Where to buy your dream camper online

Maybe it’s the allure of van life on Instagram, or perhaps you’re ready to get the family camping next summer. But the big decision has been made: You’ve decided to buy a camper. The next step, of course, is where to buy it. Love campers and trailers? Come join our community group.

Here at Curbed, we’ve provided you with a ton of resources on living the camper life. We’ve revealed our favorite camper vans, teardrop trailers, and lightweight campers to buy. We’ve also explored whether or not you should have a toilet in your RV, written the ultimate camper gear shopping guide, and listed some of our favorite van conversion companies. Today, we dive into the world of for-sale camper websites.

There’s no substitute for seeing a camper—of any kind—in person. We highly recommend going to an RV show to discover what type of camper makes you swoon: Is it an amenity-packed trailer? A Class C RV? A tricked-out camper van ready to go off grid? Whatever strikes your fancy, seeing the differences face to face is an invaluable experience.

But once you know which type of camper you want, online sites can be extremely helpful. If you’re set on a converted DIY Sprinter or school bus, for example, no RV show is going to help you much. Likewise, the used camper market is best perused from the comfort of your couch before you arrange an in-person visit with the top candidates.

For this guide, we’ve chosen to only include companies that don’t have a physical location. This means that RV dealers like Camping World, PPL Motor Homes, and MHSRV have not been included in this list. We’re also assuming you already know about Craigslist and your local newspaper, so those are off, too.

Here are five other options that range from well-known websites to new, under-the-radar companies. If you’re looking to buy a camper, here’s where to start.

RV Trader

One of the largest sites online, RV Trader offers new and used RVs for sale by owner and by dealers. Over 200,000 campers are listed, and you can filter by RV Class type, make and model, keywords, and proximity to particular zip codes.

Nearly half of the listings on RV Trader are travel trailers, followed by a plethora of fifth wheels, toy haulers, and Class A and C RVs. This means that if you’re looking for a Class B van or unique build, you might come up empty. But if you’re on the hunt for a used RV from a major manufacturer, RV Trader can prove helpful.

Photo courtesy of Far Out Ride

Conversion Trader

While Class A and C RVs get a lot of love on other sites, it can be hard to find used Class B conversions or converted school buses, ambulances, or transit buses. Conversion Trader lets users filter by type of camper design, whether or not a vehicle is new or used, and proximity to your location.

The new and growing site doesn’t have as many listings as the older websites, but it does offer for sale by owner listings like a renovated Airstream, used Mercedes Sprinter vans, and converted toy haulers. Some van conversion companies are also listing their builds on the site. Like other listing platforms, potential camper owners can email sellers to get more information, and it’s easy to see new listings thanks to a live feed on the Conversion Trader Facebook Page.

Pop RVs

This new to the market website launched in 2015 as a sister site of PopYachts.com. As an RV broker, Pop RVs meets RV sellers to take photos and video of their rigs, builds an online advertisement, and responds to all inquires from potential buyers. They also post their RVs to other sites online (including some listed here), so you might see overlaps.

If you’re looking to buy an RV, the PopRV site is helpfully broken down by price, type, and major manufacturer. The listing information is comprehensive and we love that each camper for sale has over 100 photos from every angle. Pop RVs can also assist buyers and sellers in negotiations, meet on location for showings and inspections, and help with state registration and documentation.

RVT.com

This leading website for online RV classifieds has been listing campers for sale since 1997. RVT.com connects private sellers and potential buyers in one space, but it also serves as a place for over 850 RV dealers to sell their RVs and advertise their companies. In your search you can filter by RV type, keyword, price, and distance from your location. In the advanced search bar, you can also search by length, weight, fuel type, and how many slides the camper might have.

Like RV Trader, almost half of the listings on this site are travel trailers, followed by a large number of fifth wheels. If you’re looking for more unique campers or custom builds, they won’t necessarily be listed on this site.

Courtesy of Morelo

Facebook

Still think Facebook is just for sharing family photos? Think again. A huge number of Facebook groups have been created to buy and sell campers. There are groups focused on RVs less than $5,000, some that sell Class B camper vans, and others just for selling travel trailers. If you’re looking for a specific type of camper, find a group that matches and watch the posts roll in.