Help deciding between new small or used big

[Jmk]

Hi, I’m new here and have never owned any type of RV. Right now I’m in the process of getting a pop up and I’ve narrowed my choices down to either a 2021 flagstaff 176ltd or 1998 Jayco eagle 12udst..  The Jayco is in great shape and is about 2k cheaper and has the benefit of being much larger, the benefit of the flagstaff is it’s 800lbs lighter and is brand new. The new one is at the very top of my budget as well. My TV is a 2003 v8 4Runner twd with a tow capacity of 5000lbs. I’ve also had very little experience towing anything other than a Uhaul a couple times. So anything thing you guys can offer in the way of advice, suggestions, etc... is appreciated 

[Danandfreda]

My vote is the older Jayco newer isn’t built as well. Had plenty of pop ups and Jayco was always a good one

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapee forums! We will do our best to help you. 

My first thought is about the difference in price. As I look on the internet, I find that the new Flagstaff is generally listed for sale at a little under $10,000 but the Jayco, which is 22 years old is generally advertised at about $2500. It lists on NADA with an average retail price of $1600 and states that it sold new for $6600!

Either you have found a dealer that is willing to the Flagstaff far below the dealer cost, or you are about to be robbed by the person selling the Jayco. I need a lot more information to give further advice but at this point it looks to me as though you need to forget that Jayco.

 

[Jmk]

5 hours ago, Kirk W said:

Welcome to the Escapee forums! We will do our best to help you. 

My first thought is about the difference in price. As I look on the internet, I find that the new Flagstaff is generally listed for sale at a little under $10,000 but the Jayco, which is 22 years old is generally advertised at about $2500. It lists on NADA with an average retail price of $1600 and states that it sold new for $6600!

Either you have found a dealer that is willing to the Flagstaff far below the dealer cost, or you are about to be robbed by the person selling the Jayco. I need a lot more information to give further advice but at this point it looks to me as though you need to forget that Jayco.

 

Thanks!
The Flagstaff is 8995 and the Jayco is 6995, it is a dealership.  I haven’t had a chance to go see the Jayco yet, but supposedly it’s in amazing condition 

 

[sandsys]

4 hours ago, Jmk said:

Thanks!
The Flagstaff is 8995 and the Jayco is 6995, it is a dealership.  I haven’t had a chance to go see the Jayco yet, but supposedly it’s in amazing condition 

 

We have a saying in this group that they way you tell if a salesman is lying is if his lips are moving. They are not all bad but it's hard to find one you can trust and know that you've done so.

Linda Sand

[Kirk W]

4 hours ago, Jmk said:

I haven’t had a chance to go see the Jayco yet, but supposedly it’s in amazing condition 

Even in near new condition, it should sell for no more than $3000! No matter how you measure it, that RV is 20+ years old and no matter how good it may look everything in it is subject to failure. 

[podwerkz]

That older Jayco seems to be overpriced...without looking hard, I found a couple of them less than $4500.

A 22 year old pop-up trailer could be a cream puff, or it could be a disaster....your nose will tell you a lot when you open the trailer and step inside. 

If a pop-up trailer is 'put away wet' and not allowed to air-dry properly, the canvas, the curtains, and the screens can be smelly, moldy, deteriorated, or almost completely disintegrated. 

Never buy one without a hands-on inspection.

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2020 by podwerkz

[gypsydan]

Since this is your first RV, and it appears you basically know nothing about RVIng, I would recommend buying USED.  Why:  

1. You have not told us if you are going to be a weekender, once a year traveler, Part time, or going full-time. Each is unique, and will most definitely define what you Ultimately end up with over time.
2. Depreciation. The original buyer will eat the initial depreciation, which can be heavy the first year.
3. Repairs.  If you have done any kind of homework, like reading the many RV forums, you will discover that many RVs today are full of mfg defects. This means you will end up repairing those defects.
4. THOR. I can’t really speak to Jayco, but all products built by THOR Are crap.
5. 1st RV:  It takes your first RV to discover what it is you “really” want when going on-the-road.  Today you like a pop up, but after a few rains, or binning cold weather, you realized it’s not what you want. Or, you buy a pull trailer and discover might like a 5th or C or A better. 
6. Time:  It takes time to discover your passion when in an RV: camping vs RV park; small vs large;  boondocking;  RV parks only; gaining experience over time.

