Decided to sell the RV

[ArielRae]

Well after a few camping trips we (really I) have decided we like the camping lifestyle and want to get a bigger RV. So we are going to sell ours. Wanted to let all you wonderful DISers know first since I did redo all the fabric inside that has hidden Mickeys and figured you might be interested in it. Here is a link to the post I did last year showing all the before and afters.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=46517334&postcount=1

So does anyone have any recommendations on where we can find our new RV? Please keep in mind we live in NJ and don't want to travel more then 4hrs max from home. The closer to home the better.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

So does anyone have any recommendations on where we can find our new RV? Please keep in mind we live in NJ and don't want to travel more then 4hrs max from home. The closer to home the better.

Where in NJ do you live? What type of RV are you thinking of? New/used Class A class C?

In January there is an RV show in the Convention Center in Raritan Center (Edison, NJ). The major RV places I have seen are Camping World in Lakewood, Scott Motorcoach and Colonial (airstream and winnebago) in Brick, and Driftwood RV (not sure where they are located, but have seen them at shows. My DH also mentioned a Garrick RV north of us in NJ, no experience with them though.

For us, we were looking for a used class A diesel, and you just don't find a lot of them here. We bought from Lazydays in Tampa on the recommendation of a friend.

There are also dealers in PA. Stolzfus is one I have heard of (they do a lot of video tours of units online). There is another right near Cabela's in Hamburg PA (never mind, DH said he has heard nothing but negative reviews on this one, Boat and RV)

Also, if you want used, check craigslist. You will find both individuals and dealers listing there.

If you are looking new, you will have to decide on brand as most of the local places carry just a handful of brands and you will have to go to multiple dealers to compare the brands. For instance Scott carries Tiffin, Forest River and Thor, but not Winnebago, Colonial carries Winnebago and is just a few doors down, so if you want to compare them, you should plan to visit both dealers, or wait for a show.

Edited to add:
I know you said 4 hours or less but I have to just give a plug for Lazydays in Tampa. That place is HUGE compared to any dealer you will find around here. They have 120 acres, 600 employees and they turn over Hundreds of coaches each month. If you get a chance, check out there website for an idea of brands they stock and the volume of stock on hand. http://beta.lazydays.com/ Our salesman Jason Brunner went above and beyond in helping us choose our first coach and trade up to our second. They even helped us with problems we had months and months after purchase. They offered us a great deal on our trade in and a really good price on our trade up. Depending on what you are looking for, it really could be worth a trip....

 

[ArielRae]

Where in NJ do you live? What type of RV are you thinking of? New/used Class A class C?

We are in Burlington County, NJ. DH says he is currently looking at Class A and Class C. New or used if the price is right.

Had DH read your post and said most of those dealers are near us.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

If you want to PM me, I would be happy to send you my phone number if you want to talk. Sounds like we live near each other, I am in Monmouth county.

If you want to wait out the season, Hershey is one of the BIG shows, in September. I have heard you can get great deals there too.

 

[articfox676]

If coming to FL we have an RV show equal to Hershey in January. It would be Martin Luther holiday weekend. Lazydays is there with several displays.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

Nevermind

 

[Betty Rohrer]

this comes from my brother who has a huge RV. if you travel where you want to sightsee make sure RV can tow a car that will whole family. otherwise you will need to rent car or unhook Rv to go sightseeing, which is a pain. we decided to stay with travel trailer. just something else to think about. granted car is not a have to have at Disney but even there it helps

 

[sirenia88]

Hi,

We purchased from Stolzfus in West Chester, PA. I thought it was a pretty good experience. The salesman we dealt with was very laid back and spend just about the whole day with us looking at what they had on the lot. We went there with several used units in mind. Wound up buying something that was unexpected as in my wife thought I would have balked at the price.

I have friends who have dealt with Garrick RV in New Foundland, NJ as well. They had positive experience with everything as well. A former co worker worked there as well. We were going to buy from them if they had something we liked. I will also agree about Boat N RV. One of those same friends was looking at a trailer I think, at Boat N RV. He said the sales guy was slicker than oil. Many of the units they were looking at were not as clean as described in the ads. I also know a person who works at one of the camping worlds located in PA.

The real question is do you want a motorhome or do you want a trailer. Each has their pros and cons. However, watching my parents deal with their class C in the last couple of years made me happy to become part of the trailer life. Now they have a small hybrid and my dad seems to have taken to the towing aspect of RVing. My mom wishes they did it much sooner. You might spend less in the overall and have more versatility depending on your budget and vacationing habits.

 

[4077]

Rvt.com is a great site for looking at a large variety of rvs.....I have spent months looking there....it can point you to some dealers as we'll....a great place to see the wide range of prices out there...it is incredible the price ranges on the exact same model sometimes!

 

[phnguyk]

Rvdirect is in ny. Check them out online, they seem to have good prices.

 

[IslandHtsCampers]

Well after a few camping trips we (really I) have decided we like the camping lifestyle and want to get a bigger RV. So we are going to sell ours. Wanted to let all you wonderful DISers know first since I did redo all the fabric inside that has hidden Mickeys and figured you might be interested in it. Here is a link to the post I did last year showing all the before and afters.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=46517334&postcount=1

So does anyone have any recommendations on where we can find our new RV? Please keep in mind we live in NJ and don't want to travel more then 4hrs max from home. The closer to home the better.

