Did you finance your truck camper purchase?

[jmnielsen]

Pretty simple question, did you finance your truck camper purchase?

I've been on the hunt for a $5k or less TC to use for the next few years. I've been ogling the Camp X and FWC Hawk but won't buy one for a few years (not in the budget). I'm curious how many people are plopping down the cash up front vs financing.

 

[tacollie]

Paid cash. We wanted a $5000 camper. All the ones we looked at were rough. Before we knew it we were looking at $8000 then $11000. At that point we figured we could save a couple more months and just order a new one. I have a zero debt for hobbies rule.

We have some friends that just ordered a flatbed Hawk. Their camper is more than our truck and camper combined. They have the cash but financed the camper. Interest rates are low and they wanted to keep the cash available for other things.

Watch local classifieds and wanderthewest. We wanted our camper sooner than later but if you have time you can find a good deal. FWC has used ones on occasion.

 

[jmnielsen]

Paid cash. We wanted a $5000 camper. All the ones we looked at were rough. Before we knew it we were looking at $8000 then $11000. At that point we figured we could save a couple more months and just order a new one. I have a zero debt for hobbies rule.

We have some friends that just ordered a flatbed Hawk. Their camper is more than our truck and camper combined. They have the cash but financed the camper. Interest rates are low and they wanted to keep the cash available for other things.

Watch local classifieds and wanderthewest. We wanted our camper sooner than later but if you have time you can find a good deal. FWC has used ones on occasion.

I can understand financing if the interest rates are good and you have a solid cash reserve. I am with you in the "zero debt for hobbies" rule. We put a $5k limit on a camper for a couple reasons:
1. I currently have student debt that we are trying to be aggressive about paying down, and
2. We have never had a TC before, and want to try it out before going "all in". While I know the resale is great on most of these, I would hate putting up the cash just do realize shortly after that we do not like it and want a trailer.

I could also just build one, but that circles back to #2 above.

I will keep an eye on wanderthewest, didn't know about that site. I've been checking daily on local classifieds but here in the midwest (Nebraska) there doesn't seem to be much besides giant Lance or Palomino for sale. Trailers are a dime a dozen for dirt cheap though.

 

[calicamper]

Pretty simple question, did you finance your truck camper purchase?

I've been on the hunt for a $5k or less TC to use for the next few years. I've been ogling the Camp X and FWC Hawk but won't buy one for a few years (not in the budget). I'm curious how many people are plopping down the cash up front vs financing.

We Wife and I normally pay cash for depreciating things like vehicles, boats etc. We have financed when early payoff and the terms don’t cost us anything and let us take 2-3 yrs and use the money or keep money in the market etc. Recently our Ford Expedition cash deal had a $2500 incentive which made more sense than financing at 0%. Its all a numbers game, but never pay money to borrow money for something that looses value. Lower your price and pay cash save $.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Unless your investments (assuming you would cash them out to pay cash) are earning a much higher rate of return than the interest rate on the loan.... Pay cash.

I have a rule that I never deviate from: never finance a toy, hobby, or "want." Financing is for necessitates such as a home or a reliable daily driver.

 

[kpredator]

We paid 3500 for our northstar popup.
Been from Alaska to Labrador to Florida
And out west. Replaced the fridge,deleted
The water and put in a new mattress.
Deals are out there,might have to drive
a ways but it is what is.
Good luck

 

[Buliwyf]

The money I saved for the camper, is going to remodel my kitchen and tile my entire 1st floor.

So, if I pull the trigger, I'll likely have to visit my bank for a loan. Or wait a few more years.

 

[Rando]

I agree with others here about not financing a toy. Buy a $5K used palomino now, use it for a season or two while you figure out if a truck camper is for you and save up for a 'nice' camper in the process.

One practical matter to consider, particularly if you may not keep the camper for that long, is selling the camper with a lien on it. I have only been on the buyers side of this, and it is was a major turn off to find out that a private party sale has a lien to deal with. This is a minor turn off with a car (with a VIN, state issued title and clear process), but more of an issue with a truck camper where the documentation and process is less well established.

 

[Ramjet]

Amazing advice.

 

[DirtWhiskey]

Rejuvenating this thread here. Considering having a custom flatbed camper made in Australia and shipping it home. Australia has all of the nice things and I'm not afraid to ship things. Got me thinking if I could finance such a beast. Anybody know the mechanics of financing a custom build that requires, say 1/2 down up front then remainder upon delivery? Add in the complexity of doing this then shipping it across the world and I know it's a long shot but hey, why not look at it? Also I know cash is king etc. I just don't see why you wouldnt look at financing right now. We may never see these rates again. Ever. And if you can't beat a 3 or 4% interest rate with your cash, you need to rethink your investments.

 

[kerry]

Paid $3500 cash for our 1995 Northstar TS1000 11 years ago. Still going strong.

