Camper shopping, not so much fun...

[kazlac4]

While a ten year loan sounds scary, it's actually kind of nice. If I have a good month, I pay double or triple payment, if some "unexpected" comes up, I only have a small payment to be made. Just make sure in your loan agreement, there is no penalty for early pay off, and GOOD LUCK!

We do the same with trying to pay extra. We pay each month's premium and then in addition I pay at least the amount of the next month's principal payment. So far we have made 4 payments but on the amortization schedule we are at month 8. If I can keep this payment routine up I will be getting it paid off in 5 years instead of 10 (though the principal payment will get higher as the years go on). Also, don't forget that most people can deduct the interest at tax time. Good luck with finding the right TT for you!

 

[3girlsfun]

We will probably finance it the standard 10 years, and try to pay more as well. I really want to try to save a couple of thousand in addition to the money we will have from selling the TT. I guess it was just so shocking to me, as this will allow us to afford a the TT a lot easier! (Not that I would ever get into a payment that is too much, been there done that, and will never do that again.)

I am still researching, so thank you everyone for the tips!

For the warranty stuff, it is always negotiable. When we bought our new to us Yukon XL, I wanted the warranty because the truck had so many miles on it. The warranty covers our truck bumper to bumper, just like it were a new truck. I didn't pay a dime for it!

 

[clkelley]

Yes , it's each person's personal preference. The extended warranty on my rig was under $2k and in just 2 service calls I have already saved over $1,100 (in parts alone plus labor charges). If you read my post, the first savings was $425 plus 2 labor calls and the second was over $600 plus the labor. So it has almost paid for itself in just 2 repairs. They do more than just "appliances to include motors for slideouts". Mine covers everything mechanical - - - all appliances to include my washer/dryer, furnace, heat pumps, converters, inverters, slide out motors, water heater, A/C, automatic levelers, etc. Any repairs to those items will usually be quite costly and I am very glad that I don't have to worry about it since I have the warranty.

Like I said, this is just my opinion but I believe people would like to have the complete picture about extended warranties and not be misinformed.

It all depends on how many "systems" are in your rig. My little camper only has an AC/Heat Pump, a converter/charger, and a 12V fridge, so a warranty most definitely wouldn't be worth it for me, but if I had a huge rig with lots of "gizmos and gadgets" I might consider a warranty.

 

[rapriebe]

It all depends on how many "systems" are in your rig. My little camper only has an AC/Heat Pump, a converter/charger, and a 12V fridge, so a warranty most definitely wouldn't be worth it for me, but if I had a huge rig with lots of "gizmos and gadgets" I might consider a warranty.

Yes, most definitely. I'm sure the price of the warranty is based on the number of gizmos. We never got an extended warranty on any of our other previous units because we always purchased used and it was never an included option. However with this rig, I believe we were very fortunate that the previous owner had purchased one. It is something that I believe we will always have on any future rigs.

 

[flamingogal]

Because no one has discussed this yet, I'll take a stab at it. No matter what camper you are interested in, the sticker price is marked up enormously. You will want to see the sticker price and start your negotiations at 30% off of that number. Please keep in mind that the less informed you are and the more you need to talk about financing, the sales people and sales manager will see that and won't give you a decent deal.

Please use the internet for pricing. See what everyone else is selling the same unit for and go w/ those numbers. Don't pay more than you have to. These RV sales guys need to sell but you don't need to pay too much.

As everyone has said, know what you want and don't be in too much of a hurry to buy. Have fun w/ the shopping, its a learning experience and definitely will help you when it comes time to buy.

p.s. I have a 2003 Arctic Fox for sale if you're interested.

 

[U.P. North]

Hello,

Thought I would share with you how we purchased our camper. We started out the same way you are, not really knowing what was out there and what all the options were etc. There were several things we did that really helped us. The 1st thing we did is made three lists. The 1st list was what we knew we absolutly needed on the camper (ie DSI water heater, A/C etc). The 2nd list was what we would like, but could live without. The 3rd list was things we did not like at all (believe me, you will find them).

The next thing that we did was look at our tow vehicle and what towing capacity we had (this is extremely important). If you don't know this, the dealers are still going to say, yep, you can tow it. Guess what, new transmissions are not cheap!! KNOW THIS!!

