99 newmar mountain aire 4081 prepare for towing

[Atee]

Hi.

I am looking to buy a 99 newmar mountain aire 4081 diesel pusher. It's sitting under trees for more than 2 years now. Owner said someone started up the engine about 8 months ago, was running fine but did not accelerate. So they didn't buy it because of the expensive towing to 300 miles away. The whole inside needs to be redone (water damage, holes from tree branches). My plan was to move it to the rv storage next door where I could work on it. Its sitting all the way down on the ground. My question is that how could I inflate the air suspension so it lifts up without the engine running, also release brakes. For towing I need to disconnect the drive shaft Right? The towing guy who i called left saying ill be back when he seen the bus in the bushes. Never came back. That's why I am trying to prepare the bus for towing because it seems like nobody will touch it as it is sitting. I have the spartan manual but it doesn't say anything about it.

Thank you for your help.

[mike_brez]

[Atee]

🙂 ok i will

[ArchHoagland]

I looked up the word Optimist in the dictionary and there was a picture of Atee.


Keep us posted on how this all turns out.

[Atee]

Yes it is aluminum

[tropical36]

Atee wrote:
I would work on it only on the weekends not to loose money. The gel coat on it is perfect, Shiny under the dirt. ?? I did clean an area to see how bad is it. The inside has to go, everything except the shower and counter top. Roof has to be resealed. I’m working in construction so I can handle it ??. I’m trying to minimize the cost of course but in the meantime make it nice. This vandalism didn’t help on top of this??. But I stuck with it. That’s why I asked you guys if anyone has an Rv with this engine so I could figure out the wiring a little bit easier. Eventually I would sell it probably but for now we just would like to travel around a little with our kids. If I can recup the money I put in I’m fine with it. I’m not doing this for business. Thanks

I'm not familiar with the construction of the shell on these units, but would hope that it's mostly ribbed with alum., especially in the roof and not with a lot of rotten wood on top. This with remembering some old coaches that had been leaking and with having soft spots, when walking around up there.
Naturally, the deeper you dig, the more you'll find.
How about delamination and do you see any signs of that. I think that some of the Newmar's are constructed in such a way, whereas this doesn't happen.

[ferndaleflyer]

One mans trash is another mans treasure.

[Rick_Jay]

Atee,

I didn't think this was a good deal BEFORE it got stripped. You should take that as an omen and walk away.

You had mentioned in your first post that there were penetrations through the roof and water damage. So, I'm assuming the roof & floors are water damaged. Are any of the walls water damaged? Is there mold or mildew present? If so, be careful with that stuff.

To be honest, I think the best route is to leave it be. The second best would be to take it and part-it out and use the proceeds to help pay for something that is at least running. But that's iffy, too, depending upon what parts are still usable.

If you go through with it, good luck. I hope it works out for you as well as you think it will.

Keep us posted. I'd love to be proved wrong on this. 🙂 I hate to see things get discarded before their time, but I think this rig is just too far gone.

~Rick

[Atee]

I would work on it only on the weekends not to loose money. The gel coat on it is perfect, Shiny under the dirt. ?? I did clean an area to see how bad is it. The inside has to go, everything except the shower and counter top. Roof has to be resealed. I’m working in construction so I can handle it ??. I’m trying to minimize the cost of course but in the meantime make it nice. This vandalism didn’t help on top of this??. But I stuck with it. That’s why I asked you guys if anyone has an Rv with this engine so I could figure out the wiring a little bit easier. Eventually I would sell it probably but for now we just would like to travel around a little with our kids. If I can recup the money I put in I’m fine with it. I’m not doing this for business. Thanks

[tropical36]

dougrainer wrote:

tropical36 wrote:

Atee wrote:
Why would it worth less than $5k? These are up for sale between $30-40k when it’s original, everything is old. I was planning to make it more like modern looking on the inside for my family and not for business. I think few grand in material would do it. The diesel generator started right up. That’s good. Now I have to figure out what’s missing around the engine.

