Older Class A

Howdy folks.  First post, don't want to bore you with my details, so I'll get right to it...

I'm planning to get an older Class A motorhome to live in between seasonal jobs, will park it on friends or family's land while I'm gone working.  I'm also considering living in it through next winter in Ohio, but afterward I should be able to avoid being up north for the winter.  I'm seeing a lot of Class A's from the 80's and early 90's around here still in decent condition and surprisingly cheap.  Like $5000-$7000 for one without major problems.  I think I'd like one with a Chevy chassis just because I'm familiar with old Chevies, and probably around 30 foot more or less.  I don't need a huge one with a tag axle.  Basically something like Walt and Jesse had, but without the meth lab. 

I'm hoping you guys can help me with what makes, models, and features I should seek out or avoid.  I'm not familiar enough with campers in general to know which brands are known for good quality and which brands are cheap junk, or what features to look for that might indicate the quality of construction.  Thanks in advance for any help. 

Like $5000-$7000 for one without major problems. 

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There is no such thing. Every RV under $10k has major problems or they would be much higher priced. The vast majority of cheap RVs have not been serviced in years. Meaning all the rubber will have dried out and need to be replaced. Hoses, bushings, and the like will all be bad. Tires need to be replaced every 7 years at the most and even if the tires look good they will need to be changed, and that will be at least a few thousand dollars. The roof will be guaranteed bad and need to be resealed. Another grand or two. And everyone who advertises their old unit as not having any major problems what they really mean is anyone without RV experience will never find out about all the problems before they buy it. Old RVs are a money pit. Period.

Though there might be a rare exception somewhere, in general Tom is right. As to brands, at that age condition is everything, once you see a floorplan you can live with, and you'll need to have a very knowledgeable person inspect the rig in order to find the problems. Problem with that is that, unless you have a friend who knows that much and is willing, you'll pay for each inspection and there's still no guarantee that the inspector didn't miss something.

So if you go into this, figure you'll have a lot of repair to do which, unless you're might handy, will cost more than buying a more expensive rig that's in better shape. And if you find water stains or mold, I suggest you run away.

I'm planning to get an older Class A motorhome to live in between seasonal jobs, will park it on friends or family's land while I'm gone working.  I'm also considering living in it through next winter in Ohio

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Do your friends or family have power where you would park it?  Class A's have either a 30amp or 50amp service and it's somewhat
unusual for a home owner (especially without a RV) to have that setup on their property.  Then there is the issue of water and sewer hookups.
Most people could provide water but sewer is not common for most property owners.
Then there is the issue of cold weather in OH.  RV's in general do not do well in cold temps.  It can be done but be prepared to use a
lot of fuel or energy of some type during the Winter which will get expensive.
There is a reason so many people head South during the Winter.

The MH in Breaking Bad was gutted and they were NOT living in it and I think they paid more then $7K for it.

It's your choice - spend $8K now and then add another $8K in repairs - not to mention time and labor or Spend $15-20K now and have
one that will require a lot less work if any before you can enjoy it.

Basically what others have said. There are a few good ones out there though.

As far as narrowing your search, I'd forget about 80's or older stuff. Chevy and Ford went to EFI and 4 speed automatics around 1990, sure carbs and 3 speeds worked, but EFI and a 4 speed is WAY nicer and more usable. That's for gassers of course. Diesels have their own set of things to look for or avoid. Another exception might be some older classic type stuff. Stuff that has a following, stuff where you won't be the only person trying to fix your issue. Say and old Bluebird Wanderlodge of something like that.

And as others have said, it's going to cost money to keep an older motorhome up and working. They have the same systems as a house and a car. You can have problems with stuff in either part.

Thanks for the advice, guys.  I'm sure you are right about a cheap rv being a money pit.  I am pretty handy, but I want to live in it, not spend a bunch of time fixing it up.  I can budget more money for it, though. 

I'm still in the kicking-around-ideas stage.  I don't have to live in it this winter, but I'm thinking about going ahead and selling my house while the real estate market is booming.  Who knows what it will be like next year when I'm ready to leave?

