Forum Discussion

TracygeneRV's avatar
TracygeneRV
Explorer
Nov 01, 2013

First time buyer

We have tent camped 20 yrs and have been looking at TT for about two yrs now. We have found a 2010 Gulfstream 25' BH for sale by a private owner. He is 72 and traveled all 50 states and recently lost his wife, which is why he is selling TT. It has some wear but seems to be in pretty good condition. He did show us a roof leak around the skylight that was repaired by the dealer when he bought it. He has all the paperwork that shows a 12 yr warranty on the roof. There is also a small dent on the left rear where he turned too close and hit a tree. He is selling it for $8500 with all he stuff he has to go along with it. We think its a good TT for the price. It's not exactly what we want but it is in our price range and we figure we can trade up in 3-5 yrs. The one we Really wanted is $26k new. But it would be 2-3 yrs before we can purchase one that much. My question is do you veterans think this is a wise decision on our part based on the info I have provided? We considered a popup for the price and just came across this one. Also, is there any advice on questions I should ask or things to beware of in purchasing a used TT?
Thanks!
Tracy
  • You mentioned a 12 year roof warranty. Is it transferable? Some are, some are not. Would not be a deal breaker but nice to know. I bought a 06 with 10 yr warranty and I think it is not transferable. If it means a lot to you check it out.
  • We are almost set to buy this TT. I appreciate all the help. I just have a couple more questions. When we were inspecting it my husband asked if he could get on the roof. The owner said sure it won't hurt anything, he walks around on it. . I have the owners manual and read that you are not suppose to walk on the roof of it unless using a piece of plywood. Should we be concerned if he's been walking on it, like could something be damaged that we don't know about?
    Second, on our inspection we saw the veneer paper of the molding at the bottom of the refrigerator peeling and had been taped. I asked the owner and he said he has gone away on a trip and had the TT plugged up at the site but the gas was off. A storm knocked out the power and the fridge had defrosted and some water had ran down the front. We did not feel any soft spots in the floors or walls. Is this something I should be concerned with? The fridge run fine and was cold.

    Everything was in working order, the ac, the furnace, hot water, stove, We feel it is in pretty good shape but just not sure of the two items above. Camping World wants $300 to do an inspection. Just don't think it is that big a deal when we checked it out ourselves but would like other opinions.

    As for tires, the date code is 2010, same as model. How often do these need to be replaced? They look pretty good but I am not sure how long they last.

    Last thing is insurance. If this TT is being pulled by our burb, is their any overlap in coverage? I know in the past when we rented TT, the rental said it was covered under our auto. We plan to look into a basic policy but don't feel we need too much coverage. Does Good Sam have the best rates?

    Thank you all so much.
  • More than likely, walking on the roof did not hurt anything. If you heard cracking or popping from the weight under-foot, it probably still did not hurt anything. They are designed to take some weight, otherwise all of us would have problems with winter snow weight. But you definately do not ever want to have a party on the roof!

    The veneer probably will not hurt anything. What you will want to watch for is the refrigerator. Like at your home, if the freezer or refrigerator is not sealed tight, it let's air in. Air and moisture causes condensation. In your freezer it causes white ice to build up on the wall. When the unit looses power, that all melts back to water. If the seals are not tight any more, the same place air and moister came into the refrigerator/freezer is the same place the water will drip back out. Clean the seals real good around the refrigerator and you'll probably be OK. Just be mindful of potential ice/water build up and you'll be fine. We alwasy wipe our camper refrigerator out when we turn it off.

    If your tires look good, they are probably OK. If not dry rotting (crack in the side), you're ok. I'd think about changing in the next year or so, just to ease your conscience.

    Insurance? There's so many variations it's crazy.

    But typically, when the camper is in tow, it's covered by your automobile policy if your camper causes damage to someone elses property, like if you BACK into another car and damage the other car. You're automobile policy will probably not have any kind of replacement on the camper. You'll need to get that worked into your policy with your agent.

    You'll need to, or should, carry a separate policy for the camper, usually a rider on your automobile policy to cover the camper when it is not in-tow.

    Now this get's interesting also, because some home-owner policies cover the contents of your camper (or your contents wherever you may be anywhere in the world), and some do not. Here again, check with your agent.

    You (should) make sure you have coverage for all of the following scenarios:

    1. When in-tow, if your camper is the cause of an accident, all parties involved are covered.
    2. When not in-tow, (parked and unhitched), you are covered for any damage that could occur to the camper ... fire, tornado, tree branch falling through the roof, vandalism, theft of the camper or anything on the camper that's part of the camper.
    3. Contents inside the camper (your personal stuff), in the event you have a break-in and something gets stolen. This covers televisons, computers, guns, that T-bone steak in the freezer and bottle of wine!
    4. And something that most folks don't think about, a liability in the event anyone get's hurt (slip and fall for example) when inside your camper, or outside! Yes... outside. If someone trips over YOUR garden hose you could be held liable for the broken leg, not the campground because YOU were neglant NOT the campground. Has this ever happened? I've never heard of it, but it's possible and we made sure in all our policies combined, somewhere in there we've got this covered also.

    Good luck. Hope my ramblings help!
  • Yippee! We are in the RV club; happy to say we bought the TT :)

    So this is new territory for us so please forgive me if I ask a dumb question.
    I need help with plugging it into house outlet. Previous Owner had it plugged into outlet on the back porch with an adapter and an extension cord. We plugged it in and sat in it last night with few lights on and a coffee pot. The lights went dim when my husband figured out it was pulling from battery and not outlet. Checked the outlet and its working so what are we doing wrong? It is 30 amp.
  • Lights run off battery, might check water and get a multimeter and check condition and age..
  • did you check the battery before you bought it, with a hydrometer?