Camper Blue Book Value Rvs eBay | Fleetwood Southwind Slide Out RV Review

Fleetwood Southwind Slide Out RV Review

Posted on June 23, 2009
Filed Under Blue Book Value Campers, Blue Book Value RV's, Buying or Selling a Used Recreational Vehicle, Class A Rv, Slide Campers, Slide Out Camper, Southwind Fleetwood Motorhome | 1 Comment

Fleetwood Southwind Slide Out RV Review

I had the good fortune to run into an interesting family, Lee and Judy Riley of Harrisburg PA, at the Russian River 1000 Trails RV Park, and they shared with me their experiences of traveling with a Fleetwood Southwind 36′ Slide Out RV.  Which is a full sized Class A rv.)  And, even more interesting, travelling with Nicky, their Royal Poodle.  (Visit their blog:  TravelsWithNicky)  Lee and Judy have been travelling and rving with a variety of rvs over the years, and have quite a bit of experience buying and trading in rvs.  They prefer trading in their older rv rather than selling it themselves.  In 2006 they purchased a 2003 Fleetwood Southwind 36′ Slide out rv, and traded in their fifth wheel at the same time.  They purchased their Fleetwood Southwind Slide Out Rv from Lazydays RV SuperCenter in Florida.  (Quite possibly the largest rv dealer in the US, or anywhere for that matter.)  I asked them what I usually ask folks that own an rv:  If you had it to do all over again, what would you have done differently, and do you wish you had bought something else instead?  Lee and Judy were happy with their purchase, and shared their experiences buying an rv, with a few suggestions for other prospective buyers to keep in mind when buying their new (or used) rv. 

Considerations when buying an rv:

When Judy and Lee went shopping for their new RV, they selected a 2003 36′ Southwind Fleetwood slide out motorhome.  This rv has three slide outs, one slide out in the kitchen, one slide out in the living room, and one slide out in the bedroom.  The slide outs are electric.  They found almost everything they were looking for in the Southwind 36′ Fleetwood slide out rv, and here are the items that were important to them.  (And you might consider these items when you shop for a new motorhome or camper also!)

Since Lee and Judy have purchased and traded in so many campers, fifth wheels over the years, I asked them how they go about determining the blue book value of a camper.  Do they use Kelly Blue Book or Nada Guides for checking the blue book value of an rv?  Or have they ever looked at the completed listings on eBay to check selling prices and blue book value of a camper?  They don’t!  They had a suggestion for me that makes so much sense, especially in today’s unusual economic times.  They check with their bank, to see what amount the bank would be willing to loan.  (Even if they’re paying cash.)  They said that when they ask the bank to determine the blue book value of the camper, they think the bank is actually quoting the wholesale bluebook, not the retail bluebook.  This makes sense when you consider that the bank may become the owner of a number of rvs down the road if the owners are unable to keep up the payments, and it’s in the bank’s interest to loan the lowest amount possible in case they need to take over ownership.  So Lee and Judy recommend talking to a bank (or several) about the bluebook value of the rv before purchasing it.  And be involved in the process of establishing the blue book value of the camper – carefully consider whether the dealer is stating a current market value for the bank evaluation. 

Judy and Nicky

Judy and Nicky

Thanks Judy and Lee for allowing me to interview you, and for all your wonderful suggestions on how to get the slide camper of your dreams! 

Nicky, Lee and Judy

Nicky, Lee and Judy


Oh, and I’ll have to check out your parting comment that the next rv you buy will be a Bounder 35E!  We’ll save that for next time we meet – looking forward to catching up with you and Nicky at Rancho Oso sometime in the future!

Comments

One Response to “Fleetwood Southwind Slide Out RV Review”

  1. Danielle Relation on July 9th, 2009 11:00 pm

    This type of RV is great….but is very expensive…not a lot of people can afford one. i would love to have one just like yours because it has all you could want

Leave a Reply




Choose Travelocity for all your Travel Needs