Maybe there's a better way to go about it.  I would appreciate any suggestions.  Here's the situation:
I'm looking at a job that would involve working outside the US for roughly six months, then I would be off for roughly six months before going back to work.  The rv would be stored and unoccupied at friend's or family's place while I'm gone, so no need for hookups.  I'm a single guy and I don't need anything real nice, but I don't want to get a fixer-upper.  I need something that's already usable. 

I want to try some boondocking, work camping, staying in places like Slab City and BLM land.  Stuff like that.  I could afford to stay in RV parks if I needed to, and no doubt I will some of the time.  But I want to try to live cheaply.  The whole point of this venture is to see the country and not have to work every. single.  $#%&. day.  I'm not looking at cheap rv's because I can't afford a decent one.  If I need to buy a decent one I will.  But I'm trying to do this on a small budget so I can get away from the year-in year-out fulltime job.  I did similar work to this several years ago and I know that part is feasible.  I'm just trying to work out the rv living situation.  Again, thanks for any and all advice.

You can do what you wish, but finding a 80's vintage rig in good enough condition to live in and drive around will take a lot of searching. I would suggest looking at mid-90's models instead - the prices aren't a lot more but you get  later generation of chassis technology and house electrical system.

Maybe a truck & trailer would be more suitable for your planned usage.  Have you considered that?  You can usually pick up a fairly late model trailer cheaply enough, though capable pick-ups are pricey. Probably cheaper to insure, though, and you have a vehicle to drive while the trailer stays parked. With the motorhome, you will probably want a small car to tow around with you.

Re storing while you are away at work: remember this is a house, not a car.  You don't just park it and leave it for 6 month, especially if in winter weather. You need to deal with water systems, batteries, potential mold & mildew, potential water leakage (if outside), etc. I'm not saying it can't be done because all RV owners face that, but it is not something to be dismissed lightly.

In have an older class A in which I spent some cold November mornings while visiting Amish Ohio.
I cannot imagine being in the old class "A" in January and staying toasty

I wouldn't consider anything older than mid to late 90s, even if it were FREE. Then I'd try and find a mid level coach to start off with. They will have better cabinets ect to start off with, and have other items that entry level coachs don't have. It's the little things that really add up in a mid level coach like better latches on the basement doors, drawer rollers instead of slides, may even have light switches on the wall, may have auto change over transfer switch. I'd also stay away from a Northern coach, if at all possible, or look it over for RUST very good. I bought one from Northern Michigan a few years ago, and it was a mess underneath. Yea most older coachs will show some rust , but you DON'T want it flaking and falling apart. If they drive them on salted roads, they will be a mess, that salt eats them up. With your budget, I'd also stay with a gas coach, they may be costly  enough to keep maintained. For living full time the larger the better, I had a 30 ft 95 Challenger I really liked, but don't think it was large enough to full time in. Good luck on your hunt. 

Here is a couple that are local to me, so cheaper coachs in decent condition are still available.

https://springfieldil.craigslist.org/rvs/d/1997-holiday-rambler-motorhome/6564385103.html

https://stlouis.craigslist.org/rvd/d/2000-damon-intruder-36/6599056071.html

And if you're able to up the budget ones like is one are available.

https://stlouis.craigslist.org/rvs/d/coachman-class-motorhome/6587102867.html

Those are some good choices Charlie. I like the Damon the best. The Holiday Rambler is a bit too inexpensive and the Coachman has too little miles. 17k in 15 years means it spent most of its life sitting and rotting. The rubber will be all gone.

SeilerBird said:

Those are some good choices Charlie. I like the Damon the best. The Holiday Rambler is a bit too inexpensive and the Coachman has too little miles. 17k in 15 years means it spent most of its life sitting and rotting. The rubber will be all gone.

