Living out of your travel trailer provides you with the freedom to travel around the country while eliminating the need to leave the comforts of home behind. Travel trailers can be quite costly to purchase new, so many people try to get a deal on a used travel trailer instead.
To ensure that you aren't investing in a trailer that will cause more problems than it's worth, here are three tips you should be using as you look for a used travel trailer in the future.
1. Spend some time in the trailer before buying.
If you really want to make sure that a used trailer is going to meet your needs, it's essential that you take some time to do some faux living in the trailer before you make a purchase. Ask the seller if you can have an hour or so alone in the trailer to act out your daily routine.
Pretend to take a shower, act like you are making a meal, sit on the toilet, and move around in the trailer with your friends or family members present. Being able to pantomime your daily routine will allow you to identify any space or layout limitations that might make the travel trailer uncomfortable to live in over time.
2. Check to see how the trailer might age.
Once you have narrowed your used travel trailer search to a specific make and model, you should see how well the trailer might hold up over time. Scour your local classifieds for the same trailer in a model year that is older than the one you are looking for.
Going and looking at these older trailers will allow you to ask the sellers about repairs they have had to make over the years and give you the chance to visually inspect the integrity of the older trailer. You will be able to see how the older trailer has fared, allowing you to estimate how well the trailer you purchase might age in the future.
3. Always check for water damage.
Since a travel trailer is exposed to the elements, you want to ensure that no water can seep into the interior living space. Water damage can be costly to repair, but it can be difficult to spot when you are looking at used trailers.
Check the seams on the roof and body of the trailer for signs of separation, feel along the walls for any soft spots, and check for discoloration inside overhead cabinets. These are all indications that there has been a water leak in the past, and you will want to take the cost of repairing any existing water damage into account before finalizing the purchase of a used travel trailer.
Before you invest in a used travel trailer, it's important that you spend some time "living" in the trailer, look at older models to see how the trailer might age, and check for existing water damage to ensure you will be able to travel down the road with few problems in the future. To learn more, contact a company like Arrow Trailer & Equipment Company.