I am what people might refer to as a "gear head". Fifty years ago as a teenager I started working on motorcycles because I could not afford to pay someone every time I broke down. And that was allot! Then I got into cars. I worked in a gas station doing minor maintenance, then a tire shop then the U.S. Air Force who trained me in aircraft maintenance. I learned to really enjoy "turning wrenches" over the years I have bought and sold 35 motorcycles, 12 motor homes and I don't know how many cars. Many of them were bought just to fix up and resell. Learning all the motor home systems and pitfalls of buying them is what I will tell you about here.
If you are new to RVs what is shared here could save you much money and frustration. Also if any fellow gear heads think of something I missed here let me know!
What to look for: the first RV I bought was the classic `72 Winnebago in the picture. What a learning experience that was. In my excitement to go RVing I broke the first rule of buying vehicles: Never trust what the seller tells you! This is especially true of many RV sellers. They have this giant vehicle they really need to get rid of and can be desperate about it. Almost everything about the Winnie was a lie.
#1 Tires. Many older RVs may have tires that look almost new but if you look very closely you will see many fine cracks in the rubber. Ask the owner how old the tires are. If they are over 7 years old I would not trust them. They need to be replaced. Look up "how to identify date of manufacture on tires" on the internet. There is a number code usually starting with DOT on the tire. Sometimes it is on the back side. This is critical! Think about a hot summer day going down the freeway at speed and having a front tire blow out because the rubber was too week from age and cracking. Scary and could be deadly.
#2 The roof go up on the roof or have someone do it for you. Look close at the edges where the roof meets the side for any breaks, cracks ,etc in the caulking. Look around all the vents and anything else were water might get in. If the roof looks black in places the rubber material is worn and needs to be recoated. It should look fairly clean and white. Now go down and look for bulges in the fiberglass surface of the RV. This is a sign of water leakage usually from the roof. It can be just a poor build from the factory also. Go insde now and open all the cabinets along the ceiling. If there has been a water leak you will usually see cracking and peeling of the wood in places. If you find indicators of leaks and the owner says tehey are fixed you might want to run a hose over the roof for a few minutes then go inside and look carefully again. Recaulking and putting a fresh coat of sealer on the roof is an easy job to do yourself and can be done for under a hundred dollars
#3 The plumbing : insist on seeing the water pump turn on and all the plumbing hold water. This easy. If there are any broken fixtures or pipes the water pump will not shut off it will stop and then start up again or just never shut off. If the pump can't be made to turn of and stay off there is a leak somewhere. If the plumbing hadn't been run in a while it may take a few minutes to get all the air out of the lines. Open up all the faucets and flush the toilet for a few seconds this will help fill all the lines. Leaks can be easy of very hard depending on where they are.
#4 The waste tanks : first I would go in and open the toilet. Hold open the flush handle either by foot or hand depending on the type of toilet. Shine a flashlight in and observe how clean the tank appears. Believe it or not I forgot to do this on a motor home and after I bought it discovered the black tank was literally full to the top with, well you can guess What! Go out and look at the dump valves for signs of leaking and crawl under and look at the black and grey tanks for leaks.
#5 The Appliances: they tend to either work or not in most cases. Make sure you observe the refrigerator working. Replacement is well over a thousand dollars for most. See the water heater turn on and off. If it works you can go out and hear the burner fire when it running. The stove should lite with no issues. Check the heater and air conditioner for proper function.
#6 Engine and chassis: Like any vehicle you need to drive it and you must take it on the highway up to speed for a few miles then back and let it idle for a while. Check it out very well. The biggest issue with older motor homes is the cooling system. A 20 year old motor home that has not been driven much but mostly parked can have a bad radiator and will overheat the first time you take it on a trip. Believe me this is very common; and very expensive to replace. Pay attention to any vibrations felt through the floor at highway speed; any bad swaying, vibrations coming thru the steering wheel. The transmission should shift smoothly. If you feel shaking in the front end when braking there's a problem. I could go on and on about possible issues so if your not mechanically inclined it might be worth it to pay a mechanic to check it out. Generally just look for leaks under the transmission and engine. Look for leaking oil around the ends of the rear axle. These tend to dry out and leak from just sitting around.
Both Ford and Chevrolet big block engines in the 460 Ford v8 and 454 Chevrolet can have leaking exhaust gaskets or broken exhaust manifold bolts. Pulling the heavy loads that they pull combined with inadequate cooling systems cause the exhaust manifolds to literally turn red hot! After going up long hills and super heating then quickly cooling off down the other side eventually breaks down the metal causing blown gaskets on Chevys and broken manifold bolts on Ford's. I have found at least one broken bolt on nearly every Ford I bought and less often leaking manifold gaskets on the Chevys.It is fairly easy to spot this issue by opening the doghouse over the engine. It needs to be cold because when the engine warms up the metal expands and you might not hear the problem. If it is bad you will hear a kind of puffy ticking noise. You can carefully put your hand down by the manifolds and even feel air escaping if it's real bad. Sometimes ticking sounds can come from the valve train of the engine also. The leaks in manifold gaskets must be dealt with. The broken bolts on the Ford's I've had were never bad enough to cause a noticeable leak. Both problems can be very expensive. For sure have a mechanic check it if you are unsure.
I've covered the main issues to look out for when buying an older RV. The bottom line is they can be great deals or real money pits! Do your homework! If your in doubt about an RV your looking at feel free to contact me. I will be happy to help you from what I've learned and if your near me I can help you in person. If you need repairs and I am within a reasonable distance contact me. I will guarantee what I do and won't charge nearly what a shop will charge. If I can't do it I will tell you right away.
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