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Don't know about that Tom. My coach is a 2003 and had 30,000 on it when I bought it last year. Yea the tires were shot, but about everything else was in good shape. Even the rubber around the basement doors are in very good condition. I did go over everything on the coach last year and spent a couple grand updating to my liking, plus the cost of new tires. I put 7,000 miles on it last year, only problem was the wiper arm came loose in a rainstorm, had to pull over till it passed. It'd take upper mid 20s to get my coach though if it were for sale.

I like the Damon the best too, but he states it has an aluminum body, it does Not. It is fiberglass. Always liked the Intruder but most of them were Ford powered, No go for me. I've seen a lot more Challengers on the GM chassis, I like the Challengers too. I was trying to make a deal on a Challenger when I found my Dolphin. Same price and the Dolphin had less miles and 3 years newer, BUT it required a lot of elbow grease to get the outside cleaned up. Very happy with the Dolphin, very well built.

Charlie 5320 said:

Don't know about that Tom. My coach is a 2003 and had 30,000 on it when I bought it last year. Yea the tires were shot, but about everything else was in good shape.

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Of course there are exceptions to every rule but in general this RV will have problems with rubber parts.  It would be a different story if I could personally inspect them but just going by the ads I gotta be afraid of the old unused coach.

Well, it's  a fact that rubber-based products age, so things like drive belts and hoses may need replacement after 15 or 20 or 25 years. Tires are only good for about 10 years max, and the rubber foam used in furnishings are often about the same.  I don't think an RV is any worse than any other vehicle, though. Just something to be aware of when buying an older model.

I purchased my 1994 Southwind Storm 28ft for $8000 in Sept 2014. It had the roof redone less than 1 year prior to me purchasing it. The RV was just shy of 45,000 miles on the odometer at purchase. It's built on the P30 chassis with 454 w/4L80E trans. I just finished replacing the upper/lower radiator hoses and the by-pass hose. They all were date stamped from GM in 1994. Installed a 195 Delco T-stat. Used a bore-scope on the radiator and it was clear that the previous owner only used coolant (no corrosion/silt build up). The old hoses looked surprisingly well for close to 25 years old. No cracking anywhere. Even when bent in half.

I've had it now for 4 years and every year make a trip back and forth between Seattle and Huntington Beach, Ca. and the RV will average between 8-10mpg at ~58-60mph. Only issue I've had this far (minor) was a shift solenoid issue. I replaced both A and B solenoids turned the force valve up 1/2 turn and replaced the wire harness in the 4L80E as it showed signs of leaking into the connector (common). Runs great now.

No auto park on this rig. Thank god.

Each year I draw up a list of stuff/items to replace and thus far I've completed....Do most of the work myself (90%)

1. TPS sensor
2. MAP sensor
3. Idle air control valve
4. Idle air control solenoid
5. PCV valve
5. Full tune up  (wires, cap, rotor and plugs)
5. Heat shield sleeves for plug wires
6. Air filter
7. Vac purge valve
8. Radiator hoses and by-pass hose
9. Trans speed sensors (input/output)
10 TBI cleaned well
11. New fuel filter on the frame rail
12. Micro4K gen oil changed, new air filter, new plug. (Only 346hrs at purchase) Now at 512hrs.
13. Replaced generator fuel line and filter.
14. New rotor hub assemblies, ceramic pads (Centric)
15. New Raybestos master cylinder
16. Packed wheel bearings
17. Differential oil changed
18. Opened rear drums and everything looked great. Clean up all checked linings still~95 shoe lining left)
19. New chassis battery
20. New alternator
21. New belts (3)
22. Rebuilt drive axle
23. Tran shift solenoids A & B, Wire harness, force valve upped 1/2 turn
24. Replaced aux. fan motor on front of A/C condenser

RV now has 56,148 miles and counting and getting ready for trip to southern Ca. on June 20th. for 3 weeks.

I'm sure I forgot something on that list....

Like the others said, those sub $10,000 motorhomes are almost always money pits, I started my own search for my current coach looking at one of those sorts of 1990's money pits located just a couple of miles from my house.  The seller was down to $4,500 and make offer, any offer when I walked away.  In the end 5 months later I bought the exact same model, though a few years newer priced at a little over $20,000 and a thousand miles away from home.