Then once we knew what we could comfortably tow weight wise, we started looking at Manufacturer websites and the different floor plans. Most of these sites allow you to download product brochures that you can print out. Remember the lists you made earlier, the product brochures will match up with your wants and needs. At this point we narrowed down to floorplans and manufacturers. In conjunction with this, I got on every camping forum I could find, rv.net, hybridexplorer.com, many many more...just google rv forum. I would read as many posts I could find that dealt with the models and mfr's I was interested in and would post questions I had. You will be surprised what you will find out. You can even post question about particular dealers and you can find out a lot about them!!

After I was armed with this info, we planed on hitting as many RV shows we could find. Traveling as far as 150 miles one way. This paid off huge!! If you can hit a big show (ie: Chicago, Indianapolis) you will find not only several competing dealers there, but also manufacturers there (yes actual mfr's that you can speak to). We loved this. we were able to see the exact floor plans we had put on our list and then walk to the next one and compare. We began talking to the different dealers and our questions changed from what can you tell me about this unit, to why should I buy this from you when I can buy this one from him. Oh boy did that change the ball game!! Especially when the dealer watches you go from him to his competitor!!

We went into the shows with no purchase in mind. Just fact finding. Once we found the right unit and the right dealer, we then contacted the dealer and started the purchase process. we were told the prices we were told at the show were only show specials. When they said that, we didn't even speak and got right up and headed to the door. Funny how they changed their tune!!

Point is, take your time!! Make lists of wants, needs and nice to have's. Spend time on the internet. Hit the RV shows and have fun at those!! Don't think you have to jump at the 1st deal that comes around! If you can narrow it down to a couple different choices and then try to deal with those, you will get a good deal. If you go in and say, I want only this model no matter what, you won't get a good deal!

Financing, look at what they offer. Watch out for the interest rates! Also make sure there is no penalty to pay off early. We ended up with a better deal financing with our local bank at a cheaper interest rate for a short time. Yes, our monthly payment was higher, but we saved over the course of the loan on interest.

Good Luck and happy camping!!

 

[Disney Bunny]

Hello,

Thought I would share with you how we purchased our camper. We started out the same way you are, not really knowing what was out there and what all the options were etc. There were several things we did that really helped us. The 1st thing we did is made three lists. The 1st list was what we knew we absolutly needed on the camper (ie DSI water heater, A/C etc). The 2nd list was what we would like, but could live without. The 3rd list was things we did not like at all (believe me, you will find them).

The next thing that we did was look at our tow vehicle and what towing capacity we had (this is extremely important). If you don't know this, the dealers are still going to say, yep, you can tow it. Guess what, new transmissions are not cheap!! KNOW THIS!!

Then once we knew what we could comfortably tow weight wise, we started looking at Manufacturer websites and the different floor plans. Most of these sites allow you to download product brochures that you can print out. Remember the lists you made earlier, the product brochures will match up with your wants and needs. At this point we narrowed down to floorplans and manufacturers. In conjunction with this, I got on every camping forum I could find, rv.net, hybridexplorer.com, many many more...just google rv forum. I would read as many posts I could find that dealt with the models and mfr's I was interested in and would post questions I had. You will be surprised what you will find out. You can even post question about particular dealers and you can find out a lot about them!!

After I was armed with this info, we planed on hitting as many RV shows we could find. Traveling as far as 150 miles one way. This paid off huge!! If you can hit a big show (ie: Chicago, Indianapolis) you will find not only several competing dealers there, but also manufacturers there (yes actual mfr's that you can speak to). We loved this. we were able to see the exact floor plans we had put on our list and then walk to the next one and compare. We began talking to the different dealers and our questions changed from what can you tell me about this unit, to why should I buy this from you when I can buy this one from him. Oh boy did that change the ball game!! Especially when the dealer watches you go from him to his competitor!!

We went into the shows with no purchase in mind. Just fact finding. Once we found the right unit and the right dealer, we then contacted the dealer and started the purchase process. we were told the prices we were told at the show were only show specials. When they said that, we didn't even speak and got right up and headed to the door. Funny how they changed their tune!!

Point is, take your time!! Make lists of wants, needs and nice to have's. Spend time on the internet. Hit the RV shows and have fun at those!! Don't think you have to jump at the 1st deal that comes around! If you can narrow it down to a couple different choices and then try to deal with those, you will get a good deal. If you go in and say, I want only this model no matter what, you won't get a good deal!

