Looking at purchasing a 1995 Winnebago Vectra 34'

No gap on my 99 Brave.

:-[  Sounds like it might be difficult to do.  I was looking at an RV dealer at some of the dinettes to get an idea of how the seatbelts were attached in the slide.  :

In a 2004 Class C - I can't remember which one, there was a monster metal thingy - one bar against the seat of the dinette, one bolted through the floor and one bar vertically on each side that held it together.  It looked like the same material as a hitch was made of.  The seatbelts then were bolted to that.  It looked like it could have held an elephant in place!  There was none on the side that had its back to the front. 

I don't think that this is something I can do on my own...and there is no one else except for a friend of a friend that tells me he can do it... :  Although, the pictures that John posted, looks to me like its bolted right into the floor.  Wonder if the floor could support it in the Vectra - esp. on a slide.  When I look at pictures of the Vectra, it looks like you could conceivably get under there to get the bolt in place...but what about retraction and extension of the slide.  Would this rub against the rubber and eventually wear it out...I'll have to check when I get out there.  But looks like it will have to be the long weekend before we can make it out.  It's Mother's Day this weekend and I dare not leave home!  My mother would kill me!  ;D

Thanks guys!

On the Vectra the basement compartment moves with the slide so there isn't any problem with the bolt scraping on anything.

  Interesting John!  That means then that conceivable, I could drill right up from the basement compartment and put a metal bar and fasten with a washer and bolt the seatbelt!  Wow!  That means it is totally doable.  I can drill a hole and put a thick bar and put a bolt and washer through that!  Lol - Vectra here I come!

Thanks John - you just brightened up my day!

Just an update in my RV quest.  I have made an offer on a 2002 Rexhall RexAir 3550BSL - it has two slides and it looks really good and has 36,000miles.  Didn't look like it had leaked.  It was listed for $25,00, with some bumper damage, he backed into something.  And the back tires will need to be replaced.  We agreed to $22,500 pending an inspection.  I will have to add some seatbelts and I want to swap out the table and chairs for a dinette. 

Opinions?

The floor plan is nice. It looks like converting to a dinette with the atrium windows might be difficult. Here is another for twice that, but a lot of pictures.

http://www.rvmotorized.com/2002-Rexhall-Rexair%203550-Fairfield-California-for-sale-ID5172792.htm

I don't personally like the Generac generators, I prefer the Onan.

Yes, I saw that one too John!  It is priced quite low in comparison, so I'm a little suspicious.  I asked them to scan and email me their registration and driver's license before I would give them the deposit.  I made a deposit of $500.  I'm hoping everything is legit!

As for the dinette, I was thinking of a dinette with a metal cage bolted to the floor for support.  and seatbelts bolted to that.  Also, the dinette would be on the non-slide side and apparently Rexhall makes their RV with metal cage bodies, so I would imagine that there could be something I could bolt it to.  Cross my fingers, otherwise we will be having to drive a car and an RV, which I'm not looking forward to.

I just thought, that with a little work, I could get the RV I wanted, plus it was newer, 11 years as opposed to something almost 20 years old for approximately $10K more after mods. 

Hope I haven't made a mistake.  My first RV purchase, don't mind admitting, I'm a lot nervous!  :

went the same route and purchased a 92 suncruiser on eBay and drove it up from Ohio to Winnipeg Canada no trouble at border for units 15 years and older expected to spend some money to bring it up to top level and still finished under 10k dealer offered to give me 13 when  stopped in for a couple of small parts so remember in Canada we pay big dollars for class A's

Ok all!  Update finally - my apologies for not updating sooner!

Rexhall Rexair out!  There was a reason why it was so low - there was about 5-10K worth of fixes that I wasn't prepared for.  Thank goodness for the RV and mechanical inspection suggestions!

So looking at a 1996 National Dolphin class A - no slide.  I kind of like it without the slide - it is a widebody and seems to be pretty spacious. 

