My wife & I retired in 2020 with the idea of traveling while we are still relatively young, healthy and able to enjoy ourselves. Then Covid-19 hit and like everyone else on the entire planet, plans changed. So we’ve gone through lock-downs, home quarantine, and have been very cautious since we are near the age when it can be extremely serious or even fatal. Many of you most likely are living under similar circumstances…

Closed Borders
Since travel out of the country for most of 2020 was restricted & risky with potential exposure to Covid in close spaces. Not feeling safe flying or using public transportation, like many others, we decided to buy a RV as a way to travel safely. We had been discussing a Sprinter-type van conversion build for several months, even before Covid, then decided on a small trailer instead.

First we looked at a Happier Camper (Jun 23 2020) since they claim you can tow it with a car. It’s a great idea – a small fiberglass trailer with modules that can add different features. You can completely customize the tiny floor plan & change it to suit your travel plans. Unfortunately, even at only ~1500lbs, our Nissan Rogue Hybrid SUV couldn’t tow it. We also really wanted an indoor shower and toilet, for convenience & Covid safety. Plus it’s pricey and would take months to build. The Happier Camper Traveler model is bigger, has a wet bath, but is priced like an Airstream and weighs 1800lb dry.

Tow capability
In hindsight, I’d recommend anyone find the travel trailer they want first. Then buy a tow vehicle capable of towing it safely.
The tow capacity of my model Tacoma is 6400lbs, so I thought “Cool, we‘ll be fine”. But after researching tow capacity, it’s somewhat a misnomer since trucks really shouldn’t pull their maximum tow weight. Safe towing practitioners recommended that you keep your fully loaded travel trailer at 80% or less of your tow vehicles maximum tow capacity. So, for the Tacoma, that is around 5000lbs. I wanted to keep it closer to ~4200lbs for fuel economy & less wear-n-tear on the power train on inclines. Some safe towing practitioners recommend limiting your weight to 50% of your tow capacity.
A ~4200lb max weight really limits your options in travel trailers if you want comfortable interior space. Especially if you want a shower & toilet. This means trying to keep the “dry weight” (weight w/o cargo, water, propane, & batteries) to 3200lbs or less. So we started shopping for small travel trailers 20ft or less.

Smaller Travel Trailers

We spent a few months researching online and shopping at local RV dealers. New fiberglass trailers, like the Escape, Casita, or Scamp, are lightweight and perfect for a smaller tow vehicle. But they are exclusively custom ordered & have a waiting list into late 2021 or 2022 (as of Oct 2020). Used ones are hard to find because they have a devoted following. We saw a well-used Casita price reasonably on Facebook marketplace and contacted the owner right away. But we were 35th on the list of interested buyers and it sold well before we had a chance to see it in person.
The inflated Covid-premium pricing carried over into the used market, with used Tacomas and trailers selling for near-original sales price or more.
We seriously considered the NuCamp Tab 400 Boondock (~$42k in SoCal; $35k in AZ) since we originally planned on the compact floor plan of a Sprinter van conversion. The Little Guy Max (~$35k in SoCal) was also really nice, well constructed, but with small fresh water, gray & black water tanks. Ultimately, we decided on the slightly larger Geo Pro G19RD after touring one Sep 11 2020. One of the very first trailers we walked through and liked.

Like other floor plans we preferred, the G19RD has a bed on one end (front) and dinette on the other (rear). Plus the rear dinette has “wrap-around” windows for a great view and light. There are some great small travel trailer options but very few were sitting on a dealer lot in mid-2020. So the ones that were/are available, are priced with a “Covid-premium” markup. Many local dealers we visited had some travel trailer inventory but most were way too big & heavy for my Tacoma. It seems like the smaller “SUV-towable” travel trailers under 21ft are in greatest demand. The MSRP on trailers is continually increasing as the costs of materials, parts & appliances increase due to production & import limitations. We considered waiting until production increased in 2021 and inventories grew to get a lower price & have more to choose. But with waiting lists of months or even years we decided we would pay the “covid-premium”, to a limited degree, to get one sooner than later – we were hot to get started, antsy to travel due to the lock downs.

Buying Out Of State
While shopping/researching on YouTube & rvtrader.com, we heard about RV Wholesalers in Ohio, who sells many RVs at pre-pandemic prices online (rvwholesalers.com). You submit the trailer(s) you are interested in using their online form and they’ll send you a legitimate (good for 30 days) price quote via email. If you do not want to drive to Ohio, they will ship it right to your door for a mileage-based fee – it was ~$3900 to California. Even with almost $4k shipping, its total cost was a few thousand dollars cheaper than local dealer’s prices .

