crittersitter wrote:
Hi, all. I recently posted about buying a decent used RV for 3-5k. Well I just ran across an ancient (1977) Holiday Rambler for 2k. I would run from something that old until I started looking at info on those trailers. Seems like they were built like a brick house. I may go see it over the weekend. The seller claims it has been very well maintained and that everything works. I've also seen some ads for late 80's early 90's terrys this week in the 3-4k range. My husband thinks I'm nuts to even want to look at a 1977 trailer but I keep telling him it all depends on how they are maintained. What do you all think?
My personal take is $2K for ANYTHING before 1990s is way too much.
HRs although neat looking suffer big time from the same issues as any other RV, water damage. No matter just how well someone may have taken care of it, there WILL be some sort of water damage that YOU ultimately WILL need to address. It WILL cost you a lot of money AND time to address water damage correctly.
Water damage often times happens far, far away from the actual leak and therefore often goes completely undetected until it is often too late.
My first TT I bought back around 2000 was a 1981 20' Terry Taurus, looked pretty good although I noticed that part of the ceiling had been replaced. Otherwise trailer was in good shape.
Owner was asking $2K, I bought it for $1800, towed home and when I opened the door I found a lot of rotted wood fall out onto the bed! I paid too much! Took $2K in materials, countless hrs during evenings and weekends all told it took 9 months to get it road and camping worthy.
Moral of the story.. if it looks too good to be true it most likely it IS too good to be true. Don't pay for the "looks" as the "looks" can be deceiving. By the way, I sold the 20ft Terry for $1800, took me 8 months to get it sold, many people loved the rehab I did but wasn't willing to pay anywhere near my asking price of $2000.
My current TT is a 1984 and I paid $700 for it, granted I could clearly see it was a total gut job but the price was acceptable since the trailer gave me a good starting point for my own custom build.
In your shoes, if TT has not been "rebuilt" and is original I would not pay more than $600-$700, after all it IS a 36 yr old trailer and WILL need considerable amount of rehab to make it road worthy.
Some of the things to consider.. Fridge, this is the biggest cost to replace ($1200-$1800 for new RV fridge), water heater $300-$500, A/C unit $800, furnace $500-$800, water lines may be old grey Quest which should be replaced due to problematic breakage.
Outside things to think about, tires, rims if all obsolete Star type are hard to find and when found are not cheap. Brakes need checked possible replaced, brake wiring needs to be checked (I would highly recommend REPLACING the existing brake wiring with heavier 10ga wire).
Lights, many old style outside lights (turn, brake and markers) are obsolete and may be hard to find if the lens is broken or missing this can be an issue if the light is recessed or part of the design.
Propane tanks, if they do not have OPD will need replacing.
If the owner has refurbed the trailer, then perhaps consider $1000 but not much more than $1200 depending on the quality of the workmanship.
Ultimately the value is basically what the buyer is WILLING to pay.