However, a couple of areas of concerns - the jacks are broken - the jacks are there, the motor has been taken out...so question...how important are levelling jacks?  I know about the refrigerator having to be level to operate, but how difficult is it to get the RV fairly level?

Also, National is out of business, there are cracks in the windshield, not a huge concern yet, but will eventually have to be replaced...does anyone know if this is a concern - if I can find a windshield for the motorhome?

The owners have done a lot of work on the unit, and it even has the highly desired banks system installed already!  Bonus!

The lowest the owner will accept is $17K with 87000km. 

Thoughts??

I'll post in a National forum to get their thoughts too, but you guys have been so awesome with my questions before, I couldn't resist.

Thanks guys!

National parts are around and especially windshields. no worries there. I would really think long and hard about a unit with no slides. With as many people as you plan to tote, think about how cramped you will be on a rainy weekend when you are all stuck inside. It can be bad and I mean very bad!!!!

Other than that, you know the drill, inspect it. As far as jacks, there make life very easy but are not critical. It will be more time consuming putting boards under the wheels to get level and after a while you will break down and get the system fixed just for ease of setup.

I found these in 5 minutes in LA.....

This one seems to good to be true but it might be worth the trip to check it out.
2003 Georgetown 34 foot Class A double slide outs only 16000 miles - $22900
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/rvs/3836870984.html

32' 1997 fleetwood southwind - $13500  (no slide)
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/rvs/3838147489.html

36 foot Flair motorhome - $18000 (no slide)
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sgv/rvs/3838012648.html

34 ft. motorhome/rv DIESEL with Alison transmission, great shape less then 13000miles $12900
Diesel.... obviously needs work
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/rvs/3837364515.html

1999 coachmen mirada - $14900
I personally checked this one out.... it's a nice coach but no slide. We awanted a slide and that's the only reason that we didn't buy this coach.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/rvs/3801198838.html

Another important function of jacks other than leveling is stabilizing. With that many people in the motor home I would want to stabilize it to keep it from moving every time someone moves around. What chassis is it?

The need for jacks is a personal thing - some people object to the slightest jiggle or tilt, while others are oblivious to both.  You can get the coach more-or-less level with wood blocks under the wheels, just like you do on a trailer and many Class C's. An entire new jack system would run around $4000 but this one could probably repaired for much less than that. Salvage yards are an option for parts too.

Windshields are not unique to a coach - they are standard windshields used in some other vehicle, usually a truck or bus. No problem finding replacements, even on older rigs. Likewise, all appliances and all chassis parts came from other vendors rather than National RV. Still could be obsolete on a 1996 - many things change in 20 years! Common parts are widely available, though.

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-RVs-campers-trailers-RVs-motorhomes-READY-TO-GO-W0QQAdIdZ484099399

This is the unit. 

The other thing was that there was a leak, they caught it, and got it repaired.  So, I don't think I should be overly concerned there.  They did get the entire front end rebuilt, since the leak was in the front compartment where the TV sits.  We have had rain in the last few days, and when we went to check it yesterday, everything was dry.  Tires are DOT 5211, the owner just replaced it last year.  Inside was clean and immaculate.  It has solar panels and an inverter.  There really isn't any work that needs to be done, except for the windshield, which has two cracks - not in the line of vision.  And of course the levelling jacks.  Gary - $4000?!? - the motor/engine has been completely removed...so might be a big job.  But probably why it has not been repaired.  It is on a Ford chassis I think...

Also, no slides - I thought this was an issue, but really, the fact that it was a widebody design, it was quite spacious inside.  And slide or no slide, rainy days with 3 kids in a MH is still going to be a killer day!  The only consideration of course is re-sale.  The reason why this hasn't sold most likely is because it doesn't have the slide...but I think for the Alberta market - the lack of slide is reflected in the price.

