Whether you are going camping, touring, or even vagabonding, a camp trailer will provide a traveller with all the amenities found in the comfort of today’s modern homes. There are various types of homes on wheels, or mobile homes, such as motor homes, truck campers, fifth wheel trailers, and travel trailers. The type of recreational vehicle (RV) you are going to buy for your family or for yourself, depends on a few factors. These factors are primarily, the cost, your current vehicles towing capacity, and the amount of living and sleeping area you are going to need. The fact is an RV bought new from a dealership will generally depreciate faster in the first few years from its purchase date, after a few years the RV’s value can hold its own if it is well maintained. For this reason, the smart modern vagabonds will commonly buy their mobile homes used. If you can learn to recognize what to look for when you are shopping for a used camper trailer, then you just might be able to find yourself a great deal and save a few dollars.

While you are shopping for your used camp trailer, the different types of RVs you will encounter are, the class A motor homes, the class B motor homes, the class C motor homes, travel trailers, fifth wheel trailers, folding camp trailers, sport utility recreational vehicles, and the good old truck camper. The type you are going to focus on will depend on your budget, the vehicle you are currently driving, and the space required. Unless you are looking at the class A, B, and C motor homes you will need a towing vehicle. The class A motor home is the most expensive and the biggest recreational vehicle, such as a bus converted into a living quarters, the class B motor home is smaller and is built on a van chassis, and the class C motor home is a van with a cut away chassis as the camper. If you own a car, then you can shop around for the travel trailers and folding camp trailers. These types are generally smaller and lighter and enable the use of a car for towing. For the pickup truck owners and depending on the truck’s load and tow capacity, you can then start looking at the larger camp trailers. With a pickup truck, you can still buy the lighter, smaller trailers if you wish, that depends on your comfort level, this way you will have more room in your truck box to carry supplies around. The truck camper is unique in its own way since it fits inside a pickup truck’s box. These vary in size and weight depending on your truck’s load capacity and you can also tow a trailer or boat with the truck camper style. Lately, RV manufacturers have been building the sport utility camp trailers. Like the pickup truck camper, the sport utility camper is unique since it has its own garage to store your toys in. The sport utility trailer comes in various sizes and is also built as class A, B, and C. If you decide to purchase a camp trailer, you are going to have to do your homework and look up your car or truck’s towing capacity. There are two numbers you will have to know about your towing vehicle and that is, the gross trailer weight (GTW) and the tongue weight (TW) capacities. The GTW is the maximum weight your vehicle is designed to pull and the TW is the weight your hitch ball can support. These two specifications can be found in your vehicle’s owner’s manual. This is very important to know since the insurance company you are dealing with might reject any accident claims due to not complying with these specifications while hauling your camp trailer.

Once you have decided on the type of used RV you will be shopping for, start reading through the classified ads in your local newspapers, magazines, and on the Internet. You can also visit local RV dealerships since most of them will have used RVs on their lots. When you are ready to go look at your future used RV, bring a check list of things to look for. When you are looking over your prospective RV, spend a little time doing it, don’t buy on impulse, this can be a costly mistake. You can even call the seller ahead of time and have them prepare the RV for inspection, prompt them to fill the water storage tanks, start up the refrigerator and freezer, have the propane tanks and power hooked up, and basically have it ready as if the camper was going to be used immediately. If the seller agrees to your request, give them a few hours to do so, the refrigerator and freezer should be cold by the time you get there. If the seller refuses to prepare the camper for your viewing, then be suspicious of damages or broken down appliances in the camper.

Once you have arrived at the camper’s seller’s location, start your inspection. Have a thorough look at the underneath of the camper looking for rust spots, leaky holding tanks, and any damage due to bottoming out. Check the tires, their threads, and brake controller if applicable (knowledge on break controllers is not that important but good to know). Do a scan of the camper’s shell, look for dents, rusty spots, separations in the seams, and rusty or loose screws. Open up all the compartments and have a look inside for damage and especially dampness. Make sure the compartment doors shut tight and are not loose. If the camper is a folding type, inspect the canvas and screens; look for holes and patches, check the seams and surface for brittleness and rot. If the camper is a hardtop, have a look at the roof, look for markings where water might of collected, and inspect the joints and rubber seals. Depending on the weathering and age of the camper, these seals will start cracking and water may be able to seep into the camper. While looking over the roof, make sure that all the racks and vents are tight and secured. If there are any, find out where the battery or batteries, and propane cylinders are stored. Check that the batteries are well charged and holding their charge. If there are any hydraulic or electric motors make sure that they are properly running and are doing the work that they are designed to do, such as lifting the camper up and down for levelling. Check to make sure that the propane tank(s) are not leaking, you will smell propane if the connectors on the tanks are not holding or are loose. The exterior lights on the camper are very important for safety and laws while driving on public roads, make sure that the turning and brake lights are functioning well. After thoroughly inspecting the exterior of the camper, you can then start with the interior.

Once you have entered the camper, check the entrance door to see if it securely closes and look for signs of leaking; do the same for all the windows. Check all the hinges, handles, and locks on all the windows and door. In the kitchen, check all the appliances to assure that they are working properly, listen for strange noise or smells, and look them over for damage. Turn on the water facets to make sure the pump(s) is working and if there is a hot water heater you will know if it is working properly due to the temperature of the water. In the bathroom, if the camper has one, make sure everything in it is secured and has not become loose during the camper’s travel. Look for the ventilation fan and make sure that it is working properly, this is important because the moisture from the bathroom should always be vented out. Have a look at the toilet, make sure that it can hold water and that it is flushing properly, it will smell during your travels if it malfunctioning. Depending on your taste and comfort zone, have a look over at the furniture and bedding to assure that they are in good condition. Finally and most importantly, check the floor and inside all storage compartments for moisture and mildew. The floor around the sinks, tub, shower, and toilet are more likely to have water damage due to spillage. Check that the floor around these areas is not soften or even rotten by water damage.

Once you have given your potential camper a complete inspection and you are satisfied with all its working components, sit in it for as long as it takes for you to feel comfortable. Look at its layout and all the amenities it has to offer and let yourself relax until you feel satisfied that it is the right camper for you. If it’s not and you can’t feel it, don’t worry there are many more used campers available to you. However, a rule of thumb when making a purchase of such value is, go look at more than just one model of camper. You can have fun and learn more as you inspect the various models available to the vagabonds. When you find the right camper and it has met all of your standards, hook it up and hopefully we’ll see you on the road with a smile on your face!