1st post. Shopping for a Class A

johnd393 said:

I've not given up but I have to tread lightly with the WAF. There is another HR Imperial close. <$5k.  It's an 87 with 87400 miles. This one has the walk around queen bed. The other imperial mentioned earlier has 2 singles. It's supposed to be ready to use except the frig and the 2 roof A/C s are bad. Owner is a former RV sales person. Engine and trans are rebuilt. He had a trans failure on the road and had a used one installed, than had it rebuilt later. I would trust the rebuild more it it had a couple thousand miles on it.  I am somewhat qualified to fix the A/C's if they are not mangled from hitting something and parts are available. If the frig problem is not the sealed system, perhaps it can be fixed. Have not yet approached the wife about going to see this one. Maybe tomorrow.

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I would definitely approach this one as if the A/Cs and fridge are total losses and must be replaced, even if you can fix them.  You won't know that going in.  Now, is the price still attractive?

^^ Agreed, as those two items are among the most expensive in terms of RV-specific parts.  Even if you replaced the RV absorption fridge with a standard electric model, it still would not be cheap.

Sounds to me as if you have $3, 000 in repairs before you find out what else is wrong (mh ac's are usually replaced if the cooling system is bad). I'd run from this one!

Ernie

In the price range I'm looking at, many MH's are going to be too old, smelly and ugly. If the MH passes the smell test, is fresh and clean enough that I would want to spend time in it, mechanically and structurally sound with rebuilt mechanicals, I'm not sure I should pass on it because of a couple bad appliances. I see used a/c's on craigslist for 200-250 and rebuilt refrigerator cooling units online for around 550.

Well, of all the things you probably don't absolutely need, AC and a fridge are probably high on the list. It's still pretty chilly out in most of the country and humanity got by ok for a long time with iceboxes. Last time we took the Southwind out (10 days), we used a pair of big 5-day coolers and left the fridge off. Wasn't bad at all.

Still, those repairs really are probably closer to $3k than $1k. Not sure and '87 would be worth even $6k to me. Again, my '93 was $7k. I think you can do better for that price.

Looked at the HR. Seller was just out driving it and arrived home a few minutes after us. So we know it ran and could be driven. He was gonna take us for a ride in it. Wife and I got in the coach. I immediately knew it was not nice enough for ether of us. Wife was patient. A good sign. Looked it over a while cus we were there. The padded ceiling was coming loose at some of the seams, not really hanging down. There had been attempts to staple it. Don't know if that's water damage or just adhesive failure over time. It may be mechanically sound but seems pretty neglected. It is quite awkward for 6'2" 220 lb me to climb over the motorhump in to the drivers seat. Probably easier to use the drivers door. Drivers door now on my preference list. Drivers seating position was better than the other two MH's I've sat in. Didn't go for the ride. Felt it would be dishonest to take up any more of the guys time. I don't know if 1987 is too old  but this one felt too old. The Thor I looked at was fresher on the interior.  I like the idea of the aluminum frame skin and roof on the HR's. I'm still curious about the other HR Imperial that's for sale. It's lower mileage and lower cost.. Attached couple pictures of the one we saw today.

My family and I started in a 1994 34' allegro bus ( no slides). We loved it. if your looking to save money. Don't get into camping. A camper is like a boat. Something that your going to constantly through money at. Some people consider a boat as a hole in the water. Well the same go's for a camper. It's just another hole in the road. Lol. That being said. You have to like what you see and feel. If you have any ideas that your not going to like the rig. Then most likely you wont. You will know the rig u want when you see it. It's going to be a stepping stone to bigger and better things to come.
Best thing I can suggest is to be aware of how things look vs how they feel. Musty smells and high humidity would be a good reason to turn and run. Before the owner suggest to listen to the pur of the motor or genset. Nose around those areas just to see how long it was warmed up before you showed up. I hope that you have as good experience as my family and I have had with our 1st motorhome.  Just remember it is also a vehicle. 

If it's still there when we head to FL, there's a 1998 38' diesel pusher Gulf Stream for $15k.  Wasn't really thinking of that large but my computer took me there. Might be another bogus ad. 

John,
This is just a reminder of the advice I gave way back when you started this thread. .... I looked at a lot of cheap, but not worth the money RVs before I let my urge to end the search push me into buying the wrong one.  Don't let that happen to you. .... The good part of seeing lots of wrong cheap units is that you'll know for sure when you see the right cheap unit.  But don't let the thought that, "this one is not great, but its not nearly as bad as the last three" push you into a bad decision. .... Good luck with the search.

johnd393 said:

If it's still there when we head to FL, there's a 1998 38' diesel pusher Gulf Stream for $15k.  Wasn't really thinking of that large but my computer took me there. Might be another bogus ad.