Financing, look at what they offer. Watch out for the interest rates! Also make sure there is no penalty to pay off early. We ended up with a better deal financing with our local bank at a cheaper interest rate for a short time. Yes, our monthly payment was higher, but we saved over the course of the loan on interest.

Good Luck and happy camping!!

Totally agree with the statement about validating what your tow vehicle is safely rated to tow. I put this out to you on a different thread. Also agree with a P.P. about how quickly and crazily the value on a RV depreciates. Check out this website for assistance: www.nada.com. You can plug in the year, make, model and options and it will give you the value of the RV you are looking at. Might help with negotiating a price. You can also plug in the information of your current unit to see if what you are going to ask for it when selling it is reasonable. If selling your current unit is a "must" before buying another one, you might want to think about how hard in this economy it will be and consider negotiating something with the RV dealer for a trade in. You will get less, but it might be worth it in the long run.

 

[parrothead365]

We just got back from buying a new 5er up in Burlington VT. We found the model we were looking for at Pete's RV over the internet. We saved a ton by going up there. The deals seem to good to be true and we were a bit worried about going 1300 miles to do a deal sight unseen. They are on the up an up and all went pretty well. Just know what you want and see if they can help ya.

 

[YodaGirl]

I know that your interest rates depend on your credit.

I've tried researching what the average interest rate for campers is. So far, I've found it to be about 5% to 10%.

That seems like a rather wide gap.

I know that I won't know what my interest rate would be until I actually visit a dealer.

Just curious if those number sounded accurate. Thanks!

 

[BradyBz12]

Remember you don't necessarily need to go with the bank the dealer points you to - especially if it's one of the biggies. Often times you might do better with a local savings bank or credit union - especially if you have your other accounts with them already.

 

[3girlsfun]

I second that! Our credit is not anywhere near perfect, and we got a much better interest rate on our last vehicle purchase by going through a credit union. Not to mention it was sooooooooooooo much easier to get the loan. I called the lady (she is good friends with my dad because he has bought so many things) she told me what they could give me as a loan on the truck I bought, and she said to write the place a check, and she would wire the money to my account. OMG, so EASY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With that being said, yes, those are about the rates I have seen. We are hoping to finance no more than $5-6k, and hoping to pay it off early if possible!

 

[dtum]

DH found our 5er (2004 Titanium 24E29) on e-bay a couple of years back. We live in OH and it was in GA. I did some research and found it was actually at a dealer in Valdosta so I contacted them directly through e-mail. Did the deal and bought it all based on pictures on e-bay and dealing directly with dealer. They were great. Once we got to GA, we stayed at a near-by campground for a couple nights and they fixed all the problems we found over those two days. Back in 2004 we had looked at this same unit, but the price new was too much so we just forgot about it. When it came up on e-bay it was a price we couldn't pass up and we jumped in. We didn't really have the decision of which brand to get because when we saw the Titanium at an RV show, we knew that was what we wanted. Never regretted it.

Our friends found a 2005 Titanium 24E29 on e-bay also. It was at a dealer in Indiana and they also had a very good experience.

One thing about campers...you get what you pay for it a big way. Those cheaper models may look good, but the walls are really thin, drawer slides fall off and the fit and finish just isn't there when you start towing it and things start moving around. It's better to buy a used (within a few years) higher end unit than a new cheaper unit (plus the used on will have all the kinks worked out of it).

On Financing, just because it's 10 years doesn't mean you have to take 10 years to pay it off. We actually put our on our home equity loan so I could just go to the local bank and make extra payments on it. Had it paid off in 2 years (I said we got a really good deal on e-bay!)

We did take out a good sam extended warranty for a couple years just as insurance, but had nothing go wrong. E-bay could have some good deals, just research who the seller is and find a good dealer. Do some research on RV.net--really lots of helpful information on brands. Good luck!

 

[YodaGirl]

Thanks for the advice!

 

[disney4dan]

We just got back from buying a new 5er up in Burlington VT. We found the model we were looking for at Pete's RV over the internet. We saved a ton by going up there. The deals seem to good to be true and we were a bit worried about going 1300 miles to do a deal sight unseen. They are on the up an up and all went pretty well. Just know what you want and see if they can help ya.

