Where do RV's go to die?

[Flapper]

We had our fifth totaled last winter due to a roof tear allowing water in to delaminate 2 or possibly 3 sides. I now see posts about similar due to Harvey/Irma. When I asked my dealer about what would happen to mine after the insurance company towed it away, he didn't really know. He speculated that some end up as slowly dissolving "cabins" for hunting/fishing use in the north woods.
Anyone know? Are they parted out to salvage usable stuff, just shredded and landfilled, or some other disposal?

[SidecarFlip]

Dennis12 wrote:
If they believed in God they will go to RV heaven. Dah

RV heaven could be the burn pile out back.....:p

[CavemanCharlie]

Dennis12 wrote:
If they believed in God they will go to RV heaven. Dah

You beat me to it. 🙂

I once helped a friend scrap out a TT he got for free. He hauled the tin in for scrap along with some other stuff that he had saved up. The wood went to the landfill, cost 20 bucks to get rid of it. The frame we turned into a snowmobile trailer. He sold that for 250 bucks.

He sold me the AC, Furnace, Fridge, and stove for 40 bucks. I installed the AC a few years later in a TT that I had bought that had none, then sold it to friends. I still have the rest of the stuff stored in a building on my farm.

One mans junk is another mans treasure.

[wa8yxm]

Well. my last pass through KY I visited Visone RV. They had a good size graveyard.

[Dennis12]

If they believed in God they will go to RV heaven. Dah

[SidecarFlip]

Redwoodcamper wrote:
In my small town community they are a problem when they die. Scrap yards won't take them because of all the non scrap on the inside. And tearing one apart isn't that easy unless you have a backhoe. I do own heavy equipment and I've been paid to tear the body's off and haul to the landfill. The frame the scrap yard takes.

Another reason I'm glad I don't live in Calif.

[Redwoodcamper]

In my small town community they are a problem when they die. Scrap yards won't take them because of all the non scrap on the inside. And tearing one apart isn't that easy unless you have a backhoe. I do own heavy equipment and I've been paid to tear the body's off and haul to the landfill. The frame the scrap yard takes.

[free_radical]

When I was in Alberta theres a place near Edmonton that scraps old RVs and keeps many parts for sale,,bought some windows there pretty cheap..dont remember the name,just know its east of the city..

[rockhillmanor]

I watched a CG owner go nuts trying to get 4 abandoned MH's removed from his CG when he sold it.

Not one single local junk yard would take them. They stated all the new EPA hazmat, etc laws made it too costly to take RV's in because of the permanent propane tanks on board and all what they would have to do 'before' bringing them into the junk yard to comply. So normal junk yards don't take them.

I guess that's why all you see is specialized junk yards scattered across the US for the dead and dieing RV's.

He had to leave them there and got fined for each one upon closing.

[d3500ram]

Veebyes wrote:

d3500ram wrote:
Five Star RV in Henderson (just north of Denver) has a pretty decent size salvage yard dedicated to RV parts.

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. I am in need of a replacement window & it just so happens that we are going to be passing by real close to that place next week. Never knew it was there. Was about to order a new window. $$$$$. Not too proud to install used if it is the right size. No problem to deviate course to pay them a visit.

Jay is the owner of the place. He and all the folks there are great to deal with. Their new RV sales are primarily truck campers and I do not know it that will make a difference on what their used stock is. It might be worth a call before hand to make sure they might have what you are looking for... most likely they will have you peruse the shelves, not sure if they have an inventory list at hand.

Good luck on the pats match... hopefully they have what you need.

[Veebyes]

d3500ram wrote:
Five Star RV in Henderson (just north of Denver) has a pretty decent size salvage yard dedicated to RV parts.

Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou. I am in need of a replacement window & it just so happens that we are going to be passing by real close to that place next week. Never knew it was there. Was about to order a new window. $$$$$. Not too proud to install used if it is the right size. No problem to deviate course to pay them a visit.

[lj2654]

Visonerv.com

[spoon059]

path1 wrote:
More and more are dying in my neighborhood

Ha, I was going to say that I've encountered some of them at some of the RV parks in which I have stayed from time to time...!

[SidecarFlip]

When I'm done with one, it's ready for the scrapper. I keep them until they fall apart, literally. Average ownership for me is 10 years, I don't change RV's like I change socks.

I would say most totalled or older units are scrapped. A commercial shredder can separate everything, from plastic to cloth to aluminum to steel, all in one continuous process with each material put in a pile for later recycling. They eat engines and transmissions and rear ends whole and spit out little chunks ready to be remelted.

Way back when, I used to haul Chevy pickups from Pontiac, Michigan to Toledo to be shredded. Whole pickup trucks, tires and all that were assembly line rejects. I'd back a dump trailer into the dock with the tailgate open and they'd shove a line of trucks in with a hi-lo. I'd shut the door and take them to Toledo to get shredded, 10 at a time, every couple days. Went in whole, came out in small pieces.

I would imagine an old / wrecked RV would shred easier.

[ctilsie242]

Here in Austin, I've seen trailers be parked in a residential area or a public parking lot, stripped of all useful stuff (A/C, tongue jack), put on blocks with the wheels removed, and eventually the city comes around and gets rid of it, on the taxpayer dime.