Would you pay extra for RV improvements?

[Velosprout]

I would not pay more for any used one over the depreciated market value. I special order new trailers with the options desired and any used model would be unlikely to be what I would have ordered. I always question the quality of the work done on mods. Likewise, I would never buy a truck that has been lifted, leveled, non-stock wheels, had a cold-air intake, programmer, etc.

[mtnlvr]

I bought my motorhome from an internet rv wholesaler and saved almost $40,000. It didn’t have all the options that I wanted, but the significant savings made it worthwhile for me to have the hydraulic leveling system and upgraded suspension added later.( Eight years later it is worth more now than what I paid.)

[Oaklevel]

I would never pay more for a tailer with mods than I would with out them, Actually I would walk if the price was more than another trailer of the same model.

We have owned several new an used campers over the past 35 years all were basically how they came from the factory,

[flyflotrtim]

No. I may not appreciate many of the mods and usually prefer to buy new.

[moose074]

I am thinking yes, after all hypothetical ( it really happened and to me) I could find a two year old truck in immaculate condition and it already had a leveling kit installed and was a Platinum level with less than 3k on odometer I would pay more for that than a new XL or XLT truck. So if the trailer had the mods I was wanting and was in excellent condition then yes I would. How much extr depends.

As to the statement made earlier referencing the workmanship, have you not seen the number of threads concerned with quality from the factory. Heck buying used might mean those problems are fixed

[Nomore9-5]

Originally Posted by corn18

We bought our 2021 Salem Hemisphere 290RL in Sep 2020 for $36,000 out the door. I have this bad habit of taking a brand new trailer and modifying the crap out of it. I decided this time I would track how much I spent. Turns out it is ridiculous: $30,488. That includes everything to outfit the trailer inside, but most of that is mods. Solar, suspension, slide awnings, etc...


So we're into this trailer for $66,488. It sells new at RVW or Couch's for $53k. If you were looking at a trailer that you could buy used with a lot of extra stuff for about the same price as a new one without the extra stuff, which would you pick? Assume the used trailer is immaculate (it is).


We're not thinking about selling, just curious what your thoughts are. I could list out the mods if that would help.

If the improvements made your unit more enjoyable then why not. Also if you made the improvements yourself, your workmanship was probably a lot better than what goes on on the factory floor because you had skin in the game . Bravo

[FirstFiver]

Originally Posted by corn18

I was thinking about this and I would definitely not pay more than a new one. But if there were two identical trailers and one had upgrades I wanted, then I might pay more for the one with the upgrades. But not much above market for a stock one.

Here's a partial list of my mods. I have no idea how that adds up to $30k. I didn't track individual prices, I just had a line item in the budget where every time I spent money on the camper, I put that in the line. Next time I won't keep track.

SUSPENSION
Upgraded Springs (4 leaf to 6 leaf)
Road Armor equalizers
Road Armor shocks
Wet bolts
FlexAir pin box

ELECTRICAL
A/C soft start on both A/C units
MicroAir thermostat
1200W rooftop solar
400Ah LiFePO4 batteries
Victron Multiplus II 12/3000
2x Victron 100/50 MPPT solar controllers
Victron Cerbo GX w/ display
Power cord reel
BullDog EMS

OTHER
Slide topper awnings
Sleep comfort mattress

Well, maybe...
The list is almost all of functional improvements. Heck the MicroAir thermosat is worth it!
But, in seriousness, these are not "worthless" improvements of flashing LED lights, and extra outside speakers and such.
Most of these will actually beef up the trailer and may help extend the life of it going down the road, rather than the stock factory build losing parts as it rolls down the road.

But $30,000 for that...Ouch!

[Kimber45]

Sounds like a serious bad investment. No one is going to come along and pay 60k for a 30k trailer because of extras. Extras dont change the blue book value and no bank is going to give someone a lone for extras.

Reminds me of adds for old rusted out cars someone had a dream of rebuilding. 30k invested will sell for 10.

[Rhumblefish]

This is where the sales guy really hast earn his money. your improvements DO have value (Especially to someone who knows what they’re looking at/looking for) but likely will not return/recoup your investment for the new buyer.

[stepha.fleming]

Sure, do it all the time. Make it my own by adding little extras to make it more to my and the wife's liking. They are never built exactly the way you want them.
I am at it before the first trip.

[Guspech750]

I would prefer a new model and mod it myself. I like to tinker and mod. I’ve modded cars, my truck, watches, our trailer and now my fishing kayak. I do the work myself so I know it’s done correctly and it’s just fun.

[Bhrava]

Unlike a house, any "improvements" to an RV devalue it. Buyers want a stock trailer because thats what the floor plan is. If you have a bunkhouse model, tear out the bunks and make an office, you would be hard pressed to find a buyer for it until you return it back to stock.

Adding items that could be purchased when new such as slide awnings, better battery, or additional panels to a "juice" pack, usually do return something on value. Anything not dealer installable during purchase, you have to find the right buyer for it, but majority of buyers won't pay extra for it.

In todays market, Used prices are at new vehicle levels, so if you have some nice updates that add value, like upgraded reefer, nicer furniture etc. you might be able to recoup some of those costs, and banks are financing used prices at today's levels, just at a higher rate than new. What the future holds on the used market is any ones guess.

[Zixxer2Go]

LOTS of people do professional grade add-ons (for a set price or commission) to LOTS of things...Jeeps, trucks, off-road capable RV's, boats, motorcycles, etc. Your particular project might be called building out "on-spec", or to see if the market had interest in the kind of improvements or additions you put together.

If you started at the high end of the pricing spectrum with a $100K 5th wheel, a $30K round of improvements might get you some real interest. However, to essentially double the price of a low to mid grade RV seems a little riskier. Plus, what kind of warranty can you cobble together for all the add-ons?

Me personally? No, I'd say not...unless I had commissioned the work to be done for me. And as everybody here has mentioned, you'll be fortunate to recover 30% to 50% of your additional investment. True, you will sell it a lot faster than the next identical model, but not for a big premium, I wouldn't think.

[NJKris]

I think improvements are really only important to the person who made them. That being said, I think I'm up to $7,000 for everything I've added since I got the camper, which I paid $17,600 for new. I stopped tracking total after I hit $6,000 in expenditures.

[Bhrava]

When it comes to aftermarket upgrades for vehicles, they are targeted at a specific market. Those who want a fancy hood and fender flares with offroad HD shocks and suspensions, look for these specific upgrades and pay that premium. Now when it comes time for them to sell what they bought, only a specific targeted market would be interested in it. Put two trucks side by side, one stock, one with the "package", and prices reflecting the differences, the stock truck will sell much faster while the other sits waiting for the right buyer.

Dealers more than likely will not up the trade value because it has a "package" installed that wasn't a factory add-on, mainly because their little black book won't have that option listed for a price, so the seller is limited to selling it outright, or taking a huge hit on value.

For vehicles with aftermarket upgrades that were not a professional "package", return on value is lost on sale unless you find a specific buyer who wants exactly what you got, however, if the add-ons were done by a shade tree mechanic, and not a professional shop, most buyers will walk away.

Same holds true for the RV industry.

[Tacky]

I suspect that you would not be able to recover much of the cost of upgrades when selling because whatever bank is providing financing would not place that high a value on the upgrades.

[vickyr]

Maybe a little, but not much. We bought our RV used and it had all of the factory upgrades. We didn't pay more we just felt we got a great deal.

[MR.M]

The up-grades will help it sell faster at a normal retail price for the unit . I've done about 3000 in upgrades on mine but will list it for sale at blue book and hope it sales faster with the up grades