You have decided to buy an RV. Great, we love that idea but there are few things you should know before you head down to take your first look.
Create a Must-have list
Ask yourself what you must have. Is a full bathroom important or is a composting toilet and a sink enough. Do you need a residential full-sized refrigerator or do a mini frig and a cooler fit your needs. Often your must-have list isn't met but the camper your viewing is so beautiful and the right price that your thinking of buying it. My advice is to stay true to your must-have list. RVing is about relaxing and enjoying the community. You don't want to be in a new camper and already planning on what you want in your next one.
Be realistic on how you are going to use your camper.
Decide how you are going to use the camper. Are you going to grab the kids and dogs and head down to the lake? Then you will need a place for the kids to sleep preferably without taking the dining room table apart if that is in your price range. I'll
admit sleeping in a small camper with kids bundled in sleeping bags on the floor is still more comfortable than sleeping on the ground. In our family of five "kids" older than 16, sleeping in their own tents was more desired than sleeping in the camper but we did need a place to gather to get out of the weather, prepare a meal and take a shower. When we first went camper shopping I was looking for a camper that sleeps nine. After some discussion with my Husband's Mom, who RV's full time, we realized our kids were too old to want to stay with us. The youngest being 16 at the time. We began to look at rear kitchen layouts that allowed us room to prepare meals and gather around a table. Getting advice from more experienced campers and the RV community is helpful. It's important to ask yourself how you will use the camper regularly, then find a layout that meets your needs.
Buy for the long term
Camper's depreciate a great deal. Our camper salesman told us that if we didn't plan to keep our camper for 10 years we should trade it in two to three years as soon as the value was more than the financing. He was completely wrong about this. Our loan for our first camper was five years and we were upside down almost the whole time and trade-in value was a quarter of what we paid for it. Depreciation drops four times a year for campers. Keep this in mind when you are shopping.
Know your hauler
One of the most important items that you need to know before you go camper or fifth wheel shopping is the towing capacity of your hauler. Our first camper was 7000 lbs. We drove a Ford Explorer. The RV dealership looked up our vehicle and told us that our Explorer would tow the camper fine. We believed him. When we went to have the hitch installed the installer informed us that our Explorer would not tow the camper we just
bought. We were lucky to also own a commercial Ford E250 Van but my advice is to look up your tow weights and do the math before you shop. Please see our website at c2crvliving.com for tips on how to find your tow weight.
Determine the Age range of your camper
Due to the depreciation on campers, buying a used camper may be a good alternative to get into your first RV. However, keep in mind that most seasonal sites and some RV resorts require your RV to be less than 10 years old. Hiring an inspector will also save you money in the long run as they can identify the repairs you will need before safely going down the road. If you plan to finance your purchase the best interest rates are only available on campers less than 5 years old. Most RV dealerships will tell you this is not true but once you sit down with the finance people it is true every time.
We hope this list will inspire you to take a few moments to write down what you really need to look for in a camper. This should be one of the most fun and relaxing hobbies you will ever have.
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