True or False?

Sad to say, but any RV sill cost you thousands. A full tank of gas is $300+

10 year rule? Not sure if that really applies to RV's. Tires certainly, but the appliances seem to be pretty reliable. There are always exceptions.

On edit here is a guy wanting to remove the generator on his Damon. Replacing the generator is pretty expensive.

Generator replacement

I'm in a used 07 and with the exception of an AC unit replaced using my warranty program I've experienced none of the "curse" items mentioned. I'm in full agreement with hooking up shore power however. You'll never know if anything works correctly, even using the generator, unless you've run shore power for a while. If they want to sell, you need a weekend in a park somewhere to "test drive" the coach.

Jackalope wrote:
1. I found a very nice 2005 Damon Challenger at a used car/used RV dealership. They don't have the facilities to hook up so there really isn't any way to check things out.
I wanted to take the unit to the Damon dealer to be checked out. They say they can't do that.

2. He said that at the 10 year mark, almost all RV's started having major problems.

1. Let'em keep that sucker and keep shopping. There's only about a thousand other RV's for sale that you can checkout on site and buy from a reputable RV dealer.

2. Never heard about the 10 year old RV rule. Sure hope he's wrong.:B (See Sig)


Happy camping!!! See y'all down the road!!!:)

We have a 1996 Southwind, all the appliance, etc. are original and working. No problems.
I'll be replacing the tires and house batteries this spring.

condition is the important thing when buying a used RV.
If the dealer won't let you take the Damon to a RV dealer to have it checked, I would pass on that unit and keep looking.

trufalsdee

I'm not so sure about the 10 year rule. It REALLY depends upon how the previous owner took care of the unit. A camper that has sit for 10 years doing nothing but being closed up may be in worse shape that one that someone full timed in for 10 years, the exact same model.

There's a real balancing act with any RV between age, upkeep maintenance, and expense. But no matter what RV you purchase, or no matter how new (or old) it is, if you are going to maintain them, it will cost you something! I think the only time an RV does not cost you anything is when they are still sitting on the dealer's lot! The minute you sign the dotted line .... you start parting with your $$$. And if you really want to keep your camper in tip-top-shape be prepared to part with some of the $$$.

People trade or sell RVs for a number of reasons.

1. They get too old and they just want something newer, or they get board with their current model. They look for something exciting again, and buying a new RV IS exciting!

2. The repairs start to accumulate and the costs begin to climb. Rather than investing another penny into a failing camper, they sell while they still have some sanity left!

3. Needs change. You start with a pop-up and soon realize your tired of wet canvas. You trade and get your first TT only to realize shortly it's really too small, so you trade again and get something bigger, only to find out the floor plan really sucks, so you trade again, and again and again.

4. There's a natural progression as your income level increases with your age: PUP, Hybrid, TT, 5er, Toy Hauler, CLASS-C, MH.

5. Family sizes change and you outgrow your current camper, then when the kids leave, you down-size again.

6. You simply get too old and you cannot continue the RV life style (either week-end warrior or full timer), it just becomes too much for your age.

7. Some people end up with serious health issues that drive them out of the RV business, so they sell their campers.

For all the reasons above, a 10 year old camper may be very good, except for the last category:

8. Some people just really don't care. They abuse their campers and they quickly become junk. Everything falls apart, and then they complain because they cannot get top dollar when they try to dump it on some one else. These are the one's you have to watch out for, and usually there are tall signs of abuse or neglect. Rotten cabinets, rotten counter tops, soft and rotten floors, water spots on the roof, indicating leaks (run if you see this). More than likely, if you see interior damage in the construction, the furniture, floor, windows, holes in the walls, rotten water lines, electric lines, propane gas lines, anything like this ... will be a GOOD indication the appliances are bad also..... Run!

Before buying used, try to find out why the previous owner sold! This helps a lot.

Jackalope wrote:
After many years of looking at RV's and wanting one, I've finally retired and we're looking for a rig. But I'm having problems and maybe you veterans can help.

I've always bought used cars and I've always gone by the rule, the year doesn't matter...look at the miles. For the most part, that works fine for cars...but for RV's?

Recently, I found what appeared to be a very nice 2005 Damon Challenger with only 19,000 miles on it. It appeared to be clean and well taken care of. Unfortunately, it's at a used car/used RV dealership. They don't have the facilities to hook up shore power or sewage lines so there really isn't any way to check those things out.

