Tips for selling toy hauler...and truck

[toolittletime]

We are considering selling our 2018 43 ft Carbon 417....bought it new. Trailer is great and have done some suspension improvements and ripped out the Norcold and went with a residential fridge. The only reason for selling is to probably buy a small Class A...something we can maneuver easier into Nat Forest campgrounds. Not getting any younger...The length of the trailer sure cuts down on the available spaces. Truck is a 2018 Ram 4 door diesel dually with 55,000 miles.



Questions??/ suggestions



1. Should I try and sell together as a package?
2. List them together on RV Trader?
3. Take trailer only to a consignment dealer?
4. Sell Truck individually
5. How to go about determining a fair price....would like to move them in a reasonable amount of time.
6. What have you folks done in this situation.


Last resort would be to go to a dealer and try for a trade in....
Thanks all...........Tim

[Canonman]

Here's what I found out just today. We bought our Cougar in September of 2016 for $30k.
I went looking at a Northwood Fox Mountain 235RLS, a slightly smaller 27' 5er. $65k
The dealer had our same year/model Cougar, 279RKS used, on the lot, for $39k.
Based on that, I'm betting you can likely get what you paid for your Carbon and maybe more. Same for your Ram.
We have a regional classified "Marketplace" where a lot of folks list just about anything they want to sell. I've used it both selling and buying. If you have something like this https://classifieds.ksl.com/ in your area, that's the way I'd go. List the Truck, list the Trailer, list the whole package. As for price, you can peruse the sections you're listing in to get some comparables then price according to how quickly you want to them sold.
Once sold, you'll have cash to do some serious shopping.

[bsmith0404]

I’ve sold several trailers for people, some have sold using Facebook Marketplace, others have sold on RV trader. With a 43’ toy hauler your target market is pretty limited, I would bet RV trader is your best bet. Look at other same models that are listed and price yours accordingly. I live in New Mexico and had people from Michigan, Louisiana, Texas, Colorado, and California contact me for some of the trailers I was selling. I have full connections at my house so I hooked everything up and did a video call walk through with interested people.

I would never try to sell a trailer through consignment. The way most dealers work is they agree to a price they’ll give you and they keep anything over that. Then they Jack the price sky high and hope to make a killing. It’s in their best interest to sell their inventory before they sell your trailer because they have financial investments in their inventory, nothing in yours. So it’s sell their own first, unless they can make A LOT off yours.

As for selling as a package deal, you can advertise them individually and together both, but if advertised together, I’d also list the price for each and that you are willing to sell them separately. You don’t want to lose a potential sale because someone only wants one or the other and not both.

[toolittletime]

Thanks for the replies and the good ideas.

[JRTJH]

You said that you're looking to get into a smaller Class A motorhome. If I were you, I'd talk to the dealer where you're planning to buy that motorhome and simply ask them what they're willing to give you in trade. It may be a "laughable, hell no" or they may surprise you with an offer that is tough to refuse.... The only way to know is to ask and you're definitely not bound to accept the offer. It may be a starting point from which you can come to a reasonable price on the open market.

Places like RV Trader, NADA, Craig's List all have similar RV's for sale and those websites may give you an idea of what the going rate for similar rigs might be....

I would caution you that if you're considering selling them separately, I'd be completley "up front" and let any potential buyer know that you will NOT sell the truck until the trailer is sold... Not much is more frustrating than selling the truck for a nice price, only to have the trailer sitting in the yard or in a storage lot with no way to move it, no way to use it, no way to get it home to wash it so you can sell it and no way to buy a truck so you can get rid of the trailer..... Sell the trailer first or sell the complete rig, but hang onto the means to move the trailer until the trailer is sold.....

[bsmith0404]

Also, unless you’re dealing with a company that specializes in and moves a lot of motorhomes like motorhome specialist, many times motorhomes, especially class.A can be hard to move for a dealership that specializes in trailer sales. When I was in sales, we had many that would age. You can get some pretty good deals if you can find an aged unit. The trade value of your TH is more than face value as well since, in most states, you get the sales tax benefit on your trade. On a big ticket item like your TH, that can be quite a chunk of change. Now I will say that aged motorhomes are harder to find since Covid because auto manufacturers focused on car and truck production, not motorhome chassis.

[toolittletime]

Thanks for the ideas......I had already decided to not sell the truck first because of the issues listed above.

I have no dealership in mind for purchasing a class a , since I am looking for a specific model, and what are the chances of that model being near me to get a trade in offer. Guess its possible.
I remember a few years back I was surprised at the trade in offer on a pickup I owned, and did the deal rather than dicker with selling it myself.


I have looked at PPL motorhomes.....they have a Houston location and a New Braunfels location. Both are close enough. They are consignment only, and charge a flat 10 percent fee...any thoughts on using them or a similar company? Doing this they would sell the trailer only, and I would handle the truck.

Tim

[bsmith0404]

Originally Posted by toolittletime

I have looked at PPL motorhomes.....they have a Houston location and a New Braunfels location. Both are close enough. They are consignment only, and charge a flat 10 percent fee...any thoughts on using them or a similar company? Doing this they would sell the trailer only, and I would handle the truck.

Tim

Not that familiar with them, but I’d look at their current inventory. See what they have that is similar to your trailer, and see how long it’s been on the lot. Then I find out how they price their units. 10% isn’t bad, especially if they have a quick turn. People tend to buy from a dealer over a private party, they just get that warm fuzzy thinking they have a dealership behind them if anything goes wrong. It just depends on how fast you need to move it. You’re at that time of year where it could sit for several months as many people aren’t planning any more trips for the year. If you don’t sell it before Jan, it’ll take another hit on book value.

[wiredgeorge]

PPL Motorhomes is the largest consignment dealer in the country. They price units at whatever price the seller dictates. Units that are priced low will sell faster and units that are priced high take longer to move. This is pretty simple stuff. Right now, all units are priced a lot higher than a couple years ago; I am guessing at least 25 to 35 percent more but that is just my empirical observation. They advertise on RV Trader and other places but if you go to their lot they will have the unit you are interested in open and you just wander around and look; no sales person will likely go with you. That is my experience. They will buy your unit outright I believe but you will not get a favorable price. A buy can see a unit they are interested in then sit and wait to talk in the office of one of their sales staff. The buyer can offer any price they like and PPL will take that back to the seller so this isn't a fixed price deal BUT since this doesn't really happen immediately, I am guessing having your best price when listing would make some sense. They charge a good fee for cleaning the unit which they do before taking pictures. Their rating on condition is just cosmetic and not very accurate.