Is this a good deal on a starter RV?

[RadioWagon]

Hello, folks! My husband and I are in our 30s and have started investigating the AS life for full-time status. We know we love the Cloud 25'FB Twin, however, before we make the jump, we want to field test both the lifestyle And Internet connectivity. We both work from home, but his job sucks up major bandwidth, so we'd like to go a lot of places and really check the connectivity with various setups to make sure we don't make a huge mistake.

That said, we're shopping around for a sort of starter trailer, with the full knowledge that we'd test it out for awhile, then sell it again and buy the AS we really want.

The nearest AS dealership is an hour and a half away, and when I told the salesguy what we were looking for and what we intended to do, he emailed me photos of a 2017 Winnebago Micro Minnie 2106DS. I think MSRP is about $25k, and this one is $17k with taxes. Story is that the people used it twice, then bought a 25' Airstream. He says it's clean and doesn't smell.

So, before we drive three hours round trip to look at it, I wanted to request opinions. We aren't new to buying and selling, but are a bit newer to buying or selling things with wheels, which is a Whole Other Thing.

Also, what's the smart way to get it inspected? Do we need a unit this new to be inspected?

Again, we'd be buying this for anywhere from a few months to a year or two, but would then want to sell it and get our AS. It did seem nice, though, and we like nice--if I'm comfortable and happy, I'm more likely to make better decisions.

[AnnArborBob]

I can't help you with your "Winnebago decision," but as far as internet connectivity on the road is concerned, this site is a very good place to start:

http://www.technomadia.com/2014/08/h...nternet-setup/

Best of luck!

[RadioWagon]

Amen! Husband (I need to come up with his "road name", because that just sounds awkward) purchased the TechnoMadia site membership and is reading their book. I look at it and see braille, but he's clever in special ways. Thank goodness for more than one kind of brain.

[kevinkatz]

a friend bought a winnebago micro mini and i looked at it. all i can say is that it isnt an airstream. it is good value for the money but it just doesnt have style. also you dont get the whole airstream community that comes with buying an airstream. consider buying a used airstream. you will have the highest resale value of any trailer out there so you cant really make a bad decision. just my opinion.

[Wayne&Sam]

"Clean and doesn't smell" is a good thing.

We too bought a used trailer at first to see if we liked having one. So I think it's a good idea if you're not sure.

It won't be an Airstream but it will make you appreciate one.

[Belegedhel]

The word of caution I would offer is that all RVs depreciate much like used cars. The first owners have already taken a big hit on this Winnebago, but you may want to estimate what the resale/trade in value of the RV will be after you own it for a year or two. I think you will come to the conclusion that the cost of (temporary) ownership is quite high in terms of the difference between what you pay for it, and what you get for it a year or two later.

As far as inspection goes, if you are buying from a dealership, the first question I would ask is what the dealership is willing to offer for a warrantee. If they have thoroughly inspected it prior to taking it in, and can give you some kind of warranty, then you are probably in pretty good shape. BUT, you can always hire a "freelance" RV tech to give it the once-over and let you know what he thinks. Alternatively, you could go to the "Portal" page of these Forums and download the "trailer inspector's checklist." If you go through the RV with this list, you will have gotten a pretty good feel for the state of affairs in the body of the vehicle. The engine and drive train will still be an unknown, but like you say, it is relatively new, with low miles.

good luck!

[SeaLevel]

Originally Posted by Belegedhel

The engine and drive train will still be an unknown, but like you say, it is relatively new, with low miles.

I'm pretty sure the Micro Minnie is a trailer - no engine or drive train.

[OTRA15]

For everyone's information, the OP has another thread which may help inform one's reply here:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f483...ml#post1962656

[TwoSporks]

We are in a situation similar to your situation but a few years ahead of you. We spent two years part-time full-timing (6 to 7 months of the year on the road) and now have been full-time RVing for about a year. I think that buying a starter RV might be making things too complicated (and cost you a lot in the process). You could rent an RV for a week or two and get most of the information you need about connectivity without the hassle of buying and selling an RV (the amount you would pay in sales tax and licensing alone would get you pretty far into the cost of a rental RV). Choose a few places you want to visit, plan your set-up and some tests, and hit the road. After visiting a few places and testing out your set-up, you should have a pretty good idea if full-timing will work for your situation or if you might need to take a different approach than you planned.

Once you get to know some of the full-timing/working couples/families on the road, you will have access to a wealth of information that can help you plan your travels. For example, we know that our situation is similar to that of the Watsons Wander, Technomadia, Currently Wandering, Aluminarium, etc. We follow their blogs and search out their reviews of places we want to visit. We know that when one of these travelers says a place has a good cell signal, it will likely be good enough for us to work (example: we look on Campendium for cell phone signal reviews from travelers in a similar situation and 9.5 times out of 10, the reviews are spot on).

