General Inspection Checklist

Many dealers "checklist" is primarily relegated to visual appearance to ensure they can sell it, and checking your wallet.
There seems to be a tendency by many in the industry to wait until they have a sale to prep and inspect/repair units.
Several people on here have PDI list, I'm sure one will be along shortly to offer one, you should find that helpful.

Hopefully you've done all the inspections and checks with a fine-toothed comb before you ever actually gave them any serious amount of money. Once they have your money, you are reduced to relying on the good will of the dealership to have problems addressed. Not good.

A salesman eager to make a sale will tell you many things, some of which may be true. And maybe they sidestep the truth by telling you they "run it through a x number of points inspection before reselling it", but don't elaborate by saying they don't necessarily fix things they found wrong.

There are several posters on here who have a PDI(Pre Delivery Inspection) list of things to check. I'm sure some of them will stop by with their help.

sorry... I guess I should have mentioned that this MH is gifted to me. So I will take it however I can get it. I do know it runs. I do know there a lower miles on the tires and for the most part in pretty good shape. Its the stuff I don't know that I need to inspect. If that makes any since.

OK different set of issues.
How long has it been sitting? If a year or more, immediately have the oil and possibly other fluids changed. Check the date codes on the tires,
if 5 years old or older, if possible change them, if not go slow on your way home.
These items I would try to do before leaving.
Basic safety items as for any vehicle, lights, horn, wipers etc should all be checked.
All of this is in addition to the PDI type list covering the house areas of the unit.

You might be able to find a dealer that will do an inspection for you...at a price. Personally I would do it myself, which you should be able to do. As was mentioned a lot can depend on how long it's been sitting unused.

The roof is one thing that needs to be checked thoroughly for any leaks, holes, tears, etc. Then things like the house water pump, and associated water lines. Then check for working water heater, refrigerator, stove/oven, shower and shower enclosure, furnace. Then check the condition of sewer lines, holding tanks, and hoses. And of course all the mechanical functions of the motor/chassis/transmission and associated parts, i.e. water pump, alternator, battery, brakes, etc.

Good luck, and come back and let us know how it has all worked out.

RV's and Motorhomes are not sold, serviced or warrantied like vehicles. Nothing in your experience with vehicles is directly comparable to how RV's are managed and serviced.

It is much closer to how a home is warrantied and serviced.

A motorhome has two separate systems warranty wise.

The chassis, motor, transmission and running gear are usually warrantied and serviced by the company which built them and sold a bare chassis to the motorhome manufacturer. You see a lot of motorhomes at Freightliner dealerships, service outlets. The motorized mechanical aspects of the motorhome are usually dealt with quicker, easier and more efficently and more cost effectively by a big truck dealer/ repair shop. They have mechanics trained to deal with those systems, and many do a good bit of RV business. Diesel pushers seem to have less issues dealing with the truck companies than gasoline powered Class A units which often have to find a Ford dealer who also works with heavy Ford trucks.

I've been to several dealerships which sell a lot of Class A units, both gas and diesel powered, who do not service any motor/ chassis related part of the rig beyond an oil change. And overpriced at that.

The 'coach' is warrantied by the company which build the coach - Monaco, Thor, Winnabago. However only the 'shell' of the body is warrantied by the manufacturer.

The fridge, the furnace, the water pump, the sink facuets, the AC's, the TV, the stove, the microwave, etc, - are all under their individual warranty from the company which built them and sold them to the coach manufacturer.

This is like a home where the home builder does not warranty the 'appliances'.

A good RV service facility does have people familiar with most of the major RV appliances and has relationships with the companies so that they can get parts and warranty work done if applicable.

A special note on tires - as mentioned above.

RV tires almost never need to be replaced due to tread wear. Forget everything you learned about tires for vehicles.

The vast majority of RV tires 'age out' not 'wear out'.

The main reason to watch tread wear on an RV is for overloading, under inflation, etc patterns of damage.

It is important to know when each of the tires was manufactured. I would not consider any RV tire over five years old 'safe' on the road.

This is all good stuff guys thanks a ton. I do not however think I'm going to be able to change the oil prior to my 256 mile trek back home. This concerns me. The tires are pushing their 5 year mark if that is the life limit for RV tires. It has gotten used once a year since 2006. And I believe but am not sure was serviced at the end of each trip up until about 3 years ago. When it's caretaker changed and has been neglecting it. Barely winterized it and so on. I'm sure he hasn't changed the oil in it for the last 3 years. He also mentioned the word mice which concerns me. I'm really going to have to think of way to get that oil changed before the trek home. If I check the air pressure in the tires should I be relatively safe with those?

Most Class A gasser units are not that hard to do an oil change on. Try to at least get that done if it's 3 years old oil.
Everyone has tire stories, and most are for good reason, if you really cant tell, I would keep speeds low and use secondary roads not interstates to allow less stress on the tires.

kerrlakeRoo wrote:
Most Class A gasser units are not that hard to do an oil change on. Try to at least get that done if it's 3 years old oil.
Everyone has tire stories, and most are for good reason, if you really cant tell, I would keep speeds low and use secondary roads not interstates to allow less stress on the tires.

It's actually a Class C Ford Tritan I think. I'll have to check. But I'd agree that shouldn't be too tough to change the oil in.

You should be able to get a shop to do a "vehicle" inspection like you do with a car. I had mine do it with my class c when I bought it. They checked brakes, fluids, lights, and so on.

The house stuff you can deal with once you get it home - unless you'll be sleeping in it during the trip (in that case at least get the propane system checked).

For tires, get a laser thermometer. Make regular stops and just check the tire temps each time. If one is significantly hotter than the others then you've got immediate trouble.