Buying too much rig, skipping the roof inspection, financing without shopping the rate, and four more mistakes that cost first-time buyers real money.
Tony Marchetti
Tony Used Campers, Detroit
We have delivered close to two thousand campers since 2009, and the first-time buyers who come back to trade in tell us the same stories every time. None of these mistakes are stupid. They are all the kind of thing that only becomes obvious after the money is spent.
The couple who wanted the bunkhouse for grandkids who visit twice a year. The couple who bought a 35-foot fifth wheel for state parks with 30-foot pads. The floorplan has to match your actual calendar — if you camp six weekends a season at Michigan state parks, a 24-foot travel trailer with a dry weight your half-ton can pull is the better camper, every time.
Check three numbers before you fall for anything: your truck's payload capacity, its max tow rating, and the trailer's tongue weight. Cargo payload includes the people, the gear and the tongue weight pressing down on the hitch. A half-ton rated for 9,600 lb of towing can bottom out on payload with a heavy trailer once two adults and a cooler are loaded.
We will not sell you a unit your vehicle cannot legally and safely pull. Bring your door-jamb sticker when you come.
Anyone can polish an interior. Water damage hides behind panels. We covered the full inspection sequence in our used RV inspection checklist, but the short version: get on the roof, feel the decking, pull the valances, check for delamination. If the seller says no to a roof walk, the search is over.
Storage, insurance, registration, winterization and campground fees are real money — we broke it into actual numbers in the true cost of owning an RV. Buyers who only budget the payment find out in year one that the camper costs 30 to 40 percent more than the sticker to keep.
The dealer's lender is one option, not the default. Credit unions in Michigan routinely beat dealer rates on RV loans, especially on used units where dealer paper runs higher. Get a pre-approval before you shop — it turns the finance desk into a comparison instead of a negotiation, and it tells you your real budget.
While you are at it: run the payment on a shorter term than you think. Seven-year loans on used campers put owners underwater past the point where they can trade, which is how people end up stuck with a unit they no longer use.
Delivery day is when the unit gets set up by people who know it, and you are standing there. Run every system on shore power. Run the generator if it has one. Cycle the slides both ways. Light every burner. Flush the toilet. Fill the tank and check under the sinks. Every question you have costs nothing that day and a service call later.
Our 120-point inspection report goes to every buyer before payment. Read it. Ask about every line marked repaired — and every line marked noted. A used camper with a transparent report is not a risk; a used camper with no report is one.
Come in with your tow vehicle's payload sticker, your credit union's pre-approval, and an honest count of how many weekends a year you actually camp. Three pieces of information, and you will make a better decision than most people make on their second camper.
Every unit on the lot passes a 120-point inspection, and you get the report before you pay anything. See what's in stock today.
