New or Used

[JudyB]

We are in the process of selling our home and want to go full time RVing. The Montana is our first choice. Can anyone tell me pros and cons of buying used or new?

Judy B

[1retired06]

You could write a book on this, but similiar to new vs used car purchase. Sort of a bottom line response, my perspective:

New Pro: everything new and under warranty, you can order exactly what you want. Cons: most expensive, likely punch downs and initial problems to work through.

Used Pro: Lots of one and two year old units out there because buyers either find they do not use, dont like RVing, or want to move to a larger unit. Less expensive as initial owner has already eaten the depreciation costs, and most likely but not always, has worked through all the initial glitches. Some excellent buys out there price wise. Cons: Warranty probably done, extended warranty purchase may be desired, careful inspection by a professional required to ensure wear and tear conditions, care and maintenance history, and that the unit is not being dumped because of past problems, ie frame damage, serious flex issues etc. You may not find exactly what you want if you ordered new.

Montana fivers hold up well, so price is the big factor, everything brand new against potential maintenance issues with an older unit.

[Drifty1]

Judy, we bought or 2002 3295K used. We were lucky to fine a nice used model on Craig's List. The wife likes the rear kitchen model so had to wait a while for one to show up. We have not any problems to date and made a few upgrades over the past few years. I feel that I would buy used again but need to go over the unit to make sure you have an idea of any problems the have come up on these models. This site is great for researching the known problems like tires or things that can go wrong with the hydraulic units. Good luck in your search and hope to see you down the road in the future..

[JudyB]

1retired06

Thanks for your perspective. I do not understand fivers? Knew to this lingo. JudyB

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

Fivers, 5ers, 5th wheel, Fifth wheel, All one and the same.

Lingo. Will get cha every time! LOL

TV = Tow vehicle, NOT the telie.

Welcome and enjoy your full timing.

[davidaf]

Fivers = Fifth Wheel.
If I can find it used i'll usually buy used but no point in getting something that isn't "right" just to save a few bucks. We bought new this time as we couldn't find one used that we liked. Styles change and if the interior doesn't meet the wifes taste there's no point in saving the cash. We have bought used before w/o issue you just need to be a bit more careful since there is no factory or dealer to hold accountable.

[Art-n-Marge]

I bought new... For a trailer I should have bought used, now. Lesson learned. The bad news is that buying used means you better have someone along who knows trailers very well to make sure you get a better one. Even then, many problems can't be seen, but experienced.

I bought new because I didn't know much and the dealer gave me a pretty good (PDI), (Pre-Delivery Inspection). In my case it was a (Post-Delivery Inspection), they told me how everything worked AFTER I bought the rig. A Pre Delivery Inspection is supposed to show you problems BEFORE you buy it.

If you've never trailered before, then I'd recommend new for the warranty. I happen to dislike warranties because when things go wrong, you don't get the repair time back. In my rig, the fridge crapped out 2 months later and it took almost 2 months to get it fixed - they didn't extend my warranty the two months it was in the shop. I now to my own repairs and most maintenance.

If you live in it learn as much as you can to do your own repairs and maintenance. This will save you tons of money. You'll find that when "RV" is attached to any product or service, the price will be way higher than the same thing for a S&B (sticks and bricks) home OR a vehicle. Fortunately, Forums like this one are a BIG help - just keep the anger down.

FYI - You'll get more trailer with a 5er than a bumper pull because with 5ers being carried over the axle, the very same TV will have a higher 5er tow rating than a bumper rating. Start with the truck first, then this will dictate how much trailer you can tow. And, you'll be dissapointed by the weight ratings. For example, my Truck is rated to tow 15,300, but I can never get there. The explanation is a whole other topic.

[Mrs. CountryGuy]

I have to disagree. Find the trailer/5er you want to live in FIRST.

Then buy the truck you need to tote it around!

That or buy the biggest and baddest truck you can FIRST, then, it does not matter what you tote, cause you will have ENOUGH truck.

Nothing worse than having the trailer of your dreams and NOT enough truck. Been there, done that, stinks!

[Tom S.]

Consider asking if anyone here lives near you and would mind looking at any unit you are thinking about purchasing. A 10 or 20 minute inspection by some of the more knowledgeable folks here could point out things you wouldn't have noticed or known about. Some problems can be expected, and folded into the negotiated price, while others might want to make you run away.

[DQDick]

X2 on help from a forum member. Another option that's out the is buying a unit that is from a previous year but still new. Our's is a 2010 purchased when the 2012's were already out. If your going to full time you have to love your floor plan, but you also going to be traveling so you can buy from any dealer. Find what you want and then search nationally for the best deal.

