Posted 2011-08-31 10:07 PM (#137154) Subject: Was my trailer too high
Regular
Posts: 79 Location: Hopkinsville, Ky
I am not knocking this sight I promise. It obviously is the best place to sell. I ran my 96 3 horse sundowner 6 foot lq on here last fall and again this spring. It was like new, factory lq, had every accessory, it's only draw back was a cowboy shower, and no toilet. I ran it both times at 16,500. I got one call in the fall, and two in the spring. Rodeo season has started back now, so I can't sell it at this moment anyway. Was the trailer too high, too old, or what? By next spring I will have to step up to a 4 horse. I will rodeo out of my cow trailer, and stay in hotels before I trade it for cheap or sell it for nothing. I just wandered what the forum readers thought the problem was. I didnt think the price was too out of line. Maybe it was the age, but honestly you would swear it was straight off the assembly line. I use it 5 or 6 times a year, and shed it when not in use. Maybe I can't even justify owning a living quarters trailer for no more than I use it, but I like to be on the rodeo grounds with my horses at night. I ain't going to drive two vehicles or sleep in a tent, before it's suggested.
Posted 2011-08-31 10:46 PM (#137155 - in reply to #137154) Subject: RE: Was my trailer too high
Expert
Posts: 2953 Location: North Carolina
I would say your asking price was too high for what and how you presented it. Consider if you had set a lower price... Say $5000 People might think you're a scammer but anybody that checked it out would see an attractive deal. Your trailer would be sold to the first caller. The pictures and description wasn't good enough to justify the price you asked for. If you want to sell your trailer either do a better job of convincing lookers that the price is a bargain or lower your price. This web site or any other is merely a collection of lookers.
Posted 2011-08-31 11:00 PM (#137156 - in reply to #137154) Subject: RE: Was my trailer too high
Regular
Posts: 79 Location: Hopkinsville, Ky
I had numerous pictures and a lengthy description when I posted it. Maybe I was too high. That's why I posted here anyway thanks puller for the suggestions.
Posted 2011-09-01 3:41 AM (#137157 - in reply to #137154) Subject: RE: Was my trailer too high
Expert
Posts: 3802 Location: Rocky Mount N.C.
That cowboy shower and no toilet kiiled your sale as well as the asking price.... If it was a 1996 model with a full bath, I might would go $15000.00, that is, if I were looking for that trailer, but it would have to be extra clean. It's a 1996 model, It is 16 years old..... Keep it and enjoy it.
Posted 2011-09-01 5:53 AM (#137158 - in reply to #137154) Subject: RE: Was my trailer too high
Regular
Posts: 70 Location: PA
For what it's worth, 4 years ago I purchased a 1995 Sundowner 3 horse, 8 wide w/ 6' s/w but it a bathroom w/shower & toilet & 3 cubic fridge, stove, microwave, a/c, heater, awning, "everthing" I needed & in excellent condition & I paid $20,000. I had browsed the adds for 2 years & when this one came along it was everything I wanted. Trailer definitely would have lasted me another 10 years + but wanted to upgrade to larger LQ. Happened to find a 10' LQ at same dealer I purchased it so I traded back & received almost as much as I paid & it was easier than placing add & waiting for the "right" buyer. Received a call this past spring from a person who traced me thru the title to inquire about the trailer & another dealer had it & was asking $23,000 & the guy couldn't get him down so he bought it because he liked the floor plan & it was only 20' box length & definitely had everything you needed to go camping. If the trailer meets their needs & they can't find another one like it you can command the price but I think not having a toilet & shower is a definite drawback. You are at the mercy of finding the right buyer & then probably dropping your price. JMO.
Posted 2011-09-01 8:18 AM (#137161 - in reply to #137154) Subject: RE: Was my trailer too high
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 326 Location: Gallatin, TN
I would have to agree with the comments about the cowboy shower and not toilet. Don't get me wrong, we are fans of the cowboy showers--they have so much more room, but when someone can add a just a few thousand dollars to what you were asking and get a newer trailer with the inside shower and toilet it would be hard to justify paying what you were asking.
Posted 2011-09-01 8:27 AM (#137162 - in reply to #137154) Subject: RE: Was my trailer too high
Expert
Posts: 2453 Location: Northern Utah
It's a buyers market out there right now with this lousy ecconomy. Lots of folks when they search totally ignor trailers older than 5-6 years. I know I would if in the market. Folks looking at 16 year old trailers are looking for more of a Bargain.
Your trailer maybe showroom clean. But when I think of a 16 year old trailer, I'm thinking of lots of maintenance, Axles, tires, brakes are all old. The plastiic lenses on the lights get brittle with age, wires chaff and need to be replaced. Caulking on the seams dries out and begins to leak. In LQ, everything is way past it's warranty period. And most everything is past it's planned life expectancy. Fridge motors, water pumps could fail at any time because of age and have nothing to do with hours of use.
