Questions about buying used - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Judy L · RV-Dreams Family Member

Questions about buying used

Waggin Tails · RV-Dreams Family Member

Judy,

Welcome to the forum. Here you will find friendly people with honest information based on real experience.

We purchased used and drove 600 miles from Corpus Christi, TX to Elk City, OK to see and close the deal on our used 2008 Cedar Creek. We felt comfortable in doing this because we had seen the particular model many times during the two plus we researched trailers. We felt at ease with the business (Rolling Retreats) because of comments from other folks and because Alicia and Slade are not your typical RV dealer.

We were not disapointed in the deal we got. In fact when compared to other fifth wheels available through other dealers and when compared to NADA, we got a super deal.

Would we do this again from same dealer? Yes, with out question. Alicia and Slade are the real deal and can be trusted.

We bought used because for us, that was a more afforadble option. We did not have a third party inspection performed because we felt we could trust Alicia & Slade. We have no idea who owned the unit prior to Rolling Retreats other than the original dealer had their website plastered on the unit.

Good luck in your search.

Judy L · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks very much for the info! The Cedar Creek is one that I’ve looked at on line and liked some of the floor plans. We haven’t actually gone to a dealer yet to look but I think we may do that Monday afternoon. We have a long way to go before we’re ready to make a decision but we have to start somewhere.

I checked out Rolling Retreats and they have some beautiful RVs. We’ll keep an eye out there when we’re closer to making a firm commitment.

Thanks again for your reply.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Judy,

In regards to Rolling Retreats, I can also recommend them. In fact, I know of at least two or three couples on different forums that have purchased their used fifth wheels from Alicia and Slade.

Mostly, they get their DRV Suites models (Elite Suites, Mobile Suites, and Select Suites) at auction after they have been repossessed. After they get the units back to Elk City, they go through them completely, checking out all the "systems" within the coaches and cleaning them up. I can say that the units they have are as good as they look in the pictures.

The Suites models are generally for those that are considering full-time in a coach. In fact, the company is a spin off from Sunnybrook and was started specifically to build units for full timers. That said, I know of a lot that don't full time, but want all the amenities. In our case we are living full time in ours here in Oklahoma City. No more owning a house for us.

I imagine that all states will require owners to register the RV's. Now, just how easy it would be to find earlier owners, I wouldn't have any idea.

In addition, unless you already own a truck, choose your RV first before buying a truck. That way, you can be sure that your truck will be rated high enough to handle towing the size of unit you get. I can't think of anything more dreaded than to realize that one's RV is pushing the tow vehicle around. Handling means stopping the unit just as much as towing it. And mountain passes just adds to the fun.

Good luck with the looking and researching, and have fun doing it. Feel free to ask questions as there are a lot of knowledgeable folks here, most all of them willing and eager to help.

Terry

Judy L · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks for your reply Terry. We'll definitely keep an eye on the inventory at Rolling Retreats once we figure out exactly what our plan is and what our budget will allow. I fear that Mobile Suites will be out of our price range unless we go with one that's maybe 5 or 6 years old. I need to learn more about what types of problems you can anticipate as a rig grows older. I know that at that age, if tires haven't already been replaced, they should be but that's about it. Once initial bugs are worked out what types of maintenance/repairs can be expected as a rig ages?

Thanks again for your thoughts.

-- Edited by Judy L on Sunday 10th of July 2011 03:22:37 PM

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

Judy, we're a few years away from buying a FT rig, so we're asking some of the same questions you are. We've found some of our answers, though.

One of you questions that wasn't completely answered concerned titles. Each state does things their own way, but generally, yes, there will be a title. It may or may not list all previous owners. Should you decide to go out of state for your rig, you will have to accept whatever that state has.

You will also need to figure out the licensing issue. You probably won't be able to get license plates in advance, but you ought to be able to get some sort of temporary tag that will let you get back to Iowa.

Remember that a seller can ask whatever they want for their rig. What a buyer is willing to pay may be another amount altogether. Take a look at nada.com to get some guidance for prices. http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/ has lots of rigs for sale. Don't be put off by the name; they have every sort of RV imaginable available. Their prices seem to be in line with NADA.

Make sure that you tour some factories as part of your research. Seeing how a coach is put together can really help your decision-making. If nothing else, it will give you some additional questions to ask.

If we decide on a towable, we will probably buy the truck first. In our case, though, we'll have a pretty good idea of what weights we are looking at, and will be able to buy sufficient truck for the purpose. Again, we're buying everything used.

Brand new rigs on the dealer's lot are generally available at 70-80% of list price. As new models come out there may be even greater discounts available. Also, we've been told that many snowbirds trade in October and November, so there are generally more used rigs avaiable then.

Good luck on your research. It can really be enjoyable, and when the right rig comes along it will definitely say "buy me!"

Waggin Tails · RV-Dreams Family Member

RE: title and tags. In our case, Rolling Retreats provided temporary tags for the trailer plus bill of sale and other standard vehicle type documents to indicate we were rightful owners. Once we got back in Texas, we registered the trailer here. We now have title and tags - Texas style.
On a side note, we arranged insurance on the trailer so we had it insured effective the day we took possession.
While looking at new rigs, we found that dealers where willing to cut pretty strong deals. We found a new Montana that listed for $79K was "on sale" for $51K. That was still too much for our budget so we opted for used.
We did purchase our truck first even though that is not normally recommended. We were comfortable with that decision because we had a pretty good idea what our trailer would weigh. Most 350s/3500s may pull the heavier trailers (like DRV) but that kind of weight will exceed the truck's GCVW spec. I discovered the most truck dealers where clueless when it comes to know their inventory's GCVW. This means you have to be self educated. You will find lots of info on Vehicle and Trailer weight ratings on this forum and on RV-Dreams website.

