2001 Rexhall Roseair 36 Diesel

[garyb1st]

Looked at this unit yesterday and  have a few questions.  I know there are not many Rexhall owners on the forum, at least those that post, but my questions are of a more general nature anyway.  The Roseair is on a Spartan Chassis and has a Cummins 8.3 350 HP engine.  It has a Generac generator which took quite a while to start.  Owner called after we left to state the geny has a choke which he failed to pull causing the geny to flood.  It ran fine once it was going. 

The big concern for me is the current mileage.  It's 39,000 but has had very limited use over the past 3 years.  Maybe 1500 miles or so.  Owner claims to start it every two months and take it for a short, 15 mile drive.  He adds fuel periodically but I don't think he lets the fuel level drop too much.  A few other things that may be minor or typical of motorhomes.

First the windshield wiper blades which are in a vertical position, moved up and down as the motorhome turned  into a parking lot.  This was at a very slow speed.  It was odd to watch the right side move up and down followed by the left side as the motorhome made a sharp left into the lot.  I attributed that to the chassis twisting.  Is that normal?

Second, the exterior storage doors close quite solidly.  But a couple are not flush when closed.  Is that an indication of a twisted frame?

The passenger side windshield has a small crack that the owner claims was fixed with a product that keeps a crack from spreading.  I've heard about the stuff but have no idea if it's long lasting.  Supposedly it was done 5 or 6 years ago.           

The wind noise in the motorhome was so loud I thought the driver had the window open.  Not so.  My F250 is quiet by comparison.  Maybe that's typical of motorhomes but I've heard so many folks talking about how quiet they are.  This one sure wasn't.

The roof had leaked on both sides where the front cap meets the roof.  That apparently a matter of dried caulk, which was fixed.  There was only minor staining. 

Other than that, it needs a set of tires.

Thanks in advance for your responses.   

 

[Koodog]

Not sure I can help with your questions/concerns, but we have a 2002 Aerbus which we love. Purchased it with 47K miles on a Triton V10 motor. We feel ours is very solid, and in immaculate condition. It was stored indoors and taken very good care of. Our genny started hard the first time also , probably because it was never used. It had 21 hours on it when we bought the coach. It purrs like a kitten now and starts quickly. We have added some hours on it.

39K miles on a diesel is nothing in my opinion. That's just barely getting broke in. I had somewhat the same thought about ours prior to purchase, but did some checking on the V10 and found it to be quite a reliable, powerful engine. It has proven to be just that.

We have not experienced the issues the Roseair you looked at have. We have no leaks, wipers work fine, and no cracked windshield. As far as road noise goes I would say ours is not bad. Its a pretty big space up in the front so I didn't expect it to be real quite, especially since it has sliding windows and they do not shut as tight as a car window does.

I can tell you we looked for quite some time for the "right one". We did run into some real pieces of junk out there. Mostly at dealerships. They also wanted way to much money for what they had. We found ours in Oregon. We flew out there because that state seemed to have the most Rexhall's available for sale. Be patient and keep looking. We bought ours from a private seller we found on Craigslist.

After doing some research we were shopping specifically for a Rexhall . We find it to be exactly as advertised. A very comfortable to drive, solid motor home. Being this is our first MH, I really have nothing to compare it to.

Best of luck to you.

 

[billwild]

I am always leary when I see water stains on the ceiling in a motorhome. You cannot tell how much damage is done that does not show. The unit you are looking at seems to have a lot that will need fixing before you would be able to sell when eventually you will do. I would think twice. Tires need replacing, batteries, how much maintenance was done when needed?  That wind noise could indicate the rubber seals around the doors needs replacement. This one has a diesel and they need maintenance annually.

 

[muskoka guy]

you didnt state what the asking price was or what year the model is . if its priced right you might be able to address these issues. if at the higher end of the nada price list id say keep looking.

 

[garyb1st]

Koodog, I've only heard good things about Rexhall.  We're about 50 miles from their factory and if I could take the motorhome there, I'd check it out.

Bill, hadn't thought about the seal around the door.  This unit lives in the hot desert where it's frequently well over 100? in the summer.  I'm sure that sun takes it's toll on everything.   

Muskoka guy, it's a 2001, and they're asking $49,900.  NADA range is 44,400 to 53,490.  I'd offer $40,000 if I get to that point. 


Another question.  It doesn't have a screen door.  Are there after market products available? 

 

[Marsha/CA]

Just FYI, when we were looking at motor homes in 2002 or so, we learned that Rexhall had a class action suit against them for quality control issues.  I don't know if you can research that kind of stuff or not.

We actually were thinking about a 2002 RoseAir when we were looking and found loose hanging wires, bad fitting window screens, and doors that didn't close evenly.  Of course I have to preface this statement with the fact that we only looked at one unit, not several.

Have fun.....searching is a lot of work.

Marsha~

 

[garyb1st]

Thanks Marsha.  That's good to know. 

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I don't think you have any signs of a twisted chassis, but it may be that the front cap is moving around more than it really should. That is not all that unusual in that vintage of RV and not unique to Rexhall. Not something I like to see, but probably not real serious either. The roof caulk problem may be related, but that merely means keeping a close eye on the seam caulking.

The misaligned doors are just that.

The windshield repair is common practice too. Not something to be real concerned about if it is a year or more old and hasn't spread.

But all those little things add up to a coach that is no better than average condition and maybe not quite that. The price would have to be right.

 

[garyb1st]

According to the seller, the Roseair was in a front end collision before he purchased it.  Seller didn't know the extent of damage which had been repaired by the time he purchased it.  That might explain the windshield wiper behavior, roof leak and possibly wind noise I was hearing while the motor home was moving down the highway.  The wind noise was similar to what is heard when a window is not closed tightly.  It was quite annoying.       

We test drove a 2006 Dolphin this afternoon.  It was 35 feet long, had two slides on a workhorse chassis.  Had plenty of power but was unbelievably loud.  That will be the last gasser we look at.  We're going back to the dealer next week to test drive two diesels.  A 2000 Harney Renegade and a 2003 HR Endeavor.  Will start a new thread if either of those look promising.