Absolute Best Way to Buy Travel Trailer New

In that location's no dubiousness almost information technology, we dearest the freedom and ease of spontaneous travel that comes with RV'ing. It suits our travel lifestyle perfectly! What we don't love is the potential stress and frustration that tin can come along with ownership an RV.

Nosotros would dear to tell you lot that the RV shopping and buying procedure is fun (for some it is and can exist) just wow are there some horror stories out there! Then, while we can't guarantee a smooth and easy experience for each of you lot, we can tell you lot the shady truth almost buying an RV.
Why? Because data is liberating and tin can be the deviation between feeling uneasy or certain virtually such a big decision and buy. Likewise knowing the "ugly" office before starting this procedure might just brand it better.

Permit's brainstorm with a few quotes we've heard from fellow RV shoppers: "Salesmen are liars and don't know crap about RV's." "We dealt with the nicest salesman who knew all about Winnebago, Fleetwood and Tiffin, he was so overnice." "It's frustrating considering I know more than about the RV than the salesman!"

If you lot've always gone to a dealership looking to buy a new RV you may have walked away more confused than ever, or maybe y'all…gasp…purchased your RV right on the spot! We've personally been to dozens of RV dealerships across North America looking at motorhomes and helping friends seek out the "perfect" RV to start their adventures. If there is one certainty beyond the board when information technology comes to all RV dealerships information technology's this: THERE IS NO CERTAINTY!

After hundreds, maybe thousands, of interactions throughout the industry we decided to put the controversial topic upwards for vote on our crowdsourced content page, and its no surprise the topic titled The Shady Truth About Buying an RV won the vote. In the video above and text below nosotros've outlined many of the negatives, and a few of the positives, that nosotros've experienced over the past several years.

Purchase Price

Allow'southward brainstorm with the 1000000 dollar question that everyone asks: So what cost should I expect to pay when purchasing a new RV and how big of a discount is normal?

You lot'll get the idea when y'all visit your starting time dealership and the MSRP is $200,000.00 and the salesman quickly pipes up with something like "Don't worry about that price, we'll get you a real good deal." Like much of the RV manufacture the sales tactics are leftover dinosaurs from the by. Nowadays with a motorcar you tin can go up front pricing, or you can check a website and get the average sale toll of like cars in your area…this doesn't exist anywhere in the RV industry (as far as we know).

35% off MSRP – We've read on other websites, and we've had potential buyers mention to us they plan to get 35% off MSRP or else they're not buying. I wish we could requite y'all a magic number but there are too many factors that must be understood when getting a disbelieve on a new RV.

Factory Incentive – Sometimes the mill will launch a new product with incentives to the dealer and a set toll. Recently this happened with the Winnebago Vista HE in order to compete with the Thor ACE pricing (we actually reviewed this Vista in this video: https://world wide web.gonewiththewynns.com/top-rv-picks ). The dealerships were brash to sell exclusively at a set low cost with zero options, and so to make more than coin each dealership would offer "upgrades" that they could sell and install at their service center. Incentives may also occur when the manufacturing plant has built too many of one RV and information technology's not selling besides every bit they'd hope, and so they take a turn a profit cutting on their end and the dealer is supposed to laissez passer this forth to the buyer. The best place to become manufactory incentives is an RV evidence, each RV Mfr. wants to sell the almost RVs at the bear witness and then they can rub their success in each other's faces, and so pricing is often stock-still on many of the RVs on display.
Best Place to Buy an RV – Nosotros've seen some of the best deals on a new RV at the major RV shows. A "major" RV show includes multiple dealerships and manufacturers at the same location who are all competing for your business. Mfrs. are super eager the starting time day of the show to get those outset sales on the board. This is prime number time to go a good deal on the coach you want. If you're not in a blitz to purchase at the show nosotros've seen great deals fabricated on the last day in the concluding hours of the show from dealers (the downside is they may have sold your RV by and so, and then you can't be in a blitz with this tactic).
Best Time of Year to Buy – As the new RV year models are coming out, the manufacturing plant, nor the dealerships, want old models sitting on the lot, so large discounts can be offered by both to move the RVs quickly. This is a prime time to purchase, but supply is limited to what'due south in stock so you might not exist able to become the floor programme or the cloth yous had your heart attack. Here's an example: Our friend only emailed me yesterday and said he found a 2014 Fleetwood Bastard 33C at La Mesa RV in AZ on "clearance" for $99,998.00; that'south a whopping $twoscore,000 off the MSRP! Not a bad deal, and he hasn't even started negotiations withal.
Supply and Need – its how virtually markets are run and the RV manufacture is no unlike. Take the Leisure Travel Vans for instance: If you lot purchase a new Leisure Travel Van today you won't probable receive it for 4-half-dozen months! That's right the factory tin can't keep up with the demand. With an MSRP around $120,000.00 you'd exist lucky to get it any cheaper than $110,000.00. On that same note a quick search online shows there'south but two used Unity Vans and they're listing for the aforementioned damn price! Sure these vans look cool and are designed very well, just over 100k for a used one???? Come on!
Existent Disbelieve Expectations – Our go-to response when people ask about what discount they should expect to get when purchasing a new RV is 20% – xxx% off MSRP. The best thing yous tin practice is search online for similar dealer stock BEFORE going into your local dealership. I generally start with a search at these places: MHSRV, La Mesa RV, Lazydays, General RV and RVTrader. If a dealer makes you lot phone call in to get the "price" it often means they want to play games, I discover it a very off putting fashion to start the purchasing procedure.

