Average age of a trailer

[alan0043]

Hi Everyone,

What is the average age of a trailer ? How long can someone expect a trailer to last in years ? 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, etc.. Will a 5th wheel trailer last longer then a travel trailer ?

Curious mind need to know,
Al

[Devilishjim]

Depends on maintenance

[Lance A Lott]

I have a 1986 Avion, they look like a Airstream, it had not been well taken care of. A little talc and it's great except where the tree fell on it. Still usable just has a big dent. I also have a 7 year old Living quarters horse trailer was it and you can't tell it from new.

A couple that winter in the same park as my parents had to have the frame of there 5ver re built near the pin box. By the time they got to camp there was a noticeable sag.  If I remember it was rubbing on the bed rails, It was not very old. He claimed it was not built strong enough. My dad confirmed that it was not built to put over 4K under the bed!

I would say quality, maintenance , and common sense are the deciding factors in longevity.

[Devilishjim]

 My dad confirmed that it was not built to put over 4K under the bed!

Yeak 4K under the bed might be throwing a little strain on the welds. Cant figure out what would weigh that much unless lead maybe or of course GOLD bars ?

[Lance A Lott]

A welder, some steel, chains and a boat load of tools. No one weighed the stuff of course but dad helped to take it out and he still shakes his head when he talks about it. My dad is one of those who likes to keep his rig as light as possible, only carries minimal fresh water and such and it's a good thing because even they clean out hundreds of pounds of excess stuff every couple of years.

[sandsys]

9 hours ago, Devilishjim said:

 My dad confirmed that it was not built to put over 4K under the bed!

Yeak 4K under the bed might be throwing a little strain on the welds. Cant figure out what would weigh that much unless lead maybe or of course GOLD bars ?

A huge AGM battery bank, inverter, transfer switches and Kirk's tools and his wife's sewing machines?  

Linda Sand

[Kirk W]

18 hours ago, Lance A Lott said:

I would say quality, maintenance , and common sense are the deciding factors in longevity.

That is my opinion as well. Add that the amount of use and method of storage also plays a significant role. I have seen even the lowest price/quality RV that was still serving the owners well after 20+ years when they were either used a lot and always maintained or repaired promptly when needed and some that we seldom used but stored inside. But I have also seen top of the line RVs that we neglected and abused resulting in destruction in 5 years. Just yesterday at Escapade we parked a 38 year old Avion and also a 23 year old Excell. I know because both happened to come at times that I had a chance to ask the owners about them as they arrived. Because I have an interest in older RVs, last night I asked an owner about his trailer and it turned out to be a 1999 Mallard. While it is rare to find them quite this old, none of those listed have been restored, just kept up and used for a long time and multiple owners.

[alan0043]

19 hours ago, Devilishjim said:

Depends on maintenance

Hi Everyone,

I can understand doing maintenance on the trailer. I have heard people talking about ten year old trailers. And the talk is not positive. It seems like a ten year old trailer can be a can of worms. There is also issues with trailers that preventive maintenance can't help with. There is a good group of people here on the forum that have seen and know trailers. I am not one of these folks. I bought my trailer used and I'm still learning. There must be an average age for a trailer. There is probably an age for a trailer that dealers would rather stay away from.

Please keep your input and opinions coming,
Al

[LindaH]

The 10 years you've heard a lot about has more to do with some RV parks not accepting RVs older than 10 years than it does with how long an RV will last.

[ms60ocb]

RV are just like cars. Some are built to get you from point A to B for a short drive with no comfort. And then are cars built for longevity and comfort. I for one would rather buy a more expensive used model than a cheap new set of wheels. 

As a winter Texan, many people travel 1,000 miles plus to winter and thinking back the age of those RV's (mostly FW and Class A), they were 5 to 20 years old but I would say average 10-13 years old. But also in the RV Park was the more local weekend groups that had the newer small units, many not made to be pulled 5,000 miles or more a years.

