Hideout 303BHS 5th wheel

[Cjrodriguez31]

Hello all,

I know how helpful forums can be so I want peoples opinions. I’m looking at a 2019 Keystone Hideout 303BHS at an RV dealership. The RV presents okay outside but the inside it needs work. For a 2019, all four tires are dry rotted, the doors don’t close (Inside doors) cabinets are broken off, couch is missing along with the entire overhead cabinetry in the bedroom. All that shows is wiring and various other issues cosmetically. The rv dealer has $1,100 processing fee and then an $800 charge to go through the RV like roof seals, pressure tests but not slide outs. I did test them and all seems okay and no water damage. It’s listed for $23,981 but due to the condition what are your opinions?

Salesman was nice and seemed like if I took it as is they would lower the price. Any help with a ball park estimate is helpful. Thank you!

[Don77]

That is a lot of work to bring it back to a usable trailer Imo.
I would not pay anywhere near $23k for it and I have repaired 1 trailer that was not as bad as that, and when I was done with could not get what I had in after 1 year of use!
Just mt 2c.

Don

[wiredgeorge]

With their add-on fees they are over low retail per JD Power. Since the camper needs tires and many repairs, I would move on. What is your tow vehicle? Tongue weight of that camper is over 2600 lbs and with you, your family and the hitch you are looking at over 3300 lbs payload. Look at the yellow/white placard in your driver door frame and see if you have adequate payload. Last, tires and repairs will end up costing quite a bit and the doors not shutting would scare me that the frame is tweeked. I personally would look elsewhere and btw: MOST SALESMEN ARE NICE GUYS and their job is to sell you so anything said is to be taken with a grain of salt.

[jasin1]

If i was shopping for used id look for a good deal from a private party…get pre approved from your bank or credit union (or pay cash) and look in a couple hundred mile radius and you will likely find something…hire a rv inspector to look it over if your unsure of what to look for.

Buying used from an rv dealer only makes sense if you need to finance thru them.. it seems you barely get a decent warranty on a new one so i can’t see what warranty the dealer would offer on a used unit …they lowball someone on a trade…look over the roof for water damage..throw a couple of china bomb tires on it….give it a inspection certificate …barely anything else and double the price or more and stick it back on the lot…maybe 30 days limited warranty ??

if you buy from a private party you have a better chance of getting more for your money and may find extras like full body paint or solar setups from someone who may just want to get rid of it quickly…better to negotiate with a private individual rather then a professional rv salesman who is used to playing hardball

[cougar23]

Move on. Look elsewhere!

[Gary R.]

I agree--run, don't walk, away from this one!

You will likely get a much better deal going with a private party sale.

And, welcome to the forum!

[NH_Bulldog]

That’s a lot of work for a relatively newer model. My 2019 looks as good as it did when I bought it new and we use it alot!

For what it’s worth that Hideout model evolved into the Cougar 32BHS with a few extras which can be had brand new with all the latest features for about $20k more than that beat-up unit. A quick search shows a number of clean, very lightly used Cougars at decent prices. Forest River also has a similar Cherokee Arctic Wolf 321BH even less than the Cougar (although not as nice in my opinion).

I would pass in that one and keep looking

[JRTJH]

I agree with all of the above comments recommending that you "pass on this good buy as defined by the salesman"....

Why ??

1. The Hideout fifth wheel line "WAS" one of two "entry level fifth wheel lines" (Springdale was the other) and both were built as cheaply as possible, furnished and fitted with the lowest priced equipment available (to keep the MSRP as low as possible) and were built using only limited "state of the art components".

2. The Hideout and Springdale fifth wheel lines are no longer being produced. This makes the trailer you're considering a "dinosaur" which means parts and supplies to repair/rebuild may no longer be available. This will increase the cost of any "rebuild" should you need to reconfigure/modify other components to install the new parts to substitute for the no longer available parts.

3. Resale, when you trade or try to sell this trailer in the future, will be more difficult and the price you can charge will not be as great as it would be if Keystone were still building the Hideout Fifth Wheel line.

4. The price of this unit, you said, is $23,981. That trailer, when new, had a MSRP of around $42,000 and probably sold for 25% off that price, or around $31,000. Assuming a 20% depreciation when purchased (around 6300) and then yearly depreciation of 5% (1600 per year), you would be looking at around 5 years of around 8000 plus that initial 6300, or a total depreciation of around 14,500 from that sales price of 31000. That comes to a "real value" for the trailer of around 16000. Give yourself a 10% range +/- and you're looking at a value of around 14500-18000. That's for a trailer in "good condition with reasonable wear/tear".

5. A trailer with "gutted interior", worn/dry rotted tires and with an "unknown roof membrane, potential water damage, unknown suspension/axles/brakes/bearings, unknown landing gear, unknown pinbox and chassis damage as well as unknown appliance condition, you'd really be "stretching the envelope" to even consider a used value of almost $24000.

This is, possibly, a trailer taken in trade without a proper dealer inspection. Dealers routinely offer "sight unseen trade in value" and sometimes the dealer gets caught in a bad trade quote. If that's what happened here, then the dealer is possibly trying to get as much as they can out of a trailer that otherwise would either be sold at auction or liquidated for well below wholesale value.

Like others have said, RUN (don't walk) away from this "pig in a poke".....

[Cjrodriguez31]

I can’t thank you guys enough for the detailed information. It’s truly appreciated on my end and I’m going to pass on the trailer. Heres the picture of the headliner by the way

My previous trailer was an 02 Jayco Designer Legacy. I instantly noticed a difference walking into the hideout vs my old fifth wheel.

Thank you all again

[Camping family]

I would pass for that much you can find one that is livable