Buying straight from the Mfr

Some RV companies sell straight to the consumer, and while nosotros oasis't had personal experience with this type of transaction we have seen a few brands represented at shows and they play the aforementioned games: "Prove Specials" or marked out MSRP with an updated "Auction Toll" I hateful Come ON! Wouldn't the benefit of ownership direct be so you don't accept to pay the astronomical markup that the boilerplate dealership charges?

The "Show 'em Iii" tactic

I hate to say it but don't retrieve most salesman are your friends, keep in mind if you don't buy an RV they don't eat! We had a friend tell the states an old sales play a joke on, which you'll run into in activity if y'all picket our HGTV RV Hunters Episode: Show them the RV you think they should buy, show them one that's not as nice, then show them one that'southward way bigger than they want…then have them back to their original and it'll seem "perfect". It's a surefire mode to convince a potential buyer that their original idea was the perfect RV, unless at that place'southward a like RV that pays a larger dividend to the salesman! That's right, some RV mfrs pay a higher percentage to the salesman and so call up twice earlier y'all purchase based solely on a salesman's recommendation. For instance it's not uncommon for yous to come in wanting brand "A" just the salesman directs you to brand "C". Stick to your guns, if you've read online that brand "C" isn't a quality product don't allow a pricing incentive and sales tactics sway your decision.

You get what you pay for

Fleetwood and Winnebago make nifty products, Tiffin and Newmar make some great products besides, simply there'due south 1 RV model that comes to mind to show you EXACTLY what you're paying for: If you can practice a back to dorsum walk through of the Winnebago Vista 26HE and the Winnebago Vista 27N (or really any other Vista) y'all'll see a huge difference. The 26HE has no factory options, it uses gelcoat instead of real paint, the interior products are all about upkeep; this specific floorplan was built to compete with other class "A" and "C" crossover RVs like the ACE, FR3, Pursuit, etc. You'll find a huge quality departure between the 26HE and Winnebago's normal RV quality. Later doing a back to back walk through you can see where they skimp on in order to save the $20,000+. You'll begin to understand what'due south left out in order to reach such an bonny price, then you can have this knowledge to other mfrs and models.

"Nosotros won't service yous" scare tactic

We were pressured with this sales tactic in Dallas when we purchased our first RV and we've had other friends tell us the same. When you lot tell a dealership "I can buy this RV for $8,000 less in another state" they may tell you something along the lines of "If you don't purchase it here nosotros won't service you." This is a crummy scare tactic used by some salespeople, and while they tin can refuse service to anyone should they choose to, it'southward non in the dealerships best interest to do then because the service center makes a lot of money with repairs. The good news is even if yous buy your RV from another dealership at that place is likely another mfr. certified service center nearby, and if you plan to travel total-time so it's really non a trouble because y'all'll be visiting service locations all effectually (or preferably visiting the factory service centers). Another unsettling tactic is the promise "we'll give you lot better service if y'all buy from us", another untruth nosotros often hear, service is service and the service center operates separately from the sales centre, and oftentimes times the service guys dislike the sales guys for making unrealistic promises like these. In many cases you can await to receive ZERO aid from your salesperson once you've purchased your RV. When we were having major issues with our start RV I attempted to contact my sales guy multiple times and his best answer was "I wish I could do something to aid, but I'm sure service will have intendance of yous"…how virtually that for a "screw you" from my sales guy? Not Cool human being, not cool.

