First time buying a trailer experiance what do you think?

Hello,

Here I am, absolutely new to the RV type camping and exploring. I have always loved the outdoors and tent camping, but wanted to make the next step.
So I went out yo checkout different type of models. I knew, I wanted to start off with a used trailer and I decided to go with a dealer and not buy from a private person.
I found a nice 2015 Jay Flight with everything I wanted and made the deal.
Now after having the trailer sitting in my driveway and exploring everything I found a few things and would like to know what you think.

First I found that on the outside behind the service panel at the refer area I had 3 wasp nests and a ton of leaves and dirt.
Than checking the tires I noticed that the spare was flat. On this model the spare is under the trailer. So I pulled it out and it has a nail in it. I also noted a soft spot in the sub floor on one side of the bedroom. Seems like the plywood is damaged.

You might think now well should have checked the trailer better before buying, but because I did not know exactly what to check I figured to go with a dealer. They told me they check everything, clean the the RV and explain it all to me.

Am I just too picky and those are things I need to live with since its a used trailer? I get it that there are some little cosmetic things and I am fine with that, but a flat spare and a damaged sub floor?
The dirt and wasp nest I do not care much about it and already cleaned it.

Any comments are welcome and thank you very much.

I think I'd get hold of the dealer and explain what you found. If they fix it...great.

If they don't...well scratch them off the list and bad mouth them the rest of your life.

You can chalk it all up to a learning lesson and I know for a fact the next time you buy an RV there will be three things checked FIRST with in five minutes of first looking at it.

I've had some bad buying experiences so I was in the same boat.

The flat tire and wasp nest are easy fixes.  I would be concerned about the soft spot in the floor.  That is usually caused by a leak.  I would concentrate my efforts on making sure there is no leak and determining just how soft that floor is.  Good luck with your camper.  They are not maintenance free.  You have to stay on top of them or they will eventually just fall apart in the driveway.

unless the soft spot is next to the bathroom I would start looking at the roof. If it has a walk-on roof you need to get up there and look for cracks in the caulking and seals. That needs to be done at least every 6 months. Water from a leaky roof can destroy a trailer and cause health issues from mold. Doesn't sound like yours is that far so get it checked out now.

The water can also travel quite a way from where it enters the structure, following framing sometimes for several feet. Make sure if the ceiling has any staining that you are certain the leak has been repaired.

The hornet nest is just normal stuff and it's so normal and easy to address that it's a first sign to me that the dealer ain't  worth two dead flies. It is what it  is so they probably took it in on trade and just moved it on to the next guy. They could sell them with soft floors just to bait the person into buying a new one.  The person probably traded it in because it had a soft floor. He could have also  been battling leaks and gave up. The first thing is to identify if it's  water damage or a soft foam core floor. Some rigs are built with a sandwich laminated floors and sometimes walls in order to cut  weight. They often advertised as lightweight.

The foam can break down and cause soft or spongy spots. If it's a soft foam floor there are ways that people patch them up. The soft core is often most noticeable in high traffic areas. Since it's in the bedroom and most likely not high traffic. If it's along the wall it could have a window or roof leak etc. If it's along a bathroom wall it could be from a shower or sink drain.

So the soft spot is not good one way or the other. The tires are a normal RV issue and you need to learn to read the date codes. RV tires usually look good and dimwit sellers will often point to all the tread that's left to indicate tire condition.

I don't want to tell you that you should have come here first but you are now in the game. The best outcome would be to get your money back one way or the other and start over slowly with our guidance. If you can't get your money back I'd put money on the fact that they'd be more than happy to take it back and sell you a new rig. The problem now is that you are a captive buyer. You don't have much negotiating power when the dealer has set the terms of no money back take my new price or take the damaged rig.

See how that works? You went in naked and they are seasoned pros at playing the game. They do it all day long for a career.

