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Old 04-26-2014, 09:00 AM   #1
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Name: kootenai girl
Trailer: 1976 Trillium 1300
British Columbia
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Used trailer prices

Has anyone else noticed how high some of the used trailer prices are this spring. I can't believe the prices some people are asking especially for the Escapes. People are asking the same or more for 6+ year old trailers than they paid new!
Plus the people selling a vintage one for $15000 that hasn't even been cleaned on the outside!
Good luck to them if they can get it but it certainly wouldn't be from me.
I know trailer prices in the spring are high but this is crazy,
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Old 04-26-2014, 10:05 AM   #2
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I had noticed it as well. I'm thinking there may be somewhat of a bubble going on - "downsizing," "glamping," and "vintage" anything being trendy right now. However, as fuel prices and CAFE requirements continue to push more people into smaller vehicles, I suspect the days of decent, ready-to-use, sub-$5K eggs are passing! Glad I bought one when I did.

If I were in the market, I wouldn't lose hope. It will just take more patience. You have to be in the right place at the right time.

The upside is that if the current popularity holds, it could attract new manufacturers to the market (as it did in the 70's). That is good for innovation and, eventually, prices.
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Old 04-26-2014, 10:08 AM   #3
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I think Jon nailed it. Makes sense.
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Old 04-26-2014, 10:34 AM   #4
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Trailer: 2006 Escape 17 B Raven and a Pearl
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Even if you get a used one fairly reasonable a few major renos and you can get your investment up to the 5 k mark pretty easy.

i dont expect to get all i have invested back when i sell but iam hoping to get some of it

i got treated pretty fairly when i purchased the new escape and i hope my buyer feels the same when they get Pearl
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Old 04-26-2014, 10:46 AM   #5
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Trailer: 17b Escape
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What I find strange is when the sellers either don't take pictures of their trailer or take blurred and out of focus pictures of the very trailer they're trying to sell.
I go to www.fiberglass-rv-4sale.com every day to check on prices and to see what's out there for sale and time and time again I see the same thing. Oh well, to each their own.
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Old 04-26-2014, 10:58 AM   #6
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I agree with you Alan. Those who rescue these excellent old trailers and put the time and energy into bringing them up-to-date structurally, mechanically, and aesthetically deserve a reasonable return on their investment. As you say, rarely a full return, but something anyway.

What I am seeing more this year than in the past, and what I think the OP was getting at, are flippers who do nothing or add superficial, cosmetic updates without addressing structural or mechanical problems, and market them as "vintage" with a premium price.

"Not all that glitters is gold," as one of the senior members wisely quotes.
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Old 04-26-2014, 11:25 AM   #7
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J Mac, don't know which would make me more suspicious: no/bad pictures (could just be technical unsophistication) or artfully staged, perhaps photoshopped, images (what are they hiding?). In the end, there's no substitute for an inspection at first hand!
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Old 04-26-2014, 11:56 AM   #8
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We are also seeing some economic recovery. 09, 10 and 11 were great yrs to buy used boats, campers, and sports equipment and vehicles for those who still had some discretionary income. Prices do follow demand and lack of same.

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Old 04-26-2014, 12:01 PM   #9
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These are good times to buy new FG eggs. They definitely hold their value. By comparison, my 3 year old stickie has probably dropped 40% of its value already.
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Old 04-26-2014, 12:12 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by J Mac View Post
What I find strange is when the sellers either don't take pictures of their trailer or take blurred and out of focus pictures of the very trailer they're trying to sell.
I go to www.fiberglass-rv-4sale.com
Most the ads there are ones that Greg has found elsewhere. He is using his search engine knowledge for the benefit of those using the site.
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Old 04-26-2014, 12:20 PM   #11
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I am a little suprised at the $5K and up asking prices for 13-footers. I know some of them have been fixed up and are worth that but many are not. I will have a little over $5K in my Scamp 16 when I finish the first round of repairs. But it will have a new axle, brakes, A/C, etc. If you figured any value for my labor I would have a lot more than $5K in it. I could have bought a nice smaller conventional trailer for that and not had to do much of anything, until it fell apart and was not worth fixing. I figure the old Scamp will soldier on into my retirement without too much more major work, but lots of routine maintanence that I would have to do to anything.
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Old 04-26-2014, 01:26 PM   #12
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It's a mystery, all right. A mystery wrapped in a riddle surrounded by a conundrum. With a cherry on top!

It's almost as if there was a website or something out there populated by a bunch of folks hyping the type....
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Old 04-26-2014, 01:30 PM   #13
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When purchasing, Print and Use the NADA value. (It is low because they do not track private transactions)

When Selling, State NADA doesn't know what they are talking about.
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Old 04-26-2014, 01:33 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rabbit View Post
We are also seeing some economic recovery. 09, 10 and 11 were great yrs to buy used boats, campers, and sports equipment and vehicles for those who still had some discretionary income. Prices do follow demand and lack of same.
I think "some" is the key word. More people have jobs, but incomes have been stagnant as prices of basic necessities have risen, so people are generally more cautious about how they spend. That, and the tightening of credit markets (especially home equity loans) mean people are looking smaller and lower cost. "I'd like to have an RV, and I feel a little more secure about my job situation now, but I don't want to take on debt, or spend a lot, and I don't want to have to buy a new, $30K vehicle to pull it with," sums up where I sense quite a few folks are at. Which brings them to used FGRVs! I sense that while it's still a buyer's market for large, traditional RVs, it has become very much a seller's market for eggs, especially the smaller ones.
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Old 04-26-2014, 01:43 PM   #15
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Government running the printing presses non stop
has to also be a factor.
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Old 04-26-2014, 02:19 PM   #16
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It seems to me that the price is to some extent geographical. The further north you go the higher the price or value. See for your self on www.fiberglass-rv-4sale.com
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Old 04-26-2014, 02:33 PM   #17
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But, on a more positive note, used FGRV's are a supply and demand item. The supply is very limited and relative few are being adding in each year and, as mentioned, with smaller vehicles, the demand for something they can pull is going up, up, up.

Now stickies are just the opposite; Dealers are selling them to anyone with a credit score above 500, the market is flooded with for sale rigs, and fewer and fewer vehicles can pull them. But (He said somewhat tongue in cheek) stickies have a finite life expectancy and self destruct in time, still creating a market for new units for those that think BIG......

BTW: Top prices are still in the West, with SoCal out stripping all others.



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Old 04-27-2014, 10:42 AM   #18
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NADA only goes back to 1984 and does not list Bolers. I went through the list and noticed a lot of other brands that are not there either. Prices go by supply and demand. There is a lot more demand then supply and that makes most campers more expensive. It all boils down to what are you willing to spend. I will never sell my 1971 Boler so return on investment is not an issue. I have built it custom to my needs and wants. Yes I have spent more then it is worth but it is done my way.
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Old 04-27-2014, 12:04 PM   #19
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return on investment is not an issue.
ROI for most of us is really hard to measure. Sure we can look at the actual $$ spent. But how do you factor in the other things. Is the time spent researching the forums and planning an actual cost or a form of entertainment? How about the time spent doing the work? Is that a direct labour cost or leisure time doing a hobby? How does one calculate the actual benefit from using our trailers over the years.

ROI for the flipper is another thing.
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Old 04-27-2014, 07:35 PM   #20
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My wife and I live full time in one of the top branded stickies (DRV Mobile Suite), but we were able to by our (at time of purchase) four year old unit for 28 cents on the dollar. The value of a sticky goes way down fast and I wouldn't want to buy one new!

That said I think our 15' FG Parkliner will be worth more on the used market than our 38' sticky 5ver in a few short years!
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