The 10 Things You SHOULDN’T Do When Buying

A Camper, Fifth Wheel, or Motorhome

This photo was taken when my granddaughter and I drove six hours into Michigan from Illinois to pick up my first camper. It was the first one that I was buying on my own and I thought we could make it into an adventure! It was a Forest River Cherokee fifth wheel. It was beautiful. But it wasn’t the one I had ordered.

#1 Do NOT go into a dealership for the very first time expecting to buy and take home a new camper, fifth wheel or motorhome. It will be a mistake!

My brother called me as I was driving to Michigan and reminded me that my Uncle Pete sold campers in the late 60’s and 70’s. He said that our Dad and Uncle Pete raved about the new fifth wheel that Pete had put on his lot. My brother remembered them talking about how much easier a fifth wheel was to control while driving, even in wind and rain. He made me think about what I really wanted to buy.

So, after driving and thinking the rest of the way there, I came through the door of that Michigan camper dealership with an entirely different purchase on my mind. My brother unknowingly kept me from making many mistakes.

But, let me back up and explain where I went wrong. When I first knew I wanted to buy a camper, I started looking online. As I looked for something on the world wide web, I had a lot of pop-up ads, one with the words “lowest prices in the USA”. That sounded good, so I went to their website to look around. This was probably my first mistake.

After I started looking on this site, I didn’t look anywhere else. After a few weeks of searching this particular dealership, I called and talked to a salesman, who also told me they had the best prices in the USA. What he didn’t do was ask me anything about my tow vehicle or talk to me about the type of travel I was wanting to do. If he had, he could have told me that my F-150 was too small to pull this travel trailer efficiently.

#2 Explore many different dealerships, especially ones in your area. Google “RV dealerships near me”. Then, read the reviews. Visit the dealerships. Be very particular.

The travel trailer I was asking this salesman about was a 35 foot, bumper-pull travel trailer. It really looked good online. I loved the floor plan and Tori would even have her own room. But in reality, it was too heavy for my truck to pull. But I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I had not investigated the subject enough to know this. So, overweight, and at 35 feet long, it would’ve been a nightmare to pull. I had never heard of a sway bar or had any idea how towing worked between a tow vehicle and a camper. I should have been an expert at this before I walked in the dealership door.

#3 If you are buying an item that needs towed, BE SURE YOUR TOW VEHICLE HAS ENOUGH POWER TO TOW the camper or fifth wheel you choose. Investigate this yourself, before you go to the dealership!

A few months after I bought my camper, I found a dealership within an hour from my house that had excellent prices AND would have been a great source for repairs and maintenance.

Now, back to the part where I came through the door of that Michigan camper dealership with an entirely different purchase on my mind, because of my brother’s phone call. I came through the door and when I got someone’s attention, I asked to speak to Salesman Dan, who I had been talking to on the phone over the past few weeks.

Salesman Dan was not very happy to hear that I had changed my mind about what I wanted to buy. So much so, that he wouldn’t even let me look at the trailer I had ordered. He told me that since they had spent time getting it ready to go for me today, I would have to forfeit the $500 prep fee. I felt so strongly about my decision that I told him if I didn’t have a choice, I would pay it.

So, after being shown a few campers picked by Salesman Dan, I chose a fifth wheel. It would mean that we would have to stay a day longer. The truck needed to have the fifth wheel hitch attached to the frame.

#4 Stand up for yourself! I should not have had to pay the $500 prep fee for a camper I did not buy. I should have had more of a choice in the campers we looked at, it was my money I was spending.

We were told they would hook-up the fifth wheel to a place in their lot and we could sleep in it, try it out, get used to it. The manager told me the lot would be locked, no one could get in, and I would have several phone numbers to call, in case I needed something. We would be fine, they told us. Did I forget to mention that I planned this trip for a weekend in February, and as we left home, the weather turned cold, snowy, and windy?

Our Assigned Spot at the Dealership for the Night

We got comfortable that night, we had no sheets and only a few blankets to roll up in. But we turned up the heat and went to sleep. About an hour later, the propane monitor started to alarm. My granddaughter and I both woke up, found the alarm and pushed the first button on it we could find. It was a two-minute alarm silence, and the alarm continued. We opened the windows thinking there must be a leak somewhere. We opened the door. We froze our tails off thinking there was a leak.

No one would answer any of the phone numbers we called. Did I mention this was February? After several hours, with a good cold airflow going through the camper, I just got up, grabbed that alarm and yanked it off the wall. We had no reason to believe that there was a leak, so I pulled the alarm, closed the doors and windows, and tried to sleep.

From this one experience I learned so many lessons! And, this story is not over there is much more!