Purchasing a Winterized RV
Hello All! I decided to finally sign-up. BTW, thank you for all of the wonderful information in the forums, it is irreplaceable! OK, so my question is how do you properly inspect an RV that is c...
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I would do #2 on d3500ram's list as a starting point. That would let you know the basic water system doesn't leak.
If everything else worked and I was prepared to buy it, I would then ask the dealer to de-winterize (showing me how they do it) and then I would check the hot water tank to make sure that did not have a leak as it is normally bypassed in the winterization process. If they wanted to charge me for that, I would have it put towards the actual purchase if I buy it. Then you could add a contingency in the contract that you have X days to verify that the water heater is functional and, if not, they will fix/replace it at no charge. When you get it home, it will be unwinterized, so you can add water and start up the water heater to make sure it works. Then re-winterize as needed or return it for repair.
When I bought my clipper, I was unable to ensure the fridge cooled down at the dealer's - since I was trading in a TT with the same size fridge, I had them add into the contract that I had 48 hours to verify the fridge worked and if it didn't, they would switch out the two fridges at no cost. I took the clipper home and plugged it in. In two days they came and got the trailer. By then I knew the fridge worked so nothing else was done.
If everything else worked and I was prepared to buy it, I would then ask the dealer to de-winterize (showing me how they do it) and then I would check the hot water tank to make sure that did not have a leak as it is normally bypassed in the winterization process. If they wanted to charge me for that, I would have it put towards the actual purchase if I buy it. Then you could add a contingency in the contract that you have X days to verify that the water heater is functional and, if not, they will fix/replace it at no charge. When you get it home, it will be unwinterized, so you can add water and start up the water heater to make sure it works. Then re-winterize as needed or return it for repair.
When I bought my clipper, I was unable to ensure the fridge cooled down at the dealer's - since I was trading in a TT with the same size fridge, I had them add into the contract that I had 48 hours to verify the fridge worked and if it didn't, they would switch out the two fridges at no cost. I took the clipper home and plugged it in. In two days they came and got the trailer. By then I knew the fridge worked so nothing else was done.
