In the summer, wanderlust can suddenly arise. If you dream of a road trip in your own camper, it’s good to know what to look for when purchasing a used one.
If you want to buy a camper, even a used one, it will cost you a good amount of money. That’s why it’s smart to snoop around at fairs, online marketplaces, and garages, try things out, and think carefully about what you want exactly, say camper experts from BOVAG.
“A camper means freedom and vacation, but it’s also a large, expensive, and technical product,” says Claudia van Engelenburg.
“You need to know what you want to do with it. Is that traveling with your children or just alone, all year round, only in a certain season, and are you going far away or staying in the Netherlands? If you know what your wishes are, you can calmly look around within your price range.”
Determine what your ideal layout is: maybe you want the beds lengthwise, or crosswise. Or maybe you like the latest gadgets, such as dynamic air suspension or extendable outdoor kitchens. Or you would like a small camper, so you can save on fuel and taxes.
Warranty You Get at a Garage or Dealer, Not Via Online Marketplace
Buying from a garage or dealer is safer because they can offer a warranty. At a BOVAG dealer, that’s twelve months. Make sure the camper has had an official purchase inspection and that you know the camper’s maintenance history, says Van Engelenburg.
“Of course, you can buy a camper through an online marketplace and drive away with it. But it’s so much money that it’s a shame if you’re stuck on the hard shoulder with a breakdown after an hour.”
A camper, like a car, is subject to mandatory vehicle inspections. Pay attention to when that last inspection was, says BOVAG.
Moisture is the Greatest Enemy
Then you also have the ‘house part’ of your camper. Van Engelenburg: “You want everything to work well. If you are once at your holiday destination and you cannot cook, the toilet does not work, and the door buttons come loose, you have a lesser holiday.”
Moisture is the biggest enemy of your camper. So check if something smells, is rotten, or discolored in the camper. Do that on the side walls and the sealant seams, says Van Engelenburg.
Also check the tires. If they are old with cracks in them, that is a reason to look further, because replacement is expensive.
‘Don’t Immediately Faint’
A test drive, weighing the camper, and having it inspected: if you have the chance, you should do it, says Tim van den Boorn of the Dutch Camping Car Club (NKC).
Your insurer wants to know the weight, and so does the police. An overweight camper can get you a fine, says Van den Boorn. “We facilitate a weighbridge so you can weigh a camper. You can arrange an inspection for the camper on the spot and there is space to test drive. Of course, you assume that every seller is in good faith, but campers sometimes go away for ridiculously high amounts. You want to be sure that it’s okay.”
So don’t faint at the first camper where you project all your dreams, says Van den Boorn. “You might already see yourself sitting between the snow-capped mountain peaks in that hip little van. But if you have four children, that’s just not going to work.”
Rotten Walls and Black Clouds of Smoke
Hannah König, herself a camper and maker of the camper podcast Hannah’s Hymer, recommends taking plenty of time when you go looking around. “We visited a camper where the cabinets no longer had fronts and thick clouds of black smoke came out. Then you know within two seconds that it is nothing, but you have driven for an hour and a half for that.”
In another camper, she could stick a finger in the wall behind the curtains. “The seller had cleverly masked that. When I asked about it after the test drive, it was talked over a bit.”
Also, especially ask about the adventures that people have experienced in the camper, says König. And not because you want to listen to vacation stories so much. “We let a camper go where a family with a dog, two naked cats, and a parrot had traveled. Even though these cats apparently wore plastic socks in the camper.”