RV surveyors

AFAIK none are licensed.

SIL needs to be FULLY prepared with his own complete PDI regardless of who he may hire to help. He needs to be FULLY prepared to walk away. Cost, non refundable deposit, just sold, etc. Things like water damage, rust underneath and much more.

Not many experienced RVs would buy a remote rig that far away.

Best suggestion would be to look for a local independent rv tech and have them do a thorough PDI. If your son is happy with the report, make an offer pending the unit passing the inspection by the SIL.

Both very good suggestions.

CA Traveler wrote:

Not many experienced RVs would buy a remote rig that far away.

Why not? I was not an experienced RV'er,my first purchase was a 4 year old Hitchhiker LS II sold by a couple in suburban San Diego. We traded emails, he provided many photos shot with a 35mm camera not a cell phone. Like what I saw and mailed a check for 3K deposit. Drove to Kaleefornia, camped 3 days in his driveway; he showed us how everything worked and went through the rig top to bottom. Even gave me some maneuvering and backing pointers. Great purchase, no regrets, it can be done.

CA Traveler wrote:
AFAIK none are licensed.

SIL needs to be FULLY prepared with his own complete PDI regardless of who he may hire to help. He needs to be FULLY prepared to walk away. Cost, non refundable deposit, just sold, etc. Things like water damage, rust underneath and much more.

Not many experienced RVs would buy a remote rig that far away.

We drove 4000 miles roundtrip to pick up our hybrid TT, from Napa Valley to Chicago and back.
We're willing to do such a trip again, to save money. I know of other West Coasters who've done the same thing.

OK. OP here. Maybe I posed my question wrong. I'm really not interested in whether someone would make a long distance purchase of an RV. My question is :Given the cost of used RV's it's interesting that there aren't certified RV's inspection services available that specialize in pre-sale inspections.
As to my son in laws situation, the RV sold before he had a chance to really get further into the details and while we were discussing this RV, the thought of RV surveyors came to me and I thought I would put the question out here.

No there are not.Like wandering wrote,hiring a mobile RV tech to do an inspection is your best bet.
No one has a stamp of authority though.

thomasmnile wrote:

CA Traveler wrote:

Not many experienced RVs would buy a remote rig that far away.

Why not? I was not an experienced RV'er,my first purchase was a 4 year old Hitchhiker LS II sold by a couple in suburban San Diego. We traded emails, he provided many photos shot with a 35mm camera not a cell phone. Like what I saw and mailed a check for 3K deposit. Drove to Kaleefornia, camped 3 days in his driveway; he showed us how everything worked and went through the rig top to bottom. Even gave me some maneuvering and backing pointers. Great purchase, no regrets, it can be done.

There are successful remote RV purchases of course.

But RVs can have significant and expensive problems that aren't obvious. And they can be ones that the seller is or is not aware of. There are many posts concerning problems that were discovered later. Most RVers (especially new ones) should have an experienced person check the RV.

There are many posts on post purchase problems that existed at purchase. Even with a new RV which winds up in the shop for MANY months.

I flew to Atlanta to buy my Country Coach and when I sold it a buyer flew from California to Philadelphia then drove 90 miles to get my coach. Happens all the time. To the OP’s question, there is no such thing as a licensed surveyor as there are in the boating world. Probably because the prices are much less than boats.

Dave

NRVIA

From their website “The National Recreational Vehicle Inspectors Association, Inc. is an association that tests and certifies RV Inspectors in addition to connecting Inspectors with clients that need inspections done usually prior to the purchase or sale of an RV.”

I used one of their certified inspectors to inspect a diesel Class A coach I was interested in buying from a private seller in Colorado. (I am in Western Washington State.) The inspection was very thorough and the report detailed. I also had the inspector take samples of the coolant, oil, and transmission fluid for and submit them for lab analysis.

They do not value the RV, only inspect and recommend items for correction or further inspection.