If it'south bankrupt don't fix information technology

Some dealerships won't accept an RV from the Mfr. unless it's fully repaired and functioning. Other dealerships volition go out things broken till a customer purchases the RV and at that point they volition put the brand new motorhome into service earlier they let y'all to take it habitation. Recently we've heard of a few dealers that send all incoming RVs through a "PDI (Pre Deliver Inspection) location" which seems similar a good fix to the standard RV issues. We took a bout of the Behemothic RV PDI center in Rancho Cucamonga and the managing director at that place said the number i priority of the facility is to exam, service and set all incoming RVs to be in meridian quality before putting them on the sales floor. If you're visiting a dealer that doesn't do an incoming PDI brand sure you requite the Mfr. a restriction considering it'due south not necessarily their fault the RV y'all're walking through has cabinets falling off because it hasn't been repaired from delivery or the recent RV show.

Postal service Buy Walk-through

Many dealers will rush y'all through the process, and at this point y'all're and so overwhelmed you can't ho-hum them downwards. Brand sure you schedule your RV option up in the AM then you tin can sit down in their lot and soak it all in. Tell the technician to give you an hour or two minimum in the morning, then break for dejeuner, come up back to the RV by yourself, so follow upwardly with the tech again before they shut. An fifty-fifty improve plan (if available) is on camping overnight to test everything on-site, many RV dealerships accept full hook-ups on location and will allow you to stay for a nighttime or two while yous piece of work out all the initial bugs. Make certain you request this Earlier you sign the papers, otherwise they may want yous outta their hair ASAP after the purchase.

Quality vs. Price

Obviously information technology's a delicate rest to hit your personal budget. I mention the Thor ACE and the Vista 26HE above, if you need a RV that sleeps 4-6 people for the occasional weekend trip/tailgating/party railroad vehicle you might be perfectly happy with one of these selections. If you plan to go full-fourth dimension you may want to think about something put together a petty more solidly like a Bounder or a "non HE" Vista. In that location'southward also a drastic quality and price departure for each model level upgrade: check out our video where nosotros compare the Excursion vs Discovery.

Direct-upward Lies

We have witnessed many blunt, bold faced lies while walking through new RVs: "Those are dual pane windows", "no that fridge doesn't demand a lock and won't come open while driving down the road because of the vacuum seal", "All the slideout bug were stock-still when they added a tertiary rail", "No, you don't need a special license to buy this size RV", "The four batteries will concluding y'all a calendar week, no trouble before y'all'll demand to plug in"; we could continue and on most the crazy things we've heard merely we'll spare you. The thing to keep in mind is always do your enquiry and do not rely on your salesperson to know everything. We've met a few knowledgeable and helpful salespeople, sadly just non as frequently equally the latter.

The buyer knows more than than the salesman

RVs change every bit often as a infant'south diaper, so at that place is a good chance you lot'll know more details, specs and features about your favorite RV than the salesman. It's difficult to understand at showtime but the more we're around the RV industry the more we can relate with the salespeople. Give your salesman a petty slack here, every mfr puts their inverter in a different location, batteries can vary from one to 8 and tank sizes are all over the map depending on make, model, floorplan, etc. Granted when y'all're because dropping $200k on a new rig information technology'd be overnice to experience similar your salesperson was fully educated, but that'southward pretty rare.

