Our first camper was a pop-up.
Our biggest gripe was that we usually "boondock" camp (no hook-ups). That means no AC. In times of the year with high humidity, and just from your breath inside the camper, condensation forms on the canvas roof over the beds. Every time someone rolls over at night it jostles the camper and it "rains" on your face from droplets falling off the canvas roof.
The second gripe was the amount of time it took to set it up and take it down. It's not a huge deal, but it sure is nice to arrive on-site and just climb into your bed and go to sleep, without having to go through a house-building exercise.
I agree the #1 thing to look for when buying a camper is water damage. If you see any, walk away. It's always worse than it appears at first glance. When you inspect the camper, believe your nose. If you walk in and it smells like mold and mildew, walk away. If the outside of the camper has any "bubbles" in the surface of the walls (delamination), walk away. Inside the camper, push gently on the walls all around the camper where the wall meets the ceiling. If anything feels soft, or makes a "crunchy" sound, walk away. If any part of the floor feels soft or makes a "crunchy" sound when you step on it, walk away. Water damage is what kills campers. I recommend storing a camper under covered storage if at all possible.
The #2 thing is to ask to see every single amenity in the camper working. The fridge should have been turned on 24 hours in advance to give it time to cool. Sadly if the fridge is a 2-way or 3-way (gas/12V/120V) you generally can't tell if each one works if the fridge is already cold. But when you fire it up on gas it should light off when you turn it off and turn it on. Once it's already cold you can't easily tell if the 12V/120V are working or not. Anything that is not working should be deducted from the "Blue Book" value.
The #3 thing to check is the date codes on the tires. Camper tires almost never tread out - they age out. Tires are good for about 10 years max. Google to learn how to find and read tire date codes. When we bought our first motor home the front 2 tires were 4 years old, the back 4 were 10 years old, and the spare was 19 years old (original). Over $2K for new tires all the way around.
One last thing: If the camper has a generator, make sure it will run for at least 30 minutes without problem. Start it when you begin your inspection and let it run throughout your inspection. When we bought our RV we tested the generator only to find when we got home that it would only run about 20 minutes and then shut down. It's $500 to have anyone touch an RV generator.
Steve
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