Bob and Kathy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Waggin Tails wrote:
We purchased used and drove 600 miles from Corpus Christi, TX to Elk City, OK to see and close the deal on our used 2008 Cedar Creek. We felt comfortable in doing this because we had seen the particular model many times during the two plus we researched trailers. We felt at ease with the business (Rolling Retreats) because of comments from other folks and because Alicia and Slade are not your typical RV dealer.

Waggin Tails and Judy L,

Hi there! I have been researching for the last year and I, too, have checked out Rolling Retreats. We are almost sure we want a Mobile Suites, and plan on going to the factory before we purchase, and then we want to purchase a used one. I have been keeping my eyes on the Rolling Retreats website, and I do believe we will be going there to purchase when it's time. Why used for us? Besides the prohibitive cost of new, we will be first-time RVers, so we want to get all the dings, bumps and scratches out of the way on a "used" model before we purchase new; and we will also have a better idea of what we will need in the new unit after living in one for our "break-in" period. Lots of learning curve involved for us, I'm afraid! But we are up to the challenge. We are getting really tired of keeping up a sticks-and-bricks. We have an inground pool too, so that's a lot of work. Aaaaahhhh....the retired life is calling....LOUDLY!!

Edited to add: I forgot to ask you WT, does Rolling Retreats help you find financing or do you have to have that all taken care of before you get there?

-- Edited by Bob and Kathy on Tuesday 12th of July 2011 07:07:55 AM

Waggin Tails · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bob/Cathy, I cannot speak to financing because we did not finance. I would imagine you would secure your own financing in your home state. Maybe others can speak to financing options.

Judy L · RV-Dreams Family Member

Many thanks to all for your continued replies this last week. Your comments and questions have all been very helpful. I apologize that I haven't gotten back to this sooner but the last week or ten days has been a little wild with work plus a fundraiser that I was involved with. Hopefully things will settle back down to normal now.

We continue to explore the idea of selling the house and living in an RV. We started out thinking that a 5th wheel might be our best option but we're beginning to explore motorhomes now too. We saw a 2001 Newmar Mountainaire at a local dealership and the interior appeared to be in excellent condition but the exterior seemed faded to me like it had not been stored inside (supposedly only 32,000 miles on it). It also seemed a little small to me so we started looking on line and found several in other states that are a little newer (2003 or 2004) that have 3 slides and appear to be nice. We are mostly just looking to get an idea of what's out there, how much it costs and to figure out exactly what might work best for us since the plan is for me to work another year before retiring and selling the house.

Des anyone have any recommendations on how to buy an RV books you feel are especially good? There seem to be lots of them but I'm wondering which are best.

Thanks again for your ideas! Judy

RVPAINTER · RV-Dreams Family Member

When I got the Rv bug, I bought: The RV Handbook - Essential How-to Guide by Bill Estes - 3rd edition. I bought it up on Amazon

As soon as our house sells we buy our RV (used class A) and head out. I follow 4 sites keeping track ones ones we like. I follow:

PPL - Houston TX
RV Solutions San Diego CA
Padata Tucson AZ
Orangewood RV Surprise AZ

They seem to have some nice used ones for nice prices although I would not offer full price. Their inventory is nice - PPL is a consignment outfit and seems to have the lower prices and they sell a TON of RVs!!

Judy L · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thanks! I'll check out the RV Handbook and take a look at those sites. It's kind of addictive...

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

Judy L, you are going through the same thing we are doing. When we first started talking about going FT, we pretty much concluded that a used fifth-wheel would be what we would get. As we went to shows and dealers, though, we started thinking that maybe a motor home would work. Further investigation on that line led us to think that if we went with a MH, it would be a diesel pusher. Then we visited a dealership that had just added the Airstream line to their offerings, and suddenly Airstream trailers have been added into the mix.

In our case, the plan is to decide on the class of rv (travel trailer, fifth-wheel, or motorhome) by the summer of 2012, then pick the manufacturer by the summer of 2013, and purchase sometime in the next year. We'll have whatever work needs to be done to whatever we get, and then put the farm up for sale. I retire in early June of 2015, and we hope that by the time school is out in May we're living FT in the RV.

You have probably heard this before, but it bears repeating. Spend time in any rig that attracts your attention. Sit at the table and "eat" a meal. Stand in the kitchen and "fix" a meal, then "wash" the dishes. "Take" a shower. "Make" the bed. You get the idea. We met a couple who have owned several rigs from a well-respected manufacturer, so the thought they knew what they were getting when they bought a newer edition of what they had. Their previous rig had an island bed (bed runs for-and-aft, not in a slide). The new rig has the bed crossways, in a slide. They find it difficult for them to make the bed that way.

Start now to rid your present house of things that you won't need when you move to the RV and can live without. Some things will need to stay until the very end (lawnmower), but it is much easier (at least for us) to start the weeding process early. We've set aside a shelf in the garage for the spring sale, and some things are already going to our children as they visit us or we visit them.

Judy L · RV-Dreams Family Member

You made some great suggestions, David. Thanks! We have a long way to go but we downsized our home a few years ago so it's not as bad as it might have been. We've been living in a little two bedroom ranch but it does have a basement that we use for storage, laundry, office and my silversmithing workshop (hobby). I fear that's one thing I may have to have to give up. The only idea I've come up with so far is if we got a motorhome, maybe we could pull a trailer with a small car inside and put a small workshop in there. There's a lot of figuring out to do :)

The Iowa State Fair is coming up in August and it usually has quite an array of RVs. We're planning to spend some time looking around there.

Thanks again for the ideas!

-- Edited by Judy L on Tuesday 19th of July 2011 06:22:54 PM