In this article on RV buying tips, I’m going to be going to be talking about the when, where and how of buying RVs.

And this is a really good time to be talking about that because RV sales are going through the roof. They are really selling like hotcakes!

So now is a very good time to talk about when you should be buying RVs. About where you should get it, and how you should buy an RV.

Table of Contents

• RV Buying Tips About When To Buy An RV
• The Worst Time To Buy An RV
• RV Buying Tips – Why Anytime Can Be The Right Time
• When To Buy From RV Dealers
• RV Buying Tips – Where Should You Buy An RV?
• Your Mission When Shopping For RVs
• Should You Buy From An RV Dealer?
• Should You Buy From A Private Seller?
• RV Buying Tips – Be Watchful And Careful
• RV Buying Tips – How To Buy An RV The Right Way
• How To Use My RV Buying Checklist
• Is A Professional RV Inspection Still Necessary?
• Conclusion

RV Buying Tips About When To Buy An RV

You know a lot of folks out there really have the idea in mind that there is a kind of magical time of year to buy an RV.

And to a large degree there is a good point to be made with that kind of logic.

This is because in the late fall and winter months, it’s the offseason for recreational RV travelers.

Of course, full-timer RVers are still out there all year, but for recreational weekenders this is the offseason.

So you don’t have quite as many people out there vying for the same number of RVs at that time of year. And as a result, the prices can be lower during then.

You’re kind of swimming with the tide, so to speak, when you’re buying in those months. And that is an advantage!

The Worst Time To Buy An RV

But continuing with our theme of RV buying tips, when is the worst time to buy an RV? Well, the worst time to buy is the time when everybody else seems to want to buy.

And that is usually during the spring and summer. That’s often the time when the demand is high and therefore prices are up.

So there’s a lot of folks that think that you really should only buy an RV during the offseason.

But I don’t necessarily subscribe to that entirely. I think that it’s true that you’re swimming with the tide when you do that.

But personally I’ve noticed that you can get great deals on RVs almost any time of year. You just have to maybe look a little bit harder in the spring and summer months.

RV Buying Tips – Why Anytime Can Be The Right Time

Now let’s talk a little bit about that. About why it’s true that you can get a good price any time of year.

Well, when we are talking about private owners, they have circumstances that can change pretty much any time. And then they need to get rid of their RV.

It could be because the RV is kind of a drag on them financially, or possibly for other reasons.

But whatever the reason is, they feel that they need to sell their RV and maybe even quickly.

And that can happen any time of year. As a result, you can benefit from that situation, if you’re alert and you’re looking for those opportunities.

When To Buy From RV Dealers

Now if you’re shopping dealers instead, they have to move inventory. That’s just the way the business works for RV dealers.

They have to move those RVs off their lot. So if they have to move a certain number of RVs in a certain time period, well then you can benefit by getting lower prices.

Also, keep in mind that dealers often make sales projections every month for their sales staff. They project that they are going to sell so many units by the end of the month.

And suppose it’s getting close to the end of the month and they haven’t quite gotten in the groove yet. So they aren’t close to their projected sales numbers.

What typically happens? Well, they’re going to make some deals to get those units out the door quickly.

At any rate, shopping an RV dealer at the end of the month is often your best chance to get a good deal.

And that can happen any month of the year. So in my opinion, yes, there are certain times of year that maybe it’s a little bit easier to buy RVs.

But honestly, if you are diligent about it, you can find a pretty good deal almost any time of year. Especially if you just are willing to do a little work to find those kind of deals.

RV Buying Tips – Where Should You Buy An RV?

So the next question is where you should you buy an RV? And again, we get back to the question – should it be at a dealer or should it be from a private owner?

Well first of all, if you are a newer RVer, you should probably go through as many RVs as you possibly can. In fact, I think that there’s no substitute for this!

So in my opinion, that means that you should go to RV dealers to look at RVs. But also go to RV shows too. And go check out private owner RVs as well.

Just do everything in your power to see as many RVs as you possibly can, for one major purpose. And that is gathering as much information about RVs as you can.

Now, when I say go “see” all these RVs, I don’t mean that you just walk in and look around and then leave.

No. Instead you go into every RV with a mission. And that mission is to find out whether this RV is livable for you, or not.

Your Mission When Shopping For RVs

Here are a few more RV buying tips to keep in mind when shopping for RVs:

First up, when you go into each RV, sit in the chairs. Not just one chair either. Sit in all of them!

Then, if there’s a dinette in the RV, sit in it as well. How comfortable will you be eating at that table?

Go back to the bedroom and lay on the bed. See how comfortable that is for you too.

Then go to the bathroom and sit on the toilet. You know, that may sound funny.

But there’s a lot of folks that buy RVs and never looked closely at the size of the bathroom. In fact, they never spent much time in the RV bathroom before the purchase at all.

So don’t make that mistake! Before you buy an RV, go stand in the shower and see if you can move around. Can you fit into that small space relatively comfortably?

If you do things like this as you view prospective RVs, you can find out which ones fit you best. Or which RVs are liveable for you.

And as you do, you’re going to start to figure out what you’re really looking for in an RV.

So I highly recommend that you see as many RVs as possible! And that means dealers, private owners, etc.

Should You Buy From An RV Dealer?

But what are the advantages of buying an RV from a dealer or from a private owner?

Well, there’s a couple of things that dealers can offer you that you probably won’t get other places.

For instance, they’re usually going to provide some kind of warranty on the RVs they sell.

