Buying old RV

[justinnnutt]

I'm going to look at a 1984 cross country chevy motorhome. The owner lives in it and says he hasn't driven it in 10 months. The guy is asking $3500. My question is if I can't get it inspected by mechanic and I'm able to get for maybe $2500 ((the guy has to move soon), is that a reasonable price where i can then do all the maintenance and repairs to get it road ready? I'm looking for advice. Thanks!

[justinnnutt]

Thanks. I've been looking for a month and haven't found many driveable RV's around this price and the ones I did were pretty bad. I'm wondering if there is a point where there are some repairs to make the rv worth it. But I don't want to buy something that needs so much work its not worth it. I wanted to buy a camper/tower behined, but I don't have a truck.

[moisheh]

That particular make and era has a real serious problem with the way the sidewalls are attached to the motorhome. The sidewall becomes "floating" and as you drive the entire wall will move up and down. No really good cure. Do your self a favor and forget that one! Lots of decent older units are around.

Moisheh

[midnightsadie]

to answer your last statement, water damage,, look at the ceiling and side walls ANY SIGN OF WATER is a sign to run not walk. tires a must and brakes could be froze up, just because price is low, does not make a good deal. frig work?? stove??? furnace?? and there will be things you can,t see.

[justinnnutt]

Thanks. I'll definintely check the tires. The Owner said they are new but checking the date is probably a good idea. I have to look at the rv to get the exact make/model to pull up nada price. I'm just wonder what major things could be wrong that make a good deal not a good deal.

[Bumpyroad]

is that a chevy P-30/32 chassis? the mid 90s ones were dreadful, I had two of them, :s needs headers, air bags, etc. offer much less than $2500 IMHO.
bumpy

[gbopp]

I don't know if that's a good price or not. Did you check the NADA prices? $2500.00 may be too much.

You will probably need to buy new tires before you drive it, RV tires age out before they wear out. Figure in the price of new tires when negotiating the price.
Even if the tires have a lot of tread and look good, they probably need replaced.
Check the date code on the side of the tire to get the age.

Plus, you need to check for leaks. A small leak can cause a lot of damage to a RV if not repaired quickly.