Clay 2016 DRV MS 38PS3 with over 20,000 miles in about 14 states

[Pat & Pete]

54 minutes ago, alan0043 said:

Hi Everyone,

I can understand doing maintenance on the trailer. I have heard people talking about ten year old trailers. And the talk is not positive. It seems like a ten year old trailer can be a can of worms. There is also issues with trailers that preventive maintenance can't help with. There is a good group of people here on the forum that have seen and know trailers. I am not one of these folks. I bought my trailer used and I'm still learning. There must be an average age for a trailer. There is probably an age for a trailer that dealers would rather stay away from.

Please keep your input and opinions coming,
Al

Ha . I've seen more brand new trailers being that can of worms than ten year old trailers . By ten years old , if they make it that far , most of the worms have been hooked and used for bait .

[richfaa]

Depends on many things.We have owned 6RV's 4 TT's and two 5th wheels not to mention a popup. We had one for as short as one year and another for 10 years.They were  lightly used but well maintained. We traded our 1st 5th wheel  at 7 years and @ 80K miles.It was pretty well worn out.This 13 5th wheel is going on @ 35K and is holding up well but our travel has slowed down, This will be our last RV. 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I'm going to guess that the biggest killer of trailers is water leaks.  If the roof isn't maintained, and the seals aren't maintained on windows, roof fans, air conditioner's, etc. water gets inside and it doesn't take long for wooden frames to start rotting, mold to start growing, etc.

If the roof and seals are maintained, the trailer can last a much longer time.  Better yet is a trailer that's been stored under a roof when it's not being used.

[GlennWest]

Our Teton is a 2003 model. Looks good and basically trouble free.

[Kirk W]

9 hours ago, alan0043 said:

There must be an average age for a trailer. There is probably an age for a trailer that dealers would rather stay away from.

There are very few dealers who will put anything over 10 years old on their lots and some stop at 5 years. But that has more to do with profit margin after sales commission than on condition or usability. In addition, it is very difficult to find financing for an RV that is 10 or more years old, no matter who made it or the condition of it. That tends to make them harder to sell and lower the prices but it still does not mean that at least some of them are still very usable. We once bought a 5-year-old Mallard travel trailer and we kept if for 7 years and then sold it for about half of what we had paid. It was still in use at least 3 years later when we moved away.

While a travel trailer can be worn out the amount of care that they are given plays a major role in the time it takes. The retail prices do fall with increasing age and the price is based mostly on the typical RV that the specific one that you are looking at, which means that when you do find the one owner RV that has been carefully maintained and well cared for, that RV won't bring a lot more than the poorer quality ones and so can be a great bargain. When in constant use most RV appliances have a life of about 10 years, but if only in occasional use they may well last for 30 years or the entire useful life of the RV. Another factor is that each time an RV changes hands there is a better chance that it will not be well cared for as the new owner has a smaller investment in it. That isn't always true but it is most of the time. People who pay less usually care less. 

 

[JimK]

If you check on the longevity of cars, you can find some reasonably reliable statistics.  That type of data just does not seem to be available for RVs.  At least I had limited success finding any hard data.  The best overall number I got was an estimated RV longevity of about 10 years.    https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/28/your-money/a-smart-way-to-avoid-depreciation.html

The article points out that buying a high end unit may not be a good financial choice.  High end units depreciate faster than average since more high end buyers are willing to buy new.  It is also not clear that high end means better longevity.

As RV users we are familiar with some of the reasons for the short lifespan of RVs.  The RV industry seems equivalent to the US auto industry of the 1960s.  The vast majority are poorly built, poorly designed and will not last.  It is way past time for some serious foreign competition.  Maybe we will get lucky and the Chinese will try.  In the meantime units are built to look good with plenty of features, style, and glitz.  The flaws in design and construction are not easy to see.  Many units are built with frames that will barely handle an empty RV.  They will not withstand the flexing that comes from use on the roads.  Leaks seem to be one of the big killers of RVs.  We would have fits it cars leaked and rusted out but that seems to be the norm with RVs.  We are told there are more openings and hence there will be more problems.  Instead I think sloppy design and construction are to blame.  I could mention countless examples but one will illustrate my point.  The design and installation of the running lights is horrible.  Installation typically means drilling a half inch hole through the body of the RV.  Wiring is pulled through, attached to the fixture.  The fixture is screwed on, maybe with stainless steel screws, and then a plastic cover is snapped in place.  Leaks can occur immediately or later due to flexing or failure of the seals.  When a leak occurs, the fixture fills with water and enters the half inch hole in the RV.  Rot is inevitable.  Better design and installation would fix this common problem.  There is no reason for a large hole for the wiring.  That hole should be sealed once the wires are pulled through.  The screw holes should have sealant as well as sealant for the fixture to the RV and for the cover of the fixture.  With some thought it should be easy to avoid this issue without incurring any significant costs.  Clearly the manufacturers just do not care.  The flaws like this are not gong to be noticed by the buyers. 

