justify a new purchase

We bought a new 27RL in August of 09. I love it but my husband has already started looking at 'bigger and better' models. He now wants to buy a Sundance 3300QS which is a quad slide. Our unit isn't even a year old. We have checked with local dealers and it looks like we would lose about 7,000 dollars if we trade right now. Is there any financial justification for us to keep our 2010 27RL for another three years and then trade it for the RV that he wants? Any opinions would be helpful. Thank you - Janice

Hi Janice and welcome to our forum.

Sounds like you husband has got the camping bug. I've learned over the years that financial justifications don't mean anything when you want it. # years is a long time to WANT something.

I guess the real justification would be, how much are you going to use it.

I'm not sure how the forum works but I appreciate your response - hopefully you get this.
We will be spending three months in Florida during the winter and then time to time in Minnesota and Wisconsin during the summer months.

I guess the real justification would be, how much are you going to use it.

I'll agree with tom on that line.

Welcome to the forum.


A few months at a time, your pretty much close to full timing. So the quad might not be a bad idea, unless you stay on the go all the time even when your in FL.

I would take your time and try and sell the Cat private sell and get more money out of it. I wouldn't trade if you can help it.

We have a classifieds section here on the forum. and Craigslist.com is one of the best places to sell something without ad fee's. Just be careful of scammers emails.

Ok,,, there are many ways to look at this.

1. If you are older and retired, life goes by so fast, do what you want to do while you are healthy.
2. If you can pay cash for the new unit, then buy it and enjoy it.
3. Our economy is going down in flames, no matter what the current politicians are telling us. It might be best to be frugal for a year to see what happens.
Option number one trumps number three, where time is running out. In our situation, we have about ten years left, if the average statistics are correct, so we are doing things now, while we physically can. That includes purchases, as long as we can pay cash for them. With this theory, we bought our WC and truck with cash. No payments. It is prudent to keep a nest egg for the coming economic crash.
So,, this is a long winded response to you might want to keep your older unit until you see what happens to the economy. If things get real bad,,, some might be living in their WC's full time. If you are older,,, then go for it.

We are retired. My husband has always said to do what we want while we are still healthy and able to enjoy it while we can. So far it sounds like we should stop worrying about the bottom line and just enjoy life and get what we want.

Greetings; Regarding the upgrade to a bigger/heavier RV, I too went through a decision as to what do we need or want. Some financial questions you should ask yourselves are the following: -How is your present truck going to safely handle this bigger rig, do you need to purchase a new DRW? -How many miles are your trips ie less than 1000 miles on only good wide roads OK, traveling all the way to Alaska from the lower 48 you could do it, but not a good idea. I've made the Alaska trip several times with the 27RL in all kinds of weather & its the right rig for us, glad we do not have the heavier drag or being too awkward getting into some CG. -Length of stay in CG influenced the decision also, sure is nice to have the roomier RV for 6 months in AZ., but we go a long way and like to stay in numerous places on a trip. -Extra fuel consumption for the heavier rig has merit.

Well, hope this all helps and LOL with your decision.

how much does a quad weigh ?

djesmear to the forum.
We purchased a 2004 27RL then two years and 4 months traded it in and then purchased a 2005 29 RLBS. Then we were both still working.

You both enjoy it.
You can afford it.
You can't take it with you.

Whats left to justify?

As Phillip said; Sell the Cat, then buy the other. Spring is a great time to sell and I think a less than year old unit would go really fast.

You'll get more out of your Cat and pay less for the new one if you can go this route.

If you can afford to take the seven grand loss then go for it.

Is the model you're looking at the one that requires going down the steps to access the bathroom from the bedroom area?

I don't mean to sound like a wet blanket, bu I know I am going to. The loss would be 7K on the first RV. Should anything change where you no longer wanted or could camp and had (wanted) to sell the second RV, what would be the loss on that? The combination of the two is the true picture, IMHO. Let's say the loss on the second RV would be 5K, then the worst case is 5K Plus 7K or 12K.

If you could (financially) live with that - GO FOR IT! Remember: You have never seen an armored truck following a Hearst.

Best regards & Happy Camping

All the suggestions seem to point in the same direction. That is to 'go for it'. It's true that you can't take it with you.
The quad weighs 10700 which is about 2700 lbs more than the cat. We drive a Dodge diesel 3/4 ton so it should handle the extra weight fine. I do get a little concerned that it might be too long for some CG. It is almost 36 ft long and the 27RL is only a little over 29.
I think we will post it in the forum and ask $23,500 for it. It is in brand new condition. Does that sound like a fair price?

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Do a Google search for your unit and see what they are selling for. Also I would do a search on Craigs List. Here is a site that will let you search many Craigs List locations at once.

Good Luck

djsemear wrote:All the suggestions seem to point in the same direction. That is to 'go for it'. It's true that you can't take it with you.
The quad weighs 10700 which is about 2700 lbs more than the cat. We drive a Dodge diesel 3/4 ton so it should handle the extra weight fine. I do get a little concerned that it might be too long for some CG. It is almost 36 ft long and the 27RL is only a little over 29.
I think we will post it in the forum and ask $23,500 for it. It is in brand new condition. Does that sound like a fair price?

You have a valid concern about the length. That is why when we started looking for a 5th wheel, we looked at a 30ft. maximum, which 90% of rv parks accept. Many California State Parks along the West Coast do not support trailers that are over 25ft. When you add up your total length, which includes the length of your truck and anything hanging off the back, you should check your parks before arriving to see if your rig will work. I know some of the campgrounds that we stay in, on the beach in Oregon, would not work with that length. Sometimes all the pull throughs are taken, and you are left with the back in's which normally are much shorter.

Welcome to the forum,
Some people live for today and some live for future. If you are going to almost fulltime, and maybe made a mistake on the first unit, make sure you spend a little time picking out the next.
I personally would chaulk it up as a mistake and move forward. If you are living in a "home" that you are unhappy with, you may not even want to camp anymore. This great economy we have isn't going to get much better till some time from now. I would make the change now before you loose any more money.
JMHO

That would be an excellent price.

I'd also post it on Craigslist, local to the area your in.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites

Click on your state and city and post your ad for free. Craigslist will probably get it sold pretty quick.

Welcome to the forum, try and sell the unit yourself, and spend some time thinking about how you will use the new unit.

I brought my new TT last year and now I want a Wildcat, DW puts up with a lot. I started out wanting a 29RLBS but now I am leaning towards a 27RL, I will call someone tomorrow.

Call anytime. Ask for Dan or Jan.