Just about ready to give up on my RV dreams

I posted nearly two years ago about my 1994 Ford Fourwinds. I had purchased it, thinking all was good and it turned out there were many things wrong with it. I paid someone (that turned out to pretty much be a con artist) to do a bunch of work. He abandoned my RV on a farm with all kinds of damages and stole all my belongings, etc.
I brought it home and let it sit, while I licked my wounds for a few months and thought about what to do next. I then began fixing broken things, cleaning it up, etc.
All of a sudden, it wouldn't start. I had a local mechanic replace the battery, starter, solenoid, and finally, the alternator. He commented that the wiring was crazy and there were all kind of things hooked up to the wrong stuff, etc. After a few weeks, the battery still wasn't fully charging. Had it checked out, as well as the alternator. No problems. Then, we discovered that the house battery was dead. Replaced that. Now, it's not getting any gas! This was never a problem before. The new mechanic thinks I should replace the fuel pump.
My thought is to give up, cut my losses and junk it. However, that is easier said than done. I bought it for $5,000 and I have put over $6,000 into it. Of course, this was over the course of nearly two years, one thing at a time. Every time, it was only a few hundred and it appeared that it would be all set. How could I not put a few hundred more into it, when I had already done so much?
Now, it sits in my neighbor's yard, stuck in mud and waiting for it's fate. 2 years, thousands of dollars, never used it.
Any suggestions that would not make this a total loss for me? Also, does anyone know where I can get the specs on it? There are so many engine components, etc. that we can't seem to figure out. I have looked online, visited the Ford dealership, etc. No luck.

Maggiemae129,
I'm no expert, but I've spent the last six months reviving an old motorhome that needed a lot of work, so I can empathize.  Here are my opinions for what they're worth.
1. If you have to pay other people to fix up your motorhome, you will always be underwater value wise.  Doing as much as you can yourself is the only way to break even cost wise.  And as you have discovered, people who work for cheap are often not very good or reliable.
2. If you want to keep your RV dreams, you have you ask yourself how much more it would cost to start over with a different cheap starting unit.  Money already spent is not as important as money you will need to spend to achieve your dream.
3. You can likely discover what Ford chassis was used by plugging the Ford VIN into a Google search.  Armed with that information, a competent mechanic should be able to sort out the wiring needed for the engine to run properly.  The accessory circuits (e.g., lights, charging for house battery, power door steps) can be more difficult.  But it should be no more difficult to get the unit drivable than on any similar 1994 Ford truck.
4. Many people place a high value on the sense of confidence they have in their vehicle.  They don't want to drive something they suspect will leave them stranded.  This is a form of anthropomorphizing - giving human traits to an inanimate object.  Vehicles are nothing more than a complex collection of mechanical parts, and when those parts work, the vehicle works.  It doesn't matter how long or hard it was to get it fixed right; once its fixed right it will run right.  How long that takes will depend greatly on the skill and experience of those who fix it.

Good luck with whatever path you take.

One more thought.  A fuel pressure gauge will tell the mechanic if the fuel pump is providing the required fuel under pressure.  If it isn't, it is likely either electrical (e.g., bad relay) or mechanical (e.g., worn out pump).  There are tests for these conditions a competent mechanic can perform to KNOW what is wrong.  Throwing parts at a problem in hopes of finding what is wrong is an expensive way to proceed.

I feel sorry for you MaggieMae, I really do. My opinion is that you should take out an ad on Craigslist that says "Free RV" and let the first person with a tow truck haul it out of your life. I know you have "invested" $11,000 into it, however, RVs are not an investment and since the RV isn't running you will not get much out of it if you decided to try and sell it. Pouring more money into it doesn't seem like a sensible thing to do either. I too live in Southwest Orlando area so if I can be of any help just shoot me an email.

SeilerBird makes a good point, as tough as it may be too swallow but sometimes you have to cut your losses.  I went through something similar many years ago with a sailboat I purchased.  In my case I knew exactly what I was getting, a boat needing a lot of work to make ready for the water.  I started doing the work, and invested some dollars, but it was taking alot more time than expected.  Then came an unexpected job offer out of state, so I ended up letting it go to someone who had the means to haul it away.  It was a tough nut to swallow considering the dollars invested, though admittedly, not close to what you have spent.  I guess you need to decide if you want to pursue RV'ing or not, but rather than spending good money at bad at this point, may not be your best solution.  I feel your pain though and hope a happy ending is just ahead for you.