[MickeyC]

Hello

That is a little better than average price for the 2017 Winnebago Micro Minnie 2106DS. You can find them online near that same price, maybe a few thousand higher. Winnebago is a decent trailer for weekend camping. I would look for a small Arctic Fox by Northwood if I wanted to get something other than an Airstream to full-time in. Northwood builds an awesome trailer and Arctic Fox is a true 4-season camper. Also, it has a great resale.

Good Luck

[NorCal Matt]

Someone on the forums rented an AS from a dealer out east (maybe Haydocy?). When they decided to buy from them they were credited the rental amount into the sale of their new trailer. That might be an option if you're still considering an AS.

[Asherstanton]

For your sake "mine" you tube about buying. New vs used. Price expected off of MSRP. Not losing the first year depreciation. Horror stories about any new unit having problems immediately vs used having them sorted out. Tires. Now there's a subject. Read read read. Watch watch watch. You may save enough for a down payment on your AS. It's definitely worth the work. And don't deal with CW. And if you don't know what CW is, don't find out the hard way. Good luck!

[Iansk]

Originally Posted by Asherstanton

For your sake "mine" you tube about buying. New vs used. Price expected off of MSRP. Not losing the first year depreciation. Horror stories about any new unit having problems immediately vs used having them sorted out. Tires. Now there's a subject. Read read read. Watch watch watch. You may save enough for a down payment on your AS. It's definitely worth the work. And don't deal with CW. And if you don't know what CW is, don't find out the hard way. Good luck!

Let us find out the easy way...
What is "CW"?

ian

[Rivet Rocket]

For what it's worth the Winnebago 2106 was our second choice after extensive research. The fit/finish and quality was OK, but not AS. At less than half the price of the 22 FB Sport that was attractive, but the bath, windows/light in the AS won out. My wife hated the position of the Winnebago TV, no direct line of vision, vs. the AS.

Last item is resale/depreciation consideration. You are considering buying slightly used, not sure the dealer has priced in the depreciation at $17,000. We could have bought a new 2017 model 2106 in Jan. 2017 for $18.5K with a MSRP of $25K. Good luck with your decision making process, you will enjoy camping no matter which direction you go.

[Rivet Rocket]

Originally Posted by Iansk

Let us find out the easy way...
What is "CW"?

ian

I think they mean Camping World. The reviews on the internet are poor.

[RadioWagon]

I think CW is Camping World? I did my best googling and couldn't figure it out.

Thanks to everyone for thoughts on new vs. used, depreciation, etc. We decided to figure out the truck portion first, since if we found a great trailer tomorrow, we wouldn't even be able to take it off the lot yet. So, trucks first. Then trailers.

It's really helpful to hear from people who have been through a few rodeos and can chime in with cool heads. I realized after sleeping on it that we don't need to drop everything and go see the trailer just because the sales guy says so. If it sells, then fine, there will be another along later.

This is a big process for sure, but terribly fun!

[Tn Traveler]

Well, you present a conundrum. It's kind of a chicken or egg situation. If you want to match you tow vehicle to the trailer, get the trailer first. If you want to match the trailer to the tow vehicle, get the truck first. If you want to buy a big honking diesel 3/4 or 1 ton truck that will pull most anything all bets are covered.

You're right about one thing for sure. It is fun and exciting searching for RVs. Best of luck on your search, and please keep us posted. It will be fun to follow along.

[OTRA15]

Good advice Don. I would buy a new tow vehicle large enough to tow the largest trailer under consideration.

Then relax . . . for a spell . . .

[Iansk]

Originally Posted by Rivet Rocket

I think they mean Camping World. The reviews on the internet are poor.

I'd settled on "Celibate Weasel" and that was disturbing.

Camping World has it's place, but I can't imagine the markup on an RV from there. The TP is expensive enough.

Something to note is how the white box trailers tow compared to our shapely aluminum friends... case in point: a few years ago for my birthday, neither of my trailers was ready for an adventure (20' silverstreak and 31' airstream) so we rented some SOB for the week. It was a 20' coach and had an angled front but just a big flat rear end. It didn't weigh that much, easily between what my two trailers do, but man, you'd thing I was towing a sack of lead ingots. I really thought something was wrong with my truck. It literally felt like it was being sucked backwards, because it was. The flat back on those creates a suction effect (that's why you see semis with that wing configuration on the back). It was better in certain conditions but I could tell my truck worked harder. A couple weeks later I was towing my SS to get some brake work done and the difference was amazing.

Point being, the towing experience can be vastly more enjoyable with an aluminum tube vs a white box. Aerodynamics are real?! Who would have thunk it?

Just another thing to consider...

Ian