The last three summers we have been able to borrow my in-inlaws hi-low travel trailer. It is basically a hard sided pop up camper. They traded it in recently, and bought a brand new 2014 huge travel trailer. My husband and I decided it was time to buy our own, gently used one. We started shopping, pretty much blind in Aug. of 2013. We went, on a whim, to a local dealership and met a great salesman. We knew already what we needed and wanted to suit our family of four. Camping for three summers in the small hi-low taught us , by fire, what our family wanted.
Our must haves included: a bunkhouse travel trailer, not a fifth wheel. It had to sleep eight people. It had to have a slide out, it gives you more living space. It also had to be around eight thousand dollars. That was the first check list. I'm frugal, to say the least, some including myself call me cheap! Already knowing the type of camper we wanted before setting foot in a dealership made the selection process of style easier.{ I will list some tips at the end of this post}. We wanted an outdoor shower, its basically a sprayer outside the camper. It also had to be under 2006 year model. We knew already we were going to finance the camper, so the newer the better because of the loan value. That first trip to the dealership found us exactly what we were looking for. The price was right, met all of our requirements, and we decided to go for it.... Then we changed our minds and decided to wait! Why wait, you may wonder? We knew we didn't want two car notes and a camper note at the same time. During those six months of waiting, I was able to do my homework even more. I read review after review, scoured forums, and worked our budget. I learned about good camper builders, what features were truly important to our family, and exactly how much we could afford, after paying off our truck.
During the six months I was still in contact via Facebook with our sales guy. He's become our friend and sold my in-laws their new camper. We liked him that much to send him customers, and they liked him as well. I would shoot him random messages asking questions about brands and if this one or that one was ideal for us. We also, because of my research upped the budget to twelve thousand dollars. In the camper world, for what we wanted, that's not a very high number. For our tight budget, it was the highest we could go. {You can buy other great campers for a lot cheaper, but since we wanted a bunkhouse, our budget needed to go up} January 1, 2014 I emailed our sales person. I gave him our list of must haves, and our absolute max budget including the special hitch the large campers need. I also told him that we wouldn't be purchasing until after our income taxes arrived and we paid off our truck. I was very surprised when I got a message on Fri. Jan. 24, 2014 that our dream camper would be arriving in on trade the very next day. Sight unseen the dealership could take a deposit down and we could pick it up when my husband returned from a work trip two weeks later. Well, that didn't happen! I was hesitant to give the small deposit sight unseen, and convinced my husband that we needed to drive the hour to go look at the camper before paying any money. In the craziness that was preppping him for a ten day work trip, we went to look at the camper. Our salesman had informed us that this had to be a quick deal because we were first in a line of over twenty customers wanting the same camper for the same budget. I believed him too and didn't think for a minute we were being fed a line of slick salesman crap.
When we arrived to the dealership, the camper was still hooked up to the tow vehicle that brought it there! We went inside, looked around, went outside, literally kicked the tires, and bought it on the spot. From time of arrival to signing the paperwork was no more than fifteen minutes. It seemed a bit anti-climatic after all the months of prep we did gearing up for purchase.
In the end we purchased a 2006, Keystone Hornet. It's 31 ft. long, quad bunk beds in the back, huge slide out, pull out couch, queen bed up front. It has beautiful interior and looks barely used. It came in a few thousand UNDER budget too! For me that was the best part! I live for haggling on major purchases, and I didn't have to haggle one bit on this one. I only had to make one compromise. It doesn't have the outdoor shower sprayer I wanted. In turn I got 4 bunk beds in the back, to me it was worth the extra beds.
We truly had a wonderful experience purchasing our like new camper. Southaven RV in Southaven, MS is THE place to go. Ask for Sean.
My family and I can't wait to get to the campground this summer and see what adventures await us. We're so glad we waited to purchase because God seriously had other plans for us in that six months. My husband ended up quitting his old job, which means we would have had to sell the other one because we couldn't afford the note then. We also don't feel like we bought the first one we saw, even though the deal happened so fast. We did wait until it was the right camper and right time. I prayed a lot about this and feel so blessed it worked out the way it did.
TIPS:
1. Decide if purchasing a camper is worth it to your family. How much will you use it?
2. Go to a dealership and look around. You might not know what you want until you set foot in the right type.
3. Determine what type you want/need. If you won't use it much but still want a camper, maybe a pop up is right for you. If you plan to be road dawgs and go every chance you can, then get something bigger and nicer.
4. Figure out your budget. Do you want to pay cash for one? How much would you be willing to spend per month on a note? If you don't have a tow veh. figure in the cost of purchase as well.
5. How old is too old? Higher end brands like Keystone, and Air stream hold their value pretty well and last for years. You might be better off buying a used higher end one than a brand new one that's not so well manufactured.
6. Consider your family. Are you going to have more kids? Plan to take all your kids buddies? Are your kids willing to share a bed or do they want their own space?
8. Be willing to both wait and not settle, and also be ready to jump when the right one falls in your lap
9. RESEARCH RESEARCH RESEARCH! I knew from all my googling that an older Keystone brand was much better than a newer Amerilite.
10. Pray about it., That should be # 1.
To quote my friend who's been supportive and excited this whole time
" The right one will come along, when the time is right!"
Found your blog through the link you posted on the rv.net forum and just wanted to say congratulations! This is such a great hobby and you will be making family memories that will last the rest of your lives.
ReplyDeleteHave fun and safe travels!
Thank you for your kind words! We are truly excited to see what adventures await us. As I've said we're kinda poor, and if we want to take the kids on a vac. every year, camping is the way to go. They enjoy it and so do we.
Delete