Since I started seriously looking for a used Scamp in the area I have decided we could actually travel to purchase, I have seen mostly Casitas. We have a reseller about 70 miles that grabs up most units that are reasonably priced and I think they just sit at the computer watching Craiglist. I know, they have that right and I am not disputing that.
I have wondered about production numbers and if Casita just produces that many more units or do people with Scamps just love their units so much that they don't let them go? I know Scamp has the edge on weight and to me, no unit out there is as beautiful as a Scamp Deluxe.
So, this is just my frustration with the process. I could order new but since my son is unusually sensitive, there could be issues with outgassing. Maybe order to get something in the fall and let it sit through winter if that would be possible here but the house is on the market so that doesn't simplify things.
Oh, well, I believe everything happens when it supposed to.
So, did/does everyone else see one Casita after another for sale? I really have nothing against Casita and believe it is a good unit. They are all good units. It really comes down to preference and/or needs.
Just me thinking out loud.
Casita mostly builds 17 models and the lower price point for a usedCasita is about $10K. Trailers in this price range usually require the buyers to get financing but the NADA books don't support these figures so most fiberglass trailers above over $10K are slower to move due to sales needing to be cash. Tongue weight and WDH is another issue for the Casita for most people.
Scamp's bread and butter are the 13's. Almost anyone and anything can tow a Scamp-13. The lower price point for a useable S-13 is about $3.5K and in the winter a useable S-16 can be had for $6-7K. People are more likely to have these amounts of cash available so the units move fast. Also WDH is not really needed for a Scamp. S-13's anything can tow it, S-16's need a SUV or P/U and a S-19 is almost limited to mid sized pickups for a tow. I think owners towing capability adds to Scamps popularity.
In the past few years the demand for trailers has greatly increased. I think the demand is so great that people don't even need to advertise, and trailers are being sold directly to friends and relatives.
One other factor for more Casita's on the market now, is a lot of Casita owners are moving up to the larger Escapes.
I current own both makes of trailer. Each has their strong and weak points. With the demand these days if you want a specific trailer you may be better off just ordering a new one. Or have your bags packed, cash in hand and be willing to travel up to 1K mi. (very) quickly and also stay on the internet.
Eddie
Eddie has the major points very well covered. The demand is primarily on pricing and the lowest price point trailers are the Scamps both new and used. I have also noticed that quite a few Casita owners are moving up to the Escape Trailers and with the US to CA exchange rate sitting at 20-25% right now and expected to get even better Escape production dates are over a year out on most trailers. Reace (Escape Trailers Owner) even brought a new Escape trailer this year to the Blue Bonnet gathering in Texas which is the largest Casita sponsored gathering in the country if that tells you where there market is of late. This migration is probably causing quite a jump in the used Casita's available.
Scamp inventory this Spring is the lowest it has ever been, with the 13's being very difficult to find. There is definitely a resurgence in the small travel trailers going on.
I like all the trailers, with one of my all-time favorites being the Bigfoots. Each brand has it's positives and negatives but they're all awesome.
Our Trailers:
2015 19 Escape
Buying or Selling Molded FG Trailers:
Fiberglass-RV-4Sale
Well, gas prices are about $1.60 per gallon lower than last year. This has caused a resurgence in towing and folks coming to campgrounds. We could not find a place at all for the 4 th of July! Parks are now fuller than ever. When we found our Scamp on the RVs4sale site, we jumped at the opportunity. We talked on the phone on Monday, left on Wednesday with the cash ready for our seller at the Bank of America, where we met him, in Columbia SC. Seems one truly must be ready to travel, but most importantly, know your seller.
<p>Doug Allen 2016 Ford F-150 2018 Lance 1575</p>
Doug brings up an important point "Know your seller". I can't believe the number of scammers operating these days. Now the basic "If it sounds to good to be true, it probably isn't." is an easy one yet I am amazed at how many people fall in that trap. I will see an ad for a $2,001 or $3,006 on a unit and know it is a scam. I usually then google for it and report all of the listings that come up. Sometimes, they are listed in over 10 different states, same photos, etc. The worst is when they take pictures of units in parking lots. So, the really dumb ones are easy to avoid. Oh, and least I forget the one that uses a photo of a trailer when it is moving having snapped it when either it passed by or as the scammer was driving past it.
I have started watching the dealers. A Bigfoot came up a couple of hours away but it was the 25' and reasonbly price but too big. Seems to me that I have seen better prices with some of the dealers, when the aren't "flippers".
Campgrounds are stuffed here. One issue we have are snowbirds coming up and sitting in the slots. They have to move for a certain number of days, hours, something and they can sit on the site again. Years ago, every time we went out with the kdis, we had to be in the direct sun for the weekend because the snowbirds were in all the better sites. We go to state parks and Corp of Engineer as there aren't many choices here in KS. The last time we were at the Corp of Engineer park, it looked like people were living there more or less permanently from your high end campers to what I would bet were homeless with a tent and "stuff" spread all over the site. It gave me not the best feeling in some of the areas.
Cathy