What to check prior to buying a 1999 E-Superduty

Thanks everybody for your responses, I'm not sure if I should run away from this coach or take my chances with a low price. He's in Finance and believes his price is good,and I'm not the best negotiator, the Finance guy at the Car dealerships somehow always get me to buy the $500 dealer installed alarm... I'll explain what I found and offer a price and see if he takes it (or I may walk based on the opinions I get here. Here is what I found today:

1. Leak at ceiling AC, owner stated it was last year and he had it resealed. I saw no signs of rot, but the ceiling stain was 2x4 feet, I may be able to clean this somewhat.

2. Roof to Cab Over joint is failing on left side (I'm going to create a separate post on this item to see if any other Winnebago owners have seen this, as this is my biggest concern. What I found is, at the curtain track for the cab over, there is a 1" wide metal strip that appears to bond the roof to the cabover. It has screws placed every 6 inches or so, screws on the left 12 inches of the track were missing. If I put my hands on the roof and lifted, from the Roof/Cab joint, the roof would raise about 1/2 inch and I could see a gap above both the left side and right side upper cabinets and the ceiling. From on top of the roof, while standing on the roof side, if I reached out and lightly pressed on the cab over it would deflect down about 1/2 inch at the roof/cab seam. There was no rot, it seems what ever holds it together, the mechanical fasteners have failed. There is no leak at the joint, the dicor flexes at the gap. This would be a good area for Eternabond, just don't know how to fix the movement/flexing of the joint.

3. Stripes are cracking badly, looks like a dried up lake bed up close. My wife would like to get into a better looking coach, as our current 1988 spent it's life getting backed in Phoenix. Another item to knock down the price.

4. Brake Pads look new. Owner mentioned the 39k miles was mostly cross country driviving which makes sense, what scares me is he said he didn't downshift down hills as he was afraid of wear and tear on the motor... (He did tell me he has taken it to Mammoth Mountain a lot, I was thinking he may have a lot of pad left but doesn't mean they wern't overheated, glazed and cracked...) Rotor surfaces are moderately rusted as expected, but here in Southern California I would expect the Calipers are ok as we don't get much rust here. If I make an offer, I will test drive and check hub temperatures for a hanging caliper.

5. Manifolds show no signs of cracking, studs I could see looked good.

6. 6 tires replaced, with date code of February 2010 (7th week.) They were not covered, but sidewalls looked good with no checkering.

7. Engine started immediately, and idled perfectly, I was surprised how smooth it ran. Road Test is next if we move forward at this point (owner only had 30 minutes to show it today, so that is next.)

So item 2. above is the big concern. I'd like to understand how the cab is attached to the roof, and if this can easily be strengthened/repaired or if this is major.

I really appreciate everyone's advice, lot's of great info and knowledge on this site.

Thanks,
Jim

With all this help, you can really low ball his price!

1.Check for leaks
2,Check for leaks
3.Make sure there are no leaks
4.Check dates on tires if 5 years or older replace.

Don't neglect a personal test drive. After being sure the tires are inflated to the door post pressures, take it out on the 4-lane among passing semis. See if / how badly it white-knuckles you when they're passing.

Jim, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Chances are that if you're not home by then, you're in trouble."

Not to be contrary, but do not fear changing the spark plugs on a '99 V10. If it is done correctly, using the right parts, and torqued properly and rechecked again after several heat cycles, there is little to fear, even on a '99 V10 which does have fewer threads than later models of the V10. Leaving them in for 100K, even though it is the factory recommended interval, is too long and will create problems removing them. The plugs are probably fine but the boots are likely dried out and cracked which will lead to COP failure in the future. I'd say change the plugs now, replace the plug boots, and coat them with dielectric grease to help them seal.

It is very important that you physically check each of the exhaust studs on both manifolds. Replacement is difficult and time consuming and expensive if you have a shop do it.

V10?

If it's a V10 do NOT change the plugs. It is when they are changed that the plug problem can rear its ugly head. Which BTW tune up is at 100,000 miles per manufacturer.

Check the exhaust manifold and count the bolts and see how many are still there! :W

IMHO and if it were me from experience I would:
Have Calipers and brakes checked before heading out. AND replace the front brake lines.

Sadly I found out on the road that the brake lines can look perfect on the outside, but they fail INSIDE and collapse. You don't want to know what that feels like when they fail doing 65 and braking to exit. :(

Just saying what I would do if I bought it. That MH has VERY low miles which means it had to sit for some pretty long times and that is what is the kiss of death. Especially for the calipers, exhaust and tires. Good luck finding that 'perfect for you' RV!

Thanks guys, very good points, I'll check everything that was mentioned. I did get 10 minutes to look inside (we store our RV's at the same lot, he was in the area and let me take a look.) There was a roof leak at the air conditioner, and on the rear wall in the cabinets above the queen bed. The current owner told me these leaks occured in a very heavy rain storm in portland, and have since been repaired.

I'll pull the inside A/C cover, and inspect the roof for rot(is there wood in an Itasca roof, anything to rot up there?) The leaks in the rear cabinet, I knocked on the wall and didn't detect any soft spots.

Overall, a couple leaks seems unavoidable in 13 years, and if they were repaired quickly it's likely damage was minimal.

I'll check the floor, does anyone know if Winnebago uses a plywood floor or that pressboard junk? My brother had 1 leak in his trailer, and the pressboard floor was ruined.

Thanks again!

Tires:)....A lot of people figure that they are fine, because of the low mileage, but you should replace at about 7-8 year mark, no matter how good they look.

You mentioned the brakes. I just spend $2500 to have my completely replaced, because I had let the MH sit on the side of the house, without moving it, for 2 years! With the low mileage you are looking at, it may have been sitting for awhile too.
I also had the transmission serviced. (about $150) because even though I've got about the same mileage as you will have, and the manual typically goes on miles rather than years, I felt it was time.

Figure all belts and fluids. Batteries may or may not be very old, so check paperwork, and replace if over 5-6 years since they were replaced. They may still be OK, but again, that RV didn't get a lot of use, unless they took very short trips (which is possible).

I agree with Bill about checking for water damage, as well as any issues with the appliances (including the water pump).

Good Luck:)

Should probably also change the brake fluid. I'm not familiar with this MH, but if it has hydraulic leveling jacks, the fluid in them shoiuld also be changed. Also the air filter, oil and antifreeze in the generator. Clean both sets of battery terminals, check the battery water level, drinking water filter if it has one.

Check for any soft spots in the flooring that might have been water leaks. Look inside of all the upper cabinets for roof leaks.

Bill