What happens to old campers

[Tony's Dream]

As many of do your van builds, I see people making their own cabinets and sinks. I wonder what happens to campers that are not repairable? Do they take them apart and sell the contents like they do with totalled cars? I guess I have never seen a place that sells compents of wrecked campers. I would think that some people would like to buy a completed sink unit, cabinets, cushions, tables, and other such parts that were not damaged.

 

[Morgana]

I was gonna say "they just fade away" but I guess that's not the right answer (sorry Tony).

 

[bullfrog !]

There are motorhome junkyards. There was a thread about someone looking for used windows and doors in the past. I believe High Desert Ranger (HDR) listed some once. Rabbitbush Repair in Hanksville Utah listed a complete fiberglass bathroom a few weeks ago but they deal with an only a few houseboats as well as RVs. Most RV stuff is not really worth resale after a few years service in my opinion.

 

[maki2]

open google maps and enter a location and these keywords “RV salvage”.

That should bring up pretty much all of them within a hundred miles or so.

 

[Carla618]

As many of do your van builds, I see people making their own cabinets and sinks. I wonder what happens to campers that are not repairable? Do they take them apart and sell the contents like they do with totalled cars? I guess I have never seen a place that sells compents of wrecked campers. I would think that some people would like to buy a completed sink unit, cabinets, cushions, tables, and other such parts that were not damaged.

I see parts (and furniture) all the time on both FB Marketplace and on craigslist. From four years of regularly combing those places for old, cheap RV's of all kinds, I can safely advise you to focus on these three states: Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. But also Colorado & Washington state (for RV's. Not sure about parts).

Might not help you, if you aren't near those states, though.

What a lot of people do, if you have a house, or garage, is to buy the same (or similar) old RV as yours... for parts.

I just did a search for "used camper parts" and found these links:

http://www.usedrvcamperparts.com/index.html (Idaho)

