Mini Winnie needs major work

[ajriding]

A friend has class C rv. Tryton V-10, less than 30k miles I think. Late 90's model year.
He has not cranked it in over ten years. It did run and work perfect when he parked it.

He said I can have it, he wants it gone.

Major delamination on the drivers side, but I have experience doing those repairs. Probably a little in the roof, but it looked good. Some general cleaning up. The entire side panel will have to come off.

it has a nice 2 cylinder Onan, that has not been cranked, but I am more confident in getting that back to life.

Im sure the gas is all varnish.

The interior is not bad.

Im torn wether to take all the valuable RV stuff out to resell and try to sell the motor for parts with the chasis, or to get it running and sell for a little profit.

[ajriding]

He is undergoing cancer treatment, so might be in a phase where he would want to give stuff away or see it go to some use as it is just stuff and means little to him. He has money so doesnt care about selling it, just does not want the extra stress in his life.

I have a young friend that is building out his passenger van so is interested to take a look at what he can salvage out of it too, so we will go soon, and I will try to start it then also.

[klutchdust]

time2roll wrote:
If I could easily make $5,000 profit to flip the thing I might take it.
If I needed a cheep RV to get out and have fun I might take it and do the minimum to make road worthy.

Otherwise I advise the owner to place an ad in the freebie section of craigs list and let it go as is where is, bring your own tools and start battery.

IF I had the space I would do the same, get it roadworthy and let the kids take it to the desert or whatever. As long as it was safe

and dry inside I know people that could care less about having everything in working order. Gut it and put in bunk beds and take

the whole tribe, use a working RV as the kitchen, man what great times that would be.

[ron_dittmer]

If all you really want is the generator, I would ask him for it.

If you were in the Chicago area, I would ask to donate the rig to Our Church's CARS Ministry. They would come and get it as-is. They would likely get it running and safe to drive, then put it up on eBay HERE. I have served as a volunteer mechanic and leader in that ministry for 23 years now. They do great things helping the under resourced with reliable transportation.

[BFL13]

Your friend wants it gone and so will you. Let him "part it out" when it is in his yard, not in your yard.

You could get the gen as one of the parts he is selling before it gets hauled away.

[time2roll]

If I could easily make $5,000 profit to flip the thing I might take it.
If I needed a cheep RV to get out and have fun I might take it and do the minimum to make road worthy.

Otherwise I advise the owner to place an ad in the freebie section of craigs list and let it go as is where is, bring your own tools and start battery.

[theoldwizard1]

This is a real "shot in the dark" ! If you have the time, the talent and the energy to stick with a long term project, you could make a fair profit on this.

For giggles, contact RV ROOF INSTALL and see if they will give you a ball park quote. New roof, delamination side repair could easily cost >$20K, but it might be worth it !

[winnietrey]

Just thinking out loud, but maybe just glue and screw that left side? For that kind of money, could be great for a young family, that just wants to do some local camping

[ajriding]

I imagine someone would buy it as is. Like I said, the entire left side will have to come off. I may advertise it as is. I kinda want the genny but rather have #3k

[winnietrey]

you might be surprsed with what you can get for it. I would bet 3kish, with little problem. And little work on your part other thatn getting the engine and genny running

Sold one a few months back, Check craigs list, you maybe surprised as to what they are selling for.

Missed the part where you said you don't want to get it running, so disregard post

[ajriding]

Thanks. O am now leaning to selling the chassis and vehicle as scrap. A low miles trans is desirable for someone wanting to rebuild one. Maybe the motor is good for a scrap yard and desirable for such little wear. I really don't want to attempt to get the vehicle running, too many issues, not counting needs 6 tires.
I planto call some junk yards, not sure if they buy and come pick it up...
I will likely salvage the rv stuff. It is all in great shape and might be worth a few bucks. Is there anything minor I should pull out?

water pump
fresh tank (not waste ick)
AC
heater
boiler
breaker box/charger
sink
shower faucet/wand
shower pan?
oven/range
propane fittings and regulator
gen
hub caps
door?
windows? windows need new rubber
table and parts?
I think it has a folding couch which is worth $300 or so depending on the steel frame design
fridge

[Lwiddis]

I’d rather go camping than repair an old C.

[Matt_Colie]

AJ,

If you can get it home for little cash out of pocket, go for it. Fuel injected engines don't varnish as badly as carburetors do because the fuel system has no exposure to air. The generator will need the carburetor cleaned, that is a given.

The remark above about replacing all the rubber parts is optimistic. The good thing is that replacing all the hoses and flushing the coolant and brake system is a DIY job that is usually less than 1K$us out of pocket. Tires are toast, plan on that.

I have mentored three of these programs and two were complete successes the third was only not because the owner was not willing to tear a wall open.

Matt

[RetiredRealtorR]

If it hasn't been started in over 10 years, you can count on every single seal, gasket, and hose on that engine needing replacement --- a major undertaking in and of itself, and that's just the engine.

[DrewE]

garyemunson wrote:
The Class Cs never had the "real" Triton engine. The cramped engine bay meant they all got the 2 valve head lower powered V10. Not a desirable motor power wise. So bulletproof and long lasting (300K+ miles) most vehicles with them go to the junkyard with a perfectly good engine ruining the motor's resale value. Easy visual check: 2 valve, plastic valve cover, 3 valve, aluminum cover.

The three valve variant was introduced in 2005, so before that year all vehicles--not just the E series chassis--had the two valve version. To my mind both versions are real Triton engines (and so Ford calls both versions).

They're good dependable engines, as you say, but quite common and so not valuable in terms of money.