Used RV sales are up, but many large, older rigs are sitting on lots for months

It’s camping season and U.S buyers are choosing used RVs over new this spring. Sales of used RVs rose 6% year over year, according to a recent market report. New, on the other hand, down nearly 17%.

But, if you have a big Class A motor coach that’s getting up in years, you could be waiting a while to sell it. Industry analysts say the average sales cycle for an older motor home is six to nine months from the buyer’s first look. In the current economy, though, fewer consumer leisure dollars and higher fuel prices are adding up to a lot of older rigs on the sales lot.

A refurbished 1988 vintage motor coach Lindsey and Blake Walters bought used in 2024 has served its purpose. The couple and their two boys lived the RV life while building a house in Fairhope, Alabama. The motor home offered all the comforts of home, including a full size jacuzzi tub.

The plan was to save on rent then resell the rig to someone else who might want to do the same. In January, the Walters scrubbed their RV inside and out, then listed it online with social media videos.

“There’s been a lot of interest requests for those videos, questions about those videos, but no follow-ups,” Blake Walters said.

While the Walters’ RV is older than most, the time it’s taking to sell is in line with Class A motor coaches built before 2016.

Class As are the big bus-like RVs. Those 10 years and older make up roughly 40% of the used Class A motor homes listed on RV Trader, the leading online marketplace for new and used RVs. And they’re expensive, with some prices reaching more than half a million dollars.

In today’s economy buyers are watching their leisure dollars, said Juliana Baena, director of strategic partnerships at RV Trader.

“They are ready to buy, they want to buy, but they just can’t make the math work,” she said.

Or the cash. That’s where financing comes in. But Baena said many banks don’t want to finance RVs older than 10 years.

“That wall is kind of coming into play and the biggest obstacle that a lot of shoppers are seeing right now,” she said.

And then there’s the price at the pump. Many Class A motor coaches can hold 100 gallons of gas or more. Current fuel prices haven’t caught up with the sales data, but they’re factored into those leisure dollars. Michael Papa knows about that. He and his wife own a 2015, 40-foot rig they bought used during the pandemic.

“We have a Honda CRV we’ll pull behind and if the terrain is not real mountainous, we get about seven miles to the gallon,” Papa said. “Doesn’t sound great, does it?”

It does not. Papa recently told his wife high diesel prices mean fuel for the couple’s upcoming cross country trip from Alabama to the Pacific Northwest is far more expensive than planned.

“She said, ‘Well, how much is it going to cost?’ I said, Well, a quick calculation, about $10,000,” Papa said.

The economy isn’t the only roadblock. Some buyers are wary of the unofficial 10-year rule. That’s the age limit at which some campgrounds won’t allow RVs, as vintage RV owner Blake Walters learned.

“So I figured I’d buy an old RV that was more affordable that I could work on easily. And then we ran into the old RVs don’t fit in all RV parks,” Walters explained.

Walters is now paying $50 a month to store the RV. With no bites, he’s willing to make a deal to get it off the lot.

With so many older RVs on the market, RV Trader’s Juliana Baena advises offering potential buyers a mechanical inspection report, budgeting for the long haul, patience and perhaps taking advantage of the camping season.

“Maybe take a few last trips before you sell it. Because it’s going to be a little bit of time and summer’s right here,” she said.

With the high price of fuel, RV owners might also want to take those trips closer to home.