How far did you travel to pick up your camper?

[potterjon]

My search gets farther and farther to find what I am looking for and I am just curious how far you guys traveled to get your first camper? Also, when purchasing something in this price range off of a place like Craigslist how do you arrange it? Meet in public place? Don't bring cash with you,etc?
I am considering places that are 15 hour one way trips for me from North Carolina. I mean if it doesn't work out I can just tent camp along the way and we can all it a vacation. I keep waiting for one to show up closer to me but I feel like I am looking for a needle in a haystack with my budget and size constraints.

 

[kylekai]

I buy new instead of used, and the last camper I purchased was a Hallmark, made in Colorado. I live in San Diego. I flew out in April, looked at the factory, placed an order, and flew back. That June I drove out to pick it up. Before that I drove out to Yuma, AZ to buy a new heavily discounted Lance camper from a dealer. Not sure how I'd handle buying used tho...

 

[bmart]

For the distance, that's totally subjective. For me, my trailer build is currently being produced 900 miles from me (about 14.5 hours one way). Breaking this type of trip up over the course of two weekends and a full business week can make it a vacation, not a chore.

On the other hand, I'm building mine custom to my specs so I know what the result will be. Risking a 30hr+ road trip on a few pictures and the current owners word takes a lot of faith. That said, I have done it before. If you find one that far away, I would talk with the owners over the phone and ask a bunch of questions. You can learn a lot about what kind of people they are from a phone conversation. Ask them for more detailed pictures too (frame, welds, suspension) or even video walkthroughs, and see if they are openly willing or hard to convince. That will tell you a lot about the trailer's actual condition. If you're happy with the owners, happy with the product, and willing to make the drive, make an expedition out of it. I've bought and sold many vehicles on CL. I (usually) meet in corners of large parking lots (like a Costco) in daylight. Some people bring cash, some bring cashiers checks from the seller's bank, some do a transfer in-bank. Do whatever makes you feel comfortable. I don't feel comfortable carrying a lot of cash around, so I usually do a cashiers check for the big ticket items.

 

[brian90744]

don't tell the wife

Us guys will travel anywhere our dream is, maybe our wives think we are nuts, but if you want it GO GO GO.
My camper was two block away, however I just got back from 900 miles round trip to pick up a M416 trailer, so I can take more junk when we go camping.
thanks for the thread.=brian

 

[Overland Hadley]

I drove about 800 miles roundtrip to pick up my new camper, that is as close as the factory could deliver to me.

I would have driven farther for a used one, if I could have found one that was what I was looking for.

 

[4x4x4doors]

Depends on what it is and how badly you want it. As for how to handle a used transaction, I'm a big believer in heading to the bank together with the option to transact cash or a cashier's check.

Distance is really a matter of how rare your desired purchase will be and how much of a hurry you're in. I've driven 100s of miles one way and I've just waited until something closer to home showed up.

 

[bill harr]

1,000 round trip. Left early spent the $$ loaded camper and stopped part way home to spend the night in a motel. I would have just slept in the camper (shell Hawk) but the wife said motel. Well worth the trip it get what I wanted. Saw one just right but at 3,000 round trip the $$ for gas etc did not pencil out.

 

[truck mechanic]

found mine 120 miles away. just $700. I looked at one within 5 miles from home for the same money, but it was a wreck. got what I wanted, and well the drive is part of the adventure

 

[Sock Puppet]

Found mine about 20 miles from home...but I watched Craigslist like a hawk for well over a year.

Lots of good advice in this thread. Talk to the seller to gauge what kind of person they are, and ask for lots of pics.

 

[potterjon]

Thanks everyone for your answers. They really helps more than you know. It is basically impossible to "shop" for something so far away without actually seeing it. I know everyone's situation is unique, but I would think the smaller pop up truck campers would have a larger market and you would see more of them available but I have been looking for 6 months very consistently and they really are few and far between in the south east. And they seem to be over priced in my humble opinion. So I am realizing I probably need to travel farther to make my purchase. In the meantime I have just been educating myself as much as possible. I have to say that due to this long distance search I am unable to make an impulse buy, which is probably working to my advantage.
I really haven't made any other purchases off CL of this size so I was curious as to others experiences

 

[gingerK]

Bought first one off Craigslist, it was about 15 miles away and the owner even delivered it for me. Second was farther about 200 miles round trip, bought it off ebay. Second had lots of pics and I phoned the owner with my questions. I took cash with me because I knew after talking to the guy that I would probably be bringing it home. He was a great guy, even loaded it on my truck for me. So not as far as you might be going, but I did buy them off the internet-but only after seeing them in person.

 

[Ramblinman]

I may have the record - 4200 Miles (7000ish km) Edmonton to Ottawa for a 2010 Hawk that was a steal of deal. It sill smelled new inside. I got very lucky. FWC's are very rare in Canada. Oddly enough - about a month after the purchase same camper was advertised for sale 2hours away.

 

[jrfromafar]

160 miles away - am a CL & eBay junkie - I jumped on this one - even before I had a truck



Now why this is rotated I have no idea

 

[austintaco]

Austin, TX to Prescott, AZ, so according to google, it was about 1100 miles. I bought a used Flippac and the previous owner dropped it off at Adventure Trailers. I dealt with them, over the phone and emails, and had the camper painted, put in a windoor, new lights, and a few other refurb items. It was a great transaction and a great trip.
Driving out without a shell on my truck was different. We loaded up what we needed in bins, covered the back with a rain tarp and hit the road.

 

[takesiteasy]

We traveled across the country to get our ATC camper. We looked locally for over a year before giving up and buying new. Before getting the ATC camper, I did buy an FWC Eagle off Craigslist which turned out to be stolen. :Wow1: I had been looking for a year and moved fast when it came up for sale. It was located about 100 miles away and I met the guy midway. The police called me the next day after tracking me down from my check that I paid for it with. The original owner saw it on Craigslist the same day I did and called the police. I had already bought it by the time they tracked down the seller. It had been stolen out of a rental storage unit 500 miles away. I made arrangements to return it to the rightful owner. The police were very helpful in getting me most of my money back. Luckily, they were on it so fast the guy didn't have time to spend it. They told me there wasn't any way I could have known it was stolen or could have checked as there is no registry or database for that kind of information. And I didn't get a particularly good price either. Glad it all worked out. Just a cautionary tale...