I hope You get the picture. Some, after many years are still living in their first RV, while others have gone through 5 or more in their first 5 years. 

Good luck, and have fun in this initial selection process, as you are beginning a fantastic Journey.

 

[Ray,IN]

When considering ANY trailer, always use the GWVR of the trailer when matching it to your tow vehicle. Well, unless you plan to always tow the trailer empty.

Your tow vehicles towing capacity depends on how much weight you add to it, as the sales figures only account for a 150# driver, and 1/2 tank of fuel. Use this online calculator to avoid making a costly mistake.

[Jmk]

On 8/7/2020 at 5:04 PM, gypsydan said:

Since this is your first RV, and it appears you basically know nothing about RVIng, I would recommend buying USED.  Why:  

1. You have not told us if you are going to be a weekender, once a year traveler, Part time, or going full-time. Each is unique, and will most definitely define what you Ultimately end up with over time.
2. Depreciation. The original buyer will eat the initial depreciation, which can be heavy the first year.
3. Repairs.  If you have done any kind of homework, like reading the many RV forums, you will discover that many RVs today are full of mfg defects. This means you will end up repairing those defects.
4. THOR. I can’t really speak to Jayco, but all products built by THOR Are crap.
5. 1st RV:  It takes your first RV to discover what it is you “really” want when going on-the-road.  Today you like a pop up, but after a few rains, or binning cold weather, you realized it’s not what you want. Or, you buy a pull trailer and discover might like a 5th or C or A better. 
6. Time:  It takes time to discover your passion when in an RV: camping vs RV park; small vs large;  boondocking;  RV parks only; gaining experience over time.

I hope You get the picture. Some, after many years are still living in their first RV, while others have gone through 5 or more in their first 5 years. 

Good luck, and have fun in this initial selection process, as you are beginning a fantastic Journey.

 

Thanks, i decided on a 1996 Fleetwood Taos. The best I could tell it’s in very good condition for the age. I went with this one because I wanted something simple with less to maintain or repair. It just has a sink, fridge, stove and furnace with two electrical outlets on the inside, two outside and lighting.  It was over priced , 3800 but because of Covid, pop ups seem to be a commodity here in Phoenix right now. They’re all selling within an hr of being listed It towed fine and is well below my vehicles tow capacity. I’m going to take it in for safety inspection before I go out, I would also like some type of AC since it’s so hot here. Would a portable unit be ok for this? 

Edited August 9, 2020 by Jmk

[Kirk W]

If the trailer is in as good a condition as you believe it to be, then you probably didn't do too badly.  Make sure to have the wheel bearings repacked and also check the date code on the tires to make sure that they are less than 7 years old and no cracking or checking. 

    

The last two digits are the year of manufacturer and the first are what week of that year.  Be sure to test run all of the appliances and the water system. You may also find the Jayco Owners Forum to be helpful. 

[Jmk]

41 minutes ago, Kirk W said:

If the trailer is in as good a condition as you believe it to be, then you probably didn't do too badly.  Make sure to have the wheel bearings repacked and also check the date code on the tires to make sure that they are less than 7 years old and no cracking or checking. 

    

The last two digits are the year of manufacturer and the first are what week of that year.  Be sure to test run all of the appliances and the water system. You may also find the Jayco Owners Forum to be helpful. 

Thank you, I’ll check them tonight , the tires appeared  to be new tho. I’m gonna try to take it in this week for inspection and service. Assuming everything checks out, I’m hoping to get out next weekend, is there a portable ac you’d recommend?

