Major repair costs for a Class C

Here's my story on a $5k motorhome.

We bought a clean 1992 jamboree searcher 27' for 5k. We didn't realize the cabover was rotten so I replaced that... probably around $250 parts and many hours labor. Next I dewinterized it andffound the shower faucet to be busted and had to remove the fridge to gain access and replace it. I put a nicer faucet and shower head and it was around $75. Then I noticed that the kitchen sink was also leaking so I had to replace it. Bought a cheaper one and spent $30. I also had to replace the fittings on the water lines in both locations so another $30. The rear brake was sticking so I had to adjust it back out, however I did notice a small crack in one of the shoes from heat. I didn't replace it and we took our first trip the other day, about an hour and a half away, and we had some grinding going on occasionally when pulling in the campground. When we backed in the spot i heard a pop.... guessing it was a shoe busting. I havent had the time to pull the wheels and check brakes but pretty sure thats what it is. I spent hours cleaning it because it wasnt so clean after all lol. The motor runs good, generator works geat and has only has 280 hours on it. The motorhome has 95k miles. Once I get all the bugs worked out we'll enjoy it. I'm banking on replacing all the brakes though and hope the rotors and drums are in good shape or can be turned. The tires on the back are brand new and the fronts have plenty of tread but have started weather cracking so will have to be replaced.

I once saw a 70s vintage motorhome at a local dealer lot for cheap.

However, when I looked at it, I decided to pass it by after thinking it out:

1: I'd have to upgrade the plumbing eventually.
2: Electrical was likely aluminum wiring, which would mean a rewire job, perhaps running conduit along the floor and such.
3: It might have combined tanks.
4: Parts for the drivetrain would be iffish at best... would have to be custom fabricated at worse.
5: Things like tires would be an oddball size, and may not be available, or have to be custom made ($$$$$).
6: It might have some serious water leaks. One YouTube series I watch had someone buy a motorhome... and had to do some major renovation because mice turned the entire place into a nest, using the fiberglass insulation as material for their little community.
7: Appliances may not be the same shape, which may mean that they can't be replaced if they break.

I would consider waiting a year or trying to scrape up enough money for a bigger budget.

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Old motorhomes are often "money pits". The engine, transmission, and engine cooling system may be decent but often the cooling system and brakes need serious work. The dash AC is also a comfort for driver and passenger on hot days, the dash AC in an old rig is often not working. You must have safe tires and brakes or risk breakdowns on the road, possible loss of control, and serious injury/liability. The house batteries, converter charger, and starting batteries, 110volt AC power systems and propane supply must work together and will often need repairs/replacement in an old rig. Your fridge, furnace, microwave oven, and interior lights, all depend the converter charger, house batteries and engine alternator to keep batteries charged. If you have an RV generator, it can be used in a limited way to provide 110volt AC power when you are not connected to camp/shore power. Old rigs often need expensive RV generator overhaul. You need to know what items will need repair or replacement and get independent estimates for time and materials.

Your $5000 price target determines your year range (it is going to be '80s or older to be that cheap and usable) and you don't need to worry about brands because the individual RVs will be those that have proven themselves by 20+ years of survival.

Your repair risks will be most likely related to the house, but at $5000 you should be considering only RVs in sound condition with everything working. "Needs work but runs" deals are more often in the under $2000 range. I have a neighbor who picked up a 22 foot Brave (a small type A, something else to consider) for $1000, he probably needs another $2000 into the house part to change it from the weekend camping shelter it is now into a functional self-contained RV for travel.

Chassis and running gear, you want that in good condition from the start. Most likely cost is tires, because they get too old to be safe long before wearing out, and run $1000 to $1500 for a set of six. If you get one so old it has 16.5 instead of 16 inch wheels, tires can be almost impossible to find at any price.

Next risk is brakes, they deteriorate by corrosion while sitting, and a medium truck brake repair/replacement can be a few hundred to more than a thousand dollars. I had to have my brake calipers replaced at about 30,000 miles and ten years old because corrosion kept them from releasing; another $1200.

Engines? A remanufactured big-block V8, Chevy or Ford, will be $2000-3000 for a long-block plus labor for installation, which might double the price, and then there can be issues with the condition of the parts that get transferred from old engine to new, because failures there are much more likely than a failure of the core.

Transmission? A rebuilt TH400 (most likely transmission mated to a GM big block 70s vintage) is around $1200-1500, with maybe $100 credit for your rebuildable core. Labor added to that. It might be a little less for a local shop to rebuild yours, costs depend on extent of the rebuild, how many parts reused, what parts are replaced. That's actually pretty cheap compared to rebuild costs on modern automatics.

But you should be more concerned about the condition of the house: no leaks, no former leaks, no water damage to the structure.

Staying in National Park campgrounds, quite often there will be camp stores in the more developed campgrounds, but prices will be high. Many RV parks I've used have had their own stores, or been withing walking distance (a few miles) of a grocery or convenience store. Most of my stays are under a week in length, so it is not difficult grocery shopping enroute to be ready for a stay.

I can't see you staying in National Park campgrounds on a $1500 budget. In many of the popular parks, the campgrounds with RV hookups can be nearly $50 a day. In areas less popular and less remote, expect fees more like $20-30 a day with utilities, $12-16 a day with no utilities (but maybe water available nearby).

Forest Service campgrounds can have lower fees, but often no utilities beyond pit toilets. Dispersed (wilderness) camping is sometimes possible on Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service properties, but more and more these are becoming fee areas. In the middle of the country I use state parks ($12 to $35 a day depending on facilities and demand) and the recreational access sites on US Army Corps of Engineers flood management projects ($12 to $20 a day).

Almost all public-owned recreational properties have time limits. 14 days is most common, some high demand areas may have seven day limits.

If you want to live in parks or recreation areas, you might look into work-camping, your labor in exchange for a place to park and hook up, and sometimes at privately owned RV parks, some wages to go along with that. Work weeks might be anything from 10 hours to more than 40 hours (with pay) but there is almost always an expectation than you will be there for "the season" and not for just a couple of weeks or a couple of months.

I hitch with many of these part time jobs is that you may be expected to have your own transportation, so many people living this lifestyle have a towable RV and something to tow it, and less often are using a motorhome and a second towed vehicle. In a national park in western Colorado I met a work camper living in a pop-up tent camper (about 10 years old) getting around in a 20-year old small pickup, but he had been doing it since the camper was new (and the truck 10 years old) so he probably started out with more than your initial budget.

At $5000.00 my guess is all the tires will need replacing BEFORE you travel. Any tire 0ver 6-7 years old no matter how much tread left has a greatly increased chance of blowout. A blowout can cause thousands of dollars of damage. SO NO MATTER WHAT THE SELLER SAYS check the tire dates or have someone you know and trust check them for you.

Think about camp hosting/volunteering in state or national parks. Sometimes the park has an area where the volunteers stay and get water, elec and sewer in exchange for 20 hours of labor +- per week. Someone there may become friendly and take you to town for shopping when they go.

First, if you buy a used RV for $5000, you better be real handy fixing things and have a fairly good budget for repairs, especially if you will be traveling extensively and living in it full time.

You will not be staying at a National park for a month...most have either a 7 or 14 day maximum stay.

I suspect RV's for you will be like BOATS - Always something to dump money into it. The bigger they are the more they take...

My OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer is very low expense and my truck gets great gas mileage pulling it...

May have to pick your choices...