@Waverly, other than the Georgetown (which due to it being too good to be true...I'm not holding much hope), the RV prices considering the additional costs of travel and import

Flights for 2    $550.00 (one way tickets)
Hotel for 5 days @ $60/night  $300.00
5% GST on say $14,000  $700
AC tax @ $100 per AC  $200
Gas to get from LA back home  $3.49/gallon $800.00
Out of province inspection $500.00 to register in Alberta

Total additional cost  $3,050.00 not to mention time off work and the exchange rate right now.

I think if I were buying a new/newer unit, higher end unit where the cost is higher, then it would definitely be worth it.  But for something under $20K and older, I don't think its worth it.  The cost would be the same at the end of the day, and there is also a good chance that I may come back empty-handed as well.  :'(

Canadian units are high - no doubt about it! 

Thoughts?

What brand jacks does it have. A new motor and pump are probably less than $500. You might check into tail gate lift pump/motor.

Personally, I wouldn't give up so fast on that 2002 Rexhall Rexair. If you could get the guy down to $18K and had to put $10K in it, you might have a coach that you would be much happier with and would hold it's resale value better. I don't know about where you live but around here, coaches without slides are a dime a dozen and falling fast.

IMO there is a lot to be said for buying a coach that needs to have a lot of stuff replaced (as long as you know going in) and ending up with a coach that has a lot of "new stuff". That's exactly how we bought ours. I knew going in that it needed ~$12K (including paint) to make it the way that I wanted it. We have put in ~$5K so far and I can put off the paint work or just live with it.

I thought about it long and hard too.  But the RV inspector was suspicious of the flooring.  The owner had put vinyl over the carpet underlay and it was spongy.  This would have been a big job...  Also, the owner gave me a hard time about having an RV inspection.  He didn't leave me enough gas to even try out the generator.  Told me that there was only one awning that needed to be replaced, turns out all three did.  4 tires would need to be replaced.  Furnace didn't work - the inspector thinks it needs a new board.  There was also frame damage - above the windshield that the inspector didn't quite trust.  It had been filled in with silicone.  I think I didn't go ahead with it, more because I didn't quite trust the seller.  Also, he wasn't prepared to move much beyond the 22K that we had settled on.  Believe me, I really really liked it too.  I loved the floor plan!  Everything with slides and in the 2000+ year was way more.  But with another 10K, was a little more than I was willing to invest.  Especially as I felt that there may be more hidden stuff that I didn't know about - inspections can't catch everything.  The inspector gave it a 6/10 and did not recommend it at all.  :'(

Wavery - as for the resale value - I agree with you there, I need something newer if I'm looking to resell it later.  Such a tough dilemma!  But the owner is tough, she won't budge on her price...wondering if I should keep looking...

John, not sure what brand they are - but they did have a big footprint.  I would look into getting it fixed I think.  As long it wasn't too expensive!  $1000 I can do.  Making our total investment $18K.

Tough decision for sure!

I keep going back to the Vectra - but its a 6 hour drive for us, plus it would involve an out of province inspection...not so far for some of you - with 3 kids, is a long drive!  Also price is $24K, total cost with tax and inspection and 4 new back tires - $21,000 provided I can get them down to $19K.  I'm not sure if its worth it.

http://www.voyagerrv.ca/rv-detail.php?id=2506&model=1997%20Winnebago%20Vectra%2034RQ

What do you guys think?

Don't forget to add that good old GST to any import as you come across the border. (Don't know about  provincial taxes as you register it in AB though!!! See here for all the dirt:!!

http://www.riv.ca/ImportingAVehicle.aspx

John Hilley said:

What brand jacks does it have. A new motor and pump are probably less than $500. You might check into tail gate lift pump/motor.

Click to expand...

What is a tail gate lift pump/motor and what does it do? :-[

It's just a 12 volt DC hydraulic pump.  If you are a real handy DIY type guy that loves refurbishing stuff and delights in resurrection of inop things, then by all means go for a fix-er-up RV.  If this isn't you, keep looking for a unit where everything works and works well.