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Dachristianman's avatar
Mar 19, 2015

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I went and looked at a 2000 Winnebago Diesel yesterday. The guy said it's not been run for a while. That was an understatement. In fact, it only had 20K miles on it, tires were dry rotted and the tags expired in 2009. The generator only had 100 hours on it but fired right up. When I climbed up on the roof to inspect the top, there must have been an inch of dust up there that hadn't been walked on in years.

It's been stored indoors, but I'm a little concerned that something that sits that long isn't going to be worth anything.

Tom

8 Replies

  • Lots of good points. I didn't hear the motor run. The chassis battery was dead. He admitted that he hasn't even started the motor in years. When I mentioned $3-$4K for tires, he down-played it. He's asking too much right now for me to even deal. I'm leaning away from this one. Too many unknowns and he's not wanting to negotiate on the price. I told him that he had my phone number if he decided to come off his price.

    TOm
  • Gjac wrote:
    Did you start the engine also? I would start the engine take it for a short ride check for leaks and if all looks well it could be a great deal. I would make sure that the generator is generating electricity because I would worry more about the windings in the generator rusting and having to replace the generator than the engine itself.


    Arent the windings normally copper wire? Kinda hard for them to "rust"!??
  • Gjac's avatar
    Gjac
    Explorer III
    Did you start the engine also? I would start the engine take it for a short ride check for leaks and if all looks well it could be a great deal. I would make sure that the generator is generating electricity because I would worry more about the windings in the generator rusting and having to replace the generator than the engine itself.
  • Sounds like it could be a deal of the century. Go-fer-it!!!
  • With the tags having expired in 2009 at least you know how long it's been sitting. This might be a great deal knowing it will take a fair amount of up front cash....say 10K for tires, batteries, perhaps belts and hoses, possibly dump and clean fuel tank, all new fluids and that's before even starting and driving it.

    If it were me and every thing else visually looked great, I would have a mobile service come out and check it thoroughly. Look at the oil and fuel for algae, contamination and etc than perhaps give is a go starting it.
  • Dachristianman wrote:
    In fact, it only had 20K miles on it, tires were dry rotted and the tags expired in 2009.


    If you're talking about the DOT date on the tires those are the tire build dates, not expiration dates.
  • If it had that much dust on it the indoor storage area was obviously not a sealed building. I would do a complete inspection looking for rodent damage. Then you have to look at new batteries and ALL rubber components, seals, belts, shocks, gaskets, etc being dry rotted and ready to fail.
    When I restored Classic Cars that were 50+ years old, the ones that were driven regularly were in much better shape than those that had sat for as little as 5 years, not running, in some indoor collection.
    Only a very thorough inspection would be able to tell if this is a great buy or a money pit. Remember anything that you spend to make it roadworthy will not increase the value of the rig nor will any of it be recoverable.
  • 3-4K on new tires. Another 2K changing all fluids & filters, belts, hoses etc.
    It may be good as new. Maybe a few more $$$ on taking old fuel out of tanks and replacing with new.

    May be a good buy if price is under 10K.