Trading RVs

It is very likely that if you own an RV, sooner or later you will make a change -- up size, down size, or replace a worn out, or damaged or stolen unit or you may just find one you like better.  Changes in family size, camping interests, wants, and lifestyle may all contribute to the motivation to trade.  Your family may outgrow a rig or, as kids leave home, you might want a smaller unit.  Should you get in an accident with your RV or experience a fire or a catastrophic mechanical failure, you may be forced to make a trade.  Or you may just get tired of the one you have and want something you perceive as better meeting your needs and wants.  Manufacturers are constantly making improvements that you may find attractive and useful.   Regardless of the reason for making a trade, there are several things to consider.  If your RV was damaged you might want to seek an exact replacement if you were happy with the old  unit.  Any other motivation for change will automatically dictate some of the parameters you will want to use in choosing your next unit.

Carefully consider what features you MUST have along with those options you would LIKE to have.  Must-haves are those features that are necessary for the RV to serve your needs.  Some typical examples are the number of beds, size and placement of the bedroom, length, horsepower, generator, and holding tank capacity.  The length may be determined by how and where you plan to use your RV.  If you want to visit a lot of Forest Service campgrounds where there are size limitations you will need to have an RV that doesn't exceed those restrictions.  The number of beds needed will be determined by your family size, or the number of guests you plan to take camping with you regularly.  Occasional, short term guests, like grand kids, might accommodated on the floor or in an attached awning room or even a tent, but if you have family of 6 that regularly goes out together, you'll want an RV with room to sleep six.   Having already had some experience owning and driving an RV, you may have some thoughts on horsepower.  Was your old unit under powered?  A larger engine will likely decrease fuel economy but improve performance and increase towing capacity.  If you routinely tow a boat, a dingy, or an OHV trailer, you need to make sure your motorhome has sufficient towing capacity.  In improperly sized receiver would make towing dangerous and often illegal.  Too little power (torque is often a better measure of towing capacity that horsepower) can make driving frustrating and may also cause dangerous situations if you are unable to accelerate adequately when entering freeway on ramps or climbing hills.  Under powered vehicle are also likely to experience premature drive train failures.  If you always stay in full hook-up campgrounds a generator may not be a must-have for you, but it will be if you do a lot of boondocking.  Even if you are frugal and avoid running the roof A/C you still need to run the generator enough each day to keep your batteries charged unless you have a solar charging system or are willing to run the vehicle engine.  Holding tank capacity, likewise, won't be an issue if you camp only in campgrounds with hook ups, but is very critical when boondocking.  Your camping experiences will be frustrating or cut short if you don't have enough on board fresh water or enough room in your gray and black water holding tanks.  Fresh water and waste water tanks on Class A motorhomes are usually larger than you'll typically find on Class Cs.  While a Class C may be a desirable size for Forest Service and National Park campgrounds, it may lack sufficient holding tank reserves to keep you going for more than a few days.  We discovered that when we downsized to a Class C a few years ago and found the small, 25 gallon fresh water tank wasn't even enough to get even two of us through  3-day weekend camping in the Mojave Desert.  At least not without some major adjustments to habits we'd developed over years of camping with sufficient resources.  Downsizing from a family of 8 to just the two of us did not reduce our water consumption by 3/4ths but it did reduce the capacity from 100 gallons to 25 gallons!

You may have to make some compromises based on your budget and the availability of qualifying vehicles.  When that happens, look for ways to get the most out of your purchase.  For example, if you have a strong desire for the extra space provided by slide outs but don't have the budget for a rig that has them, look for units that have fairly open floor plans that make them more appealing.  If you find a unit that meets your other requirements you might be able improve the open area by removing lounge chairs from the salon area if you don't have a strong need or desire for them.

