I bought used - my lessons learned

[Baldy]

I purchased a used 2016 Keystone Bullet 272BHS in March 2021 from a local dealer (0ur first RV). We just completed our 3rd shake down outing. I thought I would share what I've experienced to date in case it would help someone in their purchase decision making process.

If you want to skip to the bottom line, we are happy with our camper but don't assume anything when you purchase.

Tires: The Trailer King tires looked good but had a 2015 build date. Our first trip was to Discount Tire for new Goodyear Endurance tires. We negotiated a price for this when considering this unit.

Wheel Bearings: I asked the dealer if they checked the condition of bearings before selling a used unit. They were vague in answering. At the tire shop I found out we had the EZ Lube axles. I was determined to pull the hubs and pack the bearings. Upon disassembly The EZ Lubes never had seen grease. The seals were installed with some adhesive and needed a hammer and chisel to remove. Otherwise, it was a normal bearing pack.

Brake adjustment: This is a painfully necessary process and my unit came without the auto adjusters. No way these brakes had ever been adjusted. The adjusters were stuck at the minimum setting. Took my time to get this right.

Battery: I was told that the trailer would come with a good battery. Upon close inspection post purchase, it was a 2015 build and "worked" long enough to get the trailer hooked up. Purchased a new one from Costco.

Tongue Jack: It would intermittently not work. I thought this was related to the battery. Trouble shooting revealed it was a bad ground. Ran a dedicated ground wire and all is good. But I did make sure I had the emergency socket and a crank handle just in case.

Black Water Tank: Before we make the first camping trip, we opened the dump on all the tanks. We had never used the toilet. I put a 5 gallon bucked of water in there and also hooked up the flush. Yikes! We got all kinds of brown solids out. Figured the tank would be empty when we bought it.

Roof: I looked at the roof a long time using a stair ladder (like they use at home depot) and I was satisfied there were no major issues. Of course the first time my buddy looked at it using my step ladder we found concerns. Add a tube of self leveling sealant to your "must have" purchases.

Mattress: I've seen many complaints about mattresses, but we found ours acceptable. We purchased two full sized 3 inch memory foam toppers for the bunks and the jack knife couch. They were a weird size but you can easily cut the foam with an electric knife. The results were positive. Our family guests are ready to sleep on them again.

Smoke - CO detectors: during our purchase walk through the tech recommended we check the batteries. Well, when we did one unit had missing guts and the other was already dead. Can't believe a dealer would sell a unit w/o the life safety devices working!

Propane: I checked all the comfort systems at the dealer, but decided to turn on the furnace at the storage yard. It stared, but then quit and would not re-light. The propane tank was empty! I was told we got two 20 lb containers with the purchase. Of course you have to take the mounting all off to "feel" if they are full, so I skipped this.

Refrigerator: It works, but just know it needs to run about 24 hours to really be useable. Have a good cooler ready to take along as well

Accessories: You need more stuff to make the camper useable. We declined the $100 quick start package at the dealer and bought our own items. They include (but not limited to) water hose and pressure reducer, wheel chocks, sewer hose, and electrical system EMS. This site has lots of great information if you take the time to do a search and read the posts.

Summary: we knew we would have a few repairs and upgrades to make this our own; it is a used unit and most of these items have been minor. I just wanted to pass along my "surprises" related to the purchasing process for your reading pleasure.

I feel we got a fair deal our Bullet, and I would return to the dealer in the future. I've learned this industry is sure different than buying a car or even a house. You will be well served to do some research before proceeding.

Happy travels, Baldy.

[chuckster57]

Old battery, outdated tires, no brake/bearing service is more common than you think. I personally would cross that dealership off my list if I needed any work.

I’m glad you enjoy your trailer and are happy with it, but I wouldn’t hesitate to spread the word about a dealership that engages in this kind of behavior.

[Gegrad]

Especially good call on checking the tires and negotiating the price on those before you bought. Those tires were definitely asking to grenade on themselves fairly soon.

[Ken / Claudia]

My first RV purchase was a used unit in 1988 and went about the same. As I recall propane tank was empty and outdated, refer would not light on gas, heater was missing the knob to turn on/off. I am betting even if your next rv is new, you will be prepared to check everything out and have the dealer fix or replace stuff before you give them your money.

[Weldon]

We bought a '17 early last year and had no big complaints other than him letting me pull away without a wdh. Still dont. But the more I read, i realize we may have been the exception.

[GordKey22]

We bought our 2018 Hideout last year. Second owner.

Watching the tires closely, will be checking the bearings before the next trip.
I have to find the brake adjustment procedure.

A few minor items that I have adjusted or will be modifying to suit.

I did find a couple of small things that should have been a "quality control" thing but they are minor and I can eliminate them with no problems.

[Campermike]

Kind of funny with your list... my selling dealer nailed most of the issues you had but missed some others I had to fix... Mine(purchased pre-covid) had great nearly new tires, bearrings recently serviced and full of grease, propane full as advertised, all tanks emptied and clean etc. No battery was included so they couldn't fail that! The problem "missed" that annoyed me the most was a leaky storage compartment... that was a pain to figure out and fix... and the leaking A/C seal which they had to have known.. they replaced the table top that was ruined by water... from that leak! It also had a dent in the roof that doesn't leak and I am not fixing (my bad for not looking prior to purchase though.. I would have negotiated $$ off for that)

My opinion is you should expect some amount of work on a used unit... do your best to find the issues before but usually something pops up.

[flybouy]

Like everything it depends on the dealer, buying new or used. If they sell used in "as is" condition then I would assume they did nothing to it, other than maybe washing it. If they are selling it with some sort of warranty then I'd suspect they at leasted looked atbit and maybe fixed what needed fixing. With that said, if you are buying it in warm weather check out the furnance. Allways take your time and do a thurough inspection. If the dealer tries to rush you in that process then it's time to walk away.

