Deal or No Deal? (new here)

rgatijnet1 wrote:
Check to see if the tires are about to "age out", in other words 7+ years old and may have cracks in the sidewalls. This could add a few thousand in expense to have tires that are safe. Check batteries, house and chassis, to see if they hold a charge. This might add a few hundred if new batteries are needed. Is the TV compatible for today's digital channels?
Other than that just go through the basics and make sure that the AC's, both dash and overhead, put out cold air. The furnace and all appliances work. The refrigerator and water heater work. The coach has brakes that will stop you and the Saturn when applied. Make sure that the transmission is shifting smooth and that the engine doesn't have an excessive amount of smoke(I'm not sure if CA has emissions checks for RV's).
If you are comfortable with the price, go for it and enjoy.

Good advice right here. I'm assuming with the Ford chassis you will have 16" tires which should save you quite a bit over larger tires. There should be a date stamp on the tires (you may have to look on the opposite side of the tire to find it. Here's how you read the date stamp reading tire date stamp. Don't let the amount of tread left fool you. Many new people make that mistake and end up stuck on the side of the road with a blowout and damage to their "new" RV becasue of the shredding of the old rotted tires.

If all the appliances are working and there are no water leaks or soft spots in the floor, then I would say you have found yourself quite a bargain. Heck just setting up a car to tow four-down can cost between $1-2k.

See if the PO (previous owner) has maintenance records for the RV. And so you don't go into this blindly, ask him what kind of mileage he was getting don't expect more than 6 or 8 tops) and make sure that fits into your budget.

Oh yeah, one big thing... Are you handy or mechanically inclined? Because a unit this old will require maintenance and repairs and if you have to pay someone it could eat you alive.

Doug