I have been to ONE RV dealer who told us when we walked in the door that the new rigs are to the left, the used ones to the right and the water damaged are in the back of the lot. I said you actually tell people that some are water damaged? He said what good would it do me to sell you a water damaged rig? I said you are the only one I have ever been to that did it.

When it comes to RV's it's all about water damage. You could buy used and have the fridge coil go out a week later. If it did be happy. When you fix it or even replace it for $1500 you now have a no water damage rig AND a new fridge. It's like buying a used car, if it looks good and the interior doesn't have French fries smeared in the seats and you get stuck with needing a new engine or transmission at least you have a nice looking over priced good running used car.

Sorry to go on so far. Let us know what happens and ask questions. Hopefully it works out

i just bought a 2018, it had a bit of lot rot as hornets nest, thats normal, get them screens! spongy floors are bad, but thats on you, too late for that, unless they are really nice, which would be weird - buyer beware - all that. long story short, Ive found 8 problems in my NEW rig! so they all have issues, if they dont leak now, they will later, if you got a solid deal, use that extra money to fix the floor and get the roof inspected by a pro, and learn about the self leveling stuff to re apply every year or so

nrg

I have to pretty much agree with the others.  You aren't being too picky, but you are a little late with the inspection. OTOH, it's a 2015 and you don't expect floor damage already.  It must have had an undetected water leak almost since Day 1.  RVs are very suspecptible to water leaks around the roof openings, corner seams, and window frames. The road motion twists and vibrates any & all joints, so you need to stay on the lookout for signs of leaks and bad spots in the seam caulking.

RV dealers, or at least their sales guys, always say "No worries - we check everything", but that's mostly just sales BS. But they made the claim, so go back to the dealer and tell them they missed something serious. The worst that can happen is they refuse to do anything, and who knows? Maybe they will help out.

Leaves, critter nests, etc. go with the territory. You will probably get them in the future too. Flat spare tire isn't unusual either - it's an out-of-site, out-of-mind thing.  This will help you remember to check it periodically!

Hi,

Thank you everyone for the comments. The dealer did give me a 30 day warranty and I definitely will go back and show them. Beside the soft spot I already figured I will deal with the two issues. Its not so much that I don't know how to do things, it's more about the service. Just like Gary says it's the sales BS. I expected them to look and check everything. Yes the nest and leaves etc is no big deal, but again I just figured since I got it from a dealer they really would look at everything.

Oh and YES for the future I will always check here first for advise and also will tell anyone who is new to RVing to check here as well.

Again, thank you all!!!

Joe, 

I just figured since I got it from a dealer they really would look at everything.

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That's the problem is they just look at it and usually don't do anything if they don't have too.
They are in business to make a profit and fixing things cuts into that.

Yes you can get burned buying used too, but if it sounds to good to be true............

Well I hope they (the dealer) helps you out but I won't be surprised if they don't as fixing a soft floor is a lot of work
and will take a fair amount of time as they would be in no hurry to fix it on their dime.

Hope it works out - let us know what happens.

This business about the dealer "checking everything" comes up regularly. Pretty much just sales blather, cause any "check" is minimal in nearly all dealerships. If you didn't spot a potential problem and have it written into the sales contract, you probably won't get more than a casual look around. Some dealers will do a bit more, but they aren't going to actively look for defects. And if they were going to clean things up, wouldn't they do it beforehand, so that the rig looked better to prospective buyers?  Few do - they basically fix/clean what the buyer demands and no one iota more.

In all but the tiniest Mom & Pop places, the sales department has to actually pay the service department for inspection & repairs and the sales manager budgeted some amount for that when he calculated the selling price. And if you bargained hard, he may have cut into that allowance somewhat. That comes out of the profit on the transaction, so many will be very reluctant to approve much in the way of repairs. Sometimes it even depends on how other recent sales fared -  if they've had a run of expensive repairs that month they are likley to be more stingy with yours.  It's just the way of the world - the sales managers commission probably depends on the profit he shows for the month.