Well, The DW and I have been researching TC's now for a good year. After the initial recovery from sticker shock, we were dead set on purchasing used. But as prospective first-time TC'rs and after reading many of the horror stories, we realized it would behoove us to avoid the "used blues" and buy new. Anyhow.....
We have our sights set on a Wolf Creek 850. The camper in question is a 2011 model located in AZ. It is new BUT.... it's been sitting on the lot since summer of 2010 in the Arizona heat, uncovered. How do I know that it hasn't become like the floor model refrigerator that everyone touches and messes with and "test" drives? People opening/closing every conceivable thing over and over again for the last 2 years, not to mention the rooftop/weather factor.
A lot can can happen to an RV, sitting on a lot for 2 years right? Or am I being unreasonable? I just don't want to get suckered into purchasing a seemingly new camper that has been sitting for 2 years, only to drive it home and denied warranty service from a local dealer because I didn't purchase it from them.
Edit:
Since I live in So. Cal., and decently priced Wolf Creek's are kinda hard to come by, the only dealers with "our" price tag are all out of state. The local dealers are asking as much as $5-7K over the dealer in AZ. For that kind of savings, that's a drive I'm willing to make.
I purchased a brand new condition, never used, pre-owned TC that had sat for 2 years. I had checked out everything at the time of purchase for the obvious items and had the seller pre-cool the fridge. Things that I ended up needing to change as it was not evident was:
the 2 batteries (they read good voltage, but could not survive the winter.)
The auto-change LP regulator. Apparently the internals took a "set position" from sitting and not being used.
The LP pigtails from the tanks to the regulator. There must have been a collapse inside these.
I was able to fire up the water heater briefly to determine that it was working before needing to replace the LP components. The AC worked as well as all the other items. Because of the great deal I got on the price I did not mind replacing the above stated items.
2005 Dodge 3500 SRW, Qcab long bed, NV-6500, diesel, 4WD, Helwig, 9000XL,
Nitto 285/70/17 Terra Grapplers, Honda eu3000Is, custom overload spring perch spacers.
2008 NorthStar Arrow short bed.
We bought a 2011 unit this yr as well. We were concerned about leaks and missing caulk etc. We checked the unit over as best we could at the dealer, but as you will find, there will be things you miss from excitement and being hurried.
The appliances are covered by warranty from the date of purchase, so that should worry you less.
As long as you go in with lots of knowledge, and a checklist, it's a good start. Hopefully, your dealer gets good reviews and will take care of you. Our TC was rarely shown, as they just don't sell well here in WI (so our dealer said).
Good luck with your purchase and enjoy your choice. Just realize, nothing is 100% perfect, there will be glitches...and if there isn't count yourself lucky!
2011 Adventurer 910FBS,Torklift tie downs,Fastguns & Wobbl-stopprs
2012 Dodge 3500 DRW 6.7L CTD, 4x4, LB,CC,6 speed auto,3.73 axle, General 17" on/off road
2008 Lund 1825 Explorer Sport,115 Merc,9.9 kicker,Torklift Super Hitch,42" Supertruss
USAF ret E-9&E-7
We bought a 2010 model after it had been sitting on the dealer's lot for over a year. Got a good deal on it. Everything worked and was checked out prior to leaving dealer's lot. Well worth the drive to pick up and saved quite a bit of money.
I went recently prior to purchasing my Wolfcreek 850 and looked at "new" units that other people had been looking at. I noticed lots of scratches, scuff marks etc inside. About the roof the WolfCreek 850 comes standard with a TPO roof which is supposed to be UV Resistant and have a very good warranty on it.
However I would double check the caulking and possibly have the dealer fix prior to delivery. See if it flakes off in any areas, it's a seamless roof on top so there should only be caulking around the roof vents, fridge vent, bathroom skylight and then the corner trim around the outer edge of the camper.
I ran into the same issue locally with the dealers want 5-7k higher than what I could order one for. So I pocketed the 5-7k custom ordered what I want and actually got a ton more options for the price of what a standard unit locally would be. Build time to custom order was only two months, just depends on when your order is put in if you go that route.
