OK....Travel Trailer Guys get in here.

[2kwik4u]

Just signed the loan papers. It's officially ours!

Pick-up the keys in the morning.

 

[2kwik4u]

Got the keys. Took a load of "stuff" up there this morning. Then spent the day at Holiday World in Santa Claus, IN (about 30min from camp) for the company picnic.

Here's a few pics of the site.




It's mostly shade and mostly gravel. I'm told it's 150ft deep and the camper hangs about 10-15ft over the back end of the lot due to the way the slide out just misses a tree and there are no rear neighbors just green space.

Thinking the boat will sit right in front of the camper. Previous owner put it upfront at to the left. Gonna drag it up there tomorrow, and take another load of "stuff" up with us.

 

[2kwik4u]

Back up today. Took the boat and left it there. Also did a good first cleaning of the interior and got the water hooked up and figured out. Still learning what works and figuring out what we want where and all that.

Snapped a few more pics.




Still have a lot of cleanup and grading and stuff to do on the lot. Have some old signs to take down, and things like that.

Everyone say a little prayer for our boat. It's been in a garage since brand new. Going to sit in front of the camper there now. It's mostly shaded, but still exposed to the elements in a major way as compared to the garage.

 

[2kwik4u]

Well, I've got my first problem with the camper I have no idea how to solve.

Small tube hanging from the undercarriage has been "draining" all night. I THINK it's the overflow from the fresh water tank. This is on the curb side just under where the sink/water heater is.


If I turn off water to the camper from the site, it eventually stops draining. If I check the fresh tank it's 100% full. I opened the valve there and it's been draining for 30min and the fresh water tank has dropped to 2/3 full.

Question though, is why is fresh tank full when I have the site hooked to the "city water" inlet on the camper not the "fresh tank" inlet on the camper.

 

[the MfM]

Usually the fresh water tank is filled directly by an outside hose. Though it’s possible your camper has a bypass valve somewhere to fill the tank that got mistakenly opened.

BUT…

Are you sure that those pex lines aren’t the low point drains for the hot and cold lines?

I’d be checking the ground to see if you can find a second shut off valve the fell off.

 

[Coult45]

Not a big problem…Almost positive that’s your low point drains. They should be either capped or valved.

 

[AZMark]

Did you move it recently? That’s weird they would just break off sitting there. I’d guess an animal or child had something to do with that.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Do you have like a panel that has a three different valves in it for filling the water tank, winterizing / flushing etc? Usually on the modern rigs there is a fresh water filter there as well. If you have this type of panel it is possible that one of those valves is not all the way into one position or another and some water is getting into the fresh water tank and therefore overflowing. Can you please post a pic of where the city water hooks up?

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Something like this?

 

[Ohio]

Everyone say a little prayer for our boat. It's been in a garage since brand new. Going to sit in front of the camper there now. It's mostly shaded, but still exposed to the elements in a major way as compared to the garage.

My boat stays outside, under trees during the season and has for the last 5 years. It has Sunbrella bow and cockpit covers, but I do not leave those on, I use one of these. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YZUX8X2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They are inexpensive and will last about 5 years. I do however "modify" it. While it will come "water proofed" I improve that with this product. Lay it on the garage floor and spray it on.

https://www.amazon.com/303-Products-30674-Marine-Recreation/dp/B0000AY1W7/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1Y7Q8MEJHTYJF&keywords=303+marine+protectant&qid=1664761974&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjQ0IiwicXNhIjoiMy4wMyIsInFzcCI6IjMuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=303+%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-5&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.006c50ae-5d4c-4777-9bc0-4513d670b6bc

Then, just like a tent seal the seams with this.

https://www.amazon.com/COLEMAN-SEAL...UifQ==&sprefix=tentseam+sealer,aps,102&sr=8-7

Lastly I use these vented poles to ensure that it dries out after use. https://www.amazon.com/Vico-Marine-...AuOTkifQ==&sprefix=boat+pole+v,aps,136&sr=8-7

I wish I could store my boat inside, but I have found that this set up keeps it fully protected.

 

[2kwik4u]

Wanted to hop in here and update everyone on the camper status.

It's been an interesting journey into the camping world for us. The neighbors are great, the community is great, and honestly the camper wasn't terrible. However, camping just isn't for us. We have a limited set of weekends that we can use it with the boys in soccer (essentially just June/July), and there is a significant workload of "stuff" to do while there. Cooking/cleaning/site maintenance/etc. As we look at where we're spending our money and time we realized the camper didn't really fit that mold. We like to trailer and travel with the boat, we like to do other things on the weekend besides just be around the camper. Lots of things just didn't quite work the way we had in our heads, and we decided to sell and cut our losses at this point.