When it comes times to make a change it pays to do some research and shop around.  If you have the budget for brand new unit you can go to a dealer and order one to meet your specifications but a lot of folks are going to be buying pre-owned units.  The variety of makes, models, ages, mileage, features, and prices can be truly amazing and sometimes confusing.  Suffice it to say you can usually find many choices and can very likely find a very acceptable unit, with low miles, within your price range.  Be very leery of significantly under priced units.  That usually indicates some major problems you may not want to deal with, often hidden problems.  It may take a little time and perhaps even some travel, to explore your options, so give yourself plenty of time and don't rush to buy the first thing you see.  If you have done your planning correctly you will be able to focus on appropriate vehicles that will meet your minimum requirements so you don't waste time looking at stuff that you wouldn't even consider.  Be sure to do a thorough inspection and test drive each one you are considering.  Check maintenance records if they are available.  If you aren't knowledgeable or comfortable verifying mechanical condition, take it to a qualified mechanic to have it checked out.  Yeah, you'll have to fork over some dough for his services, but it could save you from making a VERY expensive mistake.

You will probably have to consider some trade offs as you evaluate possible purchases.   Once you have decided what your budget is, you are likely to find a variety of choices.  You may find some newer, low mileage units and some older, more luxurious RVs for about the same price.  You will have to decide whether the low miles or the luxury features are more important to you.  Given the low usage many RVs get you may be able to get an older, low mileage luxury RV.  In that case your trade off is age versus price and features.  And older, low mileage RV might be a good deal, but it could also be a source of frustration if it needs work, now or in the future.  There is usually enough interchangeability in appliances and even mechanical parts that those repairs are possible, but  body damage on older units can be difficult or even impossible to find matching parts to fix them properly.  If the unit is in good shape and has extra features you find desirable, you may get more enjoyment out of it than you would a newer, less well equipped unit at a similar price.  Whether your have the resources (tools, skills, facilities and/or money) to perform needed work may also be a factor.  If you aren't prepared to take care of existing or future problems, it may slant your decision in favor of a newer unit.

Should you trade in your old RV or try to sell it privately?  Using your old RV as a trade in will usually cover the down payment so you don't have to come up with extra cash.  However, if you are able to sell you RV yourself, you can sometimes get more than the trade in allowance for it and come out ahead.  Of course there may be advertising costs associated with selling it yourself and it may take some time, perhaps so much time the the replacement unit you identified might no longer be available when you get the money for it.  Trading in your unit is usually quicker and more convenient and you won't have to invest time or money in detailing it for sale.

Whenever you change units you'll be faced with emptying your personal belongings out of your old RV and loading them into your "new" one.  This can often be a much larger task than you anticipate, especially if you've had your old RV for some time.  When trading cars you can usually just move your "stuff" from the old car to the new one right at the sales lot, but moving out of one motorhome and into another one is more like moving from one apartment to another!  You might be surprised at how much stuff you've squirreled away over the years!  Plan on spending at least a day or two emptying out our old rig and at least as much if not more to move into and organize your new home one wheels. It provides you a good opportunity to lighten the load.  Transfer only what you need to the new unit and get rid of duplicates and excess clutter you never use.  I once found at least 4 12-volt work lights in the various compartments of my RV that I had accumulated over the years.  I'm sure I thought I had a good reason for buying each one, but I don't think it is really necessary to haul that many around all the time.  Chances are I forgot I even had some of them.  This is also a good time to take inventory and refresh your memory of what you have and where it is so you CAN make use of it.  Anything that is buried in the back or bottom of a seldom used storage compartment where you a) can't get to it when you need and b) forget you even have it, is just excess baggage that adds to weight that can reduce performance and fuel economy -- and may take up room you could use for something that is actually useful.  Take time to think through how you can best organize things in you new unit so they'll be safe during travel and accessible when you want to use them.

Anytime you make a trade it should in some way improve your situation.  Whether you are getting larger or smaller  rig to better meet your current needs, going for additional amenities, increasing fuel economy or reducing payments, be sure you new unit meets your expectations.  It is really easy  to fall for "eye candy" appeal of a particularly flashy or attractive rig and lose sight of your original goal.

Trade up!