Forum Discussion
OhhWell
Nov 21, 2013Explorer
You should have no problems finding something pretty nice in that year range with that budget. It may take a little while of looking of course to find the perfect one.
The first thing I always look at is the roof. See if the sealant looks cracked and dry. If it does and there is no sign of even spot resealing, it is likely they neglected any other routine maintenance as well. It's not always the case but I can usually get a feel for how the camper has been maintained by looking at the roof.
Of course, look for leaking fluids, odd smoke etc. when it is running. Also, just see how it drives in general. Don't have lofty expectations of ride comfort from a gas MH of this age but it shouldn't feel unsafe or completely underpowered. Tires should be inspected of course as others have mentioned.
When we were looking for ours, we ended up going with one that had issues but was priced accordingly. I went over it in detail to know exactly what I was getting into and offered what I thought it was worth and they accepted.
My thought process was that we could buy one for $30k (Our budget as well) that looked and ran perfect and something could break a month later and we would have no budget for repairs or we could buy the one that we got for $10k, fix the issues, replace the tires and still have a budget for repair if something else breaks.
The first thing I always look at is the roof. See if the sealant looks cracked and dry. If it does and there is no sign of even spot resealing, it is likely they neglected any other routine maintenance as well. It's not always the case but I can usually get a feel for how the camper has been maintained by looking at the roof.
Of course, look for leaking fluids, odd smoke etc. when it is running. Also, just see how it drives in general. Don't have lofty expectations of ride comfort from a gas MH of this age but it shouldn't feel unsafe or completely underpowered. Tires should be inspected of course as others have mentioned.
When we were looking for ours, we ended up going with one that had issues but was priced accordingly. I went over it in detail to know exactly what I was getting into and offered what I thought it was worth and they accepted.
My thought process was that we could buy one for $30k (Our budget as well) that looked and ran perfect and something could break a month later and we would have no budget for repairs or we could buy the one that we got for $10k, fix the issues, replace the tires and still have a budget for repair if something else breaks.
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