Hi all.
Just before winter I purchased a 1984 Elandon for $5000.00. It was in relatively good shape inside and out, but very faded because of the sun and the years. All of the propane goodies-furnace, stove, range, fridge all seem to be working and the propane system was recently checked and serviced.
I was unable to check the holding tanks as they were drained for the winter. I put in some RV antifreeze to be safe.
The RV was safety inspected upon purchase and needed a few small things... a wiper motor, some light bulbs, a small gas line leak and a new brake caliper. Although it passed I did have to replace both exhaust gaskets after the manifold. I still have a small manifold leak I am scared to get looked at because it looks to be horridly small and cramped.
Both rooftop AC units work.
The generator was another story. It needed a major overhaul as it was seized solid. (7500 watt Onan) $1000.00 dollars later the generator is working, and it needed a replacement muffler as well. I also had to get the gas tank dropped because the fools who replaced the sending unit on the tank crushed the hose feeding the generator. After getting that fixed other problems showed up. At present the generator will start but as soon as it warms up after a minute or so it surges up and down and eventually stalls. The guy who serviced it had a heart attack and can't work on them anymore due to a pacemaker and proximity to magnetic fields... can you believe that? Now I need to find another person to service it and every single RV dealer in my area keeps pointing me back to the same guy.
I also think the inverter/converter has an issue as well. When the generator did work, after it shuts off it takes a long time to switch over to 12volt... anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours and it used to do it instantly. Both of the 12 volt storage batteries are dead. The previous owner used regular batteries and not deep cycle and it killed them. I will be buying deep cycle batteries as soon as it come out of storage. Any recommendations?
Should I replace or upgrade the converter/charging system? Any advice would be welcomed.
Both of the front doors will open from the outside, but the latches won't open it from the inside. The latch for the side door is broken.. the plastic latch assembly broke where it screws in. It still works but it won't for long. The latches look very common, I've seem them in regular vans and cars. Any idea where the best place to get new ones?
I've replaced all the lighting I could with LED for better battery performance. I'll be limo tinting the windows for privacy and heat. I have two 120 watt solar panels and charge controller I will be wiring in to trickle charge the batteries and as alternative to running the generator and motor when I can. I'll also be getting a battery monitoring system. I have 20" LCD TV/monitor I will be mounting on an adjustable arm and a decent little sound system. It has a very old 23 channel CB I'll be upgrading.
The front defogger/heater does not work. The vacuum lines that run it are just totally messed up and confusing as hell. It does have windshield fans which keep it clear and the rear heater works fine.
Amazingly the leveling jacks still work. Most of the other doodads and such work. I will be painting it and redoing the interior at some point after all the other things are looked after. I'm hoping I can have everything working right for my first trip this summer.
I don't know if this was the right place to start so if I'm not where I should be, please let me know. I know it's pretty old... most everything in this forum is 90s and newer. Is there an RV junkyard in existence? Any help or advice would be appreciated. I'm East Coast Canadian.
Just before winter I purchased a 1984 Elandon for $5000.00. It was in relatively good shape inside and out, but very faded because of the sun and the years. All of the propane goodies-furnace, stove, range, fridge all seem to be working and the propane system was recently checked and serviced.
I was unable to check the holding tanks as they were drained for the winter. I put in some RV antifreeze to be safe.
The RV was safety inspected upon purchase and needed a few small things... a wiper motor, some light bulbs, a small gas line leak and a new brake caliper. Although it passed I did have to replace both exhaust gaskets after the manifold. I still have a small manifold leak I am scared to get looked at because it looks to be horridly small and cramped.
Both rooftop AC units work.
The generator was another story. It needed a major overhaul as it was seized solid. (7500 watt Onan) $1000.00 dollars later the generator is working, and it needed a replacement muffler as well. I also had to get the gas tank dropped because the fools who replaced the sending unit on the tank crushed the hose feeding the generator. After getting that fixed other problems showed up. At present the generator will start but as soon as it warms up after a minute or so it surges up and down and eventually stalls. The guy who serviced it had a heart attack and can't work on them anymore due to a pacemaker and proximity to magnetic fields... can you believe that? Now I need to find another person to service it and every single RV dealer in my area keeps pointing me back to the same guy.
I also think the inverter/converter has an issue as well. When the generator did work, after it shuts off it takes a long time to switch over to 12volt... anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours and it used to do it instantly. Both of the 12 volt storage batteries are dead. The previous owner used regular batteries and not deep cycle and it killed them. I will be buying deep cycle batteries as soon as it come out of storage. Any recommendations?
Should I replace or upgrade the converter/charging system? Any advice would be welcomed.
Both of the front doors will open from the outside, but the latches won't open it from the inside. The latch for the side door is broken.. the plastic latch assembly broke where it screws in. It still works but it won't for long. The latches look very common, I've seem them in regular vans and cars. Any idea where the best place to get new ones?
I've replaced all the lighting I could with LED for better battery performance. I'll be limo tinting the windows for privacy and heat. I have two 120 watt solar panels and charge controller I will be wiring in to trickle charge the batteries and as alternative to running the generator and motor when I can. I'll also be getting a battery monitoring system. I have 20" LCD TV/monitor I will be mounting on an adjustable arm and a decent little sound system. It has a very old 23 channel CB I'll be upgrading.
The front defogger/heater does not work. The vacuum lines that run it are just totally messed up and confusing as hell. It does have windshield fans which keep it clear and the rear heater works fine.
Amazingly the leveling jacks still work. Most of the other doodads and such work. I will be painting it and redoing the interior at some point after all the other things are looked after. I'm hoping I can have everything working right for my first trip this summer.
I don't know if this was the right place to start so if I'm not where I should be, please let me know. I know it's pretty old... most everything in this forum is 90s and newer. Is there an RV junkyard in existence? Any help or advice would be appreciated. I'm East Coast Canadian.