Exlporer wrote:
How do you thoroughly inspect a used camper?
I would not call myself an expert - but this is what I look for based on my experience owning a poorly designed and poorly built 5er.
As you step into the camper for the first time, look for dirt or stains on the floor (especially in non-carpeted areas) and counter tops that would indicate water has pooled. As you walk though, feel with your feet - any part of the floor spongy?
Open all interior light fixtures. Look for rust on the bulb sockets or signs of water that has pooled in the lens.
Lightly rub your hand along the wall on the inside right next to the ceiling. Go around the entire perimeter. Feel for areas that are soft or bubbled up. Dont skip areas inside cabinets or closets. Do the same thing under each window.
As you are working your way around the top edge of the wall, in each cabinet - look at the floor of the cabinet. Any stains? The screws or staples that fasten the cabinets to the wall and or ceiling - any rust on them?
Circle the perimeter again, except this time at the floor looking for the same signs - soft spots, bubbling in the wall, rust and stains. I suggest you wear a pair of gloves. Even if you know the seller meticulously cleans everything, there could be undesirable material there - mouse droppings, bug poison, etc. Also look to see if the floor has moved in relationship to the wall, i.e. the wall has slid down (which is a sign the frame is collapsing). You can tell this by large buckling in the wall and/or cracked or bucked trim at the floor.
Bring a long pole with you and a very good flashlight. Empty the basement of all material. Most TC basements you cant crawl into, so unless you have a small child you can send into the basement (not recommended), use the pole and the flashlight to prod and examine it.
Of course examine every seam on the outside.
(All the above is based on my past negative experiences with the 5er I now wish I had never bought)
If it is a laminated exterior (as opposed to the corrugated aluminium siding), search for soft spots on every square foot of the exterior. Check the roof for soft spots and all the seams on the roof.
Open every hatch and door. Feel the area inside and just under the hatch opening. Improperly installed/sealed hatches will wick the water into the interior.
Look for cracks and tears on the exterior wall in the corner of cutouts for windows or slides and around the fasteners for the jacks. Cracks could be a sign failure of the frame.
Examine all the hardware fastening the jacks to the camper. Are there rust stains coming out from under the plates? Is any hardware warped or bent? If the paint is coming off, is it because the paint is just old, or is it that the hardware is flexing? (which is a bad sign) Are all the bolts tight - if they are loose you can be sure water got in there. Give the camper a little nudge. The camper will wiggle, but is it because the legs flexed a little (normal) or because the legs are not firmly bolted on (bad)? When you nudge it, watch to see if the jacks wiggle separately from the TC and dont appear to be tightly bolted to the frame.
In other words - examine every square inch of the exterior walls, ceiling and floor - from both the inside and the outside.
I've noticed on at least two of the campers I've looked at that the sealant along the trim piece joining the horizontal and vertical outside panels often have a black substance? This is the flexible sealant that comes on a roll and they put it under the trim piece before the screws go in squeezing out the sealant and sealing the seam between the two panels.
that oozing is normal. If you find it cosmetically unacceptable, trim the excess off (dont dig it out!!!) and caulk the edge with RV ProFlex.