I'm assuming that since you started out with an older "fixer upper" that you are not made of money,so throwing away the 11k you already have spent would be a big hit.
If you start over you are still going to have problems to fix. At least you know you have some new parts already replaced.

I think your problem is finding a competent mechanic to work on it. You admit you got conned by the first guy. It's rare for the entire "battery, starter, solenoid, and finally, the alternator" to all fail at once, so I suspect that mechanic was not competent either, just replacing parts until he fixed the problem.

My opinion is that if the engine and transmission are still strong you should do some research on the problems involved,and get an idea of what it may take to repair them.
Then if you can't fix them yourself, find someone you know to be competent to do the repairs. Your previous research should be able to tell you if the new mechanic is competent.
Try to make a complete list of the repairs that have been done for the new mechanic to reference.

Just my opinion, and I'm not always known for making the wisest choices!

MaggieMae,
If you do decide to put more into your Ford, here is a link to a VIN decoder that will tell you what kind of vehicle you have:
http://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenance/vin-decoder/


P.S. Even a good vehicle will have problems after sitting for two years.

1)I would search if your city's school district offer auto shop somewhere close, then contact them to seek out help on your RV's mechanical side of things. would be the more budget approach.
2)talk to neighbors see if there is mechanic that hobbies with cars at home that could "donate" some time to evaluate things for you. (exchange for meals, cold beer??)
3) Don't keep paying classifieds mobile mechanics, dealer, RV shops. If it truly is a lot of work that only shops can do you will lose a lot more including sanity which is not what RVing is about.

good luck

Don't have answers for all your issues but 1994 Ford's had an inertia switch that cuts out the fuel pump if activated.  Look down around the passenger foot well, just behind the plastic panel or carpet.  There should be a small switch hanging from a couple of wires. Push the switch to reset it and see if your fuel pump starts working.  If your mechanic does not know to check this, quit feeding him money.

In the situation that you are in I would recommend selling the thing for as mucha s you can get. Im sure that a rebuilder would like to get his hands on this beauty. I have scrapped some automobiles once I have put too much money and effort into it and the project still don't fly, its better than to keep dropping dollars in a money pit. However if you are willing to get plenty dirty and learn lots you should roll pup your sleeves and do the rebuilt on you own.
If your stubborn to do this perhaps you should find a way to disconnect the RV electrical part of the unit and isolate it from the vehicle its self. This way the vehicle's troubles will be easier to spot. Once the vehicle is running then the fun part begins with messing on the RV's electrical system.

Start with the basics.  If you are not doing any wrenching yourself it is probably not a good idea to take on a fix it up project.

A running engine only needs a few things: Spark, fuel, air, and compression. 

See what yours is missing.  Odds are compression will not go away fast..  spark is easy to test.. pull a plug wire and see if it sparks to the engine block..  air and fuel are part of the same input.. odds are you have air... fuel is the more likely culprit.  Shoot the intake with some starting fluid and see if it fires or not. 

Simple mans approach to getting to the basics and seeing what is causing it not to run. Track down what component is missing and then troubleshoot that segment of the system.

I would have the RV towed to a shop that has experience working on RVs and have them
assess  the repairs.  If the engine and trans are good and the RV is not leaking when it
rains the RV is worth fixing in my opinion.  Sometimes we need to just "tuff it out".  Believe
me I have been there.

Buying the RV was not the mistake.  Having a "shade tree" mechanic work on it was so it was a lesson learned.  Having the wiring problems corrected and a fuel pump replaced are minor repairs in my opinion.  Could be a fuel filter.  Electrical problems are an easy fix for the right person and overwhelming for the wrong person.

I'm an accomplished mechanic and still had problems with our 1989 Itasca.  Some things I'll work on while other things (Like heavy work)I hire done by a truck and RV repair shop.  I usually have the advantage of knowing what is wrong ahead of time and relay that information to the repair shop.  I avoid any possibility of a "snow job" by the repair shop that way.

Another tip.  Give the shop a generous lead time for the repairs.  After that be polite but be
firm on a time to get the RV back home.

The motorhome will be worth more and sell sooner in running condition if that is your decision.
Jim

Since it does not sound like you are familiar with the mechanical repairs nor turning your own wrenches, I would think jglass's suggestion is a good one.  Ask around and find someone who is competent to check it over and assist what is needed to get it running and usable.  Then make the decision if it is time to throw in the towel or invest a little more.  You never know, you might be really close to having a running usable unit.  If nothing else, if it is running, you can at least sell it and recoup some of your investment. 