And secondly, they often will have an easy way to finance that RV too. By doing this, they want to be a one-stop-shop and make RV buying very convenient for you.

But bear in mind, that they’re not always offering you the best deal possible for these add-ons. You may need to do a little bit of research on your own to get the best deal on either a warranty or on financing.

But having to do this extra research on your part often takes away from the main benefit of buying from a dealer – the convenience.

Should You Buy From A Private Seller?

On the other hand, private owners usually have one big advantage over dealers. And that is that you’re often going to get lower prices when you buy from a private owner.

Yes, it’s true that you may pay less for the cost of the RV from a private owner. But they’re not going to be able to give you a warranty on the RV in most cases. That is, unless they have a warranty they can transfer to you.

And private owners almost never provide you with any kind of RV financing.

So those are things that are going to cost you more if you want a warranty and financing on the RV you buy. And it’s less convenient to make arrangements for those add-ons when buying from a private owner.

But buying an RV from a private owner can sometimes mean that you get insight into how that RV was maintained. And that can be very good information to have, especially if it is an older RV.

So really, in my opinion, either way to buy is fine. Just understand that with dealers you have some advantages, and with private owners you can have some other advantages.

But there are also some disadvantages each way too!

RV Buying Tips – Be Watchful And Careful

When discussing my RV buying tips for dealers, let me stress an important point. And that is, read the online reviews for each dealer very carefully.

To research RV dealer reviews, I highly recommend searching Google. And that’s because usually there’s a lot of reviews to read and see what people are saying about that dealer.

Of course, you are going to read reviews from some people who are just not happy with anything. And others that are just happy with everything.

But by reading all of the reviews, you can often get a good feel for the overall customer viewpoints about that dealer.

Do they have a good reputation or no? If they have a really bad reputation, maybe you need to skip that dealer. Or at least watch everything they’re doing very carefully.

Also, understand that when you buy from a private seller, most likely it’s going to be an as-is transaction.

So that means you have to be careful and watchful in the buying process. You don’t want to be buying somebody else’s problems!

RV Buying Tips – How To Buy An RV The Right Way

So that leads me to the next point in our RV buying tips – HOW should you buy an RV? We have talked about the when and the where of RV buying. But how should you buy RVs?

Well I have some strong feelings on this and I have released an ebook guide entitled “How To Avoid Buying An RV Money Pit”.

And I really believe that this information is needed in the RV industry right now. In fact, as an RV inspector I see a lot of folks make serious RV buying mistakes.

And if they just knew the information in my ebook, they could have saved themselves a tremendous amount of time, trouble and money in the buying process.

This is because the ebook is going to teach you a few very important things. First of all, it’s going to teach you a step-by-step process for buying RVs.

And that will help you find the RV that’s best for you. This is because there’s a lot of different RV classes, sizes and shapes. And you need to find the RV that fits you and the way you travel best.

Also, the ebook is going to show you how to perform a personal inspection on the RVs that you’re looking at too.

It will explain the things you need to be looking at on each RV and then give you a checklist for going through those things. That way you can avoid buying a rig that has hidden issues.

How To Use My RV Buying Checklist

It will tell you what you need to be looking for as you go through the checklist too. And that way you can make notes as you progress through the checklist.

That’s super important because after you’ve seen a bunch of RVs, it’s hard to remember what was in each one. Or what was good about this one, or bad about that one.

But if you made the notes in the checklist as you went, you have something to fall back on. It will remind you of what you seen in each RV that you have inspected.

And by the way, the inspections that I teach you in the ebook can be done by almost anybody. They are not difficult, technical or hard. But they’re vital to be able to make a good buying decision!

Finally, a big advantage of getting the e-book is that you get access to me personally as well. I’m going to do my best to help you in the buying process.

So as you are going through the RV buying process, most likely you will have questions. And if you bought my ebook, we can get together and talk about your questions.

Is A Professional RV Inspection Still Necessary?

I just want to be sure to help you get an RV that fits you well and is good for your particular situation. And also is a good reliable one, worthy of having a professional inspector give the final seal of approval.

And yes, I still believe in certified RV inspectors coming in for the final approval. But the ebook allows you to avoid having repeated professional inspections on RVs that fail muster.

Instead, it teaches you what to look for to know that an RV is worthy of a final professional inspection.

Anyway, here’s the link to my ebook guide so you can go take a look at what it can offer you in the RV buying process:

Click here for my ebook guide “How To Avoid Buying An RV Money Pit”

Conclusion

So let’s recap the main RV buying tips that I have covered n this article:

• Technically, the best time to buy RVs is in the RV off-season. And the worst time to buy RVs is when the season is going strong.
  
• But good deals on buying RVs can be had anytime if you are willing to do the work.
  
• Before buying anything, make sure that you know the RV fits you and is comfortable to live in. Spend some time in it using the chairs, bathroom features, bed, etc.
  
• The main advantage of buying from dealers is the convenience. They often provide a warranty and financing options.
  
• The main advantage of buying from a private owner is you may be able to save money on the cost of the RV. And you might also be able to get more information about how the RV was maintained.
  
• Good deals can be found by either shopping dealers or private owners. So try to see as many RVs as you can before you buy.
  
• Always check the reviews on RV dealers before making a purchase. Google is a good place to do that.
  
• To learn about the best system I know of to buy an RV, check out my ebook guide and checklist. If you do, I will give you personal assistance in your buying process.

I hope this information will be a big help when you buy your next RV.

Have safe and happy travels everyone!