I wanted to take the unit to the closest Damon dealer to be checked out. They say they can't do that, but that I can use a mobile repair service to conduct the inspection, and I do know that there are a number of businesses that'll do that.

But in the meantime, I had to make a quick trip to Florida and went by to look at a few campgrounds near my son's home. One of them had a very nice, and it appeared to me, very knowledgable owner. He said that at the 10 year mark, almost all RV's started having major problems. Replacement of appliances, replacement of the roof, replacement of tires (because of age). And he also stated that there was no way in the world he'd buy an RV without being able to fully hook it up to see all systems function.

The last part makes a lot of sense. But what do you think about this "ten year curse"? Is that true? Do most need all those replacements at that point? If I buy this Damon, am I probably looking at spending thousands in a very short time?

THIS DEALER IS GOING TO SCREW YOU! RUN, Forest, RUN!
This has nothing at all to do with the coach. Any reputable dealer will allow you to have the coach checked out. They don't have power available? Are you kidding me? Run, run, run!
The tires need to be replaced at 7 years and not 10 and problems will exist in a 2 year old, 4 year old, 6 year old......coach. There's nothing magical about 10 years. The older stuff gets the more likely repairs are going to be necessary. But that must be kept in perspective. A new coach costs $250,000. You 10 year old coach costs $30,000 (random number). Who do you think spent more money on their coach at the end of the day? Yes, you are going to have to spend to money as time goes by but you will still be way ahead of the game compared to a new purchase. Just be sure the dealer (not this dealer, but a good dealer) is willing to get the coach up to code. That means you need tires that are less than 7 years old, you need new belts and hoses, new oil change, lube and filter, new transmission and power steering fluids and filters and air filter. If they won't then you need to consider the price against the cost to get these things done as you do need to get the coach to a known starting point so you can proceed with the regular maintenance routines. You absolutely need to be able to play with every single device in the coach and hopefully you can get some previous owners service records. I bought an 11 year old coach and they allowed me to go to a local campground and spend a day and a night in the coach. It was a one and done option. Buy it or not, but we will fix any problems you find during that stay if you do buy it. I gave them a large down payment but it was not a deal until I signed the papers the next day. I still own that same coach today!

After many years of looking at RV's and wanting one, I've finally retired and we're looking for a rig. But I'm having problems and maybe you veterans can help.

I've always bought used cars and I've always gone by the rule, the year doesn't matter...look at the miles. For the most part, that works fine for cars...but for RV's?

Recently, I found what appeared to be a very nice 2005 Damon Challenger with only 19,000 miles on it. It appeared to be clean and well taken care of. Unfortunately, it's at a used car/used RV dealership. They don't have the facilities to hook up shore power or sewage lines so there really isn't any way to check those things out.

I wanted to take the unit to the closest Damon dealer to be checked out. They say they can't do that, but that I can use a mobile repair service to conduct the inspection, and I do know that there are a number of businesses that'll do that.

But in the meantime, I had to make a quick trip to Florida and went by to look at a few campgrounds near my son's home. One of them had a very nice, and it appeared to me, very knowledgable owner. He said that at the 10 year mark, almost all RV's started having major problems. Replacement of appliances, replacement of the roof, replacement of tires (because of age). And he also stated that there was no way in the world he'd buy an RV without being able to fully hook it up to see all systems function.

The last part makes a lot of sense. But what do you think about this "ten year curse"? Is that true? Do most need all those replacements at that point? If I buy this Damon, am I probably looking at spending thousands in a very short time?

The only ten year rule I have ever heard of was that some RV parks are far less interested in hosting RV's over ten years old.

We have a 2004 Bounder we bought 3 years ago had 20,000 mile on it. This is now our full time rig and have had a few minor things to replace such as slide toppers, a shift switch on the outside of the Allison Transmission, toilet because we want a toilet with regular size seat, and had the sat. dish hooked up but that's about it. This year will be shocks and back tires.
The Damon for the most part the Hurricane and Challenger are low end rigs. We got a 36' 2 slide, with split bath which was the floor plan the wife liked best. For full timing gas models I look at 2006 or newer manufactures Newmar, Fleetwood, Tiffin,or Winnebago between 34'-38'would be your best pick.

Don't buy from that dealer. They have something to hide and used RV's, of all kinds and sizes, are available all over the place.