Planning to buy 1988 Class A to live in

[nuget102]

Me and my fiancee are looking to buy a 1988 Winnebago RV. The price is $1800 and we think it's our best bet for a living situation.

I'm curious if A) it's a bad buy? One AC doesn't work (not a huge deal to us) it needs to be slogged, and needs new brakes. All in all, for a RV in California doesn't seem like a bad plan?

And B) what can we expect? We're use to living in small apartments and what not, and in fact when we were happiest as a couple was when we lived in a 500 sq ft studio.

Thoughts and opinions? And any good long term RV parks near Roseville/Auburn california? 😛

[Kayteg1]

CA exempts older vehicles from smog check.
I know it is 1997 for diesels, but check what it is for gasoline.
I was checking trailer parks in Bay Area lately and seems lot of them will not allow "engines" in them. Meaning trailer parks are for trailers, not for motorhomes.

[Bumpyroad]

take a look at a recent thread, "From the frame up - Complete gut job & remodel - 1984 TT"
bumpy

[Dale_Traveling]

2gypsies wrote:
Your first thing - before you buy - is to find a park that will accept it. Some do go by age. Drive through the parks to see what's parked there.

Some parks won't let you do any repairs while you're parked there.

Also, rent usually doesn't include electric so keep that in mind for an added expense.

You'll need to register it, get it tested for emissions, if required and have insurance on it - not just for you but liability for others that may get hurt.

There are now a ton of YouTubes on RVing, including dumping tanks, etc.

Hopefully, your dog is not a barker if left alone because that would be a problem.

You have a lot of thinking to do on this. Good luck!

I was thinking that same. There are a ton of hidden cost associated with living in a coach. An older coach those cost just to keep it livable without considering drivable can be high. If the prior owner neglected if you could be looking at a money pit regardless of how handy you are. Replacing the roof could cost as much as $100 a foot just in material.

Forget about camp grounds and search out trailer parks that have RV sites. You'll cut your "rent" in half. Camp grounds can be costly and you'll be paying for the pool, mini golf, fire ring, gated entry, life guards, boat docks and such.

Good luck, you might need it.

[Bill_Satellite]

You can buy my 1988 RV but the selling price would be $95,000. That's the difference between your standard Class A and a Prevost. No sidewalls to delaminate. All aluminum and stainless steel with engine and chassis designed for 1,000,000 mile operations. Many more differences so knowing what you are buying is more important than buying on price alone.

[cwdavis]

nuget102 wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:
consider a travel trailer and have somebody move it.
bumpy

The travel trailers in this area seem to cost even more! It's insane. Also I think 1,800 is a good price.

Like everything else, when you buy an RV for 'market price' (i.e., a fair deal for the unit you're buying), you get what you pay for. $1,800 may sound like a 'good price', but in the market, $1,800 is more likely to buy you a host of unforeseen problems, a lot of upkeep and upgrades that will all cost money, and possibly a lot of misery.

As a rule of thumb, a 10 year old Class A is worth about 25% of its original manufacturers suggested retail price (MSRP). We bought ours about 10 years ago, when it was 11 years old, and it's in pretty good shape. But, that's because it was a quality unit when it was built, we got it when it was still in good shape, and we've put time and $$ into it to keep it that way.

This 1988 RV is now almost 30 years old, and you probably have no idea of its maintenance history. But, you are making the right start: ask many, many more questions, on this and other forums, of the current owner, and go to an RV park and talk to some owners, first hand, before you buy it. Don't rush into it -- it's not likely to be bought out from under you!

[2gypsies1]

Your first thing - before you buy - is to find a park that will accept it. Some do go by age. Drive through the parks to see what's parked there.

Some parks won't let you do any repairs while you're parked there.

Also, rent usually doesn't include electric so keep that in mind for an added expense.

You'll need to register it, get it tested for emissions, if required and have insurance on it - not just for you but liability for others that may get hurt.

There are now a ton of YouTubes on RVing, including dumping tanks, etc.

Hopefully, your dog is not a barker if left alone because that would be a problem.

You have a lot of thinking to do on this. Good luck!

[J-Rooster]

Water causes more damage to RV's than anything else. Make sure it's not leaking water. Next is make sure it has good brakes and steering. You must be able to stop and steer when moving your RV. Everything else you can take care of on a priority basis. At least you will own something and be able to make improvements on it. Good Luck with your new coach.

[catkins]

Yes, many parks will not allow you to stay if the RV is over 10 years old. Often all it takes is a visual inspection to be sure it is well maintained and not an eyesore. Most parks also do not allow you to store a lot of stuff outside while others have small sheds for long term site use Lots of variables. Since you have never RV'd I'd suggest you look up the joys of dumping since you should not simply park and leave the vales open to drain............... Your idea is not impossible but be sure to get all the facts before you buy a bargain RV that could be a gem or a money pit. Good luck!!!

[Bumpyroad]

.

[Bumpyroad]

nuget102 wrote:

Bumpyroad wrote:
consider a travel trailer and have somebody move it.
bumpy

The travel trailers in this area seem to cost even more! It's insane. Also I think 1,800 is a good price.

yep, can't beat $1,800 assuming it hasn't/won't leak like a sieve.
bumpy

[nuget102]

Bumpyroad wrote:
consider a travel trailer and have somebody move it.
bumpy

The travel trailers in this area seem to cost even more! It's insane. Also I think 1,800 is a good price.

[jolooote]

Welcome to Obama's economic boom.

[Bumpyroad]

consider a travel trailer and have somebody move it.
bumpy

[nuget102]

Wow wasn't expecting so many replies!

I've looked around and it seems it should he less than $600 a month, by my estimate anyway. I'm actually calling today and making sure there's a CG that has openings before I buy it today.

I believe myself to be pretty handy, I've done electrical work and plumbing so any repairs like that shouldn't be a problem. I've also fixed my fair share of cheap ACs from Craig's list haha. 😛

I plan to move it to a CG and park it for minimum of a few months. The plan is to begin insulating the rv a bit better by winter.

RV parks seem to allow full timing here, worse case there are trailer parks that allow RVs as well.

Also we have one Sheltie and two cats. We've had to live in our for three months before though, so I don't think a RV will be bad...

Thanks guys. Also would I need insurance if I plan to just park it? I'm not worried about theft or fire.

Thanks again. 🙂

Edit: one thing... I don't know the first thing about RVing. When my family went camping we brought a sleeping bag, some flint, and a few cooking utensils. As a side effect, I never learned how to empty or fill tanks on an RV or how to connect it to shore power or how to do a million different things that you wizards seem to believe is common sense lol. I just read something about rinsing your black tank?? Hopefully I'm intelligent enough to figure it out on my own haha.

Edit 2: seems there's a age restriction on any "long term" RV stays. So getting this RV just became a huge risk. If we can't get it to pass smog it's very likely we'll get towed for not registering it in our name.