Junk RVs, motorhomes and campers bought where they sit

RVs and campers we buy

We buy recreational vehicles at the end of their life, in whatever condition they’re in:

• Motorhomes, small and large, gas or diesel
• Travel trailers and fifth wheels
• Pop-up and tent campers
• Truck campers that slide into a pickup bed
• Camper vans and converted vans

A motorhome with a blown engine, a trailer with a rotted floor, a pop-up whose canvas has split: all of these count. If you want to sell an RV that still travels well, a private sale or an RV dealer will usually pay more. When it’s past that point, call us.

What to have ready

• The title. Motorhomes are titled vehicles in Illinois, and many towable campers have a title of their own, separate from the truck that pulled them. Have it ready to sign over. If you can’t find it, tell us what papers you do have, and see selling without a title for how we handle that.
• Your ID, matching the name on the title.
• Keys for the ignition and the door, if you have them. Missing keys don’t stop the sale, but tell us.
• Plates off the motorhome or trailer before it leaves.

Clear out what you want to keep: bedding, dishes, chairs, the hose and cord in the outside bay. Turn off and, where you can, remove portable propane tanks, and tell us about any that are fixed in place. Make sure slide-outs are pulled in, or tell us if one is stuck out, because that changes how the unit can be moved.

Questions before you send the form? Call (708) 838-5553, any hour of the day.

Where RVs sit, and what that means for the pickup

RVs and campers rarely sit at the curb. On the Southwest Side and in the suburbs next to it they’re usually:

• On a side pad or driveway beside a house, often for years. In suburbs such as Burbank and Hometown, village codes have rules about inoperable vehicles kept outdoors; our suburb rules guide collects the ones we found, which is often why people call.
• In a storage lot or fenced yard, where the lot’s own access rules apply.
• Behind a garage, backed in off an alley, in neighborhoods such as West Lawn.

Size is the big difference from a car. Tell us the unit’s length, how it’s parked, and anything overhead or alongside that limits the way out: low tree branches, wires, a fence post, a neighbor’s garage. A unit with flat tires, a broken hitch or a frame that’s rusted through can still go, but we need to know beforehand so we arrange the right tow for it.

How an RV offer comes together

An RV’s value as junk depends on what it’s built from and what’s still on it. A motorhome is priced partly on its engine, chassis and weight. A towable camper has no drivetrain, so its frame, axles and size carry most of the weight in the number. Aluminum, appliances and generators still in place matter too, and so does water damage. Our guide on why junk offers differ explains the general logic.

Have more than one thing to clear? One pickup can take several vehicles, so the camper and the old car beside it can go on the same visit. Big commercial vehicles have their own page: box trucks and semi trucks.

Get your offer with the year, make, model and length, and we’ll call you back with a number that doesn’t expire.