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As was mentioned above I too look at the trailer as a money sink not as an investment or something that will hold its value.
Yep. But memories do last a lifetime. Now for those folks that are fortunate to be able to keep their TT at home for ease of maintenance, you'll get your money worth using it as a 'man cave', I do! I couldn't afford to put down cement but was able to put down gravel plus no cover No complaints here and there's always room for improvements!
We just went thru this when we upgraded our 5th wheel in the spring. Looked at new first but the prices are crazy and most of the new ones were bigger than we wanted. Ended up buying an 8 year old one that is like new inside, a little sun faded on the outside but it was less than half the price of a new one. Sold the old one privately. A 5 to 8 year old trailer will not depreciate much if you change your mind a few years down the road. It did take a couple of months of checking Kijiji every day before I found the one I wanted at a price I wanted to pay, but in the end it was well worth it. If you buy used from a dealer haggle like crazy because they seem to be overpriced here in Alberta.
Agreed, they are far too expensive. I've considered driving down to the states to pick one up and bring it home. Don't think it's as hard to bring a trailer into Canada compared to a vehicle.
I bought mine in 2016, got about 8 trips in it so far, and after next year plan to list it for sale as we will more than likely need more than two bunks as the kids are about to be too big for the Futon. Since I keep mine in like new condition, I should have no problem getting top dollar for it, plus I store it in the barn during winter, and maintain the roof properly. I also have the AC going all summer to keep it dry inside. Nothing worse than a moldy smelling trailer.
i have NEVER traded in any vehicle or RV because you'll always lose.
have always sold them privately.
i've asked for trade-in value numerous times and always been given a ridiculous and unacceptable trade-in value.
This. In a moment of weakness I was looking at used mid-sized trucks and thinking about trading my F150(loaded lariat 502A maxtow, etc) with 30-40k miles and they were offering me less than what the cloth interior Frontiers, Colorados, etc were going for that were maybe a year or two newer.
Then they would have turned around and sold my truck for 10k more than they paid me. This was the reason i didnt buy a used F150 in the first place, because ones with less than 50k miles were too close in price to the new ones once you factored in rebates and what not.
Agreed, they are far too expensive. I've considered driving down to the states to pick one up and bring it home. Don't think it's as hard to bring a trailer into Canada compared to a vehicle.
As someone who "imported" a Canadian boat and trailer into the states, you need to be sure the VIN stickers says meets Transport Canada Specs. Long story short, my boat trailer said Transport Canada, but not US DOT, so I took it to a place in Richmond, BC and they verified it met US DOT specs and made me a new VIN label.
One bit of trivia about trading in, normally you only pay the tax on the difference between your trade in and the sale price, so you could save some going that route.
If you want to buy new, we discovered that the dealers are far more willing than car dealers to discount when the new models come out. Travel trailers take up a lot more space than cars. Last summer we waited for the 2018s to come out in September, and were able to get our new 2017 trailer for $14,999. MSRP was 23k, and most places were offering them discounted to $16-18k.
If you want to buy new, we discovered that the dealers are far more willing than car dealers to discount when the new models come out. Travel trailers take up a lot more space than cars. Last summer we waited for the 2018s to come out in September, and were able to get our new 2017 trailer for $14,999. MSRP was 23k, and most places were offering them discounted to $16-18k.
Generally, most can get a discount somewhere from 10-20% off, especially when they are trying to move last years model. I got about 15% in Sept of 16' when we got ours.
I usually sell stuff on craigslist but in this case I didnt want to deal with a bunch of nitpickers and not get much more than what I would get on trading it in.
2 years ago I bought a 2011 Rockwood Ultralite 2604 rear living floorplan. Its 29ft total from tongue to rear. We have used it until about 2 mos ago. It had some delamination on the front driver side window and water was starting to come in the bedroom. Also the awning was ripping, the shower was leaking but not terribly bad. What did it for me was leaking from the delamination and I decided to trade it in. They gave me 9k on trading it in sight unseen. I thought they would offer me less because of the condition it was in.
I bought a 2019 Grand Design Reflection 297rsts. 34ft total from tongue to rear. MSRP was 47200 and I got them down to 33842 before my 9k trade in. It was paid off. I went back to the same dealer that sold me the first one. I ended up financing $26500+3100(extended warranty)OTD after trade in and my payments are only 263 a month. I found out that they sold my old trailer for 14k. Even though they made no profit on my new one, they still made money on my trade. I'm not against any business making money as long as they give me a fair price. I could have sold it for 10-11k as it sits but again I didn't want to get nitpickers timewasters and not having their financing ready since it was paid off. So I felt it was better off to off it for them to deal with it.
In your case since your trailer is 30 yrs old, you're better off selling it because no bank will not finance a 30 yr old trailer. You'll get rid of it.
Here are some pics of my new and old trailer
Out with the old. Last pics taken the same day when it got hauled to the dealer.
08-14-2018, 10:27 AM
I couldn't afford to put down cement but was able to put down gravel plus no cover 
No complaints here and there's always room for improvements!