 

[Rando]

Rejuvenating this thread here. Considering having a custom flatbed camper made in Australia and shipping it home. Australia has all of the nice things and I'm not afraid to ship things. Got me thinking if I could finance such a beast. Anybody know the mechanics of financing a custom build that requires, say 1/2 down up front then remainder upon delivery? Add in the complexity of doing this then shipping it across the world and I know it's a long shot but hey, why not look at it? Also I know cash is king etc. I just don't see why you wouldnt look at financing right now. We may never see these rates again. Ever. And if you can't beat a 3 or 4% interest rate with your cash, you need to rethink your investments.

It seems to me that this would essentially have to be an unsecured personal loan, which is likely to be at a much higher interest rate. With a unicorn custom flatbed camper, there is really no easy way for a lender to independently establish value (there is no NADA guide for this) and actually completing the transaction would be a major hassle. I would assume you would need to pay up front, then try and finance after delivery. The only way it would be worth it to a lender would be to pad the interest rate to bring in sufficient profit. There also could be insurance issues - I assume the lender would want it insured, and it is possible you would need an agreed value policy, which tend to be quite expensive.

I guess you could try and finance this with HELOC, but that seems like a risky and unwise proposition.

I am with others about not financing toys, and I would say that it doubly true if you are buying a non-commodity unusual toy.

 

[DirtWhiskey]

It seems to me that this would essentially have to be an unsecured personal loan, which is likely to be at a much higher interest rate. With a unicorn custom flatbed camper, there is really no easy way for a lender to independently establish value (there is no NADA guide for this) and actually completing the transaction would be a major hassle. I would assume you would need to pay up front, then try and finance after delivery. The only way it would be worth it to a lender would be to pad the interest rate to bring in sufficient profit. There also could be insurance issues - I assume the lender would want it insured, and it is possible you would need an agreed value policy, which tend to be quite expensive.

I guess you could try and finance this with HELOC, but that seems like a risky and unwise proposition.

I am with others about not financing toys, and I would say that it doubly true if you are buying a non-commodity unusual toy.

I guess the question I have is this: how does anybody finance a custom build? I know it does occur. My thought is that it would be a sort of cash out refi??

I'll handle all the other scary stuff. I am my own exotic logistics staff. Most recent acquisition was a set of antique Cognac stills (13,000 lbs and a full container) from France. Had them hauled from a barn in the countryside to Jarnac where they were rehabbed. Packed insured and shipped FOB Oakland craned onto a flatbed, safely resting in my secure facility awaiting install. I never left my chair until it landed at my warehouse. I got this.

I was planning on cash anyway but, I typically advocate for cash for toys, sometimes even Real Estate, EXCEPT for now in this whacky interest rate environment. Rates are below inflation. Free money. Pay it off aggressively if you want.

 

[Regcabguy]

We Wife and I normally pay cash for depreciating things like vehicles, boats etc. We have financed when early payoff and the terms don’t cost us anything and let us take 2-3 yrs and use the money or keep money in the market etc. Recently our Ford Expedition cash deal had a $2500 incentive which made more sense than financing at 0%. Its all a numbers game, but never pay money to borrow money for something that looses value. Lower your price and pay cash save $.

Good policy with interest rates so low to invest in the stock market or another long term revenue building fund. We're debt free and are needing a car pretty soon. We're milking a 2005 Honda Pilot but it's inevitable a new one is coming.

 

[Rando]

I guess the question I have is this: how does anybody finance a custom build? I know it does occur. My thought is that it would be a sort of cash out refi??

I'll handle all the other scary stuff. I am my own exotic logistics staff. Most recent acquisition was a set of antique Cognac stills (13,000 lbs and a full container) from France. Had them hauled from a barn in the countryside to Jarnac where they were rehabbed. Packed insured and shipped FOB Oakland craned onto a flatbed, safely resting in my secure facility awaiting install. I never left my chair until it landed at my warehouse. I got this.

I was planning on cash anyway but, I typically advocate for cash for toys, sometimes even Real Estate, EXCEPT for now in this whacky interest rate environment. Rates are below inflation. Free money. Pay it off aggressively if you want.

I am going to guess most folks with custom builds mostly don't finance them, or the builder has a relationship with a lender (eg Earth Roamer) or they are using some creative financing like a personal loan, or a loan secured by something other than the custom camper. You could do a cash out refi - but it seems unwise to bundle a toy like a camper with your house.

Either way, I doubt the folks financing these are getting rock bottom rates on the financing. Lenders are in the game to make money, if the transaction is out of the ordinary car/rv/home loan then it takes them more work to set up the loan and has higher risk. They are going to charge you for both in the form of higher interest rates.

Advertised rates for other specialty loans (ie risky) like boat loans, are still at 5 - 6% so it is not like you are beating inflation (which is < 1%). The market is still surprisingly (unreasonably?) high at the moment in the light of a tremendous amount of uncertainty. It seems like a better time to cash out than to take on debt.