THE ULTIMATE RV SELLING GUIDE

Welcome to the ultimate RV and Caravan selling guide. This step-by-step guide will prepare you to navigate the RV sales landscape and achieve the highest price in the shortest amount of time when selling your caravan!

So, it’s time to say goodbye to your van. No matter whether you’re upgrading to a motorhome or downsizing to a camper-trailer, we want to make you the Boss of your sale. For most, the important elements when it comes to selling a caravan or an RV are price and time frame. The following step-by-step guide will prepare you to navigate the RV sales landscape and achieve the highest price in the shortest amount of time. Sounds good? Let’s dig in!

BOSS CHECKLIST FOR SELLING YOUR CARAVAN OR RV

1. CHECK CONDITION
2. CLEANING
3. CHECK PRICE
4. IMAGES
5. LISTING
6. DEALING WITH ENQUIRIES
7. HANDOVER

1. CHECK CONDITION

The condition of your caravan or RV will significantly impact the price and salability. Hopefully, you have been taking care of your vehicle while you’ve owned it, including regular cleaning, maintenance and servicing in between trips. This way, you will know whether any repairs need to be conducted before selling.

When selling your caravan, we recommend planning a final hoorah for your caravan or RV. Aside from savouring your last memories with the van, use all its features and amenities to assess whether any repairs are required. Conduct a service to complete repairs and ensure it is in the best condition for sale. 

2. CLEANING

Before you take those slick pics you want your vehicle to look sparkling clean. We have compiled a list of the best cleaning hacks for your RV.

BOSS TIP – If you’re serious about selling your caravan or RV for the premium it can procure, consider hiring a detailer for a thorough clean.

3. PRICE

When it comes to pricing your RV, value can be quite ambiguous and subjective. After all, one person’s dream is another’s aversion – e.g. entertainment system, renovations needed, brand. 

The best way to price your caravan or RV is to search and compare similar models. Find listings for comparable makes and models of a similar age and condition. Be objective in your assessment of how yours compares. 

Consider the following for your situation: 

• Extras and additional features (e.g. solar panel, slide-out BBQ) – increase price
• Interior or exterior cleaning protection (e.g. RV Gard) – increase price
• Full service history and impeccable condition – increase price
• No urgency to sell and looking for the ‘right’ owner – maintain/increase price
• No service history and poor condition – reduce price
• Damage or repairs required – reduce price
• Urgency to sell – reduce price

4. IMAGES

Quality photos make the world of difference when selling a caravan or RV. There are some handy techniques used by those in the RV sales ‘biz’ that could increase the enquiries on your van. 

camera type 

you will need a camera or smartphone. Ensure that the lens is cleaned. This may seem obvious, but smudged photos are more common than we care to admit. 

Orientation

Most classifieds sites  prefer landscape images. Therefore, keep this in mind when capturing images of showers and bathrooms, which are difficult to photograph in this orientation. 

Image types 

External and internal, capture images of: 

1. Exterior image – position vehicle on 45 degree angle and take photo from front corner
2. Wide shots of main areas (e.g. bedroom, bathroom, dinette) 
3. Close shots of features (e.g. oven, cupboards, 

Image quantity

A minimum of 20

Image size 

Maintain the photos quality without making the file too large. The easiest way to know if your photo quality isn’t good enough, zoom into the photo – if it’s very blurry, the photo quality needs to be improved. If using phone images, emailing or messaging photos from a phone can significantly reduce the quality. To avoid this, upload the images directly from your phone to the classified website listing. If you need to do this on a computer, connect the phone to the computer and save the original.

BOSS TIP  – When listing your vehicle, order your photos by leading with the BEST photos first. Ergo, photos of the loo aren’t likely to win you a slew of enquiries! Lead with impressive external shots, well-presented internals or fun holiday snaps! 

5. LISTING

One of the leading reasons people don’t list items on classifieds is that they’re worried about the difficulty of the process. Have no fear, RV Boss is here to break it down! Simply, you will need to complete vehicle specifications, price, photos, description.

 Click here to list your motorhome or caravan for sale today!

Vehicle specifications

Can be found by searching for your vehicle model online. The manufacturer’s website will likely have all of the information required. 

Price

Follow the guide above. 

Photos

Be sure to follow the guide above. Be sure to order your photos, leading with the best photo you have. Ergo, no toilet shots first!

Descriptions 

Can be tricky as they’re more than just repeating the specifications! RVs are a high involvement product, and as you know, people spend a lot of time researching and comparing. Therefore, you need to stand out! It’s true that a captivating story can sell a van. If you’re not a wordsmith then don’t stress. Instead, use the following prompts we have created, to generate your unique and engaging description: 

For example – 

“This caravan’s nickname is Rover! Rover has been in our lives for five wonderful years. We bought Rover because we wanted to take our young family for a lap of the map and Rover seemed tough, reliable and comfortable for our tribe of 5. 

