Are Trailers built to last? how many years have you owned yours?

[yankeeslover]

I currently own a 2014 Tracer 2670..Purchased in 2013... being this was my first ever RV I stupidly financed this thing for 14 years... Stupid me didnt know any better. Now I read that alot of folks would never finance a camper for this long... Needless to say this means now that Im stuck with this 2670 for atleast the next 10 years or so, or until im no longer upside down and then i can trade it in.
Is it reasonable to hope and pray that a camper last 10 years? Other then a stuffed and messy storage area I try to do the best i can with upkeep. I wash the roof usually twice per year with dawn soap.. I go up there atleast 3 times a season with dicor and seal any cracks that develop. I guess im just wondering if its realistic to expect a camper to last this long? i am sorry if dumb question as im new to this still. On a side note and not sure if it matters but my camper does not get much road time. I have a seasonal campground that i use.. camper is towed 90 miles in spring to campground and 90 miles in fall to dealer(where they store outdoors in snowy upstate NY).
The only part of the unit that gets used alot is the slide. Even though im seasonal I close the cable slide every sunday when i leave camp and open it again every friday. I feel safer knowing its closed. in the adirondacks one never knows when a bad storm brews up. Anyways this spring i will have my dealer go thru the cable slide and make sure everything is tight where it should be...thank you for reading....

[mlong]

I think as long as you take care of it there is no reason it should not last 10 yrs. You may need to replace some items over that time but you have to do that with anything. Since you only tow it twice a year you have a lot less wear and tear and much less bumping and jarring. I financed my camper for a long time also. My payments are around $175.00/month. I always pay extra so I can pay it off faster. It saves paying back so much interest over the life of the loan.

I sounds like you pay a lot of attention to the maintenance and upkeep.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by mlong

I think as long as you take care of it there is no reason it should not last 10 yrs. You may need to replace some items over that time but you have to do that with anything. Since you only tow it twice a year you have a lot less wear and tear and much less bumping and jarring. I financed my camper for a long time also. My payments are around $175.00/month. I always pay extra so I can pay it off faster. It saves paying back so much interest over the life of the loan.

I sounds like you pay a lot of attention to the maintenance and upkeep.

Lets hope it will last 10 years, being a seasonal it should with proper maintenance. Keep up with it and it will.

[RPAspey]

Well, like it was said before..proper maintenance. Mine is 15 years old, and gets lots of road use.

[MtnGuy]

Since this thread is not Primetime specific, I moved it the trailer general discussions.

BTW, or trailer is 7 years old, and still going strong !!!

[Paulie1138]

Hey, most of how long things will last is so variable to things like preventative maintenance and upkeep. I just "graduated" from a poptop tent trailer, to my Crusader 5th wheel. (Now, my grown kids are jealous!)

I bought my tent trailer 3 months old in '87 as a bank repossessed unit. I kept it covered most of the time, and maintained and waxed it as needed. There were no holes, rips or tears in the (original) canvas. When I sold it, the first person who came bought it, at my asking price! (Which was more than what I paid for it!)

Remember, the biggest enemies of anything is water and intense sunshine. Do your best to maintain, wax and take care of any minor issue before it becomes a big one. Cover it if and when you can.

Yes, like some of the others have mentioned, accelerate your payments and get it paid off ASAP! Why pay the bank for money?

[OldCoot]

Another thing is keeping good tires on it that have been balanced, do proper wheel bearing & brake maintenance. Scrape or wire brush all rust and prime & paint the bare spots.

[The_Rhino]

We financed our used 2011 PT Tracer for 10 years w/$200 payment & used 2011 Ram 2500 for 7 years w/$200 payment so that our combined payments are $400. This keeps our monthly obligations low in the summer when we are camping & spending all of our money, LOL, and then I pay extra the rest of the year.

With such low interest rates, it makes sense to keep your payment low & pay extra since there is no penalty for early pay-off.

At the current pace, the Ram will be paid-off in 2 more years & the TT in 5. Then it will be time to buy my DW a new Honda Odyssey or Pilot...

[Pbalmer65]

I owned a 94 jayco for 10 years. Was in great shape at time of upgrade to a 04 Laredo for no other reason than growing family ( stored in doors ) and the second owner got a great clean used 5er. It was my down on my current 2014 sabre that serves two young girls that now have there're own space and bathroom and mom has her fireplace and dad has the outdoor kitchen. :-). Great 5er for whole family it is also stored in doors. Last year it got a total of 3700 miles of road time.


Any camping will do. :-)

[asquared]

We financed our old tt over 10 yrs. We sold it on craigslist after 3 yrs for $3000 less than we paid for it and close to $3000 more than we owed on it. The key was keeping it in great condition and selling it privately instead of trading it. The best offer on trade was for less than we owed. So there are ways around being stuck with a unit if you decide at some point you no longer want it.

[rattleNsmoke]

Our 1998 Jayco TT was 10 years old when we traded it in and had plenty of life left. We simply decided that we didn't need the bunks since the kids were grown and 2 out of the three didn't live locally nor camp with us any more. Someone got a great camper cheap.

[checca]

My last was a 1988 motor home. We had it for six years, everything worked and drove great for an 88. Lol. We need more room, we went with a ten year loan, figured we need some money to camp.

[iceblaze580]

I still have a 1998 Alfa 5er it's still going strong the only reason I keep it is I use it to go to Mexico for 3 months a year

[Toby]

Have you considered refinancing with your local credit union? I get a far better rate there...to the point where I can pay mine off in 3 to 5 years (depending on how much extra I pay per month).

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

Another thing is keeping good tires on it that have been balanced, do proper wheel bearing & brake maintenance. Scrape or wire brush all rust and prime & paint the bare spots.

Yea but you will not paint, you refuse to !!!! but I guess you will if you have to, so never say no Old Man......

[Luckybreak]

From personal experience..it is true what the others RV owners advise...taking care of your possessions pays off when you sell. Buyers are impressed when they see the care you have taken with your RV.

We purchased a small Prowler TT for $2250...it was a 1993 model. Used it for several years, put in on Craigslist for $2500 last spring, & could have sold 10 of them!! First lookers took it at the asking price! Ok...back to upkeep, we did have to replace the roof which cost a little over $2000... that comes under the "taking care of it" --- maybe we could have gotten more???

[hotzfamily]

We had our pop-up for 16 years. We've had our TT for 6. Take care of it and you'll be fine. I would definitely consider making 'more than the minimum' payments, though, so you can have it paid for in less than 14 years.

[schrederman]

DC-3 airplanes were built in the 1930s and some are still flying.......... Anything will last if cared for properly. Mine's 3 years old and currently in covered storage, winterized properly, with the tires covered, even though I just got back from a 10-day trip. Yes. it will last if you do your part. Enjoy using it... and maintaining it.

[donanddona]

I tend to look at it this way. My dad told me " It's time to by new when the annual maintenance exceeds the annual cost to buy a new one". Sometimes I wish I could follow that rule.

[buddy300]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned taking the interest off on taxes. It is a second home if it has bath room and something else, I forget. But our sabre 32 ckts-6 has it.