Maggie’s Bought my first travel trailer/camper

[stello1001]

Hello all,

First of all, not sure of this is the right section for this so I apologize in advance if it's not. I've never owned one of these before and I think I made a good purchase but not too sure. When I worked out of town for my previous two jobs, I would rent my dad's FEMA trailer from him so I had something to live in. I decided it's time I get my own and this is definitely a huge upgrade from his. It's a 2014 Weekender and if I recall correctly, it's 30ft in length. We agreed on $7,000.00 cash and everything seems to be in very good condition with the exception of a very small leak on the slide out. Previous owner said she was quoted $400 for that leak repair. She might have just said that to sell it, idk. Anyhow, so long as it's not more than $800 I think I'm good. I'll post the only picture I have for now.

Any thoughts???

 

[stello1001]

dont know the cost but prob just needs a new gasket on slide-out. Make sure slide -out is All the way in or All the way extended ( not Partway) . congrats on the new camper

Actually, yes... Previous owner said that's exactly what it needed, a new gasket. Hopefully it's not too much.

And thank you...

Also, I have a half ton Z71 4x4 5.3 Silverado. Camper weighs just slightly over 5,000 lbs. I'm thinking she'll definitely feel the weight but still doable.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

Keep it in a shed!!!!
If you don't it will be a rotten pile of nothing in a short time. My cousin has a camper repair shop. I have seen lots of newer trailers in his shop with the whole side rotted out. Newer trailers and RV's are made to sell, not last.
Looks nice and clean.

 

[Missalot]

I wouldn't buy it until you get that leak and its effects figured out. Get on the inside and have your SO or a friend get a hose and starting at the bottom of the slide, have her/him slowly work a stream of water up while you watch from inside. Hopefully the location of the leak will be obvious. Also, check all the penetrations on the roof for leaks. Then check all seams where the roof meets the slides. Replace or add sealant where there are leaks or cracks in the caulk. You want to use Dicor self leveling on the roof. If there is a slide leak, check the slide floor, main floor, and walls for wet or rotting floor. Use something like a sharp ice pick to test the floor in discreet locations. If the pick goes into the wood indicating rot, you will need to replace that part of the floor/wall.

If you are in a freezing environment, learn how to winterize your trailer.

If the tires are older than 7 years, replace them now. The date code is on the tire. Replace them with 10 ply tires and always run your tires at maximum pressure as shown on the tire (unless you weigh your trailer and know the pressure to weight manufacturer's recommendation). Almost all trailer tires are made in China and are prone to blowouts. Multi ply tires reduce the tendency to blow. When they do blow, the tire can cause a lot of body damage. Finally, on tires, there are no trailer tires that have more than a 65 mph rating. so keep that in mind while tooling down the interstate. Tires are expensive so add the cost of new shoes to your purchase price. Just because it's 2014 doesn't mean the tires are 2014 manufactured.

Get an antisway bar and a weight distribution hitch. These are often available on CL at good prices. Add this cost to your purchase price unless it comes with the trailer.

You will probably need a new battery and a charger for maintaining it when you aren't using your trailer. Add this to the cost of your purchase.

Check the brakes and go ahead and repack the axles. If you don't have a brake controller, Prodigy makes a nice one. The brake controller should be a plug and play affair with your current wiring. If you don't want to repack and redo the brakes, call around and get some prices and add this to your purchase price.

If you aren't familiar with inspecting a trailer, you can have it surveyed for about $300 by an inspector. This will be money well spent if you aren't sure about all the systems on a trailer.

Spend some time at irv2 learning about your manufacturer and hopefully your model.

RVing is a lot of fun, but you want to spend your time enjoying rv-ing and not repairing your rig. Good luck!

 

[stello1001]

I wouldn't buy it until you get that leak and its effects figured out. Get on the inside and have your SO or a friend get a hose and starting at the bottom of the slide, have her/him slowly work a stream of water up while you watch from inside. Hopefully the location of the leak will be obvious. Also, check all the penetrations on the roof for leaks. Then check all seams where the roof meets the slides. Replace or add sealant where there are leaks or cracks in the caulk. You want to use Dicor self leveling on the roof. If there is a slide leak, check the slide floor, main floor, and walls for wet or rotting floor. Use something like a sharp ice pick to test the floor in discreet locations. If the pick goes into the wood indicating rot, you will need to replace that part of the floor/wall.

If you are in a freezing environment, learn how to winterize your trailer.

If the tires are older than 7 years, replace them now. The date code is on the tire. Replace them with 10 ply tires and always run your tires at maximum pressure as shown on the tire (unless you weigh your trailer and know the pressure to weight manufacturer's recommendation). Almost all trailer tires are made in China and are prone to blowouts. Multi ply tires reduce the tendency to blow. When they do blow, the tire can cause a lot of body damage. Finally, on tires, there are no trailer tires that have more than a 65 mph rating. so keep that in mind while tooling down the interstate. Tires are expensive so add the cost of new shoes to your purchase price. Just because it's 2014 doesn't mean the tires are 2014 manufactured.

Get an antisway bar and a weight distribution hitch. These are often available on CL at good prices. Add this cost to your purchase price unless it comes with the trailer.

You will probably need a new battery and a charger for maintaining it when you aren't using your trailer. Add this to the cost of your purchase.

Check the brakes and go ahead and repack the axles. If you don't have a brake controller, Prodigy makes a nice one. The brake controller should be a plug and play affair with your current wiring. If you don't want to repack and redo the brakes, call around and get some prices and add this to your purchase price.

If you aren't familiar with inspecting a trailer, you can have it surveyed for about $300 by an inspector. This will be money well spent if you aren't sure about all the systems on a trailer.

Spend some time at irv2 learning about your manufacturer and hopefully your model.

RVing is a lot of fun, but you want to spend your time enjoying rv-ing and not repairing your rig. Good luck!

Mission,

I definitely appreciate you taking the time to provide all this info for me.

The ice pick idea to check for rotten floor is a great idea, definitely will consider doing that once I go pick it up.

Same for the water hose idea to check for leaks. I can have someone spray on the roof and all around the slide while I am in.

Tires, they practically look brand new with no heat cracks. My father has been selling tires for as long as I can remember so I know what to look for on those. I also don't plan on towing over 60 maybe 65 miles as it's relatively big.

Purchase includes anti sway bar and weight distribution hitch as well so that was definitely pretty cool for me to get that with the RV.

I might have to look into a brake controller and you mentioned Prodigy. I'll check them out.

For the most part, I think I'm good. I did like your water hose and ice pick ideas so definitely thanks for contributing to my thread. Much appreciation...

 

[Major Wader]

Brake controller would be a need, not a maybe, especially if you will be towing with a half ton pickup.

 

[judgedelta]

Check/replace the vent cover(s) on the roof. The plastic will rot in the sun after 4 or 5 years. Cost about $25 and take 30 minutes to replace.