Our favourite trip we ever took in Rover was along the Nullarbor Plain. The best part was seeing such a unique part of our country and seeing the excitement on the kid’s faces. 

Our favourite features of Rover are the tough exterior, which handled the epic off-road conditions and the sizeable bunk beds for our lanky kids. Whenever we go camping, everyone is jealous of our outdoor hot/cold shower, that is perfect for post-surf washes, without dirtying the interior. 

You might need to know that because Rover has done the big lap, it has some dints and scratches from all the fun. However, they are all superficial and don’t impact Rover’s reliability. 

We are selling Rover because we won’t be going on outback trips anymore and are downsizing to a tourer-style van. 

We want to sell Rover to a family who wants to explore and make wonderful memories in our great country. A family that needs a trusty brute caravan that can go anywhere you dream of!

Is that you? Is Rover the newest addition to your family? Enquire now!”

BOSS TIP  – Use RV Boss to sell your vehicle. Click here to list your motorhome or caravan for sale today!

6. DEALING WITH ENQUIRIES

Once you’ve begun receiving enquiries on your vehicle, be prepared for a lot of questions and negotiations! But keep in mind, buyers only enquire on a small number of vehicles, so engage them kindly and know that their communication is valuable.

Additionally, people offering extremely low offers or being brash negotiators can be off-putting. For many, money and negotiations are a difficult subject. Before you call your brazen friend who is a real estate agent to handle it. Don’t. Just take a deep breath and put into action the FAQs we’ve provided below. 

Common questions that you will (or should) have the answer to: 

Q: Do you have a roadworthy certificate?
Q: Can you take it off-road?
Q: Does it come with a shower and toilet?
Q: How soon can I pick it up?
Q: Does it have solar, batteries, washing machines etc?
Q: How long does the solar last?
Q: Explain the weights to me – what is the payload, total weight and tow ball?
Q: How long could you go off-grid without charging? 
Q: Is this motorhome diesel or petrol? 
Q: Do I need a truck license to drive this motorhome?
Q: How many people does it sleep/drive?
Q: Does it include all on-road costs?
Q: How much registration does it have remaining?

Questions you should avoid or further research: 

Q: Will my car tow the caravan?

A: Unless you are certain of this, it is important that the buyer investigates their towing capacity. You must avoid encouraging someone to buy a caravan that can’t be towed by their vehicle, as this is dangerous. We would recommend suggesting that the buyer confirms their tow capacity using this tool: The Caravan Weight Matrix

Questions you will have to negotiate on: 

Q: How low can you make the price?
Q: How negotiable are you? 

A: We recommend that you know your pricing limits and stick to your guns. Refer to the pricing guide above. Some helpful responses might be: 

“I have based the price on the current market, so I’m not dropping it any lower.”

“The vehicle is fairly priced so I won’t be dropping it, but you’re welcome to come and inspect it, as I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!”

“I’m not dropping it that low, but what price would you take it for if we did a deal today?”

 BOSS TIP  – Be mindful of scammers by monitoring communication, being present for test drives, and establishing credible payment methods for deposits and final payments.  

7. Handover

So you’ve found your buyer/s? Congrats! 

The next steps will include finalising documentation, finalising payments and preparing the vehicle. 

To prepare documentation and transition ownership, you should consider: 

• Creating a seller agreement which includes – contact details (buyer and seller), photo of license of seller, vehicle price, vehicle description, registration, deposit amount (if any), payment method, agreement date, transaction date, vehicle inclusion, any other agreements (e.g repair wheel rims or replace microwave) 
• Transfer registration through your respective state government transport department
• Obtaining a safety certificate 
• Contact your insurer to remove the vehicle from your cover
• Remove any toll accounts

To finalise payment, you will need to ensure you have established the total price and payment method. Payment methods include:

• Electronic transfer via internet banking
• In-branch transfer with the buyer
• Cash

Ensure that signed receipts are documented and provided to the buyer.

Preparing the vehicle for handover should be a labour of love. Try to think of the excitement of this journey for the seller and prepare the vehicle to the best of your ability. You should consider:

• Hand over all relevant keys, vehicle’s handbook and service books and instruction manuals for all equipment
• Gifting a nice wine, beer or small gift. 

Search for a new vehicle!

Now that you’ve sold your vehicle it’s time to search for your next motorhome or caravan!

Explore RV Boss’ extensive range of camper trailers, campervans motorhomes and caravans for sale. 

Read this  caravan buyers guide, to help you find the perfect caravan. Alternatively, read this motorhome buyers guide.