Poor choice of spending your money?

[disneydreamersx4]

Sometimes we think we're saving money but it turns out not so good. Like when we bought our travel trailer. We thought oh, this is good, we will get out of a tent and I would enjoy camping more. Then we realized that the dealer lied to us that our SUV could tow the trailer, NOT We wound up having to finance a truck and then gas prices and economy forced us to sell the truck and lose money and now we are paying the loan on the trailer cause we don't want to sell it and lose more money and can't use it because there is no vehicle available to rent to tow.

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[NYCDiane]

A car/trailer dealer LYING!!! Tell me it isn't so!!!!

That's really mess up, though. I hope things will turn around for you and you can somehow find another truck to use to tow the trailer for camping.

 

[disneydreamersx4]

thanks Good thing it wasn't my fault, it was up to DH and the dealer to figure out the towing stuff It's all good though, we're back in a tent or renting cabins.

 

[ChisJo]

Heres one for ya: Gym memberships to gyms you know you will never use, but if you sign a one year contract, your rate is better and you don't have to pay sign up fees.....(this has NEVER happened to me)

 

[sunnyday123]

Could you rent something to tow it when you use it? Or would that put too much of a dent in your budget?

 

[snowywhite89]

Sometimes we think we're saving money but it turns out not so good. Like when we bought our travel trailer. We thought oh, this is good, we will get out of a tent and I would enjoy camping more. Then we realized that the dealer lied to us that our SUV could tow the trailer, NOT We wound up having to finance a truck and then gas prices and economy forced us to sell the truck and lose money and now we are paying the loan on the trailer cause we don't want to sell it and lose more money and can't use it because there is no vehicle available to rent to tow.

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Making payments every month on something you do not use is losing money every month. I would cut my losses.

 

[tlh0726]

Had a neighbor that bought a travel trailer who was also told by the dealership that his truck would pull it no problems.
Guess what, it couldn't.
The dealership took the trailer back and they got another one that they were able to tow.

I would try to sell the camper privately. Set your price and do not come down. If it sells great, if not you are not any worse than what you are now.

good luck!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Making payments every month on something you do not use is losing money every month. I would cut my losses.

Its all about "research" and planning. Sadly you guys made a poor call and now you are literally "paying" the price. I'd cut my losses...you are Still paying on something you do not use, the value will only go down...not up! Dump that thing and fast......lesson learned!
Sorry to hear this, hope you can dig out soon! Best of Luck!!

 

[swilshire]

For future reference, all vehicle owner's manuals list the towing capability of the vehicle. It shouldn't take much research to learn the weight of a trailer. It's probably listed in their brochures.

Sheila

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

My DH is the king of "false budget" purchases. A couple examples:

a bike, his argument: I'll ride it to work, we'll save on gas, it'll be great exercise, etc. How long he used it? About a week. But my oldest son does ride it sometimes, so not all bad.

Online electrician school, his argument: I'll take these classes, then I can become an electrician when I get out of the Army. Reality? There's a reason the GI Bill didn't cover these "classes", probably not accredited, but it didn't matter, he did them for about a month before getting bored. Never finished, $3000 down the drain and I have refused to endorse any more "I want to go back to school" ideas from DH.

Pick-up truck, his argument: I can use it to haul stuff like if we buy furniture or something, camping gear, or the kids' bikes. Reality? Trucks are more expensive than cars so the cash we had didn't buy as nice of a truck as it would have an economy car. So he had a small (think s-10) sized truck that could only carry one child at a time and wasn't safe to drive any further than his commute. It started having problems that he didn't tell me about, I didn't know how bad they were until I needed to drive it 2 miles one day and stalled out on the road . Bought for about $3000, sold for $800 and I think most of that was for the toolbox .

I'll stop there. But I will say that I have had to become more assertive at putting my foot down with Dh. I grew up in a household where my Dad made all of the decisions so it's hard for me to not go along with what DH wants to do, but after a series of bad financial decisions I've had to start saying no and explaining my reasoning. I did talk to him about my concerns before these purchases, but it was hard to get past the mentality that he makes the money so he should spend it the way he wants (this is MY thinking, NOT anything he has ever suggested.) so in the end I let him do what he wanted. Not anymore.