We have purchased 3 rv's. Our last purchase was a brand new fifth wheel from driftwood. I do not recommend this company. We purchased our first used trailer from Scott's in lakewood, nj. Nice people but it is a one store company. Our second used trailer we purchased from camping world. I am not much of a fan of huge corporate businesses. Camping world, on the other hand, was great and all the nation-wide locations sure did come in handy. We had a protection plan on the rv and used to take it to the location just off of I 295.
Our current situation has us travelling a six hour loop to drop of, check in and return home via the garden state parkway. If I were you, I'd evaluate where you'd like take your rv for service/repairs and start there to see what they offer. Rv's are not like cars, if you didn't buy it from them service people will usually put you on the back burner.

Good luck with your search

 

[ChrisinNJ]

W Rv's are not like cars, if you didn't buy it from them service people will usually put you on the back burner.

Good luck with your search

Just to add to this, Scott sells diesels but does not service diesels, so keep that in mind as well if you buy from them.

 

[thegoofyfamily]

My husband knows a great deal about motorhomes and the ones to stay away from.......and he's even more experienced with chassis and engines, so he looked for 2 years for our 2004 Newmar Scottsdale class A. We bought it from a small dealer who bought it from the original owner. WE LOVE IT! We used RV Trader and Craigslist.

We would NEVER buy new. We trade up often, so taking the hit on a new unit would be crazy. However, if you are not an experienced camper or motorhome owner, buying new or slightly used from a dealer might be safer. Not sure of your situation. We also have a mobile RV service guy who will come to us and fix just about anything.......our back up camera died and he'll either fix or bring us a new one to install.

If you are patient and do your research, you can find great deals.......especially this time of year!

 

[KristinU]

We used RVtrader.com to find what we were looking for, it also helps in comparing what the various comps are as far as list/asking price.

Be patient and happy hunting!

 

[North of Mouse]

Rv's are not like cars, if you didn't buy it from them service people will usually put you on the back burner.
Good luck with your search

We recently bought a Winnebago 200 mi. away from home (purchased, but never used, so bought as used) from a dealer and asked our local dealer if they would do the warranty.

They said yes, and in fact our MH is there now for minor warranty work. We went in a couple times beforehand, purchased a few necessities, were friendly, made sure we talked to them some, and we have been treated very good. They took our MH in on schedule and have kept us up to date.

I do agree, though, that you need to make sure there is a warranty dealer for the coach you buy near home because that can be a very costly mistake (we did it once - driving and leaving it, picking it up later, takes time and fuel - no fun.

We considered looking at Lazydays in FL when we were down there, but did not because of this issue (they DO have some very good deals, but this worry killed it for us).

Another thing for us, we HATE carpet in an RV, and only the newer ones have gone back to having tile/tile type flooring. So easy to clean and just use area rugs.

Good luck OP - just be patient! We were 'on the look out' for over 8 months when my DH found this unit/great deal online at a dealer.

 

[jbrostek]

I can make 3 recommendations from past experience directly and indirectly. I bought my new 5er from Stoltzfus RV in West Chester, PA. Bud was my salesman and the whole staff did a great job to ensure everything went smoothly. I bought that one new, but they offer used as well. I can also give a big recommendation for Keystone RV Center in Greencastle, PA. They focus more on wholesale, decent units and I have recommended several people there and they have all been happy with their purchases. My last recommendation I can give is Beckley's RV in Thurmont, MD, a close friend bought his Montana 5th wheel there and got a great deal there.

 

[mikron]

If you arn't a member of iRV2 site then jpin free and get lots of info on ware and type you might want. The site has RVs for sale section also.

 

[KristinU]

My last recommendation I can give is Beckley's RV in Thurmont, MD, a close friend bought his Montana 5th wheel there and got a great deal there.

We bought our Gulfstream Visa from Beckley's. At 6 hours away they were, believe it or not, the closest GS dealer to carry the Visa line. They were very good and definitely "played ball" with my negotiations on price. We were willing to go to Ohio for a better deal, but they wanted our business.

The whole warranty dealer thing is totally relative. We've bought three units all out of state (WI, MD, and RI) and were pretty comfortable all three times. With our current Winnie we actually bought it at the closest Winnie dealer, which happens to be in RI an hour and a half away (yes, we are tiny states up here and as the crow flies it should take 45 minutes tops...gotta love our old roads and no freeway between Hartford and Providence!) Anyway hen we first bought we negotiated the addition of a few things and they had to order them...so we did go through the pain of driving over and dropping it off then picking it up a week later. But other than that we'll go to a local dealer for anything we can't do ourselves. The local dealer does deal with Gulfstream and performed warranty repairs for us on our Visa with no problems at all. Besides, what if you're on the road hundreds of miles from where you bought? That doesn't much matter then.

 

[massmickeypal]

We are selling our 2009 Jayco Seneca which has about 10 thousand miles. It's a super C with three slides. We were supposed to take it to the Fort in January but are unable to go due to an illness in the family. PM me if you want to talk.

 

[North of Mouse]

We bought our Gulfstream Visa from Beckley's.
The whole warranty dealer thing is totally relative. Besides, what if you're on the road hundreds of miles from where you bought? That doesn't much matter then.

We also bought an Awards trailer from Beckleys many years ago when we lived in MD and they gave us horrible service after the sale. We were barely back home when we realized that the sofa was not a bed like they told us, but they would not switch it - it was all 'verbal'! Never went back!

As for the warranty service, I disagree that it's all relative - lots of places will treat you like 2nd class citizens if you don't purchase from them - yes, I know it is warranty work, and they are supposed to fix things, but they will make you wait if they want to, and there's nothing you can do.

As for breaking down away from home, or needing warranty work done, 'most' places are usually very accommodating when something happens to you away from home - that's been our experience anyway.