The deal-killers for us were:

1. We didn’t want to drive to Ohio in December to pickup the trailer with Covid & weather. But that’s the only way to see it before buying and the only way to have an in-person orientation after purchase. Experienced RV’ers probably do not need an orientation but this is our first RV.
2. If shipped, there would be no previewing the trailer, no walk-through, & our virtual orientation would be via Zoom or YouTube. They promise all the dealer prep & inspection would be perform plus a Covid cleaning certification.
3. Warranty service issues since it was bought out-of-state. Buying locally (supposedly) give your priority service at the dealer. Update: this may be less of an issue since, because of the recent surge in RV’ing plus Covid restrictions. Getting your RV in for service requires an appointment which can be months away. I’m thinking most minor repairs can be done by me. I’m fairly “handy” and there are plenty of how-to videos on YouTube or online forums.

Next, we drove 5hrs to Phoenix Arizona because we saw online dealers there seemed to have more inventory and better prices. The Tab 400 was about $10,000 cheaper there but still had to be ordered with a two month wait. They had E-Pros, which are identical to Geo Pros, but they did not have the 19RD we saw advertised online. Most of the other trailers that looked promising were viewable but pre-sold. They had better pricing than California but any model we considered would have to be ordered. Plus, dealers there confirmed “that because of the surge in RVing, customers of the dealership got priority when needing service”. There can also be tax and license details you have to handle at the DMV when returning to California. Even if you buy out-of-state, unless you register it out-of-state, you’ll have to register it and pay tax in your home state. So there is no tax-saving benefits, just the savings of the purchase price.
So we headed back to California and waited. We knew there were a couple incoming G19RDs listed on two local dealer’s manifests. We finally came to the realization that we were willing to pay more to buy locally, primarily for priority service, not having to wait months, and being able to walk-thru the RV before buying.
We were negotiating with a local dealer, hoping for ~$3000 (~10%) below MSRP for an incoming G19RD. The first dealer to sell it to us for our “out-the-door price” would earn our business. While in slow-moving email negotiations with the 1st dealer, another local dealer had one come in and offered it to us. We looked it over, offered the ”out-the-door” price and they accepted the deal.
Be careful when the dealer agrees to another dealer’s price that they don’t try to tack on extra fees. “Out-the-door” means total cost, nothing extra for inspection, setup or orientation.

It’s a sellers market out there. It took us 6 months to get our RV but as I type this, sitting at a campground, finally out of the house. It is a great feeling to finally be back living as normal a life as possible right now.

• Do your research – pricing of RVs varies greatly. Get a price quote from an online dealer such as RV Wholesalers in Ohio to set a baseline.
• RVs are cheaper closer to the factory. If you live on the West Coast and are willing to drive to Texas, Ohio, or Indiana. You can save a bunch but with Covid, it’s not as easy as any other time. With gas prices and travel costs, you may not save that much versus buying locally. But it’d be worth the travel if you can find & buy that ‘hard-to-get-locally’ model you really want.
• Be careful of “bait-n-switch”, many RVs listed online are already sold but still listed as “available”. Or prices listed are much lower than the out-the-door price, once all the extras are tacked on.
• Watch out for added fees and extra costs once the price is settled. Offer an “out-the-door” price so when the contract is written, nothing can be tacked on. If they insist, walk away. If financing, review the payment schedule & total cost very carefully. Make sure you are only paying what was negotiated without a balloon payment down the road.
• Inventory is limited so if you see something you like, put a deposit on it that’s hopefully refundable.
• If you can wait, then order your RV, it can be a lot cheaper. Casitas, Escapes, and Scamps are still selling for close to pre-pandemic prices. Manufacturers costs have gone up so expect new RV prices to be higher than 2019-2020.
• If you are thinking of buying a towable and a new tow vehicle, shop for the towable first. A tow vehicle can limit your towable weight.
• If buying used, seriously consider hiring a NRVIA-certified inspector to fully check out all the systems and make sure it’s safe. Even if buying used from the dealer. Also be aware that some campgrounds do not allow RVs older than 10years. If rebuilt &/or in excellent shape they may make an exception but you have to contact them & send photos.
• Lastly, watch out for scams such as trailers listed dirt-cheap on Facebook Marketplace that have elaborate stories on why they want a quick sale. If it seems too good to be true, it is, unless you are really lucky.
• Buying a RV is like buying a car, after all is said and done – enjoy your RV!