I think one could expect to get at least $20K in a private sale and all because it has a slide room, which doubles the value in some of the older units.
We sold our 98 gasser, with one slide for $12,500, over 2yrs ago, which was right under NADA low book and it's worth was on par with a high end DP, that didn't have a slide room.
There's a lot of talk about asking prices, what one is convinced they'll receive and then the actual in pocket amount, after it's said and done. The latter, you seldom hear back on, from any seller.

HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE PICS?????????????? Yes, he might get 20k or 30k. But what good is that if he spends 20k or 30k fixing it up. This piece of junk needs LOTS of work and expensive parts. Who knows what the Interior damage may be. There probably is roof leakage due to the fact it has not been cared for. The exterior needs to be completely stripped and painted. Sorry, Due to the amount of things that have been stolen/stripped, this is a money pit. The only thing it is good for is the satisfaction of taking it and restoring it, but you will NEVER recoup any money spent. Doug

NO, I haven't thoroughly looked it over, but labor would be the most costly and if he's willing to work for 25 cents an hour, like I have in some cases, then at that point it becomes a hobby, rather than a job. I mean look at the guy who's totally rebuilding an old Pace Arrow gasser and you'd think that maybe a Newell, Foretravel or Prevost would fit the bill, much better for such an endeavor.
Anyway, all I was saying was that once in good condition, it would be worth more like $20K vs the $5K stated.
How much he's gonna have in it, who knows?

[dougrainer]

tropical36 wrote:

Atee wrote:
Why would it worth less than $5k? These are up for sale between $30-40k when it’s original, everything is old. I was planning to make it more like modern looking on the inside for my family and not for business. I think few grand in material would do it. The diesel generator started right up. That’s good. Now I have to figure out what’s missing around the engine.

I think one could expect to get at least $20K in a private sale and all because it has a slide room, which doubles the value in some of the older units.
We sold our 98 gasser, with one slide for $12,500, over 2yrs ago, which was right under NADA low book and it's worth was on par with a high end DP, that didn't have a slide room.
There's a lot of talk about asking prices, what one is convinced they'll receive and then the actual in pocket amount, after it's said and done. The latter, you seldom hear back on, from any seller.

HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE PICS?????????????? Yes, he might get 20k or 30k. But what good is that if he spends 20k or 30k fixing it up. This piece of junk needs LOTS of work and expensive parts. Who knows what the Interior damage may be. There probably is roof leakage due to the fact it has not been cared for. The exterior needs to be completely stripped and painted. Sorry, Due to the amount of things that have been stolen/stripped, this is a money pit. The only thing it is good for is the satisfaction of taking it and restoring it, but you will NEVER recoup any money spent. Doug

[tropical36]

Atee wrote:
Why would it worth less than $5k? These are up for sale between $30-40k when it’s original, everything is old. I was planning to make it more like modern looking on the inside for my family and not for business. I think few grand in material would do it. The diesel generator started right up. That’s good. Now I have to figure out what’s missing around the engine.

I think one could expect to get at least $20K in a private sale and all because it has a slide room, which doubles the value in some of the older units.
We sold our 98 gasser, with one slide for $12,500, over 2yrs ago, which was right under NADA low book and it's worth was on par with a high end DP, that didn't have a slide room.
There's a lot of talk about asking prices, what one is convinced they'll receive and then the actual in pocket amount, after it's said and done. The latter, you seldom hear back on, from any seller.

[Atee]

Why would it worth less than $5k? These are up for sale between $30-40k when it’s original, everything is old. I was planning to make it more like modern looking on the inside for my family and not for business. I think few grand in material would do it. The diesel generator started right up. That’s good. Now I have to figure out what’s missing around the engine.

[dougrainer]

The battery area had a large steel slide out tray for the batteries. That is gone.
The other pic, the steel bracing above the floor held the Heart Inverter/Charger usually a 2500 watt.
This is a lost cause. Foolish to think you can rebuild this Shell for a reasonable amount of money. This is NOT a 1965 GTO body, but a Motorhome that once you attempt to rebuild will still be worth less than $5000. Doug

[Atee]

These compartments are on the passenger side all the way in the back


Battery
Engine computer etc? Next to battery compartment