How to Buy the Right Used RV at the Right Price

RVing On The Cheap is all about saving money and scoring a good deal. When I started shopping for my latest RV, a '2000 Four Winds Hurricane motorhome, I had a pretty good picture of what I wanted right from the start.

I'll address the issue of motorhome vs trailer in a future article. For this go around, we will assume that you've settled on the choice of buying a motorhome as I did, and we will look at things you should consider in your search for the perfect RV.

KNOW WHAT YOU WANT AND WHY:

First off know what you want and why. In our case we wanted a class "A" motorhome for the following reasons:

1. We wanted a queen sized bed. Not an almost a queen sized, and definitely not a full sized with a corner whacked off to accommodate traffic to the bathroom. It had to be a walk around queen bed because sleeping with your nose against the wall just doesn't work for us. A class "C" with a cab over bed wasn't suitable either because us senior citizens have bad knees.

2. A comfortable shower was a must. Not some little corner thing with a curtain that lets water leak all over the place. And a wet bathroom was just out of the question. They just make one big mess.

3. We tend to stay in FREE camping spots. Especially if it is only for one night while traveling. Having the ability to get out of bed and into the driver's seat without exiting the RV is important to us. Both for safety sake and just plain convenience.

Beyond those 3 items, if an RV has the standard basics we are happy campers.

KNOW WHEN AND WHERE TO SHOP:

We did our shopping in the middle of Minnesota winter. Trudging through snow banks, and enduring temperatures that were a close kin to Antarctica, we were more interested in looking for the best deal than being comfortable.

1. During the off seasons dealers want to move inventory and it's much easier to find a bargain.
2. These are hard economic times, private owners are desperate to get out from under payments and prices are way down.
3. Many banks have repossessed RVs they just want to get off the books.

We used the Internet, cruising dealer inventories from the comfort of our own living room. During slow months local dealers list special deals on Craig's list in an effort to bring people into their place of business. It worked as that's where we found our motorhome.

Before we left the house we had our search narrowed down to a half dozen RVs. It was just a matter of inspecting a few instead of wandering lost through an ocean of RVs in the lot.

BELLS AND WHISTLES:

Sure having all the goodies is nice, but when an RV is 10 years old things quit working. Our motorhome doesn't have a slideout. This isn't by accident, we didn't want one. As RVs age the slide outs can become misaligned, warped, and leaky. RVs twist and flex, and in time when you push the button to retract your walls they may not come in at all, or they won't seal up tight against the RV when they do come in.

Having a section of wall that extends out is a sure way to allow water infiltration as the rubber seals age and become stiff and brittle. Before you know it, you have damaged wall board, and rotten flooring. I've personally gutted a 14' slide out to repair it from the frame out due to water damage. I've seen more slide out issues than any other structural problem while working at RV dealerships.

General structural integrity is better, and will remain so, when your wall structures are a solid integral part of your RV.

We have no hydraulic leveling system and there is no awning or individual window awnings either. The only TV is a new digital model we purchased that is and shall remain portable. DVD's, VCR's, and surround sound, no thanks. The more stuff you have, the less you'll use it.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

My main objective when shopping for a used motorhome is the drive train. The mechanical portion that moves you down the highway can quickly put you in the poor house when your RV quits on the highway. Low mileage is a good thing, unless it's been sitting in the back field for years.

Our motorhome only has 12,000 miles on the odometer even though it is 10 years old. This can be a red flag because it indicates the RV sat for long periods of time. If during these long periods in storage it was parked on grass or dirt, moisture will wick up and make a great a rusty mess of your undercarriage and suspension.

Does the dash air conditioner work reliably? Is the RV new enough to have the latest r134a refrigerant in the A/C? Air conditioner repairs can set you back over $1,000 real quick.

Is the structure sound? Are the wall's straight and solid? Is there any indication of water leaks on the ceiling? Be sure to check in all the upper cabinets too. If the exterior is fiberglass (most are), is there any delamination occurring. This can be seen as a bubble under the outer layer of fiberglass.

Who cares if you find some cosmetic issues on the interior that need attention. This is the type of work you can do that won't cost you that much.

Our motorhome had seen heavy use on the inside. The previous owner did some remodeling that in our case just saved us the time and expense of doing it our self. What was a turn off for many potential buyers, because the RV was no longer "factory", just meant we got it for a lower price, because the dealer wanted to get rid of it.

Knowing we were buying a low mileage, reasonably aged RV that looked to be in good mechanical condition was the important part. Upgrading the interior is part of the fun for us. Believe me we've done it many times.

Now that we have a solid base for our project the next articles on RVing On The Cheap will go into detail about what was changed, repaired, or improved, and how we did it.