I highly recommend Apache Camping, they took care of me. They have stores in Washington and Oregon. Base unit was around 15,900 when I ordered mine in Jan of this year.
As far as warrenty work any "authorized" Northwood repair shops wont deny a claim, however they will (atleast up here) put you in the least of their priorities and take care of local purchasers first. I had multiple dealers tell me this prior to ordering mine. Again, I am up in Alaska so I don't know how exactly busy dealers are down there. Ours up here stay busy all year long.
2008 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD 6.0, 3.73, Firestone Air Bags, CCSB LTZ
My wife and I were actually going to buy one of those units you are talking about. It's Many Trails RV, in Prescott right? We called and set up to go purchase the more "loaded" unit and told them we had cash, even asked if they accepted a personal check. Well, low and behold the NEXT MORNING (not even 24 hours after the discussion) they raised the price on the two units by $500 each. That soured us on the deal and we ended up buying a Lance from Galaxy in Ontario, CA. We didn't even call them to notify them that we weren't coming. Just dropped them cold. This was back in April and we saw them raise the price by $1,000 each before lowering them back down to what you are seeing now.
All of this is to say, watch out for these guys. They seemed to jack the price up when they thought they had a buyer. Ask for the price in writing before going out there.
2011 Ford F-350 4x4 Regular Cab 6.2
2012 Lance 850
RZAR66 wrote: My wife and I were actually going to buy one of those units you are talking about. It's Many Trails RV, in Prescott right? We called and set up to go purchase the more "loaded" unit and told them we had cash, even asked if they accepted a personal check. Well, low and behold the NEXT MORNING (not even 24 hours after the discussion) they raised the price on the two units by $500 each. That soured us on the deal and we ended up buying a Lance from Galaxy in Ontario, CA. We didn't even call them to notify them that we weren't coming. Just dropped them cold. This was back in April and we saw them raise the price by $1,000 each before lowering them back down to what you are seeing now.
All of this is to say, watch out for these guys. They seemed to jack the price up when they thought they had a buyer. Ask for the price in writing before going out there.
Wait. If you didn't call them back, how did you know what they were going to charge you?
RZAR66 wrote: My wife and I were actually going to buy one of those units you are talking about. It's Many Trails RV, in Prescott right? We called and set up to go purchase the more "loaded" unit and told them we had cash, even asked if they accepted a personal check. Well, low and behold the NEXT MORNING (not even 24 hours after the discussion) they raised the price on the two units by $500 each. That soured us on the deal and we ended up buying a Lance from Galaxy in Ontario, CA. We didn't even call them to notify them that we weren't coming. Just dropped them cold. This was back in April and we saw them raise the price by $1,000 each before lowering them back down to what you are seeing now.
All of this is to say, watch out for these guys. They seemed to jack the price up when they thought they had a buyer. Ask for the price in writing before going out there.
Wait. If you didn't call them back, how did you know what they were going to charge you?
A few days before we were going to go up there I checked their website to confirm the address and time they opened so I could map out directions for the long trip. That's when I saw the price increase, the day after we told them we were going to drive all the way there to buy it.
RZAR66 wrote: My wife and I were actually going to buy one of those units you are talking about. It's Many Trails RV, in Prescott right? We called and set up to go purchase the more "loaded" unit and told them we had cash, even asked if they accepted a personal check. Well, low and behold the NEXT MORNING (not even 24 hours after the discussion) they raised the price on the two units by $500 each. That soured us on the deal and we ended up buying a Lance from Galaxy in Ontario, CA. We didn't even call them to notify them that we weren't coming. Just dropped them cold. This was back in April and we saw them raise the price by $1,000 each before lowering them back down to what you are seeing now.
All of this is to say, watch out for these guys. They seemed to jack the price up when they thought they had a buyer. Ask for the price in writing before going out there.
Wait. If you didn't call them back, how did you know what they were going to charge you?
A few days before we were going to go up there I checked their website to confirm the address and time they opened so I could map out directions for the long trip. That's when I saw the price increase, the day after we told them we were going to drive all the way there to buy it.
More likely they were seeing if anyone else would pay more...or just coincidence that they raised them then. If you had called, most places would honor the price you saw when you told them you wanted to buy.
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