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, Sat, 5 Apr 2014 19:23:07
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You're right, it is in good condition overall considering its age and mileage. The conventional wisdom is old, low-mile RVs are scary because they weren't exercised. But this one was well exercised. I always thought the Bounders had a nice look and they still look solid after 20 years. This one looks like it has a few more years in it. I think you said before that this purchase was for a summer fling so you can figure the minimum cost of your fling will be depreciation: if you pay 10 but can only unload it for 7 later are you okay with that? The fun factor and memories may be worth that much anyway.
Those exterior drip stripes, shown in the first 20 seconds of the video, remind me of what I had with my rubber roof. Did you climb up and look? The rubber roof is a giant sheet of some rubber material, probably 1/8 thick. The sun deteriorates the top layer and the slough mixes with dirt and rain then runs down the sides of the motor home. Most of it will wash off. IIRC, the manufacturer recommends you go up top and wash the whole roof every so often. Eventually the membrane just gets too old. They can be replaced for about $8000 or some repair shops have a process where they pour/brush something super over the entire roof and seal everything for about $3000. This lets you enjoy what you have for a few more years. Also, all protuberances on top (vents, antenna mount, etc.) will have sealant around them and even that stuff dries and cracks. Between that and any damage to the membrane (e.g., tree limbs scraping) water can get in. There is not much between the rubber roof and the interior ceiling: rubber, plywood, wood fur strips, insulation, ceiling. So, if you saw ceiling stains it is likely the plywood has de-laminated and is rotten - be careful walking near that spot when you are up top.
For tires, consider high quality Michelin XPS Ribs for the front. If a rear tire fails you have three others until you get to the side of the road but a front failure can be more disastrous.
You mentioned the chassis battery was dead but coach battery was good. My unit was wired with a momentary switch on the dash to jump the chassis from the coach. Look for that next time.
Don't let the leveling jacks be a bugaboo. I did fine with inexpensive Lynx Levelers (plastic Lego-like blocks) wherever I parked, dirt, gravel or asphalt. Being perfectly level is nice but 90% level is fine too and good enough to safely run the refrigerator with propane (read up on how that works.) Did you check that the refrigerator works on both propane and the AC generator? Propane cooling is slow to begin so you won't feel much for at least an hour.
You said the stove and oven works. Did you also check the other propane items like furnace and hot water heater?
Plumbing. RVs use plastic flex pipe (not rigid copper) so look under the sinks and near valves for leaks. If possible, test the plumbing with both a city-water hookup and using the standalone electric pump. A city-water hookup is higher pressure and is more likely to show leaks. Ask the seller to hook it up for you and notice if he uses a pressure regulator. The only time I didn't use one was when I was filling the fresh tank. Otherwise, city-water pressure is slamming through the rig and can stress connections.
posted by 68.101.243...
, Mon, 17 Mar 2014 13:00:21, Wed, 2 Apr 2014 18:39:12, Sat, 5 Apr 2014 10:30:57, Sat, 5 Apr 2014 19:23:07, Sun, 6 Apr 2014 13:43:34, Fri, 4 Apr 2014 12:18:41
, Thu, 27 Mar 2014 11:29:00, Thu, 27 Mar 2014 13:56:38, Tue, 25 Mar 2014 11:38:32, Tue, 25 Mar 2014 16:15:52, Wed, 26 Mar 2014 10:29:03, Sun, 30 Mar 2014 21:04:48, Mon, 31 Mar 2014 10:19:58, Thu, 20 Mar 2014 16:17:59, Wed, 19 Mar 2014 14:48:50
, Wed, 19 Mar 2014 07:16:06, Sat, 22 Mar 2014 14:07:03, Mon, 24 Mar 2014 12:36:11, Mon, 24 Mar 2014 22:37:52, Wed, 19 Mar 2014 10:22:11, Mon, 17 Mar 2014 16:57:28, Tue, 18 Mar 2014 09:36:39, Mon, 24 Mar 2014 12:41:34, Mon, 24 Mar 2014 19:37:11, Tue, 25 Mar 2014 09:41:46, Mon, 24 Mar 2014 15:01:05
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