Is FEMA taking all the new trailers?

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1fxstbi

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Our local dealer has a new high end TT toy hauler in stock. We have quite a bit of work ahead of us to prep the site and build a cover for it so we're in no hurry. We're being pressured to take what he has in stock because FEMA is taking all the new trailers for the Harvey victims. He's telling us "ordering will take months, you need to buy this one before they buy it". Anyone hearing the same story or are we being fibbed to? Why would FEMA want a toy hauler?
 
I think that is just a sales tactic. FEMA may be taking up a lot of the many builder's production time to have their trailers built ASAP but that should not include trailers already on a dealer lot. Ordering a new trailer under these conditions will definitely take longer though. They might buy up a few already available standard travel trailers but not too likely for  toy haulers, but you never know.....

The typical FEMA trailer is usually a very basic model park model trailer, no tanks etc., very minimal, if any, 12V operation, quick to build and to a different standard than the usual trailer.

But, if that trailer is "the one", simply put a low down payment on it and it should be there for you when you are ready.

"We have quite a bit of work ahead of us to prep the site and build a cover for it"

But it sounds like you might be a candidate for a nice park model anyway, not a high end travel trailer
 
Due to FEMA's needs for Harvey victims, ordering may indeed take months, at least from some manufacturers. Whether your future order would be affected is hard to say and I suspect the dealer is overemphasizing the risk in an effort to sell what has on the lot.

As Stu says, FEMA will special order unique trailer configurations and those orders may consume all available production line capacity, but the chance that they will buy a high-end toyhauler off his lot seems very slim.  For one thing, they aren't spending high end money. For another, they mostly don't want the features of a high end unit - just the oppsite in fact.
 
After Katrina FEMA bought up lots of trailers off the lot's until production could get ramped up on the special stripped down FEMA models.  A few years later they then sold many of them at auction at my local fairgrounds.
 
With all those displaced people, it wouldn't surprise me at all. Those people have to have somewhere to live, and it will take a very long time to get some of those houses livable again. I'd bet the prices of used trailers and RVs go through the roof in the next few months.
 
I will personally be very surprised if FEMA repeats the trailer debacle of Katrina. Although on paper it seemed like a good idea and maybe (maybe) under different conditions it may (may) have worked but under these extreme conditions, coupled with people whom have never had to live in TT conditions plus creating a literal inner city trailer park not in the inner city with TT's in extremely close living conditions and no regard for what the "residents" would do all day every day was an absolute debacle that created a failed program and tremendous waste.  The FEMA trailers were sold mostly to OGA's and came with waivers and conditions and many (many) of them were never used - ever.

I'm not talking out of my butt I wasn't an observer.
 
Thanks everyone for all the replies. After setting with the sales person for a while as we discussed our wanting to order a unit instead of buying the one in stock we encouraged her to talk with the Factory rep and get the real scoop. He explained that they were running the model we wanted right now so we will be able to take delivery at the end of October. That works great for us because we have work to do at our house so the unit can be under cover and powered up. They are going to be gearing up for the expected need for trailers but it wasn't going to affect our order. So after all that we have a Jayco Octane on order. Whew!
The dealer did say that trailers are selling quick to individual buyers that were displaced by the flood and businesses that need temporary offices. I didn't realize how important a commodity a simple trailer would be.
Thanks again for the prompt replies.
 
My experience with FEMA trailers was during the flood in Grand Forks, North Dakota in the 90s.  They did buy up a few - very few -travel trailers for immediate use but they concentrated mainly on mobile homes  that were built to their specs and placed in MH parks they developed very quickly. All were designed to be temporary and even the larger travel trailers did not have any holding tanks (hooked directly to sewer) and the toilets were standard house types.  Just a few years ago we had a FEMA sale of travel trailers used in the Joplin tornado aftermath.  It was just a couple of miles from our home so we wandered over and took a look.  Those things were horrible and it was obvious they had not been maintained by the occupants either yet they brought prices about double of what they were worth.  Most were bought for lake places or storage bins for junk.  FEMA also maintains quite a few previously used and refurbed mobile homes at various sites around the country for use in disasters like Houston.  But to the point, I think your salesman was putting a number over on you and as was later disclosed you found out what was really happening.


Bill
 
1fxstbi said:
Thanks everyone for all the replies. After setting with the sales person for a while as we discussed our wanting to order a unit instead of buying the one in stock we encouraged her to talk with the Factory rep and get the real scoop. He explained that they were running the model we wanted right now so we will be able to take delivery at the end of October. That works great for us because we have work to do at our house so the unit can be under cover and powered up. They are going to be gearing up for the expected need for trailers but it wasn't going to affect our order. So after all that we have a Jayco Octane on order. Whew!
The dealer did say that trailers are selling quick to individual buyers that were displaced by the flood and businesses that need temporary offices. I didn't realize how important a commodity a simple trailer would be.
Thanks again for the prompt replies.

Hope you do get it as expected, but don't count your chickens before they hatch. I had ordered a trailer near the beginning of June one time and the dealer assured me that it would be made for us in time for our vacation the end of July. He said he did call the factory. Days and a weeks went by and we started making calls. Finally the dealer owned up to the fact that the trailer was not being made and he JUST found out because the manufacturer was breaking down the assembly line for the newer trailers for the upcoming year. They had us by the you know what. Because we were going on vacation shortly, we had to buy a little bit bigger trailer which by the way was on the lot. We never went back to that dealer and we learnt a lot because of that scenario. The moral of the story, don't believe salesmen no matter what they say. 
 
1fxstbi said:
Our local dealer has a new high end TT toy hauler in stock. We have quite a bit of work ahead of us to prep the site and build a cover for it so we're in no hurry. We're being pressured to take what he has in stock because FEMA is taking all the new trailers for the Harvey victims. He's telling us "ordering will take months, you need to buy this one before they buy it". Anyone hearing the same story or are we being fibbed to? Why would FEMA want a toy hauler?

We heard something similar from a Grand Designs dealer last week, except he said victims of the hurricane are buying trailers.  They may be, but I don't think they were buying them the day after the storm and I doubt most hurricane buyers are buying new.  I think most people would need to get some information from their insurance company first, and I also think that most people who are suddenly in need of a place to live would buy a used trailer so they don't lose as much money when they try to sell it next year or whenever they find a new home or rebuild.  And also, there aren't that many places to park a trailer long term.  When we sold our house and thought we'd just live in our trailer while we built, there were NO parks within 50 miles of our new home with openings for long term.

And it also seems to me that FEMA has a cheaper source of trailers than a dealership.  So I would say that the salesman is pressuring you.

When our salesman said the trailer we were looking at would be in demand for someone who just lost their home, I said "Good, they need it more than we do."  He called again yesterday saying it was still available.

Charlie 5320 said:
With all those displaced people, it wouldn't surprise me at all. Those people have to have somewhere to live, and it will take a very long time to get some of those houses livable again. I'd bet the prices of used trailers and RVs go through the roof in the next few months.

I hate to say this, but for purely selfish reasons, I hope you are right.  We have a trailer to sell in the next few weeks and it normally slows down after Labor Day.
 
Brokers will undoubtedly be buying up trailers so they can ship them to Texas and sell at whatever price they can command, but you can bet they want to buy cheap so they can deliver the trailers and still make a hefty profit.

If FEMA buys trailers, they will buy either direct from manufacturers or from larger brokers who can deliver in quantity and will accept government contract specs, terms and pricing. The notion of FEMA sending their guys around to local dealerships and bargaining for that toyhauler seems preposterous to me.
 

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