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The_Two_Ds's avatar
The_Two_Ds
Explorer
Aug 07, 2013

Learning the hard way

We bought our first real rv last year after having a pop up in our kids young years. They are both now in college and we decided to get a mh and begin to travel a bit.
We bought a 2004 Gulfstream Conquest Limited 25' Class C E450 from one of the big national dealerships. It only had 41,000 miles and we liked the layout. We thought. After a couple of weekend jaunts we bought 6 new tires, new brake calipers, and new house batteries. Now we've discovered a soft spot in the floor in the rear kitchen. On it goes. When we look back we realize how dumb we were and that the salesman really didn't take advantage of us. After putting some money in the unit we are still happy to have it and are planning a trip to Tn in a month. Extended periods of non use have been softened with a 15 mile jaunt down the interstate at least monthly to our local Cracker Barrel for breakfast and 25 mile out and back afterwards. A rough start but we are happy to know that soon we will be on the road.
Class C
  • Wikid86's avatar
    Wikid86
    Explorer
    Aug 09, 2013
    Your story sounds exactly like the way mine is going. This 08 is our first one. After we bought it we 3 tire balances then replaced tires (came with D rated that bubbled around the rim, replaced with E rated), Onan generator (motor only), windshield, converter, re-attaching cab to house, and now fixing the soft spot that we didn't think was that bad....

    My thread from tearing out my floor las night.
    http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/27150670.cfm
  • The_Two_Ds's avatar
    The_Two_Ds
    Explorer
    Aug 07, 2013
    Gosh. Thanks all. I feel better already. Now if that soft spot in the kitchen floor will just get no worse before our trip...
  • wearenh's avatar
    wearenh
    Explorer
    Aug 07, 2013
    Now looking back, we were so incredibly lucky. I didn't even know how to do a proper walk through, and yet the MH has been wonderful. Almost everything we have done so far to the unit have been upgrades that we wanted to do, rather than had to do.

    Since it was 6 years old, (even though it had only 5200 miles on it) I should have figured on replacing the tires and battery(ies)... those were the only two things I had to replace.

    Can't really say it was the salesman being great for us (even though he was)... since he only accurately described a MINT unit as a MINT unit ... the test of an honest salesman is to describe a non-perfect unit accurately

    anyway... thanks again to Deep South RV in Theodore AL
  • tobydad's avatar
    tobydad
    Explorer
    Aug 07, 2013
    We gave up motorhoming 13 years ago because of health reasons. We decided to take the plunge again and went searching for a used small class C. You would not believe the junks we went to see. I even said to one dealer that he had a nerve trying to sell the unit and it shouldn't even be on his lot. Most of the units had severe water damage and the sellers made like they were not aware of it. We found one that was taken care of and was in like new condition. You will find that the problems you found are not serious, but probably should have been taken care of by the dealer.The more you use it, the more you will love it. Good luck
  • Jayco-noslide's avatar
    Jayco-noslide
    Explorer
    Aug 07, 2013
    I don't think your story is unusual at all based on our son's experience with his 2nd used MH. We are thinking of going from an older 5th wheel to a used MH and I'm scared. I think it helps some once you have experience and sort of know what to look for but you just can't see some problems till its too late.
  • Mich_F's avatar
    Mich_F
    Explorer
    Aug 07, 2013
    In my brand new MH, if it was raining out, you could take a shower without turning the water on, with the water coming through the shower skylight. :S
  • DaHose's avatar
    DaHose
    Explorer
    Aug 07, 2013
    I bought a 1983 Jamboree from a private party and and am right there with you as a victim to the learning curve.

    I bought with what I thought would be repairable water damage and it turned into a complete rebuild of the cabover. That was after new tires, refrigerator, toilet, engine work, cabinetry repair, battery isolator to combiner conversion and fuse/relay box rebuild for the coach feed side of the engine bay. PHEW!

    Even after all that work, just three small trips and several daughter/grandmother driveway sleepovers is enough to make us happy we bought the old girl. We intend to have our rig for a long while. Yours sounds much better off than ours, so I bet you guys will be happy in the long run.

    Jose
  • 2001_Ford_E450's avatar
    2001_Ford_E450
    Explorer
    Aug 07, 2013
    Dont feel bad. We all go thru issues I
    think as we learn. The first night out in our used C we had a sudden flood down the middle of the coach coming from the kitchen area. Thats when I realized that the reputable RV dealer in our town should have pressurized the water lines and demonstrated to me that it worked ok as part of the walkthru!
  • dennislanier's avatar
    dennislanier
    Explorer
    Aug 07, 2013
    Hope you will soon be able to enjoy your MH. Although the tires, brakes and batteries might be considered regular maintenance issues, I hope you are seriously checking into the floor problem. It may get worse over time if there is a leak or something so fix it sooner rather than later. Please post when you figure out the problem as it might help someone else with a similar issue. Good luck and enjoy your investment.
  • tenbear's avatar
    tenbear
    Explorer
    Aug 07, 2013
    Now that you have gotten it fixed up, I hope you have many happy years of camping with it.

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