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Travel Trailers aka I can’t afford land/cottage thread because I am the poors

[memphis]

Web wheeler
Joined
Jun 6, 2020
Member Number
1867
Messages
750
I know these are made to the specs of the lowest bidder. If I wanted my highest chance of return on investment do I pay the used airstream tax?

I am hoping instead of purchasing a depreciating asset/money pit (all travel trailers) I would be able to break even after several years of ownership.

if I was to sell it when a piece of land became available to purchase I could park a trailer there while we established a bunkie for sleeping arrangements and eventually build a cabin.

For now a trailer makes the most sense as we could travel to different sites and see how far we want to go and where we may like to purchase.

Frame wise is there anything special about an airstream or is it strictly the shell that commands the premium? I want something Small for 2 kids and 2 adults. Nothing over 20ft
 
I've demo'd a couple normal campers and they go to shit unbelievably quick sitting in the woods. Even if they don't leak and rot the smallest branch will fuck them up and one good snow will potentially cave them in.

If I was gonna spend airstream money to live in the woods in a camper I'd rather live in a $1k camper parked under a $10k Quonset hut than live in a $11k camper. Because you're just as likely to show up in the spring to a wet and rotting mess or a caved roof

But we all know I don't spend airstream money so if it were me I'd buy a normal camper, drag it around having fun and when I got land I'd either park it there knowing it'll go to shit and plan on doing what the "deer camp" guys do and just get a new free-$1k trailer every 2-5 years. :laughing:
 
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[memphis] said:
I want something Small for 2 kids and 2 adults. Nothing over 20ft
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2 adults and 2 kids, full timing it in a 20’ or smaller? :eek: A 40’ with 5 slides will get small quickly. I couldn’t imagine full timing in a 20’ or smaller with 4 people :homer:

Air streams command a primum because of the shell and cult following. If you take care of it, you’ll easily get your money back out of it, but you will be spending plenty to get it.
 
[memphis] said:
I would be able to break even after several years of ownership.
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You'll have a better ROI playing the lottery.... Boss lived in a 40' 5th wheel camper with his 2 kids, and it was tight. He paid like $50k for it and sold it for $30k.

Airstreams are okay if you are a shorter build. If you are shorter, Build a schoolbus....
 
arse_sidewards said:
I've demo'd a couple normal campers and they go to shit unbelievably quick sitting in the woods. Even if they don't leak and rot the smallest branch will fuck them up and one good snow will potentially cave them in.

If I was gonna spend airstream money to live in the woods in a camper I'd rather live in a $1k camper parked under a $10k Quonset hut than live in a $11k camper. Because you're just as likely to show up in the spring to a wet and rotting mess or a caved roof

But we all know I don't spend airstream money so if it were me I'd buy a normal camper, drag it around having fun and when I got land I'd either park it there knowing it'll go to shit and plan on doing what the "deer camp" guys do and just get a new free-$1k trailer every 2-5 years. :laughing:
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Gotta agree with Arse on this one.
Even an airstream will have issues left sitting around.
 
I'd pay the Airstream tax. Other campers WILL leak and once they leak you're looking at significant repairs because they use particle board anywhere and everywhere they can to both cut costs and weight. But if that shit gets wet it's fucked. There's no just letting it dry out and repairing the leak. You're replacing all of that shit that got wet.
 
Buy one made before 2020 and your odds are better.

Buy one newer than the 90s and your odds are better.
 
If you're handy, you might be best off building out a used enclosed car hauler. Pick up a 20' v-nose with 1-2' additional height, build a subfloor for plumbing, electrical, and duct work, cut out some holes for RV Glass (can be found decently cheap online), make a bunkhouse in the rear with folding beds (double as a toy hauler), a full or queen up front with storage in the V behind it, and an RV entrance door on the side. Rooftop a/c, diesel or propane heat, and plety of insulation.

A good way to get appliances cheap is to buy a rotten pop up camper or small travel trailer and rob it of the good stuff.

You'll be much better off this way.
 
Look into what camping sites for campers with hook ups cost these days, might change your mind on the whole thing. We have a number of sites up near where I work, looked into buying a camper to live in for a few years to save money. Was shocked at what it costs per month, all were easily double what I expected and the main one I was looking at costs more per month than I pay in rent.
 
I think there's some stuff missing here, and assumptions being made


You're not going to live in this full time with your family, are you?


I'm taking this as you want to go camping a few times a year and eventually buy a summer cabin vacation home?
 
All campers are built cheap and fall apart at a rapid pace. Get something you like and accept it probably won't hold value really well, or buy something cheap, and rebuild it to what you want. 20' is small by any standard to live in for an extended period especially with 4 people. get something that has enough space you don't have to stow the beds every morning just to move around.
 
i've been looking at the forest river work n plays on the used market, they seem like they might be built nice

anyone have any experience with those?
 
Definitely re-evaluate the size. You aren't going to make it with a 20ft max. Period. I started with a 20' and it was miserable with just the wife and I, no way I'd throw 2 kids in there too.
 
I am one of those people that buys cheap with the hopes of making money or breaking even when I am done using it.

RV's and Campers, they are a losing proposition.

Buy what you need to survive and expect nothing out of it when you are done.

I would enjoy taking a match to the cash and watching it burn then try to get my money back out of an RV, especially one that kids have lived in.
 
Yeah we have a 23’ and have done 10 days in it with a 1 and 3 year old. Good luck trying to do that for any longer amount of time :laughing:

It’s made by outdoors rv manufacturing. Way overbuilt compared to some, but definitely susceptible to most of the same problems
 
Arickvan said:
i've been looking at the forest river work n plays on the used market, they seem like they might be built nice

anyone have any experience with those?
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Get under one and dig into the electrical before you buy. Not just forest river, any of them. Large amounts of spray foam are not a good sign of more insulation, it's a way to hide mistakes and sloppy work.

School bus conversion or a racecar trailer built out into a towable apartment will hold up better IMO than most, if not all, production RV setups I've seen. But will probably cost more, maybe a lot more, for less features/luxury.
 
DRTDEVL said:
They aren't.
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I've had Layton, Terry, Coachman and now Forest River and its as good as any of the rest. I do however store it under cover. I also bought pre-covid as during those few years, quality of everything seems to have gone to shit.
 
ok how bout this

2001 lance cabover camper vs 2008-2015 forest river work n play?

:laughing: i'm already living that shitty camper life

would not recommend, went from an 02 thor tahoe transport to the 01 lance like 2-3 years ago and the lance is same build quality but way less miles on it so its good for now :homer:

ideally i would like to get a sundowner or logan crawler hauler but thats not in the cards right now
 
Check before you try to live on your own land in an RV trailer, my county says you can only do it for the 6 months if you are building a house.
I have lived in a cab over, 26 foot tounge tow, 22 foot class c mh, and now 30 foot fith wheel, they all have their quirks. The 5th wheel has been the newest and best as it has a fiberglass body which means it should be years before it leak. My tounge tow I bought in FL and I spent years chasing leaks. finally just erected a plastic tarp tent over the bad
 
If you're looking to get as much return as possible after a few years, Airstream.

If you're looking for something you might actually be reasonably comfortable in with 3 other people, fuck a 20ft Airstream.

Get an aluminum framed RV of any shitty flavor with as much slide outs as you can afford. Ultra light trailers with the shitty little half slide dont count. And keep it covered whenever possible, water is the enemy.

And pre-covid build is a must. Watch that video above, and then rewatch it at 1.5 speed. During covid, that's how fast they were building trailers to keep up with demand. And doing it 24 hours a day, so the workers were super refreshed.
 
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