Narrowing it down...

[ruthiebaby88]

So here are some campers I am trying to choose between - would love to hear any thoughts you have. My use will be boondocking in Idaho (or on occasional trips across USA) with 7 months summer, 5 months winter, probably 30 nights a year.

1. (5,000$) 2002 Lance 815 - My current fav! Wet wt only 1875# which will make finding a suitable truck much easier. The price is right and although it does look used inside, the only structural concern I have is the owner said they were afraid that the roof might develop a leak because they saw a pool of water on it and they were planning on getting everything resealed in spring.
The curtains in front of the pass through window had water marks as though water had seeped up from below - I did not see any water damage around the window though. Owner states window does not leak, thinks it may have been steam from when she was canning in there.
I will call a mobile RV mechanic and plan to ask for a prepurchase inspection.

2. (6,995$) 2000 Lance 880 - wet weight (2450#) 2 concerns -
A. panel under camper bathroom pulling away (underneath camper) - shined flash light inside but could not see what was going on in there - rodents? dry rot? or does the panel just need to be refasteded?
B. front pass through window - the 2 outer sections bow out - owner states they came that way and it just has rounded windows - however I have not noted this in any of the other Lance campers and they did not feel evenly round but a little wavy.

3. (13,000$) 2006 Northern Lite - Missoula (7hr drive) - Owner states this had some leaking around a window, but was professionally repaired.

[billyray50]

[billyray50]

When I bought my 1998 Lance 990 legend last February with the notion I was only going to keep it for 1 year. It was far from perfect but had good bones, clean inside and everything worked!! Also most importantly the DW liked it. Bought it for only $3000 bucks!! There were a couple of previous small leaks in cab over. The side of cab over where the lance front strut mount bracket ripped out with previous owner and the infamous cab over front window... I resealed the whole TC wherever it could be sealed with PRO FLEX brush able sealer!! This stuff is hands down to me the best stuff for and older TC. Look this stuff up. No leaks at all this past year and TC has been threw a lot of heavy rain on the road and camping!! I brushed the cab over window and every window, nook, seam, and cranny with the Pro flex sealer and it is one durable tough sealer!! I might just keep the TC now and DW and will also buy a Fifth wheel/motorhome and have best of both worlds. Good Luck.

The 2 small cans are the brush able sealer. Comes in clear and white colors. Only concern is to use in a well ventilated place or outdoors and a mask. Has a very strong odor. I will not use caulk again on this camper.

[homefor2]

IMHO a window on the front of a camper would be a deal breaker for me. I had one once. Almost froze to death sleeping next to that damn window in cold weather. Think about that window flying down the highway at 60-70 mph with the pouring rain pounding on it. What are the chances it will leak? There is a good reason many campers no longer have the window at the front unless you order it that way as an option.

[bigfootford]

ruthiebaby88 wrote:
The metal is on the outside - do you mean made it through the metal to the underneath? Or through the aluminum to the metal underneath that?

Chipped the paint enough to expose metal... Could be you may not even be able to see it or bad enough that you can see metal...

Jim

[ruthiebaby88]

The metal is on the outside - do you mean made it through the metal to the underneath? Or through the aluminum to the metal underneath that?

[bigfootford]

ruthiebaby88 wrote:
Oofta! The one I am looking at does have a front window and I was just thinking oh what a lovely view. I have been looking under the mattresses - but it sounds like you can't see the water damage because it is in between the outside and inside wall? Bugger!

The aluminum roof does have a lot of small dings in it, perhaps hail, perhaps from walking - dunno. I guess I would have to get out on it and really examine for pin holes. How would one fix that? Or would you just not buy that one since water may have been running in there?

Read that some guys will use a roof sealer for the whole aluminum roof but have not seen it done.

Dings are bad if they have actually made it through to the metal...

Jim

[bigfootford]

ruthiebaby88 wrote:
I guess you would have to reset/reseal windows equally in fiberglass - right?

How can you tell if the windows have been or need to be resealed?

Sometimes it is obvious, you can see a gap between the siding and the window, or the tape has not oozed out like it should...

Here is a video showing a fella doing it. I would have put another layer of tape on this one...
If done right you should not have to calk the perimeter. If you need to calk do not use silicone!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymKr-dBFyZI


Here is a real leaky trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx0SPexRHgo



Jim

[ruthiebaby88]

I guess you would have to reset/reseal windows equally in fiberglass - right?

How can you tell if the windows have been or need to be resealed?

[ruthiebaby88]

Oofta! The one I am looking at does have a front window and I was just thinking oh what a lovely view. I have been looking under the mattresses - but it sounds like you can't see the water damage because it is in between the outside and inside wall? Bugger!