SO, this morning I emailed the campground owners. They knew someone that was looking. She called and said "I'll take it" within a few minutes of talking. We're meeting on Saturday to make sure it's everything she thinks it is, and if she still wants it we're gonna do the paperwork on Tuesday. We bought for $35k, financed $33k, and are selling for $35k. SO, we lost some money in there, but it's not going to hurt too badly, and it gets it off our plate both in terms of expected use, and balance sheet.

 

[adrianp89]

Sounds like you hardly lost any money, just interested paid.

 

[BigAbe75]

We had to let our seasonal site at the lake go this year, too. Just too many kid activities going on, and 5 hour drive to the lake wears on everybody. Last year, the last 2 trips to the lake our 2 girls weren't sure they wanted to go (because of the drive). I think the last trip to bring the camper and boat home it was just wife and I and son.

This year, son wants to try baseball - which is apparently tomorrow thru the middle of July. And practices/games are on Friday nights. No way we're leaving Friday night after baseball to drive 5 hours then coming home on Sunday afternoon. I work for a school, so August is pretty much out for me with getting school geared up to start.

Hopefully we'll still get to use the camper and boat this year, just need to stay closer to home. We are afraid that our lake time may suffer this year, though. We just don't like our local lake as much as where we usually visit. It's too small and dirty compared to what we are used to.

 

[2kwik4u]

We had to let our seasonal site at the lake go this year, too. Just too many kid activities going on, and 5 hour drive to the lake wears on everybody. Last year, the last 2 trips to the lake our 2 girls weren't sure they wanted to go (because of the drive). I think the last trip to bring the camper and boat home it was just wife and I and son.

This year, son wants to try baseball - which is apparently tomorrow thru the middle of July. And practices/games are on Friday nights. No way we're leaving Friday night after baseball to drive 5 hours then coming home on Sunday afternoon. I work for a school, so August is pretty much out for me with getting school geared up to start.

Hopefully we'll still get to use the camper and boat this year, just need to stay closer to home. We are afraid that our lake time may suffer this year, though. We just don't like our local lake as much as where we usually visit. It's too small and dirty compared to what we are used to.

We're way closer to home (~45min drive) than you, so our problem is kind of the other way around. We didn't like the camper enough to not make the 45min drive home. The camper wasn't overly comfy for us, and we it didn't really get us on the water any sooner than it would have if we just drove up there from home. On top of that, we just kind of like that lake. We have some others in the area that we also enjoy, and we can see that being a problem already to have to drive to camp to get the boat, then drive to the other lake, then take the boat back to camp, etc. The logistics of it all were just another thing to manage.

We fought schedule thing hard at the end of last season. G's soccer games are usually Saturday morning. So we would RUSH up to camp, get there just in time to cook dinner, then have to clean up, and have maybe an hour or two worth of time to relax before bedtime. Then get up, boat for the day, only to cut our water time short because we had to get back to close up camp and drive home. While close up camp wasn't terrible, it was an hour of packing a cooler, pulling in the awning, getting clothes in bags, loading the car, herding the kids. It was just a lot for the short time we spent there.

We also usually only spend one day on the weekend on the water, and being at camp we felt obligated to spend both days on the water, and with this lake, that felt a little "groundhog day" for us. That second day, doing the same thing you did yesterday wasn't always the best sell for the boys. We're hoping to use the second weekend day for other activities around the house we want to devote some more time to. Like Mt Biking, golf, cycling, and some home improvement projects.

This is all fitting in with another theme we've decided to work towards, and that's an overall simplification of lifestyle. The fewer things I have to manage, and the fewer things on my to do list, the happier I usually am. The camper added more to the "things to manage" list than it did to the "things that bring me joy" list.

 

[2kwik4u]

Sounds like you hardly lost any money, just interested paid.

Yea, if it goes through as planned, then we should be in good shape financially. Even if the sale price dips into the $31-$32k range I think we still came out OK on the experiment. Fingers crossed the buyer sees the value in having it already setup and ready to sleep in when they show up.

 

[adrianp89]

Yea, if it goes through as planned, then we should be in good shape financially. Even if the sale price dips into the $31-$32k range I think we still came out OK on the experiment. Fingers crossed the buyer sees the value in having it already setup and ready to sleep in when they show up.

Alternatively you could try renting it. Probably could increase your monthly income this way, though that requires time.

 

[BigAbe75]

We fought schedule thing hard at the end of last season. G's soccer games are usually Saturday morning. So we would RUSH up to camp, get there just in time to cook dinner, then have to clean up, and have maybe an hour or two worth of time to relax before bedtime. Then get up, boat for the day, only to cut our water time short because we had to get back to close up camp and drive home. While close up camp wasn't terrible, it was an hour of packing a cooler, pulling in the awning, getting clothes in bags, loading the car, herding the kids. It was just a lot for the short time we spent there.