buying an RV

A few other items to consider

Depreciation – When we sold Windy, our Monaco Vesta, she was 3 years onetime, had 32,000 miles on her, and had been lived in nearly full-time with 2 cats. She was in fine shape with average wear and tear. Nosotros sold her for about $100,000, that's half off the MSRP. Considering we got her for around 30% off nosotros only lost 20% over 3 years. Some people might say that'southward horrible, merely I say what's the depreciation on a family trip or rent on an flat? It's 100%! We experience if y'all desire to travel Northward America there's not a better, more than comfortable, more affordable way to practise it.
RV Loans – Many RV loans are treated similar a home loan with 15-30 year payoffs. I tin can't say what your loan will be, only with our first RV we got a loan on a $100,000 coach and paid nearly $900 per month. Talk to a CPA before y'all purchase an RV as there are many tax benefits to owning a motorhome.
Shipping Miles – Unlike a new car, most new motorhomes won't have "0" miles when yous purchase them. When they're shipped they're typically driven from the mfr (well-nigh are made in Indiana) so they could have a couple thousand miles on them before they even make it to the dealership. Your warranty should start at the mileage you lot purchase the RV, non at zippo; for instance if the warranty for your RV is x,000 miles and you buy a RV new with two,000 miles, your warranty should comprehend you till 12,000 miles on the odometer. Make sure you confirm with your dealer (and double bank check your paperwork).
Never Enough Battery Power – The RV industry is notorious for under supplying the battery bank of an RV, so don't expect your RV will concluding more than 12-24 hours without plugging in. This is a hurting because if you desire to wild camp you'll need to add together more batteries (or solar/generator), but the mfr. rarely leaves enough room to install more batteries, so y'all may have to supervene upon all your batteries with lithium to fit in the tight spaces or AGM because you can put them indoors. Currently there's simply a small portion of the RV population that wants to dry camp (co-ordinate to Mfr. studies), so until more than people need more batteries don't expect a alter anytime before long.
Dead Battery Situation – the more than times your batteries are tuckered the shorter their lifespan. Dealerships are not specially expert at keeping the batteries charged while the RVs are sitting on the lot. I cannot tell you how many RV's nosotros've walked into on the lot, at RV shows, etc. where the batteries are completely expressionless…so dead the generator has to be cranked using the "aux power" from the chassis batteries. Then consider this your fair warning: Don't expect your batteries to last as long, or be equally powerful equally the bombardment manufacturer suggests!
GoRVing and RVIA – Every RV that's manufactured and sold with the RVIA seal has to pay a 'fee' to RVIA, it's like the parent industry of all RVing. GoRVing is the public confront of RVIA and they are supposed to be providing inspiration, education and spreading the discussion about RVing to the full general public. GoRVing has a multi-1000000 dollar budget each year and nigh RVers and Manufacturers alike wish they provided more than information to the buyer. Their site is worth a visit but don't look to gain a great understanding or do whatever 'real' research on selecting RVs.

Where else tin can you turn to for assistance?

In that location are a lot of smashing websites and blogs out at that place with a ton of helpful data. If yous oasis't visited our RV'in folio yet, delight do. So check out all of these links to our favorite RV Resourceswhere we list everything from helpful blogs to membership programs.

Delight know we're not saying all salespeople are bad and we're not proverb the manufacture is out to 'get you', information technology really boils down to years of the same practices. Sure the majority of sales stories we hear are negative, but we've also spoken with some people that had an amazing purchasing experience, so there'southward a run a risk you may have i likewise. We're not trying to frighten you, we just feel it's our duty to share our experiences (practiced and bad) to help yous set up for the mean solar day you lot walk into that dealership looking to fulfill your dreams of travel.

The skillful news: Finding the perfect rig and the purchasing process is the most difficult part of RVing, in one case you're on the road everything else is smoothen sailing…until y'all breakdown (hopefully a rare occasion), but that'southward another article entirely!

Please share some of your RV shopping tips and stories in the comments beneath. The main purpose of our site is to inform and inspire newbies, part-timers, long-timers and first-timers so share away and let'southward make this crazy procedure a petty bit easier on everyone…who knows perchance we can eventually outcome a modify in the way RVs are sold!

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Disclaimer – Nosotros're non trying to tell you we know everything or have experienced information technology all, nosotros're simply providing our personal experience to help equip you with the knowledge that may assistance cut through some of the crap, and detect that perfect new (or used) RV. These are all our opinions, nobody paid for u.s. to write this (I think that's pretty obvious) and this is an entertainment site so do your own enquiry and skillful luck out at that place!