In his defense, one of our best budget purchases that he also suggested was our crockpot, so not all bad.

 

[walkdmc]

How about memberships to shopping clubs...like all of them..Costco, BJs, SAMs? I fall for it every year...paying someone for the "privilege" of buying something in their store.

 

[MrsPete]

Several thoughts:

We're considering buying a small teardrop trailer, and our tow vehicle is a concern for us too. Don't they let you hook it up and do a test drive before you buy? I just assumed that's what would happen. We're nowhere near the actual buying stage yet.

Never take the salesperson's word for anything.

It's definitely time to sell the camper, especially since you're paying interest on it!

Or is there any market for renting? I think I saw something once about a place where you could "place your trailer" and it gets rented when you're not using it -- of course, strangers aren't as likely to take care of it in the same way you would.

Financing a luxury is never a good idea, and a camping trailer is a luxury.

I think we've all done something similar -- made a purchase that was supposed to work out so well, save us money, whatever -- and it backfired. Like finding a great sale on a food you don't usually eat, buying a bunch of it, only to discover that there's a reason it was on sale. Or buying a wonderful winter coat for next year even though it's a size too small, but you're SURE that by next fall it'll fit just fine. I think yours is just a bigger-than-average example because it includes financing two vehicles.

 

[labdogs42]

The people on the DIS Camping Community board can tell you a lot about trailers and towing capacities. You need to know the weight of the vehicle and then also the loaded weight. I'm not an expert, but I know that you have to factor in the cargo in the tow vehicle somehow as well. We tow a pop up with our minivan and we are right at capacity.

I'd probably try to sell the TT on Craigslist if you truly can't tow it.

 

[Pakey]

We've owned 2 travel trailers and then a large 5th wheel with slides. If you are financing, I'd sell and cut your losses. With the interest you are paying you are never going to come out even.

 

[disneydreamersx4]

OP here - all good stories upthread

We are going to get the trailer back on the road one day so we don't really mind making the payments. We bought it brand new and it's still in immaculate condition. You betcha we have done our homework for the next time we get a tow vehicle.

 

[okeydokey]

How about memberships to shopping clubs...like all of them..Costco, BJs, SAMs? I fall for it every year...paying someone for the "privilege" of buying something in their store.

I save way more money at Sams then I spend on the membership, so for us it's a win.

 

[momto2inKC]

How about memberships to shopping clubs...like all of them..Costco, BJs, SAMs? I fall for it every year...paying someone for the "privilege" of buying something in their store.

The amount I save on milk alone covers the annual fee for our Costco membership! It's $2 cheaper a gallon at Costco compared to our grocery stores.

 

[bgirl29]

OP is there a seasonal campground near you that you could have a friend tow your trailer too? and then you could use your trailer like a cottage in the meantime? just an idea instead of having it just sit unused all of the time.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

OP is there a seasonal campground near you that you could have a friend tow your trailer too? and then you could use your trailer like a cottage in the meantime? just an idea instead of having it just sit unused all of the time.

When I first read your post this is exactly what I thought. If you park it at a campground for the summer it make it really easy to go out on Friday night and spend the weekend. This is especially fun if they have a pool or it is close to a park or amusement park that you could get season tickets for. Warning though - we did this with our TT for a couple summers and then decided to buy a vacation condo there. We say our camper really can't move anymore!

And NEVER NEVER trust the camper dealer or the car dealer to tell you what you need to tow with. ALWAYS do your own research! I guess you that advise it a little too late now huh?

 

[eliza61]

Sometimes we think we're saving money but it turns out not so good. Like when we bought our travel trailer. We thought oh, this is good, we will get out of a tent and I would enjoy camping more. Then we realized that the dealer lied to us that our SUV could tow the trailer, NOT We wound up having to finance a truck and then gas prices and economy forced us to sell the truck and lose money and now we are paying the loan on the trailer cause we don't want to sell it and lose more money and can't use it because there is no vehicle available to rent to tow.

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Never, ever buy a boat. take about throwing money down a black pit.