Hi Everyone. Well, after 15 years the RV-Dreams Community Forum is coming to an end. Since it began in August 2005, we've had 58 Million page views, 124,000 posts, and we've spent about $15,000 to keep this valuable resource for RVers free and open. But since we are now off the road and have settled down for the next chapter of our lives, we are taking the Forum down effective June 30, 2021. It has been a tough decision, but it is now time.
We want to thank all of our members for their participation and input over the years, and we want to especially thank those that have acted as Moderators for us during our amazing journey living and traveling in our RV and growing the RV-Dreams Family. We will be forever proud to have been founders of this Forum and to have been supported by such a wonderful community. Thank you all!!
Hi all! I saw this steal of a deal (half-price) on a 2010 Heartland Big Country that is at a dealer 6 hours away. They sent these pics to show the condition, and as newbies, we do not know exactly what would have caused these issues and whether they are fixable.
So, we would appreciate some immediate help to assess these photos, as we do not want to pass up a good deal if these problems can be somewhat easily remedied with low cost repairs.
1. Driver's side entertainment and desk area - there are terrible abrasion marks in the carpet under the slide carpet on both ends of the slide.
2. There is a large rust spot (about 6 inches wide by 4 inches long) on bottom layer of carpet near the free-standing dinette at the corner of slide near the front door.
I asked if there were any signs of leaks and salesman said, "No," but doesn't rust indicate water? Another salesman I cannot trust!
3. He said that the skirts were faded....I don't know what that means...
rust means moisture.....check slide area real careful for water damage look inside cabinets paying close attention to corner areas for staining and musty (wet odors) could be a long term leak or could have been a short term......pay close attention though water damaged floors or walls that have not been addressed will create severe problems down the line......look very closely...( pretend theres a million cash hidden in there)..at every inch of the coach....then you can weigh out your findings if it is good for you!!!
__________________
1998 ...Harney Renegade DP class A
rers1@mail.com
My Service dog and life partner " Nikki"......Klee Kia Miniature Husky....(she Runs the ship!!)
We are not lost in the Woods.....Just Extreme boondocking!!!!!!
There is a really bad scratch on the back...like it had an impact. And the wheel skirts are peeling. Since it is in FL maybe it went through a hurricane or a bad storm or flood.
Looks like we will pass on this one....back to looking for quality.
-- Edited by two 4 the road on Monday 21st of October 2013 08:18:51 PM
My coach is a 98.....its still off gassing .........happiness is a new car smell !!!!!
Replace carpeting....offgas
flooring ..................offgas
mattress................offgas
plastic bags from grocery store.....offgas
person in seat next to you............offgas
something to think about
offgas in an Rv became an issue when FEMA brought travel trailers in for hurricane victims due to formaldehyde used in the process of making paneling , plywood, laminates.... carpeting....and so on , this big scare causes people to shy away from RV's yet they sit in there homes that are made from the same materials
-- Edited by Lucky Mike on Monday 21st of October 2013 08:36:45 PM
-- Edited by Lucky Mike on Monday 21st of October 2013 08:38:03 PM
__________________
1998 ...Harney Renegade DP class A
rers1@mail.com
My Service dog and life partner " Nikki"......Klee Kia Miniature Husky....(she Runs the ship!!)
We are not lost in the Woods.....Just Extreme boondocking!!!!!!
The only thing I can think of on the skirts is that they have a vinyl cover that fits around the bottom part of the front of the trailer. It also sounds like there were problems with the slide not closing properly so I might be thinking that the moisture entered the coach having that area not fitting properly. I also wonder if the slide has hit something putting it out of alignment or maybe the seals damaged. I would definitely have this inspected if I were interested. I agree with Mike on looking at the coach and also, keep an eye out for black mold which moisture feeds. We had to stay on our toes in AL in order to keep black mold from thriving and it wiped out our neighbor's trailer since they were not as vigilant. Also, is the dealer telling you what a great deal this is? Have you checked prices for similar rigs?
Don't know where you are in relation to Goshen, but this might be a job for the factory. That rust spot might be from something that was just set there and got wet. Does it look like that (nice, man-made shape) or does it look like a leak? Look above for signs of water.
You didn't mention which model you are looking at, so I just picked one of the larger BC models on NADA. They show retail price of about $36,000. You should be able to get that down to $30-32,000, so half price means that you should be looking at $15-16,000 for that one (maybe). Keep in mind that repairs are going to be at your expense, so you could end up paying as much or more for the coach before you are all done. On the other hand, you might be able to do some remodels/upgrades at the same time. For example, if you aren't crazy about the floor covering and the slide needs to be completely removed in order to fix something, that is an excellent time to replace the floor coverings, especially if they need replacing anyway due to damage. You can get what you want installed.
The Big Country is the lowest level of full-time 5'ers that Heartland makes (the Bighorn is the middle one, and the Landmark is the top), so the quality of materials isn't as good as it would be in a more expensive coach. If you are going to do major repairs, you may be able to upgrade the quality of some things while you are doing the job. It doesn't cost any more in labor to install a more expensive component than a cheap one.
In the 16k range....2010 BC 3500RL. Thought it was a good price, but yeah...if it takes $10k to fix, then not such a good deal. I would have replaced the carpets and flooring anyway. We were planning to spend a lot more, but when I saw this, just could not pass up a good deal (if indeed it is) but it seems to be priced for the condition.
Since we are just starting to RV, we thought that it would be a great "test the waters" type of thing due to the low price, but there may be no such animal.
Mechanic says he needs to go see it to give a proper assessment....as I had expected. Will sleep on it to see if it is worth the inspection. Seems like a lot of headaches involved.
Salesman said that it has an open underbelly and there is surface rust throughout from being in Florida....which raises another concern.
He also said that there is no smell of mildew, but there is a "materials odor"....whatever that means....and idea?
I would be concerned about there being no underbelly material since even the much less expensive units have it and I am guessing this unit had it. I have a Buyer's Guide and in the 2013s, they were using polypropylene material on the underbellies of that unit. You are justified in being concerned about the surface rust because that will have to be addressed. Black mold would not have a "mildew" smell and generally it can be cleaned off but leaves a sort of faint black stain on most materials. I get a bad cough whenever it is present. The "materials odor" is probably just the normal smells in an RV when it is closed up from the out gassing of the building materials/carpet/etc. I wonder if it might have been in a storm or something. Obviously, moisture has been a big problem in some shape or form. Lots of RVs out there and one just for you and this may or may not be it.
Yes, still out-gassing after 3 years is a real possibility. It was probably mostly closed up during the hot summer months and the heat will bring the smells out which is actually a good thing. I cannot say they had an underbelly covering in 2010 but we bought a new Salem TT in 1999 and it was an entry level trailer, cheap, and it had an underbelly covering. We always check to see what underbelly covering they have. I wonder if the trailer could have been in high water, gotten wet and they just tore it off to help dry it out. I know that sounds terrible but I am just guessing. I have never seen one that was rusted out like that. When we were in SE AL, Fort Rucker area, we had an 8 year old Jayco Designer and it had no rust. Jayco, for the price, makes a pretty good trailer though and I wouldn't hesitate buying one especially over the Salem (Forest River). We had the one superslide. Also, I know you are asking about it having one A/C and I wonder if it had two and one has been removed. That unit does have great insulation so I am guessing one would/should be sufficient compared to many other units. Something unusual has happened to the unit you are considering in order for the rust to be the way it is.