[kb0zke]

"If you check on the longevity of cars, you can find some reasonably reliable statistics.  That type of data just does not seem to be available for RVs." That's probably because there are a LOT more cars than RVs.

High-end towables, like high-end motor homes, generally last longer than entry-level units. Part of that is that the high-end coaches are better made with better materials, but part of it may well be that someone who buys a new Airstream for $140,000 is more likely to take better care of it than the guy that buys a $14,000 camper. As Kirk mentioned above, maintenance (especially preventive maintenance) is key to long life.

Regular use is another indicator. A 10-year-old trailer that was used for two weeks each summer may look new, but it may well have all sorts of hidden problems. If it still has the original tires I'd take that as a sign that the owner has neglected it and look elsewhere. A 10-year-old trailer that has been in constant use may well show some wear and tear, but if the tires are fairly new I'd probably consider it a better buy than the other one.

Go to airforums.com and see how many people are full-timing in Airstreams that are well over 10 years old. Heck, we're full-timing in our 1993 Foretravel and we know a couple who are full-timing in their 1973 (yes, 1973) Dodge conversion van.

[alan0043]

On 5/28/2018 at 9:55 AM, JimK said:

If you check on the longevity of cars, you can find some reasonably reliable statistics.  That type of data just does not seem to be available for RVs.  At least I had limited success finding any hard data.  The best overall number I got was an estimated RV longevity of about 10 years.    https://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/28/your-money/a-smart-way-to-avoid-depreciation.html

The article points out that buying a high end unit may not be a good financial choice.  High end units depreciate faster than average since more high end buyers are willing to buy new.  It is also not clear that high end means better longevity.

As RV users we are familiar with some of the reasons for the short lifespan of RVs.  The RV industry seems equivalent to the US auto industry of the 1960s.  The vast majority are poorly built, poorly designed and will not last.  It is way past time for some serious foreign competition.  Maybe we will get lucky and the Chinese will try.  In the meantime units are built to look good with plenty of features, style, and glitz.  The flaws in design and construction are not easy to see.  Many units are built with frames that will barely handle an empty RV.  They will not withstand the flexing that comes from use on the roads.  Leaks seem to be one of the big killers of RVs.  We would have fits it cars leaked and rusted out but that seems to be the norm with RVs.  We are told there are more openings and hence there will be more problems.  Instead I think sloppy design and construction are to blame.  I could mention countless examples but one will illustrate my point.  The design and installation of the running lights is horrible.  Installation typically means drilling a half inch hole through the body of the RV.  Wiring is pulled through, attached to the fixture.  The fixture is screwed on, maybe with stainless steel screws, and then a plastic cover is snapped in place.  Leaks can occur immediately or later due to flexing or failure of the seals.  When a leak occurs, the fixture fills with water and enters the half inch hole in the RV.  Rot is inevitable.  Better design and installation would fix this common problem.  There is no reason for a large hole for the wiring.  That hole should be sealed once the wires are pulled through.  The screw holes should have sealant as well as sealant for the fixture to the RV and for the cover of the fixture.  With some thought it should be easy to avoid this issue without incurring any significant costs.  Clearly the manufacturers just do not care.  The flaws like this are not gong to be noticed by the buyers. 

I would have to agree.

[duraduk]

I have a 2003 Arctic Fox 30U which is 15 yrs. old It has been stored under cover since purchased but has been used extensively.  The only sign of age is to the decals which are peeling on the edges and slightly faded.  Other than that running strong.  I fix stuff as it needs fixing.  If it is well built to begin with and you take care of it.....should last a long time.  I looked at several current trailers and do not like the current focus on "lite" The only way they can lighten them is to compromise the frame and other building components.