Some of those cheap sub $10,000 15+ year old motorhomes have some life left in them for certain applications, with just a bit of TLC, though many just need to be driven to the scrap yard if they can still move under their own power.  The problem is they are almost all beyond the cost of economical repair, so  a lot depends on how you plan to use them, if you are going to drive them to the local lake 50 miles away a few times each year in the spring and fall, they may work great for a few more years.  Though most are likely about to fall apart from wood rot caused by leaking roofs and windows.  In this case the potential owner may not care about the $4,000 worth of rotted suspension components, the dead $4,000 generator, $1,000 air condition, $1,500 refrigerator, peeling paint, ....

However if you plan to actually go out and see the country, you really should raise your budget some, even then finding a good coach may be challenge, but will no longer being a search for that mythical needle in a haystack.  Even then buying what seems to be a well maintained and updated coach in the $16,000 - $22,000 range, you will still likely find things that the previous owner failed to maintain or upgrade, some of it minor, some of it not.  Here is an example from my own coach, the previous owner did a good overall job of maintaining and updating the coach, however he did not drive it at night.  After buying it I found that the high beam headlights did not work, and most of the marker lights had failed due to corrosion in the sockets and wiring, sure it was a minor thing, but minor things add up.

Lots of great advice here.  Thanks.  You guys have definitely convinced me to raise my budget and go for at least a late 90's coach.  Like lot of decisions, I have to prioritize stuff and consider the level of risk I'm willing to take on and how much money I'm willing to spend.  I think I've been looking at it like buying a cheap car, but maybe it's more like buying a cheap boat.  I learned that lesson the hard way.  Like SeilerBird said, no such thing.

I'm a mechanic and welder by trade, and I have quite a bit of experience with 1-ton Chevy trucks and step vans.  So I'm not worried about the drivetrain.  I'm confident that I can choose a good one and make it reliable.  It's the coach body on the thing that I need help with.  I just don't know enough about them to make an informed decision.  Can you guys recommend some specific makes or models that I should look for or that I should avoid?  That might be somewhat subjective, but I don't even know what qualifies as a "mid-level coach".  I've made a partial list from this thread and from some searches.  Maybe you guys can add to it or edit it...

Decent quality manufacturers:  Southwind, Tiffin, Pace Arrow, Forest River, Fleetwood, Winnebago/Itasca, Damon, Dolphin

Lower quality manufactures that I should avoid:  Coachman, Dutchmen, Infinity

How would you guys rank these other manufacturers?  Gulfstream, Georgie Boy, Four Winds, Mallard, Holiday Rambler, Thor, Monterey, Allegro...

I'm sure I left some out.  There are so many to choose from, I'm just trying to narrow my search.  It would probably be best to go with a common and well-regarded manufacturer that is still in business just for the availability of parts and info. 

I considered going with a pickup and travel trailer, but I think I would rather have a class A pulling a Jeep.  Just personal preference I guess.  A pickup pulling a 30 foot camper would probably use as much gas as a 30 foot class A, and when I get there I would rather have a Jeep to drive around. 

There is another option you could look at.  A few months ago I went to an Insurance auction (there are brokers you can pay a fee to and use their license).  Got a 2000, gas (Ford v10) 37.5' Numar Mountain Aire w/ large slide, 7500w generator and 46,000 miles for $4500. Looked like the previous owner had laid it up agaisnt a guard rail, and the cargo doors were bent up all down the passenger side.  I jump started it and drove it 110 miles from the auction to my house.  The interior was almost perfect.  Very well cared for.  I rebuilt the cargo doors with a few hand tools and $110 in supplies.  Havent painted the doors yet.  Next week.  Had to replace a water pump and belts ( always a good idea) and replaced the tires but got a screaming deal on Craigs List ( watch out for the build date).
I'm 66, half retired and half lazy and will admit this has been some hard work, but I would much rather start with a well cared for RV with localized damage (and a salvage title) then get an abused pile that you have to redo from ground up.
Every process has down sides, however I have kept watching the retail market and after buying mine have seen two Mounatin Aires identical to mine sell off dealer lots for over $25,000 and that makes me smile.
Sorry...this is my first time ever joining a forum and I'm yaking my head off.  Just hope there is info that might be usefull and if you cant tell...I love my RV.
Note: The two biggest insurance auction yards are IAAI and Copart.  Watch out for the fees!!  They are high enough to bankrupt a small country.  Be sure to check that part ahead of time.

