This submit might comprise affiliate hyperlinks. See our affiliate disclaimer right here.
Craigslist is without doubt one of the finest locations to purchase a used RV.
And by finest, I imply the most cost effective. Craigslist tends to be the final individuals go for itemizing their rig, after RV Dealer and Fb Market. So it’s nonetheless a superb place to seek out offers on campers.
However it additionally means assembly up with strangers and shopping for a home on wheels from them…
After we determined to purchase an RV and go on a fifty-state honeymoon, we didn’t know a lot about RV life. We toured a number of campers earlier than we lastly discovered one which didn’t have water injury—which was just about the one factor we knew to search for when searching for a used RV.
This RV could be our first dwelling collectively. And whenever you’re making an attempt to purchase your first dwelling off Craigslist, you by no means know what’s going to occur. Let our story be a cautionary story.
“Can I take advantage of your bathe?” Heath requested.
“Certain,” I replied, questioning internally if he would nonetheless bathe 3 times a day after we lived in a truck camper. Absolutely, the water tank couldn’t deal with that.
“Thanks,” he stated, kissing my cheek. He grabbed his telephone and walked into the toilet. The water began, and I heard Heath say hi there. I shook my head. Who talks on the telephone within the bathe? This is the person I’m marrying.
Out of the blue, nonetheless absolutely dressed, he opened the toilet door, and from throughout the room, I might hear the caller yelling.
“I perceive, however I—” The yelling grew louder. Heath mouthed one thing at me that I couldn’t make out. He seemed spooked, and Heath didn’t spook simply.
“Who’s it?” I requested, my coronary heart charge rising. Our wedding ceremony venue canceling? An indignant shopper from the software program firm the place he labored?
“No, we—” he tried to chop into the dialog, however the yelling grew louder and was bumped into with silence. Whoever it was hung up.
“What was that about?” I requested nervously when Heath slowly lowered the telephone from his ear.
“That was the man from Craigslist promoting the truck camper. He backed out. Stated that he didn’t belief us as a result of we hadn’t picked it up but.”
“However we stated we’d choose it up Friday. It’s not Friday but.” That was the day Heath and his dad might take off work to select up the camper collectively because it required two drivers.
Heath shrugged. “He was pissed. You heard. I couldn’t even get a phrase in.”
“Properly, perhaps you’ll be able to name him again later after he calms down, and we will nonetheless get it?” I requested, not prepared to surrender hope. We’d have a look at campers for over a month, and that was the solely one we present in our value vary. I had simply proven photos of it to my entire household solely days in the past, proudly telling them about our upcoming journey. We didn’t have each a part of our fifty-state honeymoon found out, however figuring out the place we’d be sleeping made the plans really feel stable sufficient to inform our households.
Don’t depend your chickens earlier than they hatch, I might hear my mother’s voice in my head.
I might really feel our plans unraveling.
I didn’t perceive what went unsuitable. The couple promoting the RV appeared to actually like us after we drove 4 hours to take a look at their camper. They gave us tons of tenting ideas, and after we had been all nonetheless speaking because the solar went down, they even shared their do-it-yourself wine with us. Okay, now that I’m excited about it, that was slightly bizarre. It burned like vodka and tasted like wine. They made it below their sink from frozen Welch’s grape juice and—
Oh my gosh, why did we drink that?!
Our judgment was clearly off.
“No. If that’s the type of particular person he’s, we shouldn’t purchase it from him,” Heath stated firmly. “I wouldn’t belief him. He was mad that I used to be planning to carry my dad alongside to select it up. We’ll have to seek out one other one.”
“That one took us a month to seek out, put in a proposal, and schedule a day to select up! We don’t have one other month! The marriage is arising quickly. We’re out of time. What are we going to do?” I burst into tears.
I might already image Easter with my household and explaining how we already failed at our honeymoon and we weren’t even married but. As if it wasn’t onerous sufficient to share the entire story to start with.
“We aren’t going to go now,” I sobbed to Heath. “It isn’t going to work out. That is one other signal. We’re by no means leaving.”
All the things was piling up towards us. Simply weeks earlier than our wedding ceremony day, I saved crying as I noticed our honeymoon happening the drain.
If the vendor yells at you, it’s a reasonably good concept to stroll away.
Just a few weeks later, an RV that we couldn’t afford dropped it’s price ticket and we negotiated a sale on the facet of the street after a take a look at drive. That’s how a superb Craigslist buy appears. They’d the entire upkeep paperwork, allow us to go for a take a look at drive unsupervised, and, you realize, didn’t cuss us out.
Associated: 12 Inquiries to Ask Earlier than Shopping for A Used RV
Trying again, our Class C motorhome “Franklin” was waaaaaay higher than a truck camper, and we wanted that first deal to fall by so we might time it proper and discover the proper RV:
Discover a Used RV: Try our Renovated RVs for Sale market for used RVs which have been fastened up like new!
There are all the time roadblocks to chasing after what you need—like visiting all fifty states or touring full-time—however typically they’re simply the annoying stuff you must push by to get the RV you had been meant to name dwelling! 🚌
Ethical of the story: if the man on Craigslist cusses you out over the telephone, don’t purchase his RV.