Intro: Thinking of cutting our RV teeth on an Edge m21- purchase advice for a newbie?

thecrunch

Member
Hi. My name is pearl and I've been lurking and reading for awhile. My husband and I are approaching retirement age, so it's just the two of us. (The grandkids are too young to bring with as yet) I'm really glad I found this forum since we are about to take our first step into the RV world. We've been haunting RV shows for the past year trying to find what's out there and what we like. However, new is just way too pricey for us. Our Ford Expedition can tow an ultra-lite and we have been looking at the used travel trailer market so that we don't blow the bankroll on our first RV (just in case it ends up as our Last RV because the lifestyle doesn't work for us.) We are about to look at a used 2010 Edge M21, a private sale, and the prices I have found online range from 10k all the way up to 20k for the same used model all supposedly in good condition. I just don't get why there would be such a variation in price. Could anyone tell me what would be a fair price range for that model in good condition? If we purchase, we would be the third owners since the present owner purchased it used from a dealer. The trailer has been sitting, unused, in a backyard for the past nine months through heavy Pa snows and it supposedly was used three or four times in the year prior to that. Are there any tips or warnings about what to look for in that particular model or vintage? Would we be within the bounds if we asked the owners to bring it to a shop for inspection prior to purchase, which we would pay for? Any recommendations regarding extended warranty? How would we find out what the mileage is on it? Any advice that you can offer to keep us from stepping into "stupid fool" territory would be greatly appreciated.
If all goes well we would love to be road-ready by spring.
Thanks in advance,
Pearl
 

jimtoo

Moderator
Hi Pearl,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and hopefully to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

I would suggest you have someone look the unit over for you. This might be a person you know that has an rv or you may ask around and someone may volunteer to help with an opinion of their own to the quality or condition of the unit. I do know for sure if it has tires that are original or over 2-3 years old they should be replaced as soon as you can and probably even have the wheel bearing repacked.

I'm sure you will get more opinions and suggestions from our other members soon... maybe even someone in your area to look it over with you.

Enjoy the forum and keep us updated.

Jim M
 

'Lil Guy'

Well-known member
I would really hate for your 1st to be your last due to a TT with problems. You don't know if the other owners took care of it with the required preventative maintenance and they surely won't tell you if they didn't. They want to sell it. You really need to have it put under power, water hooked up and check it all out. Then look for any stains or loose paneling due to water leaks which are common and happen to everyone but they need to be fixed. Any RV dealer could go over it if it has problems and could recaulk the roof and any other areas needed pretty reasonably. Check with them 1st and use this for a way to get a better deal. There is just so much that can go bad if it's let go. Good luck on your endeavor.
 

thecrunch

Member
Thanks for the replies so far both on the board and private. I just realized from some of the other posts that prices are not discussed in the public forum, so if anyone wants to private message about costs, it would be appreciated. The other issues are still up for comment if you care to chime in. We are going to take a look at it this weekend, so we are excited and nervous. This is a big step for us! All the best!
 
We purchased a new M21 at the RV show in Hershey, PA in 2011. Show price was ~20K (can not comment on used price). We had similar situation retiring in 2012. The Edge has treated us well. We lived in for 4+ months in 2012 visiting numerous national parks on our way to Alaska then south to San Francisco before heading back to PA. This past spring we were back to the west coast coming home through the southwest. The Edge has also been to Florida for the month of January this being the third year.

As for reliability ..... we wore out the tires and brakes (probably pushing 50K miles so not a bad thing). Some small manufacturing issues such as loose wires and trim were found early In Florida this year the fridge stopped working which is the first issue we have had.

After driving many miles on bad roads the trailer has held up well and we are happy with ours.
 
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