Did you order or buy off the lot?

[D2Reid]

I'm in the ordered one group. Full timing and wintering at ski resorts creates a couple of problems that aren't in the usual and customary categories. There weren't many options available in 2017, but dual pane windows and heat pump/ac unit where two that I knew we would want. We had slide toppers on our last 5th wheel so they got added. Generator for sure. Having had the decals on the old 5th wheel get really ugly we popped for the custom paint.

We looked at about 5 376TH's before we were ready to pull the trigger. None of them had dual pane windows. Only one had custom paint. None had slide toppers. 4 had a generator.

But then we are in it for the long haul. We had been on the road 6 years at that point and we couldn't see stopping, another 6 years? Maybe 10. Maybe 20.

There are no right answers only decisions to be made.

[traveldawg]

Maybe I'm odd, but if I found one with all of the boxes checked for +$5000 than I'm on that like flies on a steaming pile of fresh poo.

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From one Larry to another..... I'm right there with you. If you know what you want and you see it - get it!

[Ynot4me2]

Get what you want at the price you want (within reason on the price point). Regardless if it's a tt, 5ther, TV, bike, ATV, boat..... this is your hard earned cash. Dont settle for any less then what you want.

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[Second Chance]

The first time (2015) we purchased one off the lot. We didn't get everything we wanted but we were happy enough - and we were in a hurry since the house sold out from under us. This last time, we ordered, got everything we wanted and are even happier. If you have the time and want something different than what the dealers have in stock, order it the way you want it.

Rob

[orbiker]

We wheeled and dealed after looking at the 376TH multiple times. We decided on the 374TH because we liked the lighter colored blinds / vers the black blinds in the 376TH. Plus we did not need the the generator or the fuel station.
The sales guys came up with their offer of a 374TH that was in the WA dealership. We told them we would think about in and walked. We went home and looked at the web site for RV Country. I think they have 7 properties. Their Fresno Dealership had a 2018 374TH-R. It was marked down lower then our offer from Coburg, Oregon. We told them the next day that we wanted that one and saved another $4,000.00. They transported the rig from CA for free.

The only options we would have liked were not available then. Disc brakes and MORryde IS.
KEN

[Richter]

Whatever you do, buy your last unit first! Think about what you want and wait for it. If that means shopping around, looking and waiting until you find what you want, do it. If that means ordering it, because your needs/wants are probably not going to be what a dealer would order for a lot sale, order it. But whatever, “Plan Ahea........duh”. Don’t be caught up in the moment and have to have something NOW. These are not appreciating investments, they are depreciating expenses, much more like a car than a house. From the moment you take it off the lot, it will be worth less and less. Why go through the pain and suffering of seeing your hard earned money go out the window when you trade up and buy something else, because you settled for less than what you really wanted?

When you take the time to buy what you want, you should be much more satisfied in the long run. Don’t be one of the “Buy now, upgrade later” crowd. That can be a foolish waste of valuable funds. Most of us don’t have a limitless stockpile of cash.

We took about a year from when we seriously decided that it was what we wanted to do until we pulled the trigger. That was a year of looking at a variety of models and floor plans, visiting multiple dealerships, and getting past the initial phase of falling in love with all of the shiny glitz and bells and whistles. We went to three RV shows to look at the variety of options available.

Once we decided what we wanted, we began to shop price, then ordered it from the factory. We had decided on the second air (from the factory, not dealer installed), dining table and chairs and, most important, dual pane glass.

We couldn’t be happier with the end result, and plan to keep this trailer for the long haul, not trade in/up because we settled for what was available at the moment.

Your call, your money, just wanted to express my opinion.

[traveldawg]

Whatever you do, buy your last unit first! .......

Except for this statement, I agree with everything Tom and Janice said.

I have a neighbor who was new to RVing. He said that like boats, he was buying his last RV first and that was that. He got a HUGE Entegra Cornerstone Class A (like the size of an oil tanker I think). He went away for the summer and came back with a brand new 36' Entegra Class A. He went away for the summer again and came home with a brand new oil tanker again - another 4X' Entegra Cornerstone. He even bought a new house so it would fit better in the garage. (kind of wish I had some of that $$$$)

I guess he did by his last camper first - and then his lastest camper. Oh wait - he is away again - so stay tuned for this year's purchase....

Most of us go through growing up with these things and changing as our needs change. We're on our 6th RV in the past 32 years (do the math). So I'm not much of a believer in "buying your last one first". Sure - search, don't be patient or impulsive, get what you need (not want) and then, when things change, change things.

btw.... I do have a rant someplace on this site about being impulsive and buying what is on the lot because of the immediate gratification so many seem be in search of these days.

[DaveMatthewsBand]

As we get closer to retirement and a purchase and have been looking at 5th wheels the past month, there are some 2020 left-overs of the 5th wheels we have centered in on. Seems they all come with a standard set of 'options' which is OK. Probably not exactly how I would order one. Just curious which direction others have gone.

If you can actually find exactly what you’re looking for in a used model then sure go ahead and buy used.

All the used models we found with a floor plan we liked smelled funky and almost everything we looked at had a dinette or a bunkhouse which are completely useless for us.

We loved the 220RK model but we wanted the dual pane window option and there were none in the state of Texas.

I got in touch with Grand Design and they could only find three that were built with this option and they were all sold to Canadians.

So we ordered a new 220RK with this option. This was November of 2017. We paid I think $32k and it’s only 27 feet long.

If we had been looking for a weekend camper we never would’ve spent this kind of money. We probably would’ve bought a 10-year-old rig.

But since we were purchasing this RV to be our home for full timing we wanted something we would be comfortable in for several years.

It arrived 45 days later and I spent the next 4 months and another $15,000 installing my own mods and upgrades to make it our home.


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[Knightclimber]

I researched for two years before buying. I visited many, many dealerships and looked at everything. Drove my wife nuts. The more I looked the more sure I was that I wanted a Grand design. I checked with a local dealership and saw that they had a 310-GK of the prior years model. They were selling out of all the current year models and as people have mentioned, people are hesitant to get one that has sat on the lot. I picked over the 310 and looked for any signs of leaks, damage or anything concerning. They offered a price I couldn’t refuse. I told them I would have to think about it and did more research at home for about a week and we decided to get it. I personally am VERY happy I bought off the lot after reading the horror stories of people who ordered one and had nothing but issues that would have been obvious on a walk through prior to buying. I was able to crawl all over and under mine before even making an offer. Got all the features I wanted for less than some used units were listed other places. I also went with the idea of buying my last RV first. I didn’t want to be buying another one later. We also are planning on going full time when I retire in a few years.

[Boatlady]

We ordered our 2600 RB on June 25th and are still waiting, we ordered from LazyDays Tampa. We have moved from our 40' boat (summer home in CT) so we have everything in the garage here in Florida ready to move into the trailer...what a mess....LOL. Good luck with your new unit.