Gjac wrote:
The MH looks like it is in good shape and well cared for from the photos. Having an 18 year old MH the things I would look at is leaking exhaust manifolds you don't say if it is a Ford or Chevy but both are prone to leaking. This not only creates excessive heat in the eng compartment but can the life of the transmission also. If it had headers installed this would be a plus and I would be worth a premium to me. Look at the ride height in the front springs if it is a Chevy chassis, if low HD springs would be in order. Also check rear suspension, front end parts and tire wear that would indicate front end problems. As others have said check for leaks and delaminations(coin tap suspected areas). Be prepared to spent another $5000 to upgrade,modify, and fix after you buy it. All the other systems can be fixed of replaced. It is a short MH so I would check how it rides, many caution about poor rides in a short MH. If every thing checks out this could be a good MH for you with only 45k on the OD you can easily double that. Good luck with your search.
Gjac, these are all Chevy 454's in the 22'Flair range. The one in AZ did in fact have headers and you are right that was a plus. As it turns out, that coach had not been through their "22 Point inspection" yet...not sure why since the inspection appointment had been made last Wed.
I am curious about what you stated about the short chassis ride quality. I am only going by what I have read, but I understood that longer coach's out to 32' had a lot of overhang behind the rear axle and that causes some significant issues? How/why would a shorter chassis be a worse ride?...too rough/bouncy?
$5K on the chassis?...I have not owned a P32, only a Workhorse. correct me if I am wrong, a old P-32 would benefit from new front airbags(assuming they are leaking), or new Henderson HD coils, a set of headers/Banks exhaust system. Probably some Auto Parking Brake parts, maybe a caliper or two along with new pads. The Banks system will be the big hit at around $2K ? The rest might add up to another $1k and I can do all this kind of work myself.
You are right though, mods and repairs sure can sneak up on you...I have over $3K in parts in my '95 Class B camper van that I "only" paid $3k for....(insert banging head here)
