East coasters- a question for you regarding the truck camper market

[eblau]

When I was looking for my first truck camper I had been travelling out to CO for several weeks a year and it was like there was a good deal on a truck camper on every corner. I settled on a less than perfect and very overpriced Grandby from NC but that got me thinking... are there others out there like me that were searching "all of craigslist" despite the very unrealistic prospect of travelling 3000 miles for a camper? Is there even a market for older truck campers out here, say in the sub $5k range? I'm not talking about a rotted out starcraft but older good quality campers like outfitter, hallmark, ATC or FWC? I recently sold my Grandby but have been searching for another lately and once again have come up empty handed on the east coast so my question is this: would anyone want a place they could shop or service used truck campers or someone to call to have one transported? Could there be such a thing as a used truck camper lot? Not a greaseball kind of used car center but an enthusiast owned truck camper source? I'd love to hear your thoughts, opinions or criticisms I find myself looking for new ways to entertain and more importantly employ myself everyday.

 

[Bayou Boy]

Back in 2013 I all but stole a 3 year old ATC Cougar from a guy selling it here in Louisiana. Or so I thought... When I went to sell it a year later I had zero interest at any price and ended up taking a beating trading it on a Lance to get rid of it. When I sold the Lance I took a similar but not as bad beating. The market for truck campers east of the Rockies is extremely slim. Popups without A/C even more so.

 

[eblau]

I can certainly agree with the A/C issue, most summer temps even at night in the southeast can melt a crayon.

 

[s.e.charles]

I know I put an ad here, tacomaworld, & craigslist regarding an ARE cap less than six months old, at about 65% of its 1900$ price tag and no one bought it. so there's that.

 

[Bayou Boy]

I know I put an ad here, tacomaworld, & craigslist regarding an ARE cap less than six months old, at about 65% of its 1900$ price tag and no one bought it. so there's that.

A big part of low prices to resell a topper is the minimum $500 repaint. I have a $3000 Leer that I have a buyer right now for $750.

I think the original poster is talking about full size truck campers though.

 

[s.e.charles]

yeah; I was making reference to selling ANYTHING.

people will persnickety you to death then walk the other way. if your disposition allows this type of human interaction, maybe retail is your calling, but I will give stuff away before putting myself through that ordeal.

 

[eblau]

that's just part of selling anything in the days of the internet as the buyers have so many more options or examples to choose from which leads me to another question:

there is obviously enough demand on this side of the country for high quality, small, lightweight truck campers as there seems to be an abundance of "overland" dealers popping up on the east coast so perhaps the ones that are languishing on the market are just too close to retail that people would rather buy new and there isn't anything on the lower end of the price spectrum on the used market for the weekend getaway buyer?

 

[eblau]

toppers are a tough sell here because most people don't use them and the ones that do are like me where they paid $80 for it out of someone's front yard and it gets the job done when you need it.... i see those as more of a midwest/ west coast accessory.... maybe im
wrong but i've certainly seen them
more out west

 

[cruzerbotz]

Seems like here in the east it also depends on what truck you have an what you are looking for. I had a 2013 F-150 and was looking for a topper. Didn't want to spend the $$$ for a new one. The truck was also an uncommon red. At the time, I couldn't find one in any color. Probably because it was a newer truck. One day, checked CL and there was a red one. Nice Leer. Called and it turned out to be the exact color of my truck. Got it for $1,000. That was a couple of years ago. Traded the truck earlier this year on a 2018 Tundra. Looked on various sites and couldn't find anything for it. So, bit the bullet and bought a new Leer with everything I wanted. Windoors on the side, removable front window, roof rack.

The only slide-ins I've seen here are used beaters. At least ones at a price most are willing to afford.

 

[jmnielsen]

The market for used slide in campers sucks. I'm in Nebraska and can't find anything that isn't a crap palomino. Seems everything is either new, or 30 years old and rotting.

 

[Paredneck]

I’ve bought two different slide in campers in Pa. one was a Phoenix I traveled to the other side of the state for. I paid 3k for that and it leaked like crazy. Ended up getting crazy mold in it and scrapped it. Second is a four wheel camper grandby. It’s a shell model I all but stole for $800. They are here just need to be patient and lucky.

 

[justbecause]

i've been looking for something to fit in a 5 foot bed for years. I have seen almost nothing outside a hand full of units in california and colorado. Hind sight, I should have driven from AL to CA for a Falcon.

 

[Pax2525]

Sub $5K and having a higher quality name dont go together unless its a real crud bucket. You have a good idea but I think execution would be tough. Youd have to have plenty of inventory, get it cheap enough to then sell and make money to pay for all the overhead. Not realistic to do in a larger sense

 

[The Artisan]

I would say buy one refurb it and see what it sells for, see what the market demands
Imo, build and they will come metality.
Kevin