The Camper’s Guide to Buying a New Home on Wheels: 5 Tips to Find the RV of Your Dreams on RV Trader

Traveling in the 21st century can be described as rewarding, adventurous and fulfilling — but when it comes down to it, traveling can also be expensive, exhausting, and chaotic. Packing, airport hopping and moving between various hotels can be a hassle that takes away from your travel experience and lessens your ability to enjoy yourself on your trip.

Whether you are planning to be a weekend warrior, a full-timer or just use your RV to check out the best tailgating events across the country — RVing in your own unit can redefine your travel experience, giving you the freedom to roam with your own personal hospitality suite right behind the wheel.

But the idea of purchasing an RV can be overwhelming in and of itself — so RV Trader has put together the resources and tools you need to research, plan for, select and purchase the RV best fitted for your budget and lifestyle. No more running from dealership to dealership to figure out what will work — we’ve got you covered. And with all the extra time you’ll save, you can start dreaming about and planning your next big travel adventure.

We can’t stress the importance of determining a budget before you begin browsing units. Just like when you plan for purchasing a home, you don’t want to tour a house, fall completely head over heels for it — only to find out it’s $75,000 over your budget.

Whether you’re making the purchase on your own or need to discuss what you’re willing to spend with a partner or family member, take some time to sit down, research, and develop a plan for your target price range. That way, you’re as prepared as possible to compare features, amenities, and prices when the time comes.

A few budgeting and planning tips we like to give our users:

• Use our nifty Price Checker to determine an estimated price for the model you like — so you can be wary of whether dealers are overcharging for a model, or undercharging — in which case, there may be damage or production flaws in the unit.

• Understand your payment options. One big advantage of buying a unit through a dealership, rather than a private seller, is access to financing. To understand what your payments would be, take advantage of our useful loan calculator to get a full understand of how this unit will fit into your budget.

• Think about insurance early and often. When you come up with your budget, there’s nothing worse than finding out insurance costs put your dream vehicle out of reach.

• Estimate shipping rates with our convenient shipping calculator. If you do decide to ship a unit from across the country, you don’t want to be caught off-guard with a $5k shipping fee.

• Make sure you understand what warranties are available. Again, this is a reason to check out your local dealership for your next unit. Dealerships offer warranties that will protect you as you head out on your next adventure.

After you’ve decided on a budget, it’s time to choose what type of RV will best fit into your life considering how you plan to use your RV. We’ve outline the 11 primary types of RVs to help narrow down which models are best for you to consider.

• Class A – Large living space with luxurious amenities
  • Sleeps: Up to 6
  • Average New Unit Cost: $58,000 – $400,000

• Class B – Also known as “van campers” since they are driven like large vans
  • Sleeps: Up to 4
  • Average New Unit Cost: $41,000 – $74,000

• Class C – Luxurious amenities with useful sleeping space over the cab
  • Sleeps: Up to 8
  • Average New Unit Cost: $48,000 – $140,000

• Pop Up – Conveniently foldable for lightweight towing; comfy ‘outdoor camping’ feel
  • Sleeps: Up to 8
  • Average New Unit Cost: $4,000 – $13,000

• Travel Trailer – Offers a healthy variety of size and floor plan options
  • Sleeps: Up to 10
  • Average New Unit Cost: $8,000 – $65,000

• Fifth Wheel – A two-level floor plan that comes with plenty of room and is towed behind a pickup truck
  • Sleeps: Up to 6
  • Average New Unit Cost: $13,000 – $100,000

• Toy Hauler – Incredibly useful and affordable considering the amount of extra space they provided for motorcycles, ATVs or other powersports vehicles
  • Sleeps: Up to 8
  • Average New Unit Cost: $21,000 – $58,000

As you are searching RV Trader, check NADA Guides to see what their estimation tool says for the value of a used unit.

 

 

 

With RV Trader’s handy star and save feature, you can easily bookmark your favorite listings for comparison later. No more opening 10 tabs at a time to compare campers!

Once you save a listing, we can also send you a notification when the price drops on it and share other units that might work for your budget and lifestyle.

 

Step 4: Decide on a Dealership. 

 

 

Sometimes, multiple dealerships in your area may be offering the same models for similar prices. All of the dealers on RV Trader dealers provide a great buying experience — but check for the special ‘Trusted Partner’ badge next to their name. These dealers have been working with RV Trader for 5, 10 or even longer and have become known to us as trusted partners.

 

Happy RVing, folks!

Be sure to tag us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #rvtradernation when you are on the road. We can’t wait to see where your adventure takes you.