[notanlines]

I don't find that the smoke alarms and CO alarms not working to be acceptable in the least. I think Chuckster is on the money. Glad you took the time to write a lengthy and informative post. There are many out there who will benefit from it.

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by notanlines

I don't find that the smoke alarms and CO alarms not working to be acceptable in the least. I think Chuckster is on the money. Glad you took the time to write a lengthy and informative post. There are many out there who will benefit from it.

Smoke alarms, LP and CO detectors are considered “safety” items and the dealership is required by law to have working, non out dated detectors in the RV.

[GHen]

That was a very through review of a lot of common items. It should be of great value for anyone buying a used RV, well done.

When I first started reading, I thought I was going to hear about leaking roof and windows, rotted floors, refer needed replacement, axels were bent, bed bugs, mice droppings in drawers, leaking propane lines, delaminated walls and other really bad stuff.

Congratulations, looks like you will have a nice rig after your maintenance items are done.

[dutchmensport]

Your issues sounds pretty typical for any RV / camper. Even a brand new one will have some of these same problems (maybe not a full black tank) but many of the same issues.

You identified many of the most basic items that have to be constantly checked, examined, repaired, maintained. You did well! Someone else might have never thought to check these types of things and found themselves in a real jam in a very short while. So, you did good here!

[DeniseJ]

Welcome to the joys of Rv-ing!! We bought a brand new 36' Keystone and you don't even want to know what we've had to put in it in our 1st year!!! The fun never stops!! It's like highway robbery, they produce crap and charge a ton of money. They built them literally with spit and glue. I think they hire the cheapest cost employees to manufacture them, and they have no idea of what they're doing. Yet they want $60,000 for the rig!!! No pride for their products. Shame on them all!

[Hballer21]

Having had an RV for the past 17+ years, many of my friends have asked me about ownership nightmares that they have heard about.

I truly believe that you have to be able to fix things to be a “happy camper”. Those that cannot have nightmarish stories about being abused or ignored by the dealerships. Stories of months of being in the shop are not uncommon. The more I read in the forums, the more I affirm this belief.

You, fortunately are one of the knowledgeable group. As are most of the helpers on this forum.

It’s sad that an industry is this neglected by regulation. These vehicles, when poorly maintained can injure or kill like a car or truck. Cars and trucks are scrutinized, while RVs are not. Imagine, like your brakes that were never adjusted, a new car came off the line and nobody checked the brakes.

Ok, I’m done with my rant. Have a great day!

[apachewolf]

We bought our 2015 Keystone Laredo brand new in 2015. This is our 4th trailer. The dealer spent time on getting it ready and than wanted a $ 1000.00 for a PDI. I told them to shove it. First trip out I sat on the bench in the slide and suddenly I was down 12”. The bench had collapsed. Next the fridge was not working. Returned to the dealer a 150 mile run. They than replaced the fridge and repaired the bench. Off we went this time on a much shorter trip to see if there were other problems. There were. The fridge still did not work. So I decided to inspect the work myself. Turns out that Keystone had forgotten to cut the hole in the roof for the top fridge vent and the dealer had not noticed that either. Back to the dealer. They cut the hole and the fridge now worked. Off to the first place we were at in Mesa AZ. Second day there the bench again collapsed. This time I completely tore it out and replaced it by 2 chairs we bought locally. The wood I “donated” to the campgrounds wood work shop. Other than the screws falling out that holds the cabinet doors and a large bolt working its way thru the floor we have been spared for any major problems. I did replace the “Trailer King Tires” with Carlisle tires and everything has been fine there. We did have to have the coupling on the A-frame replaced as it would not either lock and if we got it locked it would not release. I feel with those who have run into problems, serious or less serious. We tried to have Keystone pay for the spoiled food in the fridge due to their mistake they offered us $ 20.00 when we had over a hundred dollars worth plus the trip back to the dealer etc. I gave up which is probably what they expected would happen. Would I buy from them again? Who knows, there are not many other choices.
Hope this can help others in their search for an RV.

Happy camping.

[B-O-B'03]

Originally Posted by apachewolf

... and a large bolt working its way thru the floor...

After we got home from our Colorado trip, last summer, I noticed a bulge in the floor. Last week I cut around it and found a large, phillips head, screw had come up, so I screwed it back down, filled the hole with Goop and pressed the little piece of vinyl back down. That seems to have done the trick, unless you know where to look, the repair is almost invisible.

-Brian

[lewy64]

if i were to buy a used unit, i would hire one of the nationwide inspection companies to check it out first. I bought new so didnt need one.

[wiredgeorge]

Originally Posted by lewy64

if i were to buy a used unit, i would hire one of the nationwide inspection companies to check it out first. I bought new so didnt need one.

Based on the comments from owners who have purchased new from a dealer a nationwide inspection company (independent) would be a great first step. Too many new owners are new to RVing and don't catch any of the zillion things which seem to plague new campers these days. A used camper? Well, I bet most of the major issues had been resolved prior hopefully and just might be less chance of failures. That is my most humble opinion.

[apachewolf]

Originally Posted by B-O-B'03

After we got home from our Colorado trip, last summer, I noticed a bulge in the floor. Last week I cut around it and found a large, phillips head, screw had come up, so I screwed it back down, filled the hole with Goop and pressed the little piece of vinyl back down. That seems to have done the trick, unless you know where to look, the repair is almost invisible.

-Brian

That's how mine showed up. I did the same, cut a cross across the head of what turned out to be a phillips head bolt, forced some silicone glue down on top after screwing it all the way down, pressing the vinyl floor covering down onto it and yes it is barely visible.

Happy camping.