Egg hunting in New England

[SarahC]

Hi! I’m Sarah from Massachusetts. My husband and I are just starting to look around the fiberglass trailer world with an eye toward buying one in the winter/spring to fix up for camping next spring/summer (and for many years thereafter.)

From what we’ve seen so far, we seem to live in a MFGRV desert. There just don’t seem to be many up for sale anywhere near us. Maybe this will change in the winter or spring, but if it doesn’t…

Is it a good idea to buy a trailer far from home? How do you work out driving out to see it when they seem to sell so quickly? And what if it needs work on something that affects its towing (like an axel), do you do the work there before you tow it away, or do you take it on the road and hope everything holds up? We’ve seen a lot of trailers listed about 10 hours away from us. That’s a totally reasonable distance to tow a functioning, fixed up trailer, but is it a reasonable distance to tow a fixer-upper before you’ve fixed it up?

Thanks for any advice/experience!

[mary and bob]

We are in eastern NY near the MA border. One of our fiberglass trailers we bought 20 miles from home, the other 3 hours away but we knew the sellers. Friends just went to Ohio to buy a Scamp and towed it back with no problems, but it was a fairly new trailer. It is a problem buying something far away and probably requires having some faith in the seller, but not too much faith. A low budget fixer upper would be more prone to issues than a newer model trailer. You could have one shipped, but that could be expensive. I've seen a few for sale in the Northeast this year, you have to look every day.

[tractors1]

I bought mine and had it shipped from Denver, Colorado to Portland, Oregon for a bit over $900 in the middle of a January snow blizzard in the rockies. Had it loaded on a flatbed so no issues with anything breaking on the road. Would have cost me more in gas to go get it and 4-6 days of driving or more. Unloaded it at a nearby shopping center after stores closed, hooked up the truck and brought it home (7 miles.)

Used U-Ship as the broker, which I have used to ship antique tractors (which are pretty brittle case iron frames.)

http://uship.com

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by SarahC

Hi! I’m Sarah from Massachusetts. My husband and I are just starting to look around the fiberglass trailer world with an eye toward buying one in the winter/spring to fix up for camping next spring/summer (and for many years thereafter.)
From what we’ve seen so far, we seem to live in a MFGRV desert. There just don’t seem to be many up for sale anywhere near us. Maybe this will change in the winter or spring, but if it doesn’t…
Is it a good idea to buy a trailer far from home? How do you work out driving out to see it when they seem to sell so quickly? And what if it needs work on something that affects its towing (like an axel), do you do the work there before you tow it away, or do you take it on the road and hope everything holds up? We’ve seen a lot of trailers listed about 10 hours away from us. That’s a totally reasonable distance to tow a functioning, fixed up trailer, but is it a reasonable distance to tow a fixer-upper before you’ve fixed it up?
Thanks for any advice/experience!

Welcome to FGRV Sarah. You've discovered one of the harder parts of owning an egg....not a lot out there. You are correct that many end up going many states away. I had the same problem as you. I live in San Diego county and everything coming up for sale was in another state. After a year of looking I lucked out and only had to travel 80 miles. Keep checking for sale ads daily, or more. The selling season is just starting.
As far as towing it home tires, bearings and lights are your biggest concern. I've seen many posts from buyers that had the seller have the bearings repacked and even some put new tires on it. If you have the time that's something you could do also. For condition, a lot of pics will help and a straight up seller. Also, make sure the title is in the SELLERS name.
Good luck in your search, they can show up a block away .

[DogHaus]

just keep checking in here, on craigslist, and on the roaming times site. There have been at least three for sale in New England this year. I think there may still be a Casita for sale in ME? I found my Scamp in NY, near the CT border. The only difficulty was how to get a temporary plate before owning it. Good luck!

[CarrieR]

Hi Sarah,
We're in exactly the same situation! We've got our eye on Canadian ads as well, though that complicates the buying-from-afar more, but there seem to be more there than in New England. I think we're going to put a deposit down on a new scamp and hope we find used in time to cancel the order. We're not planning on keeping one long term though- it's just for one big trip next summer, so we do have to get one by a certain time and then plan to sell at the end of the summer.
Good luck!

[rita in ma]

Hi, I am Rita in Ma. I live in Plymouth and several years ago I drove up to Machias Maine. An 8 hour drive for me. I picked up a 18 foot Starcraft camper that sat on land for many years and did not move. I checked out tires axles and electric before i drove back to Ma with it. it all worked out very well. No problem driving it home. i left it at majors RV in Bourne and they fixed several things that it needed for me. Since i have sold it, I am now looking for a 13 foot Scamp just for me and maybe one other person. Smaller style with less work at my age. I need to spend many hours searching for what you want in Ma. I am going through the same thing here.

[Edie D]

Hi. I'm from Mass., and the law is you have to have the plate & insurance before you can drive it home--no temp. plates in MA. as in NH or ME. That means more trust and planning!

[tractors1]

Originally Posted by Edie D

Hi. I'm from Mass., and the law is you have to have the plate & insurance before you can drive it home--no temp. plates in MA. as in NH or ME. That means more trust and planning!

Thar means the legislation is just stupid. Insurance makes sense, but how are you supposed to get it home from out of state? Ship the trailer by US Mail?

[mary and bob]

Transporting an unregistered trailer is one of those topics that has been discussed and argued about here. What you can do depends on what states are involved, or what chances you are willing to take.

[Raz]

I called Vermont DMV a few years ago and got the same answer. When I asked the lady what to do she said slap an old plate on it and bring it home. I suspect as long as you have a dated bill of sale you'd be fine. Raz

[1ATony]

Welcome to the site Sarah, it's great to have you here

Tony

[SarahC]

Thank you, everyone. Great advice all around, and we’ve already been very lucky.

After assuming we’d spend months hunting (hence the original post saying we’d buy this winter), we found the right egg for us very nearby. We’ll be able to camp before the season’s over! Good luck to everyone else hunting too!

[Lora]

Congratulations!

[Borrego Dave]

Congrats Sarah, that was quick . What did you find and pics too.

[SarahC]

Well, we didn’t actually only hunt for three days. We’d been checking the listings with nothing appearing nearby all summer. I posted here when I had given up on this season. Apparently the fall’s a better time to look!

We bought a 13ft 1974 Trillium. We’ll post pictures eventually (and probably questions, too!)

[Raz]

Originally Posted by SarahC

We bought a 13ft 1974 Trillium. We’ll post pictures eventually (and probably questions, too!)

Welcome to the club. Trilliums are very nice trailers. Raz

[drdog]

Spent years looking for a Trillium in Ontario or New York with little luck. Moved to Yukon (we drive south into Alaska....) and found a 73 Boler in pretty much original condition in town. Soon as I did that, found there are at least 8 in town (pop. 28,000) and see one on the Alaska Highway almost every day. Took Betsey out last weekend and ended up parking next to a Boler.

Go figure.... Good luck with the hunt. Well worth it! And welcome to the cult...