How old is too old? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

How old is too old?

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

I don't know if there is an age limit. I've seen some very nice older rigs, vintage even, and they are still going strong. I think if a rig is cared for, regular maintenance, preventative maintenance, then the sky is the limit.

The Wanderlodge is one brand I wouldn't mind owning. Well built, and the factory can upgrade the interior. They might be old on the outside, but the inside can be brand new.

Prevost, well let's just say they are beyond my reach, unless I win the lottery...

Roz · RV-Dreams Family Member

David,

In selecting a good value in a used RV, whether truck and fiver or motorhome, first narrow your search to the manufacturers who have been quality focused, as their units will last much longer.

Second, it makes more sense to consider older, top of the line units than newer medium or lower offerings of the same brand. Manufacturers use the better components in their higher up models. This is one reason they last.

And most importantly, seriously consider only units that have been meticulously maintained by the owner. You mentioned nameplates that are known to provide years of service. Our 2004 MH is in virtually new condition withou all the bugs we had to work out when new.

It is easy to fall in love with cosmetics. As others have stated, carpet, fabric other materials can be replaced. The true value in any used equipment is its original quality and how the previous owner has kept maintained every facet of the vehicle.

Some of the better values will not be offered by dealers. You simply must take the time to do your homework, take the time to the weigh floor plans, the quality and condition of the RV and how it has been maintained. Before buying any RV pay a certified RV tech to look for good reasons you should not buy. No used unit will be perfect, but neither are new units straight from manufacturers.

There are some significant values available. Research what you want, need and patiently continue looking until you find the one that will come the closest to your ideal.

Jim01 · RV-Dreams Family Member

We just traded our 1992 Beaver Marquis for a newer MH. It was a high-end coach in 92, and served us well for many years. We were starting to have problems with parts availability and finding someone who could work on the older unit.

Wanderlodge was a very good coach and there are some very nice ones still out on the road. One thing I would think about is finding someone who could still work on the 71 series or 92 series Detroit 2 cycle engines that were in most of them. (I think the older Prevost used that engine also).

They haven't made that engine for quite awhile, and believe me, (I used to work on them), you need to have someone who really knows what they are doing. They're not like any other engine on the market today.

We also started running into parts problems for our Webasto diesel fired furnace that was in our Beaver. Most of the parts were available if we were willing to wait for them to be shipped over from Europe.

So yes, an older high quality coach can be a good deal and there are many of them still out there, but you have to think about what will happen if you have a problem and need parts or need to find someone who still knows how to work on it while you're out on the road.

Jim

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

Really the only issue is some RV parks and resorts have an age limit for RVs. A lot of the parks use this only as a way to stop ugly, beat up or undesirables from coming into the park. Most seem to use 10 years as the cut off.

However, if you have a beautifully restored older RV and send them photos most parks will accept your RV.

Remember most DP MH are based on commercial drivetrain which is designed for a million miles or more service. It's rare that you would find an RV that is even close to the million mile mark. You do need to make sure the interior and exterior components are well built and will hold up after 10 plus years of travel.

If you have a large wallet or are a great mechanic, electrician, wood worker, fabricator and plumber then an older RV, especially a well built one like a wanderlodge, is doable.

http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com/ read through this blog to get a feel for how much can go right or go wrong with an older RV. Luckily, this gentleman is a great mechanic and has a big wallet so he is able to maintain a very nice older RV. He bought it used and has rebuilt it from ground up.

-- Edited by The Bear II on Wednesday 24th of August 2011 12:09:02 PM

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

I was half asleep when I posted last night, and I got some of the numbers W-A-A-A-A-Y off!

Here's what I found (and wrote down) tonight:
1998 37' Holiday Rambler Endeavor $37,000
1998 36' Monaco Diplomat $39,000
1986 Wanderlodge PT38 $42,500
1987 Wanderlodge PT38 $40,000
1986 Wanderlodge PT40 $42,500

Didn't find any Prevosts in this price range. You see my point, though. The Wanderlodges are 11-12 years older than the other two. The asking price is higher, but those are private sellers, whereas the first two are from PPL. I'm guessing that the PPL prices are much closer to what those rigs will actually sell for than the Wanderlodge prices. The Wanderlodges are a quarter of a century old. While the engine and transmission may be designed to run a million miles, that isn't the issue. How much rust and metal fatigue might there be in something that old? As Jim01 mentioned above, those old engines haven't been made for some time now, and there are fewer and fewer mechanics who are able to work on them, and parts are harder to come by.

Another concern is that those older rigs seem to get only about 5-6 mpg, whereas the newer ones are in the 8-10 mpg range. Over 5000 miles (what we think we would put on the RV in a year), the difference between 5 mpg and 8 mpg is 375 gallons. At $4.50/gallon, that's nearly $1700/year.

On the other hand, the biggest attraction to the Wanderlodge for me is the safety issue. They are simply much stronger, since they are made of steel.

I'm on the Wanderlodge Owners Group forum, but obviously they are biased toward them. What am I overlooking as we try to figure out what we want for a FT rig? I'm capable of doing some of my own work, but I know that, no matter what brand of DP we get, I'm not going to be able to do my own oil changes in the campground. I've renovated a couple of houses, but I've not done much on an rv.

Thoughts and comments, please.

flickeringtorches · RV-Dreams Community Member

A buddy of mine just bought a 1988 Coachmen 36 Mark V for $16k. It's in beautiful shape inside and out. Bed in the back, shower, toilet and sink on the drivers side, closet space opposite, tile flooring in the bathroom and in the aisle, nice kitchen setup with a steel sink, oven, lots of cabinets, two TVs and VCR (no DVD--electronics are dated although the TVs are flatscreen), couch that becomes a bed, table and seats for two. No slideouts. Swivel seats up front. DP--Detroit Diesel with an Allison transmission, only 100k miles--just breakin' it in! biggrin He just got it this week. He's taking a trip to the coast with the wife and son to see how it does, and then it's off to Canada to see grandkids. I was amazed to see he got his rig before me. Now the pressure's on to get my act together and get one myself! biggrin

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

Just my observations. The folks I've seen with older or vintage models...they really know how to work on them. It's a passion for them, to keep their rigs in top working condition. If that doesn't sound like you then I would recommend you buy a newer rig, with a build date that starts with a 2 instead of a 1.

Alie and Jims Carrilite · RV-Dreams Family Member

We bought a 1996 Carri Lite this spring that is in excellent shape.
I don't know if I would full time in it, But we do half-time in it.
As long as its sound, no rot, good roof, major appliances work, and it feels good to you I say its workable.