The aluminum roof does have a lot of small dings in it, perhaps hail, perhaps from walking - dunno. I guess I would have to get out on it and really examine for pin holes. How would one fix that? Or would you just not buy that one since water may have been running in there?

[bigfootford]

I will add this too:

Windows that have been sealed with putty instead of Butyl tape are the worse!

Butyl taped windows should be lightly tightened soon after mfg... 1 Summer! If not, they run a good chance of leaking soon....
If you inspect the windows and the Butyl tape is not oozing out that could be a clue that you need to inspect that window closely. If you see a gap between the window and tape or camper and the tape you need to inspect the window closely! Most of you will not know that they are leaking until it is too late!

Putty around running lights is problematic too. A good sealer is much better.

Easy to inspect and see if they are not sealed.

Jim

[bigfootford]

kohldad wrote:

You can not walk on them unless you lay 1/2" or thicker down...

That's funny, have been walking directly on the aluminum of several campers over the years without putting anything down. Do try to use something before kneeling down though.

I would not get a camper with a front window....

Would be my preference, but not really a problem if the seal has been properly cared. You do just need to be particularly careful when examining the camper. Definitely wouldn't rule a camper out just because it has a front window.

Most campers with aluminum roofs that I have had and looked at do not have any substrate under them, just the cross members...

Front windows are for the most part, along with the other windows are not maintained by many folks.... Silicone around the window is not a good method of proper sealing... Removing the window is but hay, that's my opinion.... After 2 motor homes, 4 campers and helping friends over the past 50 years.... I have seen just about every thing.

Jim

[kohldad]

You can not walk on them unless you lay 1/2" or thicker down...

That's funny, have been walking directly on the aluminum of several campers over the years without putting anything down. Do try to use something before kneeling down though.

I would not get a camper with a front window....

Would be my preference, but not really a problem if the seal has been properly cared. You do just need to be particularly careful when examining the camper. Definitely wouldn't rule a camper out just because it has a front window.

[bigfootford]

I will add this to the thoughts of aluminum roof's.

You can not walk on them unless you lay 1/2" or thicker down...

TPO, Fiberglass you can..

Aluminum roof's can develop pin holes... Not good.

Most Aluminum campers develop leaks from the running lights and their front window....

I would not get a camper with a front window.... The bad is you can not tell if it or the running lights are leaking. The water ends up running down to the bottom of the bed area then runs over to the corners and down where the jacks are..... We see aluminum campers with bulging sides (even mild) that is caused by the bed area starting to sag from wood rot.

Watch for those bulging sides!

Jim

[bigfootford]

If you find one that is a distance away you could consider contacting someone on rv.net/tc forum that lives in the town or nearby where the camper is located.

I did that for someone that lived in Texas and found a lance and truck here in Sacramento.
He PM'ed me so I went to see the camper and truck.

I took pictures for him and told him my thoughts. The Passenger side (right) front jack had, at one time, been torn off the camper.... ugly repair and did not look like it was solid... That and water stains in over head cabinets (roof seams leaking). As for the truck well that is a long story too... Needless to say it was not a good deal for him.

So you might give that a try.

Jim

[ruthiebaby88]

Okan - the concern I had with Northland is that I can't find any specs on the campers online - no brochures or owner's manuals to find out weights. I did find a weight on 1 - I think it was a 10-11 foot - no slides and the dry weight was listed as over 3000# so I kinda rulled them out assuming they were heavier than average - also they use rubber rooves and I was concerned about the possibility of having to replace that in the age of camper I am looking at. They are warrantied for 12 years, but then what happens after that? I've heard replacing can cost thousands of dollars. The campers in my price range are in the 98-2005 age range so a rubber rooved model may need an expensive repair soon.

Kohldad - Thanks for the great roof advice - very helpful!

I have decided to stick to local campers because I want to get going as soon as possible - I have limited vacation days. Perhaps when it comes time to upgrade I will have more time to travel and look around. Lucky for me there are a lot of truck campers in my area. I believe the rockies are particularly suited to this type of RV.

Reddog - Big or little truck meaning between 3/4 ton or 1 ton, SRW vs. DRW. Since I am trying to buy quickly and in my local area on a tight budget, I may adapt my camper choice to fit the payload of the best truck I can find for the budget. I want to get something as reliable as possible. I want to make sure I can find a truck to match the camper before I buy the camper.

Hmm siding - Both looked like aluminum siding, but I haven't read much on filon - I will have to go the Lance brochure for that year and see which it is - thanks for the tip.

How to recognize dry rot when inspecting?

Thanks for your advice. I really like the Lance interiors and all the little convenience features they add into their designs. I haven't seen a Northern Lite, so I would know how they compare as far as that goes. The Lance has monitor panel, pass thru window, safety window, extra counter, nice windows, just lotsa little things that make the use of space very efficient.