Reminds me of our first MH. While talking about camping one day at work a coworker asked if I had ever thought about a MH. I said sure but I can't afford one. She told me she had one, and If I could get it out of her yard I could have it for free. This was in 1998.
It was an old 1978 Georgie Boy. Had orange shag carpet and matching orange curtains and cushions. Even had an 8 track in the dash. It was in terrible shape but the engine ran and I finally had a motor home.
We put a couple thousand in it in repairs and redoing the interior before getting our second MH 5 years later. Never did get all the leaks fixed in the roof. It was probably the ugliest rig in any CG we were in but we had a blast in that thing.
I learned a lot from that old rig. I got to learn first hand what happens if these things aren't taken care of, and that we really did enjoy the RV lifestyle and would get our use out of one.
A lot less money than some invest before deciding RV's aren't for them.