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I called the number for it. Guy place the ad for his 83 year old grandfather who can't drive anymore.
Still sounds too good to be true. Guy is calling back tomorrow with more info. I hope I'm still driving at 83. The attractive for me is the flat floor access to leather drivers seat.

1994 Georgie Boy Cruise master $1200  120k miles. A lot of miles but cheap. Sent a text. Might be too far away for a casual look.

$1200??  Okay that seems TOO far in the other direction.  I'd be afraid of the condition of that one, but I suppose you won't know until you know!

scottydl said:

$1200??  Okay that seems TOO far in the other direction.  I'd be afraid of the condition of that one, but I suppose you won't know until you know!

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You heard of the story that was reportedly printed in the Chicago Tribune in 1979;

A man in California saw an ad in the paper for an "almost new" Porsche, in excellent condition - price $50. He was certain the printers had made a typographical error, but even at $5,000 it would have been a bargain, so he hurried to the address to look at the car.

A nice-looking woman appeared at the front door. Yes, she had placed the ad. The price was indeed $50. "The car," she said, "is in the garage. Come and look at it."

The fellow was overwhelmed. It was a beautiful Porsche and, as the ad promised, "nearly new." He asked if he could drive the car around the block. The woman said, "Of course," and went with him. The Porsche drove like a dream. The young man peeled off $50 and handed it over, somewhat sheepishly. The woman gave him the necessary papers, and the car was his.

Finally, the new owner couldn't stand it any longer. He had to know why the woman would sell the Porsche at such a ridiculously low price. Her reply was simple: With a half-smile on her face, she said, "My husband ran off with his secretary a few days ago and left a note instructing me to sell the car and the house, and send him the money."

********
So maybe it's just listed by an upset X.

scottydl said:

$1200??  Okay that seems TOO far in the other direction.  I'd be afraid of the condition of that one, but I suppose you won't know until you know!

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Well, there's probably something wrong. The picture looks nice. Maybe a missing zero and it's really $12000. No answer to my text. Sent an email. Maybe it belongs to a rich person that just wants it gone. It's craigslist so one must proceed with caution. At $1200 one could consider an in vehicle engine rebuild.

I have an old vacant house in need of serious repairs. I'm about to lose it to nature. It's 30 miles from home so I don't get over there much. A cheap RV would many a nice construction base.

I've lost count of the number of times I responded to a craigslist ad in the first 24 hours it was listed and never heard back even though the ad remained for weeks.

^^ Yeah, not everyone is as attentive to their ads as I would like... or as attentive as you'd think, if they are genuinely trying to sell something!  I've also found that many posters rely on phone calls or texts these days, and the Craigslist relay e-mail does not always generate a quick reply.

Alfa38User said:

A motor home chassis is not titled until the 1st buyer buys the completed unit. The year shown on the title should be the year the whole unit was completed. Sometimes the year shown on the original chassis VIN has been used in error by the licensing authority, judging by reports noted here and other RV forums.

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Yeah, my RV is a 2000 for wiring and plumbing diagrams from Winnebago. But the DMV says it's a 1999.

Looked at some used RV's at dealers. Went to a RV show in Ocala. There are a few new class A's under $100k. New ones we looked at no longer have interior fabrics chosen by old southern church ladies.
Left a phone msg on a local 1994 HR, one owner, 25k miles, asking $7k.

johnd393 said:

Left a phone msg on a local 1994 HR, one owner, 25k miles, asking $7k.

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Looked at the 94 HR Endeavor. Like the other old HR's I've seen the ceiling fabric is separating from it's foam backing. Seller says it's due to Florida heat and not water damage. Outside fiberglass faded. Lower blue part where the basement doors are held up much better. Ford 460 engine sounds good. Another shopper has been promised first chance. We'll leave it.
I wonder if the older HR's with all aluminum skin can withstand the effects of the sun better.

I'm still at this. Mostly watching Craigslist ads. It's not uncommon to see a great deal that screams scam. Sometimes its listed as local but has a phone number in a far away state. Sometimes they respond to emails with a request for my direct email for more info or with a convoluted story that's too weird to believe, or sometimes a web search, for the same ad wording, finds the listing, or a similar one with the same picture, placed in CL ads in several other cities around the country.
My present ad of interest is a mid 80's  28' class A with a Chevy 454 for $2000. The seller has  sent more pictures, I ask more questions and some of what looks bad in the pictures maybe isn't as bad as it looks. It's a full hour drive so I'm finding out as much as I can without making the trip.