Why did you decide to buy new instead of used trailer?

[Graycat]

Because of the drive-off-the-lot-depreciation with a new trailer, we would like to find a good, used TT, but are just not finding any good ones that meet our needs. I have been looking at a lot of them on CL and have become leery of the claims of perfect condition when I see delamination or inside damage in their photos.

Did you choose new over used to avoid problems hidden by previous owners, or was it to get a trailer built for your needs, or something different?

[dodge_guy]

I bought new because everyone thinks you price a used RV off of MSRP. I bought my 07 new in 06. Paid 22k for it, MSRP was $31k if IIRC. We looked at other that were 2 years old and only a thousand less. I remember looking at MH's a few years ago that I could've paid $89k for new. 2 years later people and dealers were asking the same price! Which is why they are always sitting and never get sold. When I bring that up to a dealer they say "no these never sold for that"!

Unless it's a really good deal, I will always buy an RV new!

[DE88ROX]

Owned 3 campers in my 53 years of life covering the span of 21 years. The last 2 were brand new. (a 1995 PUP and a 2012 TT) To many funky smells in the used ones for our liking as well as to many things that could be neglected or hidden from the seller or they just were beat up and dirty.

[falconbrother]

I will suggest to you that there are some used RVs that are in good shape and reasonably priced. But, they aren't the norm. When we sold our motorhome, which was 26 years old when we sold it, we were highly motivated to get a travel trailer fast. But, I had been looking for months. In those months I saw one travel trailer that was what we wanted and reasonably priced. It had a brand new rubber roof, and not the roll on kind, the sheet of rubber kind. It was gone in three days. At our age we intend to keep this new one till we can't tow anymore. Then we'll keep it at the beach till we are too old to even do that anymore.

Anyway, when I do the cost benefit analysis a new unit just makes sense for us. If we were young, energetic and just starting out I would totally buy a used one. Heck, we had a few and enjoyed them all. But, I made a metric ton of repairs over the years. For a young and enthusiastic couple repairs are fun. For an aging tired old man they are no longer fun. We bought a 1977 Hippie van with new carpet, roof to floor, in 1987. Over the months that followed we had some awesome fun working on it and camping in it. After that we bought a used cab-over camper from a man that was sick with cancer. It was a little neglected but, no water damage. That was a lot of fun. Then we bought a nearly new travel trailer that had rolled into a ditch and was sold for salvage. The basic repairs were made and we did the rest. That thing was really great fun and we sold it for what we had in it four years later. After that we rode motorcycles for a few years till my wife got sick. We bought the class A motorhome and kept it the longest. I worked on it what seemed like almost constantly. It was dry and everything worked. But, with the whole self contained thing it was a lot to keep up. At this juncture I'll probably not get another motorhome unless our live radically change.

Anyway, used is OK but, lots of work if you're a bit of a perfectionist.

[SidecarFlip]

I always bu a new RV (no matter what type it is(, because I've looked at used ones and everyone I've looked at has had water intrusion issues somewhere and 96% of all units aree wood framed so water intrusion equals rot and mold and I'm not a fix it personj.

I've educated myself on where to look, what to look for and how to determine the extent of the internal damage without damaging anything.

Every used unit I've looked at in the past decade has had some intrusion issues....every one. All it takes is some basic knowledge of where the most likely points of water ingress are, a non-contact IR thermometer or a thermal imaging camera. .Water intrusion causes rot and mold and both produce heat so pinpointing it under wallboard (even freshly painted wallboard) is no big deal.

Why does it happen? Because owners never keep up on caulk and seals.

Why do you think there are so few really old RV's out there.. because they have all succumbed to rot and mold and are in landfills or did a bonfire out back...

I always buy new. I'm educated.

[falconbrother]

We bought new because we had been in used units for 30 years. For what we wanted new was the best option. It's worth the extra cost to get those up front years when there's nothing to fix and everything works. RV-ing is expensive any way you figure it.

[Vintage465]

We started out as game for a used trailer. In fact really had no intention of purchasing new. Then two things happened. There wasn't really much that fit our needs locally(and the wife was totally against anything not local). And it seemed the longer we looked at used the pickier we got! So before long we were just looking at new. Then the same thing happened with price! When we started, we were sure $12000.00 would get us everything we needed..........Well, after a month or so, $18000.00 will get us everything we need. Then my bride saw the Creek Side 20fq and we just started looking for the lowest priced 20fq.

[normal_dave]

Hmmm, don't give up yet. If the Northwood settled the height issue, but didn't' fit the truck, why not take a look at the Outdoors RV Black Rock?

They are built similar (sister company), 2" thick aluminum/insulated walls and this model shows a 6' 11" interior height. It's an awesome layout in a small trailer.
Black Rock 20RD

It has a "full featured" dry weight of 4,300 Lbs so your truck should handle it fine, and if it's just the two of you, well this layout still has plenty of room for the cat.:C

Last, the Black Rock series is marketed for back country/off grid camping, but most come with the power pack (roof A/C and microwave) and you also can get mountain storage (rear receiver hitch, toy lock), or add the generator pkg. These trailers also include the X4 off road system, more ground clearance, HD shocks, and greaseable shackles/pins.

Since they aren't loaded up with the luxury stuff, it keeps the weight down without sacrificing build quality and four seasons insulation which we folks in the South (also in Texas) can really benefit from in the Summer.