One other suggestion is to donate it.  There are organizations that will take it off of your hands and would think that you could at least write off what you have in the unit.  Better than just junking it.

Maggiemae:  Just curious how the mechanic determined the engine was not receiving fuel?
Personally never had a fuel pump give out that suddenly.  My test for that is a 2 or 3 spoons full of gas poured down the carburetor intake or air intake and try starting the engine.  If the engine tries to start and dies the mechanic is right about the engine not receiving gas.  If the engine turns over without a "POP" the problem could be ignition.  Again, could be a filter.  I would have that problem diagnosed in 30 minutes tops.  No guessing either.

Charging issues are easy to test for.  Start the engine and allow it to warm up. Listen closely
to the engine.  Turn on the head lights and listen for a change in engine noise or whine from the alternator.  This is a crude way to test for charging but it works sometimes. Another way is to take a digital volt meter and test the battery voltage with the engine off.  The battery should test between 12.5 volts and 13.5 volts.  Start the engine and measure battery voltage.  The battery should measure about 14.3 volts if the battery is charging.  If there is no change or insignificant change in battery voltage with the engine running there is a charging problem.

If the coach battery goes dead, I would remove one of the wires to prevent any discharging.
Should be a way to disconnect the coach battery with a switch.  If the switch is left ON the coach is powered up and will eventually drain the battery because of clocks running and other
small ghost loads.

I would not give up on a $5000 motorhome much less a $11,000 one.

Maggiemae:  I read some of your old posts.  Has anyone thought to replace the chassis battery?  What made the mechanic replace the starter with 30K miles on it?  The mechanics you have hired are not mechanics.  They are nothing more than part changers.
Jim

Hi everyone,
I was just in here posting about my new (to me) travel trailer and discovered all of these responses to this post. I wanted to thank you all for your advice. I gave up for while and let it sit while I took care of some other things in my life. I eventually found a great guy that was able to fix many of the issues (including the fuel pump). The RV is running great now, but looks like crap from taking in water over the cab. I am hoping to clean it up as good as possible and sell it for whatever I get. I'm pretty upset about all the money I lost on it, but I have moved on to a small travel trailer and will be hitting the road soon...

Good for you.

We bought an old motorhome a 1992 but never would have if it wasn't for my husband, he can fix most anything only
if the parts are to heavy or tools he doesn't have and its still expensive.

Sounds like you have found an answer, you may not get much but you have something else you can use.  Having
water issues on that cab over is pretty common from what I understand, hope you can recoup some of your money
at least.

The five most important factors in your decision to hold or fold, are the condition of the chassis, chassis, chassis, chassis, chassis. If you fold and buy again, the hardest thing to evaluate is what you have learned from your earlier experience and how to craft a better game plan. Start with why did you think you were buying a good RV for $5,000 and how did you go about choosing your mechanic. If you decide to hold, hopefully the basis for your decision is based on where you start from today, not what you have put into it up to now, and what is the basis for your current evaluation of where you are as to chassis......etc.

The concept of sunk cost applies. "a sunk cost is a cost that has already been incurred and cannot be recovered. Sunk costs are sometimes contrasted with prospective costs, which are future costs that may be incurred or changed if an action is taken." What is hard is that we tend to become emotionally invested in sunk costs, hoping mechanical success is just over the horizon if we put just a little more into it.

So, reread daily for the next 30 days, the post by HotTommy, which starts with the concept that for owners like myself, it is time to become stronger in chassis diy skills and evaluation.

When fuel sits in a tank for 2 yrs. it congeals into a jellotinus goop. I learned this the hard way (is there any other)? I had a jet ski that remained in my boatyard for about 2 yrs. Fixed the flat trailer tire, swapped out the battery, filled the tank with fresh fuel, pushed the start button after choking and spraying a fast start solution down the carbs and away I went. It ran like a striped butt ape for about 10 minutes. It then coughed and rolled over dead. Out came the fuel, motor and fuel tank after determining no fuel was getting to the filter. The bottom of tank showed the problem to be congealed fuel gummy bears rolling around the bottom. Stuffed up everything north of the tank necessitating new pump, lines and rebuild of carbs. I put Stabil in but it don't last indefinitely. Good luck.
Capt

^^ I think even Stabil puts a limit of 6-12 months on their product... and your account is a good example of why motorhomes in particular should be driven and "exercised" regularly, even during the off season or when no camping is planned.  Many other fluids (along with rubber in belts, hoses, and tires) last much longer when they are regularly used and circulated also.