Advice needed: 1993 GulfStream Conquest with Chevy 327 - 50,000 Miles

Hey there,

I have a friend that offered to take monthly payments on a 1993 Gulfstream Conquest for a total of around $6K over 2-3 years. It looked like it was in good condition and the engine fired right up but needed a battery charge. There is some water damage in a few areas in the back and bathroom around the windows. Everything else looked good. I know many things like tires need to be replaced etc! My stupor of thought here though is on the build quality from the get-go of these older Motorhomes made by Gulfstream!?!? Is this a good deal and good quality for my entrance into the Vanlife reality? I’m okay with restoring and fixing things. $6K seems very reasonable for everything out the door? The motor is a 327 Chevy with low miles; not sure what the towing capacity is? I can’t hardly find any info on older Gulfstreams from the 90s.

Also I’m new to the forum, and I’m 38 years old! This just seems like too good of a deal to pass up and not too many people just offer to accept monthly payments. The guy is a good guy and does a lot to help others. Has good integrity. He just knew I’ve been looking for a while as a starving artist type!

Pictures and posting of RV on my public Facebook. Thank you for thoughts and advice!
https://www.facebook.com/758763899/posts/10158204627378900/?d=n

I would not touch that with a ten foot pole. A 27 year old RV seems like a steal because it is. It is basically worthless, a money pit. For the amount of money it would cost to fix it up to be usable you could get a much newer, much nicer RV that actually works.

Water damage. RUN....... don't walk...... AWAY! 

cavie said:

Water damage. RUN....... don't walk...... AWAY!

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Did you see the pics?

SeilerBird said:

I would not touch that with a ten foot pole. A 27 year old RV seems like a steal because it is. It is basically worthless, a money pit. For the amount of money it would cost to fix it up to be usable you could get a much newer, much nicer RV that actually works.

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What if the engine and the chassis are in good shape. It looked nice and clean and the roof was solid; there was no lifting, delamination, etc. only water damage seemed to appear under the two windows...
And looked like it was coming from the windows only.
I don?t think it would cost all that much to do it myself and restore it with Home Depot materials. Have you ever constructed or restored anything?

NateArizona said:

What if the engine and the chassis are in good shape. It looked nice and clean and the roof was solid; there was no lifting, delamination, etc. only water damage seemed to appear under the two windows...
And looked like it was coming from the windows only.
I don?t think it would cost all that much to do it myself and restore it with Home Depot materials. Have you ever constructed or restored anything?

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Yes, my career was a house wireman. It does not matter if the engine and chassis are good. You will have water damage which is almost impossible to eliminate. You will need a roof resealing and tires. That there is at least $5000. And that is just the beginning.

SeilerBird said:

Yes, my career was a house wireman. It does not matter if the engine and chassis are good. You will have water damage which is almost impossible to eliminate. You will need a roof resealing and tires. That there is at least $5000. And that is just the beginning.

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The tires are nothing more than LT tires. This doesn?t require the expensive tires of a Class A.

NateArizona said:

only water damage seemed to appear under the two windows...
And looked like it was coming from the windows only.

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While the rest of the unit looks clean from the pictures (but until it's seen in person hard to say) water damage on an RV can turn into a nightmare. The wood structure is very light and rots easily - what would seem to be a few days work can quickly turn into a disaster due to the rot spreading unseen, where the back third of the rig need the siding and roof taken off, maybe even flooring, cabinets etc removed, structure built from scratch and then put it all back together. This is why you'll get advice to avoid an older unit with any, and I mean ANY evidence of water leakage.

On top of that, borrowing anything monetary from a friend is a recipe for disaster. If you find more damage and other issues you'll be upset and perhaps stop making payments, at which point he'll come get it and you'll loose whatever time and money you've put in it, along with your friendship.

I have no doubt he feels he's trying to do you a favor, but a lot can go wrong with this "too good of a deal". You asked, and I assume you wanted honest responses.

Back2PA said:

While the rest of the unit looks clean from the pictures (but until it's seen in person hard to say) water damage on an RV can turn into a nightmare. The wood structure is very light and rots easily - what would seem to be a few days work can quickly turn into a disaster due to the rot spreading unseen, where the back third of the rig need the siding and roof taken off, maybe even flooring, cabinets etc removed, structure built from scratch and then put it all back together. This is why you'll get advice to avoid an older unit with any, and I mean ANY evidence of water leakage.

On top of that, borrowing anything monetary from a friend is a recipe for disaster. If you find more damage and other issues you'll be upset and perhaps stop making payments, at which point he'll come get it and you'll loose whatever time and money you've put in it, along with your friendship.

I have no doubt he feels he's trying to do you a favor, but a lot can go wrong with this "too good of a deal". You asked, and I assume you wanted honest responses.

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That being said, if I do take responsibility for the worst case scenario, I wouldn?t commit to buying this without having the worst case expectations of having to rebuild and I would keep making payments knowing full well what I was up against. I?m thinking I?m ready to do a renovation project even if it?s not needed. I?m okay with preparing for the worst and hoping for the best... at the End of the day is GulfStream a good bet? I don?t want new. I?ve restored two suvs inside and out.

NateArizona said:

is GulfStream a good bet? I don?t want new. I?ve restored two suvs inside and out.

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When RVs get to be that age what matters more than anything is condition, not brand. If you've restored cars you're not without skills, so it's not that it can't be done - but RVs (the house part) are not like vehicles. It sounds as-if you pretty much have your mind made up, so best wishes with your project if you move forward, and welcome to the forum.

Back2PA said:

When RVs get to be that age what matters more than anything is condition, not brand. If you've restored cars you're not without skills, so it's not that it can't be done - but RVs (the house part) are not like vehicles. It sounds as-if you pretty much have your mind made up, so best wishes with your project if you move forward, and welcome to the forum.

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Thank you!

I don?t have my mind completely made up just yet but I?m not going to go into this without sleeping on it for several days and looking at every in and out before going into this project fully aware of what I?m up against!

Nate

Well, if you got the money to do it, and have the time, and want to,... Chances are, you'll never get your money back from it.
It may turn out OK, and be liveable for a long time. but, you could open up the walls and discover a lot more work that you anticipated.
And worst case, you're in the hole fo 6 to 10 G's.
If you can live with that, Go for it.