How long until you trade/sell ?

[kittlecat]

I live in MI and was told the best time to buy new is between December 1 and March 1 as that is off season due to our winter weather. I purchased my 3rd TT new from an RV dealer. It was a 2015 model and I purchased it on March 1, 2016, as new. The dealer was looking to get it off the lot since it was now "old" (not the current or next year's model) so I got it for what I considered a great deal. I also put a large lump sum down so did not finance the entire purchase.

My suggestion, depending on where you live as somewhere like FL would be considered off season during the months of June, July and August, as far as RV sales, is to look for a new RV if you don't want to purchased pre-owned, but look for the previous model year at the dealer as the dealer is often willing to haggle more on the price to get the unit out of her/his inventory. Worked for me and is a tactic I would consider using again. Good luck!

[Cabinfever97]

Originally Posted by kittlecat

I live in MI and was told the best time to buy new is between December 1 and March 1 as that is off season due to our winter weather. I purchased my 3rd TT new from an RV dealer. It was a 2015 model and I purchased it on March 1, 2016, as new. The dealer was looking to get it off the lot since it was now "old" (not the current or next year's model) so I got it for what I considered a great deal. I also put a large lump sum down so did not finance the entire purchase.

My suggestion, depending on where you live as somewhere like FL would be considered off season during the months of June, July and August, as far as RV sales, is to look for a new RV if you don't want to purchased pre-owned, but look for the previous model year at the dealer as the dealer is often willing to haggle more on the price to get the unit out of her/his inventory. Worked for me and is a tactic I would consider using again. Good luck!

Not only is the dealer willing to do a lot to move old inventory, they will get help from manufacturers. Before we bought our Hemisphere a dealer was jumping through hoops to sell us an Outback. It was a good deal with lots of upgrades but it was too heavy.

[sasch]

Your plan is exactly what my banker told me was the average = 5 years

[CoMaddMax]

I bought new in March 2017 in CO, which we have at least 2 more months of snow. It was A 2016 and I looked at used for 6 months and decided to look at new just to see the difference. A couple of dealers had what we were looking for but 15 to 25K more than used then we stopped at the last dealer and it cost me 5K more to buy new... and I didn't need to clean up anyone's mess or problems.

[PenJoe]

If what you have fits your needs and is causing no problems, why get rid of it. You have already taken the depreciation hit. From now on, it condition.

We kept our first new MH for 13 years. The only problem we had with it was a stuck brake caliper. We used it a lot, but kept it looking good. Because prices had gone up so much in those 13 years, we nearly got our money back.

[Jack350]

Just traded my 2012 Crusader in on a new 2017 Open Range 5th wheel. Dealer made a smokin deal on the new unit and said if the 2012 was any older he wouldn't have been able to hit the number I needed to make the deal. Trade is in storage until April and they made the deal with a couple of pictures. New unit has a two year warranty that starts when I pick it up.
Received 70% of what I had in the Crusader. If you can find what you want on line in the dead of winter you should do fine. Also would have cost me $2,000 more in sales tax if I sold myself.
Can't wait to pick up the new rv.

[67L48]

Originally Posted by CoMaddMax

I bought new in March 2017 in CO, [...] then we stopped at the last dealer and it cost me 5K more [than used price] to buy new [...].

And if you'd be willing to drive to Missouri-ish, then you could buy new for the price of Colorado used. Colorado is great place to sell an RV ... but I can't ever seem to figure out how to feel comfortable buying one here.

For me, by the time I'll be done with my trailer ... one of my kids will probably be old enough to want it for his family. So, I may not ever sell the one I just bought.

[PhoneDude 8289]

We first had a class C motorhome, bought it used and decided it was too small. Kept it for two years and sold it to a private party for close to what we paid. Bought a 2008 Cougar 291RLS used in 2010. It had a BR slide and a LR slide with rear entry. Whenever company or grand kids slept over we hated crawling over them to walk the dogs. Sold it for a bit more than we paid. December of 2013 we bought our current RV new and love it. We are in our fifth year with the Rockwood 8289WS and plan on keeping it several more years. Its has been paid for, I do all the maintenance and we really enjoy it. I am 71 yrs old and in good health. As long as I'm able to maintain our unit and able to camp we will more than likely keep this one.

[Filterman]

Originally Posted by bikendan

No set time.
We are always shopping but we don't buy unless our old RV no longer suits our current needs.
We kept our last RV 10 years until we retired and it no longer fit our retired style of camping.

X2 We are in our 7th season with our 28RKS Wildcat and have no intention to trade. Bought it like new one year old so the original folks paid most of the depreciation. Looking at the market we could probably sell for with 2-3000 of what we paid. We are retired so are 50-120 night a year folks. I have everything the way I like it and any bugs have been worked out. We have 50000 km (30000 miles on ours)

[cphubert]

After years of tenting; had a pop up (3 years) 24' travel trailer (10 years) 40' 5th wheel (11 years) suffered delamination & repaired, but the trailer proved to large to fit in small parks we like to visit. Currently, 26' travel trailer made for a couple, on our 6th year, very happy, small enough to fit most anywhere. Plan on long term ownership as we do not seasonal site camp and avoid the 10 year rule, however the road miles take their toll but expect 10 to 14 year before the dreaded RV shopping (always look every year) just in case we see the next perfect unit. Agree about selling outright then fall purchase.

[Life Without Whine]

DH & I always have an eye open for what we want (no one has the design yet) but are very happy with our 2013 21FBRS TT. Plan to keep it for at least another 5 years if no major things we can't handle as it is laid out great for us (& no real room for kids/grandkids so they need to tent with us ;-) ). Definitely have defined what would we want in order to give this one up ... no thinking that will happen any time soon.

[Mslaman]

Originally Posted by Life Without Whine

DH & I always have an eye open for what we want (no one has the design yet) but are very happy with our 2013 21FBRS TT. Plan to keep it for at least another 5 years if no major things we can't handle as it is laid out great for us (& no real room for kids/grandkids so they need to tent with us ;-) ). Definitely have defined what would we want in order to give this one up ... no thinking that will happen any time soon.

I’m impressed you got the kids to stay in a tent. I set one up while my wife laughed at me. I still don’t understand why the kids weren’t excited about the tent........

[Jakieboy]

Do whatever your wife wants to do. If she is not happy with your current RV, allow her to suggest something from the everlasting shopping list. Then, discuss the pros and cons of each selection she likes, and ask her why. If you are a growing family, think about how much more sleeping room you may need in the future.


I warn you. This has never worked for me. We now have a 35-foot fifth wheel and no children who camp with us.