Advice on 10 year old trailer in AZ- what reviewed before a 1400 mile tow?

[Nalu]

Hi all.  New to the forum and wanted to get some advice in short order.

Never had a true RV, but have been towing a hitch mount Grady White 282 that weighs in around #11k loaded for quite some time.  LOA is just over 35 from tongue to engines , 13' 4" tall, and 9' 6" wide.  I pull this all over the Northwest with hydraulic disk brakes.  So, I am not new to towing.

I was not looking for a 5th wheel, but one has sort of fell into my lap.  A co-worker had their father pass away in August and is trying to facilitate removal of his property from his residence in Arizona.  His father purchased a 2000 Sunnybrook 31 BWFS in Oregon, had it towed once to Arizona, placed it under a covered roof, and there it has sat since new.  No other tows on it, and basically never used except if a guest wanted to stay the night in it.

I live in Oregon and the co-worker said $5k and I could have it.  From my research that seems pretty reasonable.

My questions are this... What all should I look for in this prior to tow?  Anything that might come to light that would make this a BAD deal?

Based on my years of boat towing experience, I expect to do the following:

1. Replace all 4 tires even though they have no mileage on them.  At 10 years old they have most certainly broken down, especially in AZ heat/sun
2. Inspect/service the axles and hubs.  Check springs and connections to frame.  I would doubt much of an issue since it is dry, but potential problem with rubber bushings that may have broken down.  Hubs/bearings need to be fully removed, inspected, greased, and replaced.
3. Brake inspection and adjustment.  Verify that this should be fine with my controller.
4. Roof inspection-  AZ heat bad on seals?

In addition to this, any suggestions?  Or further suggestions regarding some of the noted things above? 

The co-worker does not have a tow vehicle, does not live in state, and has other pieces of property to attend to.  It's a 2800 mile round trip for me to get the RV, but I will be in the area for the BCS Championship game prior to be able to look at the RV.  From the pics and the description, it is like brand new.

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[donn]

Pull all the wheels, inspect the brakes and repack the wheel bearings.  Install new tires and unless some critters have chewed the wiring you should be good to go.  At least to get it home. 8)

 

[tvman44]

Sounds like a steal to me.

 

[Utclmjmpr]

Sounds like your well on the way to ownership,, your experienced with towing so your aware of the obvious,, one thought, give your self plenty of TIME for the trip, these deals have a way of growing hair.>>>Dan

 

[Nalu]

Sounds like your well on the way to ownership,, your experienced with towing so your aware of the obvious,, one thought, give your self plenty of TIME for the trip, these deals have a way of growing hair.>>>Dan

No doubt about that.  The last two boats I purchased were out of state.  The first in San Diego and I went and towed it back to Oregon.  Learned my lesson about turn around time expectations.  Thank goodness for West Marine and Home Depots that are open late at night in the LA area.  I also learned that I-5 between LA and Sac is concrete with gaps between each section.  What a terrible tow in that portion!  Pulling through the Siskiyous with a big boat was a joy after LA to Sac.

My plan would be to get a recommendation about a reputable dealer in the Phoenix area that could get the axles/hubs/brakes/tires done prior to pickup.  I have a friend in the area that could tow the unit to the service center. 

Any recommendations in the AZ area for reputable trailer service?  I don't want to pick up and take as my luck there would be a brake or axle part that had to be ordered and take 2 weeks to get in.

 

[BernieD]

Any recommendations in the AZ area for reputable trailer service?  I don't want to pick up and take as my luck there would be a brake or axle part that had to be ordered and take 2 weeks to get in.

I have been using Kiss RV for the last couple of years but am not sure if they do trailers, but you can check with them. Scott can be reached at 623-695-2004. They probably don't stock all of the parts that you might need but were very quick about getting what was needed for my coach. And they are only 3-4 miles from University of Phoenix  Stadium. They are very good.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

There are checklists in the RV Forum library that you can use to go through the rig once you have it home.

You've covered the before-trip items pretty well, but I'd add a check of the stop/tail/turn & running lights to the list. They've been corroding away for 10 years, though perhaps the dry Arizona air has been kind to them. It's going to need a battery too - it's required to activate the trailer brakes in the case of a breakaway.

I'd put the value of that trailer at $10,000 or maybe even $12,000 if it is really good shape. You got a good deal even after buying the tires and such.

 

[rsalhus]

LOA is just over 35 from tongue to engines , 13' 4" tall, and 9' 6" wide.

Shouldn't that be 8' 6" wide?

 

[Nalu]

Shouldn't that be 8' 6" wide?

The beam on a Grady 282 is 9' 6", so it "requires" an overwide permit to pull.  Those of us that pull larger offshore boats are used to pulling overwides.  Not a big deal once you are used to it, though it can be tight going through some places, and there are restrictions on certain roads and times you can pull.  At 9' 6" it is not a big deal, but once you get over 10' it gets more sticky.

 

[Nalu]

There are checklists in the RV Forum library that you can use to go through the rig once you have it home.

You've covered the before-trip items pretty well, but I'd add a check of the stop/tail/turn & running lights to the list. They've been corroding away for 10 years, though perhaps the dry Arizona air has been kind to them. It's going to need a battery too - it's required to activate the trailer brakes in the case of a breakaway.

I'd put the value of that trailer at $10,000 or maybe even $12,000 if it is really good shape. You got a good deal even after buying the tires and such.

Thanks for the reply, and I appreciate the suggestion about the lights.  I'll plan on bringing spares bulbs, spare lights, and some wiring items.  I've found that useful on long boat hauls too.  Never would have thought about the battery for the brakes, so thanks!

We feel good about the deal since we weren't really in the market.  We had planned to get a camper soon, but we can make do with this and turn it into a camper in a couple years most likely with little value loss. 

Without having to dig too much, any suggestions on a basic hitch for the bed of the truck?  Since I use my truck for fishing I end up putting a lot of totes and such in it and will not want the hitch in unless I am pulling.

 

[ava]

not sure which side of town the fifthwheel is on, but Genes RV Service on Alma School in Mesa
is very reputable and reasonable. I have not used them personally but was referred to
them myself and have referred others that were very pleased with them. They have a website
that tells you everything they handle, pretty much everything as far as I can tell.
http://www.genesrv.com/

They will be working on mine when it comes out of storage in a few months.

 

[Nalu]

not sure which side of town the fifthwheel is on, but Genes RV Service on Alma School in Mesa
is very reputable and reasonable. I have not used them personally but was referred to
them myself and have referred others that were very pleased with them. They have a website
that tells you everything they handle, pretty much everything as far as I can tell.
http://www.genesrv.com/

They will be working on mine when it comes out of storage in a few months.

Thank you Ava!  The RV is about 11/2 hours West of Phoenix, but a friend should be able to bring it to town for me.

Never been to the area, but looking forward to the BCS Championship Game.  Go Ducks!  I'll look ob Genes when I am there.

BernieD-  Any advice on a couple places to take guests to eat in Goodyear?  I'll be entertaining a couple nights for the Champ game.  Go Ducks!

 

[Lou Schneider]

I also learned that I-5 between LA and Sac is concrete with gaps between each section.  What a terrible tow in that portion!  Pulling through the Siskiyous with a big boat was a joy after LA to Sac.

I just came down that section of I-5, from SF to Arizona.  It's a lot better than it was a few years ago - Caltrans has installed a layer of asphalt over the concrete, smoothing things out quite a bit.

Of course, it remains to be seen how long this lasts before the underlying concrete shifts some more.