[chieflawdawg]

We lucked out and found a six month old new/used 2013 model. Saved between $20-$30K off new price. Wasn't the exact model that we were looking for, but it is still under warranty and had every option that we wanted on one. Will probably keep for a year or two and then trade up on the one that the DW (darling wife) wants. And we should have some pretty good equity in this one. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

You might find a good deal on a couple year old ones from some MOC members. Seems like several that I know have ordered 2014 Big Sky's . Right guys? Lol

[Rondo]

We bought our Monte used. It was own by a friend and they were getting out of the larger units and going to a REALLY small unit(a teardrop unit) that they tow with their van or car. We got a really good deal and have been happy with what we have but are looking for another used unit but MAY consider a new unit IF we can find the right unit that we can live with. We still own our sticks and bricks(house) --in fact two of them-- and we have wintered down South the last two years and hope that continues for us for many years to come! Like Carol has stated- find the unit you like first then find yourself a TV(tow vehicle) that will handle that Montana of your choice. Much easier to upgrade a TV than down grade the unit to be towed!

[Art-n-Marge]

Ooops, Carol is correct. The correct advice for trailering is to find a trailer first, then find the truck to meet those needs. Don't rely on the documents, go by the scales (certainly don't ask the seller - they'll say anything to get the thing sold). I bought my truck AFTER the trailer and I was still wrong. You can't always fix the truck so avoid a second truck purchase and buy more truck than you need. Especially for full-timing.

[h2ojocky]

New or used is a matter of preference. I bought used from Craig's List, actually it was on the lot at Camping World. I bought a 2005 2955RL just earlier this year. It was like new. Not sure this 5er was ever used. Remember that listed prices are just that. I bought my used Montana for way less than the listed price. I used this forum for info on what to look for and took the PDI (pre delivery inspection) with me when I went to buy, so I knew what to look for. Good luck with whatever choice you make. Remember that some dealers will say anything to make the sale. Do your homework first!

[K0LCB]

A wise friend told me to buy the biggest rig I could afford, then get a truck big enough. He also said as soon as I buy one, I will find something I like better.

[mamestra]

I would vote for buying used, maximum a couple of years old, as others have mentioned by then most of the problems have been dealt with by the original owner. We purchased this one new and had warrantee work that tied it up for over 4 months and it still isn't right, I would also recommend buying extended warrantee as everything that needs to be repaired is much mores expensive than a normal house. Just go to camping world and look at the price of an RV frig and compare that to one for a house to get an idea of what it costs to replace RV appliances, plus the labor at most shops is over $100.00 an hour.

[dsprik]

x3 on the help from a MOCer. Our very first RV was this one. One full year on this forum was invaluable. Then Richfaa did an extraordinary job of driving a long ways to help us with our PDI. If you can find an MOCer like him, you will have a lot less problems going forward.

[seahunter]

First, welcome Judy.

I have three recommendations.

If you go with a Montana, the only SAFE way to tow that much weight is with a one-ton (350 or 3500) dual rear wheel pickup. The dual rear wheel has enough payload (weight you can put in the bed) which in this case is the weight of the front of the trailer that sits in the pickup bed.

Second, if you are willing to deal, I think you can get as close or as good a price on new as you can on a year or two old used unit, and you will get EVERYTHING you want in your new trailer.

For example, our trailer had a MSRP of over $100,000 close to $105,000 if I remember correctly. However, we only ended up paying just under $65,000 which is right at about 40% off of MSRP. If buying new, you should be able to get that much off, or negotiate other add-ons you want thrown in, but expect to pay more for the trailer if they comp some add-ons.

If you get the right price on the trailer, you should limit a good portion of the "drive off the lot" depreciation there is. In fact if I book out our trailer a year and a half in, I still get a much higher value than what we paid.

One upgrade you will see almost everyone agrees on are the tires. The standard tires for a Montana are not good quality and are not suitable for safe towing in my opinion.

[dsprik]

also another suggestion is to find another (or two, three, etc) MOCers that are looking to buy in a certain area and approach an agreeed upon dealer with a deal where all of you will buy from that one dealership if the prices are right. That's what we did. Worked well.

[jlb27537]

Hello Judy,

I have to fully concur with seahunter, on the tow vehicle. The drivers of the 250/350 singe wheel trucks with larger trailers are most certainly over their GVWR or GAWR. They have no safety reserve. Yes, they will tow them, but you will find they have to add air bags to make the overloaded rear of the truck sit level.

Before you sign on the dotted line, have the dealer or person you are buying from take it to the scales. Find out what it weighs and since you are going to full time, add 3,000lbs to that weight to see if the rig can carry that weight. Safely.

Others have mentioned discounts on new rigs. I got over 41% off list. Once you settle on a floorplan, there are list price forms available and you can do your own math.

Buying used. Often the owner financed the rig. They have it priced asking for their loan pay off. I found this to be true when I tried to buy this last spring. I went with a 2014 when most dealers were still trying to close out their 2013's. The 2014 was less money for the same options.

Since you are first time owners, unless you have someone to thoroughly check out a used rig, pay the $3-500 for the inspection by someone NOT from the dealership or a friend of the owner, new might be a better option.

You might also check out Escapees RV Club and their forum. They are all about fulltimming. They are having a rally in Indiana where you can go the "boot camp" Also there is a Montana Rally in the same area. Lots of good face to face stuff there.

Remember, WEIGH IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT.....

Jim