List of RV Salvage Yards by State

Online RV salvage yard out of AZ

~~~~~
Purchasing parts for your RV from a salvage yard can be a fantastic way to save more. It also helps save the earth, support your community, and have fun while doing it. Are you ready to get started? Don your gloves and safety glasses, search the web for “used camper parts near me”, and get ready to do some treasure hunting!

From: https://rvshare.com/blog/rv-salvage-yards/

 

[Gr8ful]

About a dozen surplus RV parts places just south of me on the In/Mi border. I bought 3 or 4 FEMA trailer doors to put in the 40' hanger doors for $35 ea with locks. They have every part from frames, axles, wheels/tires, to any part in one.

 

[NctryBen]

I’m in agreement with bullfrog on this. Most “parts” are not really worth using after a few years. By the time you go through all the work of installing a used furnace, fridge, water heater, water pump... stuff like that your really taking chances. About the only thing that worked pretty good in my trailer was the fridge. And I changed it for a 12v compressor fridge. The fantastic fan was shot, the little bathroom mosquito fan was no good, the water heater isn’t worth a lot in my opinion. The furnace works, but the burner isn’t great. The cabinetry is really not worth beans. Many have water damage which takes no time for mold to form... most have old light fixtures and not very well compatible with things like solar and such. Putting in outdated stuff is kinda like painting yourself in a corner often times I found.

 

[Tony's Dream]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

 

[eDJ_]

For years I've seen these apartment kitchen modules and wondered if the fridge could be converted to 12 volt and if propane gas burners were available . These can be found used and from sources such as ebay. Avanti or King produced them with dimensions like 46 H x 24 D x 38 W. Would be enough for a Van rig if equipped with a water tank & pump and set up for 12 volt. These are more durable pieces of equipment.

Avanti CK3616

 

[maki2]

Motorhomes are mostly like putting lipstick on a pig. The majority of them are built show to maximize profit, they are not built for longevity. All the people I know who have bought motorhomes and fifth wheels have cabinets that are falling apart. You are better off buying good quality used kitchen cabinets and modifying them to fit.

 

[maki2]

For years I've seen these apartment kitchen modules and wondered if the fridge could be converted to 12 volt and if propane gas burners were available . These can be found used and from sources such as ebay. Avanti or King produced them with dimensions like 46 H x 24 D x 38 W. Would be enough for a Van rig if equipped with a water tank & pump and set up for 12 volt. These are more durable pieces of equipment.

Avanti CK3616

Not a good fit for a regular van as it has curved walls. Also most vans have low ceilings which puts the counter height too close to the ceiling so cooking and meal prep becomes very uncomfortable to do.

I once rented a very small apartment that had one of that type of unit. It was just about OK for basic meal prep as there was a microwave next to it.

 

[quilting22]

I was gonna say "they just fade away" but I guess that's not the right answer (sorry Tony).

LOL

 

[Michael11]

I have seen motorhomes, pop-ups, A frames, and just about any other kind of RV at auto parts salvage yards. Good stuff gets removed quickly so you have to be somewhat lucky to be there at the right time. Usually it's not because the RV was too old but that it was in an accident of some kind. Some damage was worse than others.

 

[peteg59]

Craigslist near me usually has a free RV of some type listed.
Most of the freebies are too far gone to repair or even part out, but inspecting one for its salvageable/useful parts is imperative to saving $$ over buying new.
YMMV...

 

[wayne49]

Pretty difficult to remove built in cabinets without damaging them.

Basically, most RVs are built cheaply and quickly.

Hang out in the desert with willing people who know how to build cabinetry from scratch. Feed them well.

 

[independent]

In NZ they don't go away, they give it an oil change and with half million km's, free rust and oil blowing smoke and ask for $NZ15000.

 

[Carla618]

Motorhomes are mostly like putting lipstick on a pig. The majority of them are built show to maximize profit, they are not built for longevity. All the people I know who have bought motorhomes and fifth wheels have cabinets that are falling apart. You are better off buying good quality used kitchen cabinets and modifying them to fit.

Maybe the sun and wind is especially hard on RV's out west. Like with all things, there are budget RV's, mid-range and pricey ones.
I'm amazed at the quality and beauty in the woodworking in old trailers found in the upper midwest, esp. Old spartan trailers from the 40's and 50's.

Look at Tin Can Tourist Classifieds.

Even new trailers have excellent woodworking, but is pretty ugly.

Many old, no name truck campers are still holding up well 70 years later.

Lots of ppl looking for used parts are wanting things unique to their Make of camper. Ie. coat hooks for old Airstreams. Or the wings on old Shasta's.

Some cabinets were the wrong design for an RV. Like the tambour "doors" on Airstream cabinets. Many are falling apart. But then you look at jalousie windows on old campers and they held up very well. So a lot has to do with building using the appropriate design.

In the midwest, water is what destroys campers more than anything. Not poor construction.

 

[RonDean]

...

In the midwest, water is what destroys campers more than anything. Not poor construction.

In my experience, water was the number 1 enemy of RVs no matter where I was. Water gets into a poorly constructed and pieced-together box subjected to road stresses much easier than a well-built fiberglass or metal shell. If you have ever had to disassemble a typical camper trying to find or fix a leak, you will know what I mean. Then there is the heat/cold transfer aspect of RVs with substandard insulation. I doubt if I would ever again buy one of those things. Just my personal opinion...

 

[Carla618]

In my experience, water was the number 1 enemy of RVs no matter where I was. Water gets into a poorly constructed and pieced-together box subjected to road stresses much easier than a well-built fiberglass or metal shell. If you have ever had to disassemble a typical camper trying to find or fix a leak, you will know what I mean. Then there is the heat/cold transfer aspect of RVs with substandard insulation. I doubt if I would ever again buy one of those things. Just my personal opinion...

You can tell which campers were properly cared for. The seams must be sealed constantly. Trailers with proper maintenance will last many, many decades. Just search marketplace and FB for trailers under $5K in the upper midwest.

You can't park them for years and expect them to stay dry inside. Though it does happen! I'm always surprised when I come across ads for abandoned trailers in the northwoods and the woodwork has no water stains.

 

[westriver]

I had a fascinating conversation with an employee of a fairly sketchy Florida RV salvage yard, on this topic. They had acres of mostly travel trailers and motorhomes, all in various stages of being picked apart and slowly rotting away. I ask what the end game was for units that had no real salvage value anymore? He said it was something they struggle with. Even when scrap was at record high prices, they failed to break even while using employees to disassemble units and salvage materials, most copper, aluminum and steel. The labor and dumpster fees ate up any hope of breaking even. The best hope of seeing a unit roll back out the gate was the customer who wanted a totally clapped out unit to "rebuild". In that case, they would sell it for the cost of towing the hulk to the new owner's property and then deliver it, knowing that there was a 90% chance that it was just going to rot away at its new location. He thought that the whole mess would only improve once the owner passed on, or found a buyer for the commercial property that could make the deal work, while factoring the enormous cost of cleaning up what was becoming a dump site.