I’ve had several people reach out to me recently about buying their first RV! I’m really excited to hear about stuff like that and I’m honored that these people were also asking me for advice about it! I surprised myself at first about how much information I knew about it and then I realized, I have owned three different RV’s in less than a year’s time so I decided to document some of my advice and share it!

1. If you need to get a loan for the RV purchase, get a checking account at a credit union! I have shopped for multiple loans and every single time, the credit union APR was always the lowest. The credit union that I belong to even had a better deal and relaxed requirements if you had an account with them for a certain amount of time so get an account open with one of them soon! It’s free to do and you can just throw a few dollars in there to keep the account open. Not only that, but credit unions are also a million times better and have less fees than the major banks!

2. During the entire RV process, start downsizing! It took me several years to slowly get rid of all of my stuff. The earlier you start this process, the easier it will be later on! Start now! It felt so good to get rid of stuff! It felt like I was losing weight and freeing up time! Getting rid of my things was such a process that it also helped me to stop buying new things!

3. I’m a big fan of buying a slightly used RV vs. a new one. You’ll get a maximum amount of value out of an RV that is just a few years old and won’t have to pay the premium price of a new one on the lot.

4. I’m also a big fan of buying from a private seller instead of a dealership. I feel like a private seller is less likely to try hiding something that is wrong with the RV than a dealership might. The private seller is also probably going to be much more knowledgeable about the RV than a dealership would. I would watch all of these YouTube videos about the RV’s that I wanted and then when I was shocked that I would know more about the RV than the sales guy @ the dealership!

5. Figure out what kind of RV you want. The first step would be narrow it down by the different types: Class A, Class B, Class C, Travel Trailer, Fifth Wheel, etc.

6. Now figure out the make, model, floorplan features you want. This is usually the most difficult step because there are so many options to choose from and it’s hard to know exactly what to look for if you have never RV’ed before. Besides researching online, don’t be shy about going to a dealership and looking around at a bunch of them all at once. It’s really helpful to figure out what you want by actually seeing them in person!

7. Once you have a general idea of what you want, go to RVTrader.com and start searching! You can search in your local area or nationwide. You can search for RV type and price. You can search by dealerships or private sellers. I’ve bought all three of my RV’s and sold two of them from the site. Don’t be shy about searching nationwide. I found a deal for thousands of dollars less than my local area. It’s a little bit of a gamble but I was able to buy a plane ticket to get it for still way cheaper than in my local area. From my personal experience, RV’s are cheaper to buy in the winter and easier to sell in the spring. Y ou can save your search settings and even get alerts when a certain RV is posted at a certain price!

8. If you feel like you are getting close to buying, and still need to get a loan, begin the pre-approval process with the credit union. They will give you the amount you are approved for and then can help you narrow down your search even more!

9. Do not buy any RV accessories yet! I made this mistake and really regretted it! I did all of this research and bought all of this stuff and didn’t need it or have room for half of it! I also bought most of the stuff months before buying the RV the return window was long gone. Once you get your RV, move your stuff into it, and then based on the space that you have left, then you can start buying stuff for it. Also, when you buy an RV, sometimes some of the accessories you might want will come with it!

10. If you find an RV you like, reach out to the seller to and go look at it! If they are remote, ask them to do a video call tour with you. Talk to the seller and get a feel for the type of person they are and why are selling their RV. Besides asking how many miles are on the RV, also ask how many hours the generator has run for. Obtain the VIN # of the RV and maybe do a search online for it. The bank will also need it to get the loan approval processed.