[fpmtngal]

No help with a portable AC, but just because the tires look new, it doesn’t mean they are.  Someone on another forum dealing with trailers posted that they had just bought a 5 year old TT.  The tires (original) had lots of tread and looked great - they drove it about 50 miles and had had 3 blow-outs or tire failure (steel belt showing through the rubber).  Usually trailer tires will age out before they wear out.

It looks like a nice trailer.

[Jmk]

37 minutes ago, fpmtngal said:

No help with a portable AC, but just because the tires look new, it doesn’t mean they are.  Someone on another forum dealing with trailers posted that they had just bought a 5 year old TT.  The tires (original) had lots of tread and looked great - they drove it about 50 miles and had had 3 blow-outs or tire failure (steel belt showing through the rubber).  Usually trailer tires will age out before they wear out.

It looks like a nice trailer.

Thank you, I’ll definitely check the dates and have the tech look as well when I get the inspection done, is there anything else that you recommend I look over?

[sandsys]

I'm having trouble imagining an air conditioner in a tent trailer. I'd try fans first. Plus, you might want to Google cooling bandanas. They are amazingly effective.

Linda

[Jmk]

7 minutes ago, sandsys said:

I'm having trouble imagining an air conditioner in a tent trailer. I'd try fans first. Plus, you might want to Google cooling bandanas. They are amazingly effective.

Linda

I’ll look into this, sounds like a cheap option. I’ve heard the rooftop ac works well in pop ups, but they want $1500, that’s why I’m looking at portable. It was 114f here today tho lol

[podwerkz]

If you plan to always use hookups, or a generator, then your idea to use a portable A/C might be feasible, but most tent trailers are bought and used in the boonies, near a lake or ATV riding area, beside a mountain stream, or at least with no hookups in a campground...because camping in a tent trailer a few feet from your campground neighbor, just to have electricity,  is not much fun.

BTW, does it have an actual 2-way or 3-way fridge, or is it an icebox? 

My first 'RV' was a tent trailer, I have fond memories of it....mostly, but it only had an icebox and no other appliances, other than a 2 burner propane stove. It even had the manual handpump for the sink. The only thing the house battery was for is if you wanted to be able to turn on the porch light at night.

Simplicity...gotta love it. 

 

Edited August 10, 2020 by podwerkz

[sandsys]

Our tent trailer had a sink and a propane furnace. We brought our own ice chest and camp stove. The lights ran off the car's battery. Since we came to it from a backpacking tent it felt like true luxury. Especially when we ran the furnace on nights in the mountains.

Linda

[Jmk]

5 hours ago, podwerkz said:

If you plan to always use hookups, or a generator, then your idea to use a portable A/C might be feasible, but most tent trailers are bought and used in the boonies, near a lake or ATV riding area, beside a mountain stream, or at least with no hookups in a campground...because camping in a tent trailer a few feet from your campground neighbor, just to have electricity,  is not much fun.

BTW, does it have an actual 2-way or 3-way fridge, or is it an icebox? 

My first 'RV' was a tent trailer, I have fond memories of it....mostly, but it only had an icebox and no other appliances, other than a 2 burner propane stove. It even had the manual handpump for the sink. The only thing the house battery was for is if you wanted to be able to turn on the porch light at night.

 

I love camping and 4wheeling so it will be used for that type of stuff, I’m used to just sleeping on a tarp whenever I feel like calling it a day wherever I happen to be, so this will be luxurious for me, but my wife isn’t big on camping but with the whole pandemic thing, we figured this would be a safe way to travel instead of staying in a hotel. So I’m trying to make it as comfortable as possible for her. I’m hoping she’ll get more used to it and do some middle of nowhere stuff with me tho. But ya, we’ll mostly use hook up sites when the whole family goes. If I go alone or with friends, I’ll mostly do boondocking
it has a fridge that runs on electricity or propane, a two burner stove, a furnace, and a sink with a hand pump. Simplicity is what I was looking for, my wife picked a large one with slide outs and bathroom and all the other stuff, but I convinced her to go simple. But the trade off is she’s insisting on AC lol 

 

[Jmk]

5 hours ago, sandsys said:

Our tent trailer had a sink and a propane furnace. We brought our own ice chest and camp stove. The lights ran off the car's battery. Since we came to it from a backpacking tent it felt like true luxury. Especially when we ran the furnace on nights in the mountains.

