Selling RV and flying home.... crazy?

[cardtarget]

So, we live in NC and the last two summers my family of 5 has done a 6000+ mile trip to Yellowstone over 30 days and a 3000 mile trip to Maine that we just got back from. Wonderful times. Now, we have a 2002 Class C that has had some leaks in the past and is probably only worth $8k-$10k at this point.

So, I want to set up a trip for next summer where we don't come back in the RV. We drive from NC to Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Arches, Sequoia, etc, then drive up the coast of California. The max time I could take off work would be about a month so this really isn't a possible trip unless we did crazy amounts of driving and crammed everything in.

But, what if we drove up to Seattle or somewhere in the Northeast, sold the RV and flew home?

Anybody ever done something like that before? Did you plan the sale in advance? Only bring linens, pots/pans you didn't care about and sold them with the RV or tossed them? I guess you could always mail yourself a few boxes of stuff too.

[Snowman9000]

Last winter in AZ we looked at a MH like that in the state park. There was a for sale sign in the window. He also was advertising on the local Craiglist sites as they were working their way back to WA state. I believe they sold it in California. A little different for you in that you want to be sure you get to the end point.

[okhmbldr]

Here's a plan:
Take lots of good photos of your motorhome, do a very good description, then build a craigslist ad and post it in the Seattle Craigslist when you start your trip. You might also want to post in Portland, giving you a little more exposure. Make it a good deal, explain when you will be in town and you may have it sold before you arrive. You can repost the ad every two days to keep it fresh. It may work, but give yourself a few days in Seattle to complete the deal, and don't forget to take the title with you.

[DutchmenSport]

Nothing is crazy is in this world any more. I say, "go for it!" Report back someday how it all turned out though. I've heard of people trading houses from one end of the country to the other, saves realtor fees, and all kinds of hassles. Why not an RV?

Or better yet, fly home and let another family drive it back East and return it to you. When they make it East, they fly back home. You get your motor home back, everyone happy! (hey, crazier things have been done you know!)

[Naio]

If doing a private sale (not selling to a dealer) it might take longer to find a buyer than it would take to drive home.

Less driving, though.

[Homer1]

The idea will work, I did it at PPL in Texas. However, I did not expect the rig to sell as quickly as it did. I did not fly home, I rented a car and drove home, same difference. I got more than I asked for as the bottom line. I took nothing with me, so the coach was bare empty, they ask that I leave it that way. You have a different set of circumstances and I would just donate the stuff at the destination to Salvation Army. You are going to have to make some advance arrangements to make this work.

[Sam_Spade]

I suspect that if you do that you should arrange ahead of time to do it through a consignment dealer and if your analysis is correct, you will get close to nothing for it......maybe $5K after the commission.

Knowing you are "out of town" you will be at their mercy.

[gbopp]

I think in theory it's a good idea. The problem I see is, selling it and having the deal done before you fly home.

If you can find a consignment lot it would probably work out.
Or, sell it cheap and take a loss.