Here's a video for the Black Rock (I think he's had too much coffee!)
Back Country series (Black Rock)

Since I'm all about construction first, watch this, then compare it to anything else you are shopping for.
Outdoors RV construction

[Tvov]

As to the "seat" in the showers -- make sure you have enough room. Our camper has the shower with seat, but it is small and tight. There realistically is not enough room to sit. We just use the "seat" as a shelf to hold soap and stuff.

[Graycat]

Thanks for all the responses. Definitely gave us a lot to think about. What we've decided to do, at least for now, is nothing. Well, not nothing, but we're not going to buy a different trailer. There was a Northwood we liked, and an Open Road Light. But both would require us to buy a bigger pickup too, and we just don't want to do that right now. We are in the middle of building a house and don't need two additional expenses either. Plus, we like being able to take our little trailer almost anywhere.

I looked into changing out the tub with a shower only and noticed that a lot of RVs have a tub or shower with a seat in it. And as Gomer Pyle says, Well Gollllly! If Hubby can sit in the shower he won't have to bend or have his head in the skylight. So that may be the solution to our biggest problem with our trailer.

Of course, any trailer renovations will have to wait until the house is livable. I don't think my sanity can hold up to two projects at the same time.

[shfd739]

We bought new last August only because we couldnt find a used one that had the floorplan we wanted. Well we found one on consignment but they wanted as much as a new one and turned our very reasonable offer...So we went with new.

[LanceRKeys]

I am different than most on here I guess. When looking for a trailer, I decide about what I want, and patiently start looking for a steal. I almost always buy something that needs to be fixed. Just bought my third trailer, and I have made money on each one so far. After two weeks of working every day after work, I am just about ready to camp in the one I have. I figure it is worth $2,000-$3,000 more than when I bought it. It was a repo unit from the bank and the last owner pulled the a/c out for some reason, a trailer with no a/c sells cheap in Texas. The way I figure it, I will enjoy a brand new trailer just as much as a beat up used one when camping. When not camping, I don't have a payment to get me down. To each their own, but while I am able, I enjoy fixing things and can't resist a good deal.

[JWeaverCMA]

My wife and I bought brand new from a reputable local dealer for a few reasons.

1. The used market in Boise is complete garbage. We looked at a range of "like new" and "used a few times" campers ranging from pop ups to large travel trailers only to discover what previous commenters have, most people set their price point too high for what they're selling. Most that we saw we didn't even bother to meet with the seller because of glaring problems exposed in the crappy cell phone pictures alone. We even made and offer on an aincent pop up that was in good condition and the owner wouldn't go below 4 grand. 4 grand for a 2004 Flagstaff pop up with no A/C heat or bathroom. Every TT we looked at was old as dirt as well with equally outrageous prices.

2. We have kids and were in need of a bunkhouse model which are impossible to come by used here in Boise.

3. Warranty. In fact, I'm already having some warranty repairs done on my new Whitehawk. I'd rather know the history of my rig and be able to have manufacturer defects fixed at no cost.

4. Modern features; we have young kids so making and breaking camp in a timely manner is crucial. New trailers have more push button features and better heat and A/C meaning that we can make our campsite comfortable in a matter of minutes after arrival. Tired and hungry babies don't like to wait.

5. I got want I wanted, not what I comprised on. We wanted a compact, easily towable bunkhouse with an open floorplan and a separate master suite. We found all of that in a Jayco Whitehawk 25BHS. It's almost a ton under my towing capacity dry, tows and backs easily and has the floorplan we were looking for. Couldn't find that on the local classifieds.

Overall, I'm happy with our purchase and plan to hold on to it for the foreseeable future.

[Charley67]

I've always bought used and have had pretty good success. I'm able to fix things, but people will sure lie to you, so the used buyer better be ready to fix some things.

[ExxWhy]

DallasSteve wrote:
Thanks to the OP for posting this thread. It's been a thought-provoking read. My plan has been to look for the floorplan I want at about 2-3 years old. But a lot of the comments here indicate that many buyers are pricing their rigs unrealistically high. I think I will look for the used floorplan I want, and when I find it I will compare it to a similar model new and then decide if the difference in price is small enough to just go new instead. If it's not a big difference then why go used?

Don't despair, it can be done if you are patient. It helps a lot to know the exact model number you want and be ready to pounce when the right one comes along. I did a google search every week or so for a couple different model numbers and one day in January of all times THE ONE popped up on CL. 3 model years old, used less than 10 times, stored indoors. Went to look and it was indistinguishable from new. 22K used or 32K new was an easy choice.

Lot's of good points either way, good thread!

[Huntindog]

DallasSteve wrote:
Thanks to the OP for posting this thread. It's been a thought-provoking read. My plan has been to look for the floorplan I want at about 2-3 years old. But a lot of the comments here indicate that many buyers are pricing their rigs unrealistically high. I think I will look for the used floorplan I want, and when I find it I will compare it to a similar model new and then decide if the difference in price is small enough to just go new instead. If it's not a big difference then why go used?

There is a difference between having a TT for sale, and actually selling it.

Many of the over priced used TTs on the market have owners that are upside down on their loans. They simply cannot accept less than the loan balance. They may occasionally find a buyer at the loan price, but not usually.

So buying new just because others are asking more than their TTs are worth may just put you in their situation.
There are good reasons to buy new, but that usually isn't one of them.