Linda

I’m with you on that, I’m a jeeper  ( I switched teams and drive a 4Runner now tho,  lol) and I’m used to stopping on a trail and sleeping on a blue tarp, maybe a sleeping bag if it was cold, so this will feel like a 5 star resort to me. This one has a fridge, but it doesn’t look very useful, I’ll probably try it out and bring a large cooler as a back up tho.

[Kirk W]

1 hour ago, Jmk said:

it has a fridge that runs on electricity or propane, a two burner stove, a furnace, and a sink with a hand pump.

That sounds much like the Starcraft pop-up that we towed behind a 4WD when our 3 sons were growing up. I suspect that you have no onboard toilet facilities, so you may want to consider a cassette unit as that could be the major issue you wife will have. Yours probably is wired to install an air conditioner into the roof vent as most of them have been that way for years. The one we had was not air conditioned, but we lived in WY at that time and mostly used it in the mountains. Ours did have a small furnace. 

While you may be able to figure out a way to use a portable air conditioner, keep in mind that they need a way to discharge the hot air to the outside in order to work and it will be in the way. Roof air is not cheap but it works and doesn't take up floor space. 

[fpmtngal]

This wouldn’t be an AC alternative and wouldn’t work in a humid climate, but I was at Home Depot recently, in Alamogordo.  They had a Ryobi fan/mister.  I think it was hybrid so it could run either on one of their 18v batteries (I have other Ryobi tools so have batteries of two different sizes) or with an extension cord.  The mister looked very cool for desert living, and I was sure tempted.  It could either use a hose or sit on a 5 gallon water bucket.  I looked longingly but passed it by on my way to the rotary tools.  Something like that might help make camping/sitting outside in the Arizona mountains more comfortable for your DW.

[Jmk]

9 hours ago, Kirk W said:

That sounds much like the Starcraft pop-up that we towed behind a 4WD when our 3 sons were growing up. I suspect that you have no onboard toilet facilities, so you may want to consider a cassette unit as that could be the major issue you wife will have. Yours probably is wired to install an air conditioner into the roof vent as most of them have been that way for years. The one we had was not air conditioned, but we lived in WY at that time and mostly used it in the mountains. Ours did have a small furnace. 

While you may be able to figure out a way to use a portable air conditioner, keep in mind that they need a way to discharge the hot air to the outside in order to work and it will be in the way. Roof air is not cheap but it works and doesn't take up floor space. 

Ya, no bathroom on this trailer but I got a little tent and a cassette toilet and hand pump shower to put outside the trailer. It doesn’t have a vent in the roof, does that mean the roof Ac is not possible? 

[Jmk]

1 hour ago, fpmtngal said:

This wouldn’t be an AC alternative and wouldn’t work in a humid climate, but I was at Home Depot recently, in Alamogordo.  They had a Ryobi fan/mister.  I think it was hybrid so it could run either on one of their 18v batteries (I have other Ryobi tools so have batteries of two different sizes) or with an extension cord.  The mister looked very cool for desert living, and I was sure tempted.  It could either use a hose or sit on a 5 gallon water bucket.  I looked longingly but passed it by on my way to the rotary tools.  Something like that might help make camping/sitting outside in the Arizona mountains more comfortable for your DW.

Thank you, I’ll look into that, most of what we like is desert exploration, so that could be nice.

[Kirk W]

14 hours ago, Jmk said:

It doesn’t have a vent in the roof, does that mean the roof Ac is not possible? 

That probably is what it means and it is sure to mean that it isn't wired to accept one. Here in TX the vast majority of popup trailers do have a roof air conditioner, but even here the lowest priced models do not.