Sometimes good to be thrifty (cheap)

[3330]

Reading all the problems with brand new rigs I've realized that my habit of buying other people's hand-offs has an advantage. I don't expect perfection and most of the problems have been exposed and either fixed or at least easily seen.

I am happy for the folks that have the off the floor shiny new rigs as I poke along in the slow lane, though

[carey965]

i feel the exact opposite about that, i would rather buy new and not buy someones problems, cause i hate to say it but i dont trust other people

the only way i would get used if it was less then a year old so it still has a good warranty still so the factory can fix their issues before i have to pay

[PKEagle]

I also feel the opposite. A lot of factors but besides the factory warranty issues being addressed from me first handedly, I have something called OCD.

For example, I am the type of person that cleans and flushes my gray and black holding tanks 5-7 times before leaving the campsite. Then when I get home, I clean the entire RV spotlessly ready for the next trip. No exceptions.

And of course, there is a way I treat my kitchen, toilets, faucets, rooms etc that I really wouldn't want to pick up/ gamble the TLC from a different owner.

Trust me, I have seen second hand trailers being sold with non-drained blank tanks let alone being flushed.

That said, either brand new (factory fresh) and/or dealer lot unit (never registered before) would work for me.

[msturtz]

Originally Posted by PKEagle

I also feel the opposite. A lot of factors but besides the factory warranty issues being addressed from me first handedly, I have something called OCD.

For example, I am the type of person that cleans and flushes my gray and black holding tanks 5-7 times before leaving the campsite. Then when I get home, I clean the entire RV spotlessly ready for the next trip. No exceptions.

And of course, there is a way I treat my kitchen, toilets, faucets, rooms etc that I really wouldn't want to pick up/ gamble the TLC from a different owner.

Trust me, I have seen second hand trailers being sold with non-drained blank tanks let alone being flushed.

That said, either brand new (factory fresh) and/or dealer lot unit (never registered before) would work for me.

Yikes you sound like me!

[sask934]

Originally Posted by PKEagle

I also feel the opposite. A lot of factors but besides the factory warranty issues being addressed from me first handedly, I have something called OCD.

For example, I am the type of person that cleans and flushes my gray and black holding tanks 5-7 times before leaving the campsite. Then when I get home, I clean the entire RV spotlessly ready for the next trip. No exceptions.

And of course, there is a way I treat my kitchen, toilets, faucets, rooms etc that I really wouldn't want to pick up/ gamble the TLC from a different owner.

Trust me, I have seen second hand trailers being sold with non-drained blank tanks let alone being flushed.

That said, either brand new (factory fresh) and/or dealer lot unit (never registered before) would work for me.

Not had a trailer before, but for sure the same.....love new and I can be sure everything is as clean as possible and well maintained. Wash my truck a lot even in the winter, I hate that it gets dirty...always have taken great care with everything I own.

[robkelly]

Originally Posted by sask934

Not had a trailer before, but for sure the same.....love new and I can be sure everything is as clean as possible and well maintained. Wash my truck a lot even in the winter, I hate that it gets dirty...always have taken great care with everything I own.

X2

[bad99ram]

With my 2010 I had nothing but trouble. 12 major issues. Cabinets falling apart , slides not working ect. At the end of the 2 year warranty I traded that unit in on a New one. I pity the next owner of my previous unit.

[Bassdogs]

Used TT's can be great finds or your worst nightmare. Kind of the same with boats and Seadoos. The exterior can look great, but hidden under the skin can be all kinds of bad stuff. If you're buying used with some history of the unit, you can properly assess and price what you are getting. Something off craigs list should be a buyer beware consideration.

My new 06 by Keystone was a nightmare a few months after the warrantee expired. Must have been constructed on a Fri afternoon or monday morning by teenagers smoking dope. Good news is my 2014 W Hawk [now 9 months into ownership] has been great, but then its still under warrantee. Have good thoughts!

[Derek700]

Our friends bought used and have had good luck with their trailer. He also likes to save a few bucks. We bought new but our plan is to keep it for 8-10 years, we are going into year four now.

[mcfarmall]

Bought my '06 in 2011 off Craigslist from a private party. It was spotless, smelled and looked like new inside and out. I inspected it carefully myself...found no issues whatsoever. Paid the guy his asking price which was about $1k below the NADA book value.

Been a good investment for me with only minor issues...had to replace the refrigerator light. I'd do it again and pocket the money I saved over buying new.

[clubhouse]

I've bought both...last purchase was used. Mfg in Jan 2012 we bought it Jan 2014 -- it was used 3 times before the prior owner and his wife went their seperate ways. Not only did it hardly get used, but they as much of a neat nut as my wife and I are. I am not kidding when I say the queen mattress still had the factory plastic on it, they simply covered it with memory foam and cover then sheets, never even took off the plastic. The bunk mattress were covered in mattress covers they bought becasue they were afraid their daughtes would spill drinks back there.