So the buyer you are looking for, will be in a small percent of those that are shopping for a trailer. Keep a sign in the window when you have the trailer out, your best chances may be somebody walking through the rodeo rounds. that sees the trailer.
Posted 2011-09-01 10:16 AM (#137165 - in reply to #137154) Subject: RE: Was my trailer too high
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 399 Location: Ottawa, Illinois 61350
You certainly have one of the best products out there in an older trailer; but the fact remains that most LQ buyers want both seperate shower and stool in a bathroom. I have sold Sundowners for over a dozen years, and the cowboy shower is usually accepted, but not having a toilet is a big downer. Another aspect is that a lot of financial institutions will not finance a trailer over 10 years old. Your trailer would probably move in the low teens, but if it's that nice, I would just hang onto it, and enjoy what you have.
Posted 2011-09-01 4:21 PM (#137172 - in reply to #137154) Subject: RE: Was my trailer too high
Regular
Posts: 73
I don't know what pictures you had posted, but sometimes that can make or break a buyer's interest. You want to "stage" your trailer to make it look its most inviting, just like on those "house hunting" TV shows, except no cutesy flowers or anything.
Make sure everything looks really clean. Take away all of the personal stuff. No hats, boots, blankets, winning ribbons, etc. No stuff sitting out that should be stored in cupboards, that tells buyers there isn't enough storage space. A nicely made bed, or no mattress. Turn the lights on so it doesn't look dark inside.
In the write-up, you can use as many words as you want, so emphasize the things that you like about the trailer, and that has made it a good trailer for you. Can be little things. For instance, "comfortably sleeps 4" sounds better than, "sleeps 4", yet doesn't sound braggy. "Plenty of boot and hang-up storage", or "has a large food pantry".
You might have done all these things, but still just weren't successful. You could also run ads in local newspapers and those advertising publication things they sell in local mini-markets.
Finally, not everyone only looks at newer trailers. Our living quarters is a 1988 Gore that we found on this site 2 years ago.
Posted 2011-09-01 5:59 PM (#137175 - in reply to #137154) Subject: RE: Was my trailer too high
Regular
Posts: 79 Location: Hopkinsville, Ky
Thanks for the comments. I understand what yaw are saying about the age, even though it was maintained, electrical items still deteriate. I was just puzzled why I got so few calls. To me there are not many clean aluminum trailers out there with factory living quarters in that price range. I am a large man, and pretty much have to have a cowboy shower, so it's not a drawback for me. Rodeos are the only place I camp, and there is always a toilet closer than my trailer. I would say trail riders would insist on more comforts than my trailer offers. I'm eventually going to get a 4 horse, I just hate to come down to the low teens on an aluminum living quarter trailer. A new dressing room trailer would be more than I would be selling a used lq for.
Posted 2011-09-01 9:48 PM (#137181 - in reply to #137175) Subject: RE: Was my trailer too high
Expert
Posts: 3853 Location: Vermont
Originally written by bigfoot on 2011-09-01 5:59 PM
Thanks for the comments. I understand what yaw are saying about the age, even though it was maintained, electrical items still deteriate. I was just puzzled why I got so few calls. To me there are not many clean aluminum trailers out there with factory living quarters in that price range. I am a large man, and pretty much have to have a cowboy shower, so it's not a drawback for me. Rodeos are the only place I camp, and there is always a toilet closer than my trailer. I would say trail riders would insist on more comforts than my trailer offers. I'm eventually going to get a 4 horse, I just hate to come down to the low teens on an aluminum living quarter trailer. A new dressing room trailer would be more than I would be selling a used lq for.
9.5 percent unemployment rate in your neck of the woods could definitely slow up shoppers...
Posted 2011-09-02 8:04 AM (#137187 - in reply to #137154) Subject: RE: Was my trailer too high
Elite Veteran
Posts: 720
Everything said here has been true, but 1 point no one has put out there- but if it doesn't have a stool and a shower, then it isn't a LQ. I've seen a number of 12-15 year old LQs for 16-19K. So I'm paying less for one without.
Posted 2011-09-02 11:27 AM (#137193 - in reply to #137189) Subject: RE: Was my trailer too high
Location: Kentucky
This sounds like the kind of trailer I am looking for.... I want a finished living space but do not want a shower or toilet on board ( no water at all would be my preference). However i do want other certain things that may or may not be in a trailer of that age. A walk through door and an escape door are high on my list of priorities and I would not buy a trailer that does not have both. I doubt I am the only person with this preference. I see many older trailers that are finished the way I want them, (or close to it) that either don't have an escape door or a walkthrough door or neither of those and they are also priced what seems to be high to me because they are aluminum.
Was my trailer too high