I think I've been looking at it like buying a cheap car, but maybe it's more like buying a cheap boat.  I learned that lesson the hard way.  Like SeilerBird said, no such thing.

I'm a mechanic and welder by trade, and I have quite a bit of experience with 1-ton Chevy trucks and step vans.  So I'm not worried about the drivetrain.  I'm confident that I can choose a good one and make it reliable.  It's the coach body on the thing that I need help with.  I just don't know enough about them to make an informed decision.  Can you guys recommend some specific makes or models that I should look for or that I should avoid? 

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The drive train is the least of your worries with an RV. An RV is both a vehicle and a house. Buying one cannot be compared to buying anything else because RVs are a unique type of vehicle. You will be driving an RV 5% of the time and living in it 95% of the time so the house gets a lot more use and is a lot more complicated than the drive train.

There are no makes or models that are better than any others when shopping for a used RV. The only thing that matters is condition, floor plan and price. Any RV that has not been properly maintained and cared for will be worthless in less than 20 years. Any RV that has been taken care of and maintained properly will last longer than you will.

We sold our 1999 Ford Aerbus for $11,000.  It had 72,000 miles on the ODO when we purchased it and 100,000+ when we sold it.  So we drove it almost 30,000 miles.  It never failed to start.  Only required one engine part.  A rubber hose that cost us maybe $150 parts and labor.  It had a fiberglass roof and had a minor leak.  Could never determine the source of the leak and since we were California based didn't do much more than replace the AC gaskets.  Expensive job to have done that didn't work.  Probably $50 - 100 for two gaskets if you can do it yourself.  We did a few things that were costly, like Koni Shocks that may have improved the performance a bit over a less expensive shock.  It didn't have any slides but, limited space aside, served us well for three years. 

There are many seniors selling their RV's for various reasons.  Many are health related and the owner just wants it sold.  A few of these RV's have been maintained exceptionally well.  Your starting price is probably too low for one of the good ones but for $10 - 15,000 you might get lucky.  If you find one for sale by a senior and that senior has owned the RV for 10 years or longer and can produce all service records, check it out.  If you have the knowledge and skills you can probably do most repairs yourself.   

Decent quality manufacturers:  Southwind, Tiffin, Pace Arrow, Forest River, Fleetwood, Winnebago/Itasca, Damon, Dolphin

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Southwind and Pace are Fleetwood brands and the higher end of their gas-powered motorhome line-up. They are essentially badge-sisters, with only minor trim differences. A bit lower in their trim-level line are Bounder, Flair and Storm brands.

Tiffin makes the Allegro & Allegro Bay brands. Winnebago/Itasca has the Adventurer/Suncruiser sisters. Damon made a Challenger and a Daybreak, but I would lean to the Challeneger as the better model.  Dolphin is a brand of National RV (now defunct) and a decent coach. NRV also make a Tropi-cal gas coach in the 90's and its a step above the Dolphin.  I don't think Forest River was making Class A motorhomes in the 90's.

Newmar's gas coaches are well-regarded and in the 90's they had several models, including gas versions of the Dutch Star, Kountry Star and Mountainaire. All potentially good choices.
As Seilerbird says, condition is everything in a 20+ year old coach. A high end model in poor shape is still crap, whereas a lesser one may be a jewel.  Typically, though, the cheaper models have suffered extensively simply due to age and wear and its usually fairly obvious. Worn flooring & upholstery, broken and peeling cabinetry, faded walls (In & out), etc.