Either way, I neve thougth I would buy used but this was just too good a deal to pass up and it was the exact floor plan we were already buying....just $10K less.

[msturtz]

The first RV my wife and I had was a used 1969 Terry. We spent about 4k rehabilitating it. In the end we traded it in for our 2004 Jay Flight

[wwsmith111]

My wife and I bought a 2006 Springdale from Camping World. We got a great deal and bought the extended warranty from Good Sams. They had refurbished many things in the camper such as sinks, toilet, slide seals, etc. so it was in great shape. We never had one problem with the unit in two years. We just traded it in on a new 2014 Jayco Eagle 338 rlts and bought the extended warranty again. No problems so far in four months. Of course if we hadn't purchased the extended warranty there would have be problems galore! :-)

[3330]

Thanks for all the replies to my "cheap" post.

I was thinking about all the problems guys are mentioning with their new units but if the truth be known, I wouldn't be able to have a trailer or truck if I had to buy new, just don't have the money. I have about 20k tied up in both my truck and trailer and, knock on wood, they are doing the job for me. We are visiting friends in Carson City Nevada after almost 5 months of sunshine in Yuma. Will be going home in a few days but plan on seeking the sun again next Winter. We had a nice place on a residential lot that cost us $300 per month including all the utilities. Cheap than we can live at home.

So I am genuinely happy for all that can have the new ones and my post wasn't in any way meant to say anything bad about new rig owners.

[Brownie]

I had always been a "buy new" guy, mainly for the factory warranty on cars & trucks. Nowadays, especially trucks are made to run forever, so I've modified my opinion on them. Last June, when I found my 2011 F-150 XLT Ecoboost with only 23K miles, every option I needed/wanted/would be nice to have, I just couldn't pass it up. Because it was "Ford Certified Pre-owned", it came with a warrantee that was better than a new truck warrantee, and Carfax showed my the entire vehicle registration and maintenance history. I was able to get it for about $17K less than what they were asking for the new 2013 models, so in that case, it paid to be "thrifty".

I believe RVs are a different matter. Most are built for occasional use only - not the everyday, long term, "beat the snot out of it" use of a work horse pick-up truck. The reason they can put so many features into a reasonably-priced unit, is because they are not of the "highest quality". And since most people replace their RV every 2-4 years, the components don't really need to last for a long, long time. To the best of my knowledge, there isn't a "Carfax" for non-motorized RVs, so you never really know what you're getting in a used RV. Besides, while I don't mind sitting on someone else's truck seat, there's something about sleeping in their bed and sitting on their toilet that just doesn't appeal to me. (Also why I don't like staying in motels). That being said, I was able to save over 30% off MSRP and get Jayco's 2-year factory warrantee by buying a 1013 model that had been sitting on the dealer's lot for a year. So there are ways to be "thrifty" and still buy new.

Those are the reasons I bought a new tent, new Road Runner Ultra-lite TT, and, now, my new Eagle. I know there are a lot of folks here that have had great luck with pre-owned RVs. I say "Great for you"! But for me, it's new or nothin' when it comes to RVs. That's JMHO - FWIW.

[MrKong]

Same thing with ATV's. I will never ever buy a used one again.

[PKEagle]

Originally Posted by MrKong

Same thing with ATV's. I will never ever buy a used one again.

I agree 100% with you on that one. Depending on the previous owner, those things surely do take a beating. Doesn't matter how nice it looks like on the outside, inside and/or under the carriage.

The thing could have been driven in the river for all you know. See YouTube video below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_y65kDbZzE

[SMS1115]

We bought ours used from a member of our church. We've seen how meticulous he was about caring for it, so when it was time to make the deal, we were very pleased with his asking price for what we got. Mom & Dad have always bought new, this being our first, we wanted something we could pay cash for.

[Nighthawk 96]

Our first trailer was used (so slightly you would have thought it was new). Current trailer was bought new as it was a new line for Jayco. From our first unit we learned that we enjoyed camping and had figured out what we really needed in a floor plan. Had also bought a more capable truck which could manage a larger trailer. I would hope that our current trailer will last as long as we able to camp. We are both over 70.

[carey965]

see i will buy a used truck or whatever but for some reason i dont like the idea of sleeping on a bed that some one else i dont know used for god knows what,

so as far as trailers go i buy new, everything else i will consider used, and i will never buy a new car again couple years ago i bought a brand new Cruze and i loved the car but when it came time to sell it cause i never drove it i lost big time on it