Buying used

You are both in one of the best areas of the country to find a used TC, but any from the PNW need to be checked closely for any water leakage damage, due to the climate. The mountain west is another good place to look, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, etc.

I found my current TC, by just doing a google search for the make and model I was wanting. My plan had been to go to Colorado to buy one, or to Texas, but this one popped up on a RV dealer's lot as a consignment unit. Make my deal over the phone, subject to inspection and my final approval. He faxed me the paperwork, I sign it as did the dealer and I gave him a $500 credit card deposit. My previous TC, I found the same way, over the Internet, in eastern Tennessee. Purchased it the same way.

TCs are not all that popular here in the SE part of the US, so not much of a selection but get out west and it seems about every third unit I see on the highways is a TC.

Check out some of the large listing groups, if for nothing else to get a feel for what others are asking for TCs that might be of interest to you. Again just google something like "used truck campers for sale" and you will find many pages of reading material most of the time.

We also had a difficult time trying to find a TC in the price range we wanted.
Truck Campers are rather rare in our area.
We were willing to drive up to about 6 hours to go get one and we did make a couple of drives to look at the "perfect" campers only to discover "pristine" to some people is very different then what we mean.
We drove 600 miles round trip to look at and hopefully bring home a Lance that looked just great in pictures and by talking to the owner it sounded perfect.
It was horrible, black mold and dry rot in several places. DW poked at the siding and her finger pushed thru it. The jacks were very loose. and lots of bulges here and there in the skin. Picked up the cushions on the dinette bench and the plywood was all black and damp.
We did learn a lot about what to look for. It makes you want to break your budget or accept something bad. But we stuck with it and after kissing a lot of frogs we found our prince. And all the false runs were just interesting adventures.
The camper we found was 100 miles away (200 round trip) and just needed some minor repairs and TLC.
We wish you good luck in your search and hope you enjoy the journey.
Good luck in your search.

I'm not sure that leaks are more common in the Northwest. My guess is the opposite. We generally don't have the extremes like other areas, and it doesn't usually rain as hard as other areas.

However, I agree you should inspect a used rv to look for leaks, but also to make sure that the basics work.

If I was looking in that price range I'd also add Northern Lite to the list.

Eagle Cap would be another one to add to your list. I found mine by cruising Craigslist in areas that were low population. Spent 2 months looking and checking out possibilities before finding mine. They were asking $14k and drove it home for $9k. Cash works.

Include Pastime in your list. They are made in Oregon but I think the new ones are sold by only one dealer now. However there are plenty of used ones out there. I bought a 1998 one in great shape. Most I looked at had held up well. Got mine for $3500 too!

RideSlow wrote:
Going on the older end of the scale, cruising craigslist and the local dealers. Trying to keep it around $5000, but everytime I find a decent rig, it is gone before I can get out there. Just venting a bit, if I wanted to finance, I could buy newer. Looking at Summerwind, S & S, Lance, Elkhorn. The truck is paid for, 2007 Dodge 4x4 Quad Cab longbox 6.7 CTD 3500 SRW. Seattle area, but will go some distance for the right outfit.

Lot's of opinions and here is mine.
I always buy used. Craigslist is your friend.
Yes when you find a rig it is often gone when you call. If you look at the add often you will find it was posted months before and the seller just did not take it down.
With a $5K budget you can get a pretty nice camper. You may need to make a road trip to get it.
I bought a 96 Caribou 11G a few months ago to replace my 94 Caribou.
Drove from Phoenix to Sacramento to get it. Had everything I wanted in it my 94 did not. Elec jacks, Onan onboard propane Gen set with 62 hrs on it. Beautiful shape. $3750.00. I did need to have it polished and waxed which cost me $130.00 plus tip.
I missed on a couple but my advice is be patient and be ready to make the deal when you find it also be ready to walk away if something does not seem right. And never ever pay the asking price. Ok the last part is just me. I buy for a living.

Make sure all features are working if not and you still want the unit adjust your offer to account for cost of repair or replacement.
Look closely at the headliner for moisture stains. Deal Breaker. Take a look at the roof for potential issues. check side walls for delamination.
I just can't see spending $25K or more and having payments for years when I have all the same features on my 96 and had the money for a Rhino and trailer to take with me and still no payments.
My 2 cents
Mike

Having just gone through this myself, I am sympathetic to your situation. The ones I was finding that were still available were usually way overpriced. The ones priced correctly sold fast. I ended up creating an IFTTT recipe, which scans craigslist and emails me when a new ad is posted for something I'm looking for.

For an example of one seller I dealt with that didn't go so well, someone was selling a 2006 Host Rainier, listed at $17,500. The guy was having his business partner handle the phone calls and viewing, who didn't know anything about it. It had been listed for a couple of months. Immediately after I called to set up an appointment, he raised the price on the ad to $18,500. The ad said it had $8,000 in "upgrades" which were never fully explained to me. We exchanged many emails where I was trying to figure out how much he wanted for it and what condition it was in since the pictures weren't that great and it was a long drive to see it. I never did end up looking at it because he accused me of wanting to "steal" his TC. Ug.

When I found the 2013 AF 990, the experience was completely different. The seller was asking a fair price...I offered slightly less and he accepted...done. I was in Utah at the time so couldn't look at it right away but he agreed to hang on to it for me for 5 days until I could go see it. Nice.

There are good deals out there...you just have to be patient and use technology to your advantage.

My wife and I drove 6 hours to Zeeland Mi. to buy our TC, we found it on Craigslist. It was fall and lower Michigan was at peak color a really fun trip.

Truth all. Was going out an hr drive after work last night, and got held over 5 hrs on OT. Helps pay for the rig, but I am hoping that it is still there. Taking a break over Easter. Good suggestion to widen the search area. I was just checking local. And I will look at the " an IFTTT recipe"

I will keep checking back, and add my pic in when it is sitting on my Dodge!

Mine was Craiglist find in southern NJ...

The PO was asking $2300.00 and he was honest about what it needed.

I payed his asking price because he installed the barely used TorkLift tie down kit on my truck it also came with a set of Fastguns w/locks.

He was a nice kid who was going into the Air National Guard...I'm the type that hates paying full price for a gallon of milk,but this was a little different situation.

I replaced the dinette wall and beefed up the dinette itself...



The TC is perfect for my needs...I just need a place to sleep at events that I go to during the spring and summer months most places I go to have hook ups and the air cond blows cold so that's all I care about.

The original out of pocket cost for the TC was 2300.00
carpentry repairs 220.00
Stable Load suspension enhancer ...176.00

so I basically got the thing on the road for less than 3 grand.