They seem like a good dealership, and are located in a very scenic state not far from my door. How did you like the drive? Fantastic country up here in New England if you ever get a chance to explore.

Back on topic, I agree with knowing the limits of your tow vehicle. I still own a half-ton pickup because I need it as a daily driver and it will get 19 mpg when not towing and the price of diesel was near $4.50/gal when I had to make the last purchase. That, combined with the "recent" requirements to add air emissions controls to diesels around 2006-2007 forced my hand back to a gas truck once again. When the dust settles on the new diesel engines and they work out the kinks, get their mileage back up to 15+ mpg, I may get a larger truck with more towing capacity. Fortunately, there were several trailer options well below the limits of my half-ton towing capacity.

 

[3girlsfun]

This is all such great advice on here. I am going to do a lot more research over the internet, and hoping to go out looking this weekend. Thank you all, really, thank you!

 

[taborekle]

Camper shopping is so much fun The best way I have made deals is reasearch all you can on the internet. Look at differnt floorplans, reliablilty from other owners of that brand, etc. The floor plan you want and the craftsmanship are my biggest things I look for, Then it's the price. Once you decide on a brand and model, Go to a dealer and look at it. Don't worry about the price, make sure it's the camper you want. After saying to yourself and looking at it, "that's it, that the model that will fit our needs perfect" Go back home and start looking for the best price on the internet. If you have a trade, I would highly suggest you try and sell it yourself. Trade-in's are very low value these days due to most people can walk out with a new unit for the same price a dealer may have to ask for your trade. The unfortunate thing I ran into, is that nobody has cash these days and the typical american will pay more for a unit at the dealer for the ease of financing. If distance is not an issue, you can find the unit you want at a best price if you will travel to pick it up. Some will call me stupid but I drove to Virginia last week from FL to get an awsome deal on the unit we wanted. The FL and GA. dealers did not want to budge but low and behold we found what we were looking for. I hope this help you in your journey to find the perfect RV

I think this is very good advice. Plug you're self into rv.net or some of the other internet sites and just soak it up. You'll quickly get there are some good brands out there, and some that you should stay away from. You won't get that in any RV lot.

A lot of dealers will do special discounts at RV shows. Some people find the best pricing at those.

You have to shop not only within you're budget, but also within you're Tow Vehicles capability.

 

[rumrunnergirl]

.

 

[dtum]

DH found our 5er (2004 Titanium 24E29) on e-bay a couple of years back. We live in OH and it was in GA. I did some research and found it was actually at a dealer in Valdosta so I contacted them directly through e-mail. Did the deal and bought it all based on pictures on e-bay and dealing directly with dealer. They were great. Once we got to GA, we stayed at a near-by campground for a couple nights and they fixed all the problems we found over those two days. Back in 2004 we had looked at this same unit, but the price new was too much so we just forgot about it. When it came up on e-bay it was a price we couldn't pass up and we jumped in. We didn't really have the decision of which brand to get because when we saw the Titanium at an RV show, we knew that was what we wanted. Never regretted it.

Our friends found a 2005 Titanium 24E29 on e-bay also. It was at a dealer in Indiana and they also had a very good experience.

One thing about campers...you get what you pay for it a big way. Those cheaper models may look good, but the walls are really thin, drawer slides fall off and the fit and finish just isn't there when you start towing it and things start moving around. It's better to buy a used (within a few years) higher end unit than a new cheaper unit (plus the used on will have all the kinks worked out of it).

On Financing, just because it's 10 years doesn't mean you have to take 10 years to pay it off. We actually put our on our home equity loan so I could just go to the local bank and make extra payments on it. Had it paid off in 2 years (I said we got a really good deal on e-bay!)

We did take out a good sam extended warranty for a couple years just as insurance, but had nothing go wrong. E-bay could have some good deals, just research who the seller is and find a good dealer. Do some research on RV.net--really lots of helpful information on brands. Good luck!

posted this before. We bought ours on e-bay as did our friends. Both of us went through actual dealers who were selling on e-bay. Don't know that i would buy from a private person because we were both able to check ours out and get the little things fixed before we signed the actual papers. I actually contacted the dealer on my auction and e-mailed back and forth about price, etc. and closed the whole deal through e-mail.