Old Motor Home

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

flatlndr

Active member
Joined
Nov 24, 2011
Posts
25
Location
Rossville, Ks.
Hi all. the wife and I are looking a motor homes, 1st timer.
Since we don't know how well we'll like it, we're going to make a small investment in an older motor home. Oneof  my main requirements is I don't need another project.
Anyway, we're going out to look at an '82 Cross Country 28', 2nd owner bought at 7600 mi., currently has 26K on it. Its been meticulously maintained. Its older than we were planning on looking at, but its in excellent shape, For example, new Delvac remote control, heated mirrors, new tires, new air bags, batteries, step, and the list goes on and on with. Maintain by localed Rv center and automotive center.
Only problem, he wants $6k for it. I figure it books at about 3K.
Any thoughts on a rig like this.
Thanks for any opinions.
Tom
 
Hi Tom and welcome to the forum.

I have been living in a 1985 Allegro for the last two years that cost me $2600. Since then I have spent about $4k on repairs. No problem, I was expecting that. If you are a real DIY guy then getting an RV in need of repair should not be a problem. But since you don't want another project then I would go for it. The high NADA book value on a 1982 28 foot Sportscoach Cross Country is $1750.

http://www.nadaguides.com/RVs/1982/Sportscoach/M-28-28/Standard-Equipment

When using NADA you don't add in any of the "options" since those are not options, but standard equipment.

RVs are not an investment, they sink like a rock. It is nice he has put that new stuff in, but all this does it bring it back to the condition it should be in to sell it. My suggestion is to show him the NADA book value and see if he is willing to negotiate. This is the dead of winter, the worst time to sell an RV. The economy is in the crapper. It is a very old RV. If he wants to sell it he will come way down. I don't think you will get him down to high NADA, but I would think you could get him close to $3K. Just about every RV listed for sale is way over NADA. This one is 4 times NADA. You have a lot of good arguments to bring his price down.
 
You have to keep in mind this RV will be 30 years old next year and with only 27,000 miles on it has done a lot of sitting.  Sitting around is very hard on equipment.  Of course if the mileage has flipped over and it really has 127,000 that's a new situation.

Marsha~
 
Marsha is correct, it could have flipped over to 127K. To find out what the actual mileage is check out the brake pedal, the gas pedal and the steering wheel. If there is no wear on any of these three items then it is 27K. If you can find wear on them then it is 127K.

If it has been taken care of like you described then the low mileage won't really be a problem. All old motorhomes will have problems whether it has done a lot of sitting or done a lot of driving. The only difference will be the problems you encounter. And trust me, with a 30 year old RV you will have problems.
 
I agree that if you can get it for $3-4K and you are happy with it, go for it.  Maybe view it as a rental.  The purchase price is your rental deposit, and you will get most of that back next year after you try it for a trip.  Beyond the first trip, if you decide to just keep it, then of course you will be spending money on it now and then.
 
MH's are projects....hang out on some forums and you will see.
J
 
The chances of any RV not being a project are slim, and an old timer like this one is even more likely. On the other hand, "well maintained" means an awful lot. If you are really sure of its level of maintenance, it may be ok.

As for the price, book value has no meaning for an RV more than about 18-20 years old and condition is everything. Once again, if you are confident in the "well maintained", I don't think the $6k is way out of line. By all means make a lower offer, but let your tech judgement be your guide and not the online NADA RV book. The NADA online guide is straight line depreciation, whereas any motorhome in decent running condition is going to be worth at least $3k and probably more like $5k if reasonably clean and no obvious problems.

I think any RV of this age is a gamble, but you may have found one of the rare ones.
 
Thanks all for the comments. Prices of these rolling hotels seems to be all over the map.
Thought Id share a few pics of the old girl. I hope they post like in other forums.If not, if someone would let me know how I'd appreciate it. It does show as well in person as it does in the pics. 
It truly is under 26K on the miles. The undercarriage looks like its never been been used and they have a 2 mi. gravel driveway.
I know I wouldn't have to do anything to take this rig on the road.
Looked at a 92 for around the same money and I know I'd have to put 1-2K in it to get it in shape,
plus a load of cleaning. Been sitting in a hay barn so whos know what the mice has eaten.
I agree, its hard on equipment to just  sit. I have several antique tractors, so I'm used to the problems associated with
bad gas, etc. etc.
Again, thanks again and look forward to talking to you all
Tom B
http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa433/twbwhpic/82cc/1-Streetside10-15-1164.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa433/twbwhpic/82cc/5-Kitchen10-15-1151.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa433/twbwhpic/82cc/2-Curbside10-15-1179.jpg

http://i1197.photobucket.com/albums/aa433/twbwhpic/82cc/15-Livingarea210-15-1193.jpg

Edit: Make links hot
 
Ade you sure those pictures weren't taken in the 1980s ??  ;) ::) ;D

Wow, that looks good. One that age that looks even half that good is rare. I agree with Tom -- go for it.
 
Wondering if you ever purchased the Cross Country motor home?? looks nice we have one also 1982 25 foot. please let us know we have some questions we would like to ask.
Thanks, Renee and Craig.
 
Man that is clean.  Get it for as cheap a price as you can.  Use it for as long as you can. you can always trade it in on a newer one once you decide if RV'ing is for you.
 
I bought old and used, to see if I really liked RVing, and now nearly 4 years later, I have no regrets. I've put money into mine too, and I am enjoying every penny of it and having a blast!

It's like a hybrid RV, half of it old, half of it new, but for the price of used.

I've been able to upgrade this and that, more to my liking,  customize a few things to suit me, so I've traded some of the 20 year old equipment for newer stuff (but only if the old stuff was ready to go) but it's stuff I picked out and liked. Of course I've had my share of surprises thrown at me, like when the poop tank tried to fall off,  but I like to keep things repaired, so that I can go have fun without too much falling off.

All in all, you can get a lot of bang for the buck with old but functioning used motorhomes. 

When I figure out the 46 months I've lived fullime in mine plus traveled, divided by the purchase and the repairs, it's been a huge bargain all around. My insurance and taxes are cheap, my systems are simpler and easier to repair or maintain, there is a lot of good stuff about owning old and used.

I go to the same beautiful parks and camp right next to folks that spent a zillion bucks.

I see many folks in far flung parks resurrecting older RV's and having a blast.

There is less fear too in some ways. I've been to some jaw dropping beautiful places because I wasn't afraid to take my baby there. I've made a little dent and scratch here and there while I was learning to handle my rig... oops...

But I've had FUN FUN FUN. 

I saw your pics, looks beautiful for her age and in great shape, go take a good look at it and test out the systems. Used rigs are priced all over the place and sometimes folks sell them right after they've fixed everything and you're good to go with their loss being  your gain.

I've got my rig so comfy and organized for my style of living, that I shutter to think about trading her off. I've even had 2 different folks offer to buy it this past year, and I wasn't even offering to sell it.
 
  Before you pay that much for the old girl please check the " date codes " on all the tires , may save you some money and help make you ALOT safer driving your first motorhome. Tires need to be replaced every 5 to 10 years depending on who you talk to and the brand of tires. When I purchased my MH I was on the way home driving up HWY 95 when the new looking tire on the front blew out, it happens. My best friend bought an older motorhome with low miles on it, still had the original tires on it ( 1990). Here is a link explaining how to read date codes to determine the age of the tires .

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11

                              If the tires on your MH only have 3 digits they are really old.  Mike McCarthy
 
You are right I didn't see/pay attention to the date code. Renee Raley
dredged this one up from the distant past and we all gave the stock answers all over again. Well not a bad thing at least we are consistant.
Bill
 
Back
Top Bottom