Repocast RV auctions and Orbitbid: buying a repo or trade-in RV from Miedema

By the RVBidFind research team · Updated September 7, 2026 · 7 min read

Repocast RV auctions and their sister platform Orbitbid are run by Miedema Auctioneering, a Michigan-based company that sells repossessed and consigned vehicles, RVs, boats and equipment through timed online auctions. Repocast leans toward lender repossessions; Orbitbid carries consignments, dealer trade-ins and surplus. For an RV buyer in Michigan or the wider Midwest, the two together are a steady source of campers and motorhomes at auction prices.

Who runs Repocast and Orbitbid

Both sites belong to Miedema Auctioneering, a family auction company headquartered in West Michigan that also runs live and online sales of real estate, farm equipment, business liquidations and estates. Repocast handles repossessed collateral for banks and credit unions: cars, trucks, RVs, boats, motorcycles and equipment. Orbitbid is the general online platform for consigned goods, including dealer trade-ins, fleet and municipal surplus, business assets and private consignments.

For RV buyers the distinction is mostly about who the consignor is. A Repocast fifth wheel is usually a lender's collateral being remarketed to recover a loan balance; an Orbitbid motorhome may be a dealer's trade-in, a county's retired command trailer or an estate's camper. That affects how reserves are set, how much history is available and what paperwork arrives with the rig.

How Repocast RV auctions work online

Both platforms run timed online auctions. Lots open for bidding days or weeks ahead of a scheduled closing date, and on closing day they end in sequence, typically a minute or so apart, with a soft close that extends the clock when a bid arrives in the final minutes. Proxy bidding applies: enter your maximum and the system raises your bid by the posted increment as others bid. Sniping does not help on a soft close; a late bid simply extends the lot.

Some lots carry a reserve and some sell absolute. Repo lots in particular may have a reserve tied to the lender's payoff, and a lot that does not meet it may be relisted in a following sale. Listings state the closing time, increment, reserve status and location of the unit, and the terms for each auction event are linked from the catalog. Read them for that event rather than assuming they match the last one.

Registration, buyer premium and fees to confirm

Bidding requires an account with verified contact details and a payment card on file, and the sites may place an authorization on the card or require a deposit before accepting bids on higher-value lots. Approval can take a little time, so register ahead of closing day.

A buyer premium is added to the hammer price on both platforms. The percentage and any cap, along with documentation, title or processing fees, are published in the terms for each auction and can differ between Repocast and Orbitbid and between categories, so confirm the current numbers on the site rather than on any third-party page. Typical premiums at repo remarketers sit in the 10–15% range common to commercial platforms. Michigan sales tax generally applies to titled vehicles sold in Michigan unless you qualify for an exemption or will register out of state under rules that vary; the terms explain what is collected at the sale. RVBidFind's all-in estimate stacks premium, tax, a documentation fee, transport at roughly $2.25 a mile and a reconditioning allowance onto the current bid so you can judge a lot against comps. See RV auction fees and buyer premium for the general picture.

Preview at the Miedema locations

Units are stored at Miedema's own facilities, most of them in Michigan, with some lots held at other yards or at a consignor's site; each listing gives the location. Preview is generally available during posted hours or on scheduled inspection days before the sale closes, and staff can answer questions about a lot if you quote its number.

Condition notes describe what staff observed and whether a unit started or ran, but the level of testing on RV house systems varies, so assume anything not explicitly marked as working is unknown. Look for water intrusion at ceiling corners and around slides, delamination on sidewalls, tire DOT dates and signs the rig sat with dead batteries. Michigan winters are hard on stored RVs; a unit that sat unwinterized may have plumbing damage that only shows once water is on. The inspection guide lists what to check in an hour on the lot.

Payment, pickup and titles

Payment is due within a short window after the auction closes, usually a few business days, by wire, cashier's check or other methods the terms allow; card payments for large amounts are often limited or carry a fee. Pickup follows within a stated removal period at the unit's location, by appointment, in person or through a hauler you hire, with the paperwork the site specifies. Storage charges can apply after the deadline. Confirm both deadlines in the event terms before you bid.

Titles on repos are typically clean and held by the lender, and the house forwards the title after payment clears; title to follow is common and can take weeks, so do not plan to register the rig the week you pick it up. Consigned units on Orbitbid come with whatever the consignor provides, which the listing should state. Bill of sale only is a red flag on a motorhome and should be understood before you bid. Transport from West Michigan to most of the Midwest is manageable; use RV transport after auction to price it into your max bid.

The kinds of RVs that turn up

Repocast's RV flow tracks lending in the Great Lakes region: travel trailers and fifth wheels from the big Indiana manufacturers, bunkhouse trailers financed a few years ago, toy haulers, gas Class A and Class C motorhomes, pop-ups and the occasional diesel pusher. Orbitbid adds dealer trade-ins that were too old or too rough for the front line, municipal and utility surplus such as former emergency-management trailers, and estate campers with long ownership histories.

Prices behave the way they do across the repo market: clean late-model towables with popular floorplans draw regional and national bidding and can close near dealer money once premium and transport are counted, while older, cosmetically rough or untested units go for a fraction of retail. Hammer prices across auctions commonly run 30–50% under dealer asking for the same year and model. See everything closing in the state on Michigan RV auctions.

Michigan and Midwest focus, and what it means for you

Because most units sit in Michigan, buyers in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin have a structural advantage: preview is a drive, transport is a day and the pool of bidders willing to haul a trailer to Texas is thinner. That edge is strongest on mid-value towables, where a few hundred dollars of transport is a large share of the price and distant bidders drop out. On high-value coaches, national bidders participate regardless of distance and the local edge shrinks.

Seasonality matters here more than in the Sun Belt. Lender inventory tends to build through the winter, and demand is thinnest when the ground is frozen and nobody is camping, which is when a patient local buyer does best.

Tips for bidding on Repocast and Orbitbid

• Register and verify your card early. Approval on closing day is a common reason for a missed lot.
• Read the event terms, not last month's. Premium, fees, payment methods and removal deadlines are set per auction.
• Bid from all-in cost. Add premium, Michigan or home-state tax, doc fee, transport and repairs before setting a max, then hold it.
• Stay available after the posted close. The soft close can extend a lot well past its scheduled minute.
• Ask about winterization. Frozen plumbing is a common hidden cost on Michigan-stored rigs.
• Watch relistings. A repo back for a second sale often has a lower reserve.

RVBidFind shows Repocast and Orbitbid lots alongside the other houses it tracks, with comp value, deal score, all-in cost and a suggested max bid for Pro users, and every lot links to the selling site for bidding. RVBidFind takes no bids and is not affiliated with Miedema. Check the Repocast source page and the Orbitbid source page for what is currently open.