Thursday, November 14, 2013

Camper Sold

As you know I have been trying to sell our travel trailer. I first placed an ad on our company classifieds page and didn't get much interest. Of course the exposure was very limited. So I then placed an ad on Craigslist in our local area. I got a few inquires and even had someone come look at the trailer and then bring his wife to look but never heard back. I was pretty discouraged. I actually got more bot emails that said things like "I read your ad and I know this sounds strange but you sound like someone I would like to get to know. If you are real send me an email and we can get together". Pretty disgusting. So last week I was about to take the ad off Craigslist and then I got an email that asked if I still had the camper and their phone number was in the message. I decided I would just call them instead of emailing back and forth. Kind of "get the bad news right away" type of thing. I called and to my surprise Jim and Marilyn wanted to see the camper that afternoon. We set a time and I gave them directions to the storage facility. We met and started the walk through so they could check things out. They were pleasantly surprised at the condition of our camper. It appears they had been looking at some used trailers and were not impressed. As we talked I found out that Jim and I both had Harley Davidson motorcycles off and on for years. Jim and Marilyn have grandchildren like we do. They are retired and are looking to get back into camping like they had a few years ago. They don't have a Super Duty truck so our smaller trailer would work great for them and they would be able to tow it with their truck. Anyway, they looked at each other and said the magic words. WE'LL TAKE IT. I couldn't believe my ears. Jim then said if you will deliver it to my house I will give you what you are asking, no negotiations. I said, What's your address? We exchanged information and I told them it would take a couple of days to get the title since I still owed some money on the camper at our company credit union. So over the next few days I was able to get the loan paid off and secure the title. I called Jim and Marilyn and asked if I could deliver the camper today and they agreed. Glenda decided to take some time off work to go with me so around 2 pm we hitched up the camper and drove down to Decatur, IL. I pulled up in front of their house and noticed a long side driveway next to the house. Jim came out and asked if I would back in around the curved driveway to the back yard and park it in front of the detached garage. Well I summoned my backing skills and made it with only a couple of corrections in direction. I unhitched and went over as much of the workings of the camper with Jim while Marilyn and Glenda went inside to stay warm. After about 30-40 minutes Jim felt comfortable with the camper workings and we went inside to sign the title over and get our check. After talking a little longer we headed home and celebrated with dinner at McDonald's. It is such a relief to have the camper sold and to know that a couple of very nice folks will enjoy the camper as much as we have. Now we get ready to order the truck and then after the first of the year comes the 5th wheel. It still feels so far away but it's beginning to feel more real. We keep working toward retirement and it won't be long.

4 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the sale of your trailer. This is another step in the direction of your dream.

    Had you winterized the trailer? If not you best inform the new owners so they don't have frozen plumbing through the winter. Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. Hi Rick and Kathy, I was quite surprised that we were able to make the sale in preparation for the new purchase since I knew I would get practically nothing in trade at the dealer. Now we can go in and negotiate for the best price on the 5th wheel. Actually I had just winterized the trailer a couple of weeks ago so it was ready for someone if they did purchase before spring. Thanks for your comment. Curt

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  2. Congratulations on selling your camper, one more step in the right direction.

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    1. Faye N Dave, Thanks for commenting. We seem to be moving in slow motion right now but I know things will speed up soon. One less hurdle to get over. Curt

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