Ha! I don't know what the heck we packed, but the car was fully loaded every time we went and came home. Seems weird since we all had drawers of clothes that just stayed at the camper.

 

[2kwik4u]

Alternatively you could try renting it. Probably could increase your monthly income this way, though that requires time.

We considered this route. Outdoorsy and RVShare are both good platforms. We had two hurdles that kept us from attempting. The first was that the campground was really clear about subletting for profit. Friends/Family, no problem, but random strangers were no dice. The second was a lack of tow vehicle for this capacity. The thing is 8,700lbs dry and closer to 9,500lbs loaded. Q7 is rated at 7,700, and while I think it would do fine with the extra weight, the surface area and relative size difference is a no go for me. SO, I would have had to get a 2500 pickup. We considered renting on initially, but that would likely suck out the profits from the camper rental.

The final straw was the time to make it happen. We're already stretched thin and we're actively working on reducing the things we have to manage. So that kind of killed it before it got started. I do like the premise of renting it out, and even offering setup/delivery as a service. I think there's a market for it. I just don't have the time to pursue currently......Might be a retirement gig for me though.

 

[2kwik4u]

OK guys.....Need a gut check here. Am I being reasonable?

Buyer sent me the below this morning

Good morning. I was just doing a little research on the 2018 Rv and I can't seem to locate any in that price range. What I am seeing is that they are cheaper . I don't know , maybe I am missing something . Lol. When you have some time could you send me a few pictures of what you are seeing . I know they depreciate some but I could be looking in the wrong places. This is all new to me . My husband passed away in March of last year so I don't have him here to help me with this . If you could just point me in the right direction . I may be missing something . Thank you

Here's how I responded

Good morning. Keep in mind there's a couple things that makes this particular one a little more valuable to you. It's an LTZ, so the finishes are a little nicer on the inside than the normal ones. It has exceptionally low usage for it's age. I think people have slept in it less than 20 nights total. It only has ~100 miles on it (was purchased and delivered to site and hasn't moved). Beyond that, it's already setup and in a location you like. This means no shipping/transportation fees, no negotiating on getting a good spot, and it's setup and ready to move in today. I think there's some good value there. Of course putting a number on that will be somewhat difficult. Likewise, I don't intend to take advantage of you at any level. I want to work a deal that's fair for both of us. Let me go out and look at what's available. I found some the others in a quick search, but I'll see what's available now. I owe $34,425 on it currently, so I just shot $35,000 out as a quick answer. Give me a couple hours (I'm at the office currently, and neck deep in a project) to pull together some information, and I'll send it over.

She responded with a "thank you, no rush"

I sent this a couple hours later

I've found a couple examples of similar RV's. Found some shipping and setup costs, and tried to put a number on the convenience of the location and setup.

Here's a unit nearly identical to ours. Same year and model. It's selling for $30,250.
https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2018-Forest+River-Heritage+Glen+312QBUD-5021836929
Delivery from New Jersey would be ~$3,975 (industry average is around $5/mile for delivery and setup from what I can find). Ours has slightly fewer miles and a few additional options, so I marked ours up $750. We're going to leave the patio furniture and storage shed on the lot for you, and figure that would be ~$750 to replace (Shed is less than a year old, and patio furniture are nice powder coated cast aluminum pieces)....Total all that up and we're at $35,725.

I found another unit that is CLOSE to ours, but a year older and not quite as nice finishes. It's in Virginia, and would take ~$3,350 to get delivered and setup. I added a $1,500 markup to this one to adjust for condition and features.
https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2017-Forest+River-SALEM+HEMISPHERE+LITE+312QBUD-5025350588
same $750 for patio furniture and shed. This one totals up to $34,100

There are a couple others that are selling for less, but they are further away (increasing setup and delivery fees, or have significantly less options or light damage to repair.

I talked it over with my wife, and we'll drop to $34,500 based on what we found here, and think that is a pretty fair deal considering the location and condition of our unit. Take some time to think on it, and we can discuss more if you like. I think once you see it on Saturday you'll find it to be an acceptable deal.

At this point I think we're in agreement, but I want to make sure I'm not being unreasonable. I'm not out to profit here, just recoup what I can and not take advantage of anyone. Any thoughts?

 

[Bluewater272]

Nah, you're totally being reasonable - its setup already where she wants it, doesn't get any more turnkey. Not sure how much you can rely on adding shipping costs to it, as many potential buyers can probably move it themselves, but for this situation where she wants the site too? Seems fair, but if somebody wants to buy it and take it with them, may have to drop the price.