anything after the sale. It would be nice, but I wouldn't expect it. Brand new is a whole different story. Especially if they let me crawl all around and inspect a powered-up, de-winterized one.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

We bought our Class C in January. In Michigan. Our dealer was more than gracious about giving us several-month's time for storage; then ultimately using it. They said make a list of things that needed to be attended-to, and then bring it back in May or so. Granted, that was on a new RV, but your dealer should stand behind a used unit in a similar way?

And in May - we had nothing on our list 🙂

[SpeakEasy]

I wasn't as smart as you. I bought my trailer while it was winterized, brought it home, and then de-winterized it myself. That's when I discovered that there was a leak in one of the pipes bringing water to the toilet. By then it was impractical to bring it back to the dealer to have them fix it. It would have meant doing without the trailer for a couple weeks while they put it into their repair schedule. The only practical solution was for me to repair it myself. It turned out to be pretty easy to do, and it was a good "roll up your sleeves and learn your trailer" moment for me. But it was a little annoying.

Get it squared away before you leave the dealership. One way or another.

-Speak

[The_Northwoods]

Thank you all for your helpful replies. Great information!
I went over and talked to them this afternoon. I am serious about purchasing it, and it is in great condition, so I put a deposit down on it. Before they sell any RV they de-winterize it and do a complete inspection. They allow the purchaser to be there at that time and inspect everything themselves. If there are any problems, the dealer will fix it. Once it leaves the lot, it is the buyer's responsibility.
I will make sure and do my due diligence.

[Earl_E]

The_Northwoods wrote:
That's a good idea, Grit Dog. I'm sure they will work with me on that.

that's what you usually have to do anytime you buy a trailer. They won't take the time to test everything for you on a hope you will buy it. Make the deal contingent on all systems working. Then they also have motivation to fix everything fast.

[wildtoad]

I’d wait until you could see it, inspect it, test it under camping conditions before signing for it. Things get fixed faster on a pending sale than they do after the sale. While you may have the itch to buy one now, now is not a good time. Unless of course it’s a really really good deal.

[toedtoes]

I would do #2 on d3500ram's list as a starting point. That would let you know the basic water system doesn't leak.

If everything else worked and I was prepared to buy it, I would then ask the dealer to de-winterize (showing me how they do it) and then I would check the hot water tank to make sure that did not have a leak as it is normally bypassed in the winterization process. If they wanted to charge me for that, I would have it put towards the actual purchase if I buy it. Then you could add a contingency in the contract that you have X days to verify that the water heater is functional and, if not, they will fix/replace it at no charge. When you get it home, it will be unwinterized, so you can add water and start up the water heater to make sure it works. Then re-winterize as needed or return it for repair.

When I bought my clipper, I was unable to ensure the fridge cooled down at the dealer's - since I was trading in a TT with the same size fridge, I had them add into the contract that I had 48 hours to verify the fridge worked and if it didn't, they would switch out the two fridges at no cost. I took the clipper home and plugged it in. In two days they came and got the trailer. By then I knew the fridge worked so nothing else was done.

[d3500ram]

I just sold a truck camper in January- living where I do it was obviously winterized. For prospective "tire kickers" I did three things regarding the plumbing:

1) I told them it has been winterized.

2) if they questioned further the integrity, I would open a fresh bottle of RVAF, close all the valves and turn on the pump to suck some the pink stuff through the system to prove there are no leaks once the pump ceased operation and fully pressurized the plumbing.

3) if the prospective buyer wanted to take things further to insure water heater operation I would then propose a fee for my time and materials for full de-winterization/ re winterization; the fee of $100 would be deducted (or applied) to purchase price should they decide to buy it.


This method told me who is and is not a serious buyer. I am not going to waste my time on the casual inquiries during winter. Sumner would be a totally different situation as I would have these system fired up and operating by default.
The person to whom I sold the camper chose option #2 to get a gist of the plumbing. No charge for materials as I was including as terms of the purchase some 5 gallons of RVAF anyway.

[Johno02]

Put it in the purchase contract, in writing, that you have however long to find problems. And if the problems are great, then the contract can be voided, with all your moneys refunded. Get it all understood, AND IN WRITING AND SIGNED! Then go ahead and get it. Just remember that verbal promises are not valid outside hearing range.

[The_Northwoods]

That's a good idea, Grit Dog. I'm sure they will work with me on that.

[The_Northwoods]

Thank you for your advice; I appreciate it.

It is used. It looks to be in great shape. It's a 2017 Starcraft Launch 28BHS.

It's for sale at the local dealer. (The one we like. 😉 ) I am worried that it will sell before then.

[Grit_dog]

If you like the camper and intend on buying it, ignore the fact that you haven’t tested it and make the deal contingent on operating all the systems before you sign on the line.
Heck, don’t even make them re winterize it. Good practice to do yourself anyway when the conditions are not as severe (coming into spring time).
Or if winterizing intimidates you, then make them re winterize it. It literally will take them like 30 minutes so they shouldn’t have issue with that to sell a RV unless they’re sketchy.