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FreddieMac · 10-22-2015, 10:05 AM

My wife and I have decided to try and go the used motorhome route. We are looking for a dp and have gotten much advice to have a technician look at it before purchase. How did any of you go about finding a company or technician in an area? What did it cost you?

jeryan59 · 10-22-2015, 02:49 PM

I used a mobile RV tech on mine for the house systems and took mine to Cummins for the mechanical since it had a Cummins engine.

jrusselltx · 10-22-2015, 04:30 PM

You don't say where you are located, but try a Google search for RV Inspection. You may find several that you can consider.

shiggs68 · 10-22-2015, 05:02 PM

The National RV Inspector Association web site has a tab at the top to locate a Certified Inspector. http://nrvia.org/

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JFXG · 10-22-2015, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shiggs68

The National RV Inspector Association web site has a tab at the top to locate a Certified Inspector. http://nrvia.org/......

If you go this route, just be sure you get an inspector who has more than a few months of experience. The NRVIA (notice how they use the same acronym as the National RV Industry Assn?)...... the Inspectors Association is very new, perhaps a year or so, and all the training and certification of the inspectors is basically yet another revenue stream of Workamper News.

This DOES NOT mean that the inspector is not legitimate, or is in any way fraudulent. But may be very light on the experience. Up to you to check before buying.

Good Luck!

John & Diane, fulltiming since '12
'02 DS, FL, 3126, '04 Element

cptdzl · 10-22-2015, 06:42 PM

I agree with jeryan59, get a truck dealership/repair facility to inspect the chassis and powertrain and if your state requires it a state inspection. Maintenance records would be helpful and give you some idea of post purchase expenses to expect. I would check the credentials of a NRVIA inspector before hiring. From my research they have 3 different inspection levels, each more complex/expensive than the previous. I think it also depends on how comfortable your are in learning all the systems and how hands on you will be.

FreddieMac · 10-23-2015, 05:30 AM

Thanks for the information. I am really worried about, the roof, the generator and the engine. I will look into these options.

Ramets · 10-23-2015, 06:19 AM

No.#1 on your list should be maint. records. You didn't say what years you would be looking at. Remember it doesn't matter which name coach you choose, they'll only be as good as how well they've been taken care of.

shiggs68 · 10-23-2015, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JFXG

If you go this route, just be sure you get an inspector who has more than a few months of experience. The NRVIA (notice how they use the same acronym as the National RV Industry Assn?)...... the Inspectors Association is very new, perhaps a year or so, and all the training and certification of the inspectors is basically yet another revenue stream of Workamper News.

This DOES NOT mean that the inspector is not legitimate, or is in any way fraudulent. But may be very light on the experience. Up to you to check before buying.

Good Luck!

John & Diane, fulltiming since '12
'02 DS, FL, 3126, '04 Element

Yes, the NRVIA is relatively new. However, it is an independent organization attempting to provide some standardization in a new and uncontrolled industry. Unlike the Home Inspection industry which does not have any standards.

Yes, there is a member company which is associated to Workampers but many members are totally independent members with years of their own experience. The Workampers associated member does have three pricing levels but other members are free to set their own charge rates.

As a side note, I'm not a member of either organization, but do believe in the attempt to standardize the inspection process and ethics. Just trying to correct any mis-information.

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montyhp · 10-23-2015, 07:56 AM

I am a relative newbie, I have been looking for a DP for about 2 months, but here is my experience:

In some ways the experience of the inspectors matters much less than the fact that they are independent from the seller. Even the best, most experienced inspector can miss something (or something can be wrong that is not really discoverable until it breaks down). However, an abused coach will show to any inspector.

I have looked seriously at two coaches from consignment lots. Both lots claimed to have done a thorough inspection upon receipt of the coach and promised a thorough PDI if you agree to purchase. Both coaches had major engine problems ("we can't get it started, must be bad batteries").

I took the advice of those on the forums and had inspections of both coaches. On the first, I had a Cat technician come to read the engine codes. The codes would not read because the transmission was signaling that it was in gear. Once the technician was able to override that condition he found so many codes that the buffer was full. The codes indicated both engine and transmission problems. He said he needed more time to do a full diagnosis, but I already owed him $600. This coach looked immaculate. It was a 2007 that was below blue book. Needless to say I walked away.

The next coach was a 2005 model. We really liked this one (my wife loved the layout). It too was a clean coach. This time a had a company bring two technicians, one for the engine and chassis and one for the house. The engine was in need of immediate overhaul (41,000 miles), because there was so much blow by. Also the brake and fuel lines were rusted away. The house techinician could not get the electrical system to work. Every time he started an appliance (awning, AC, refer) the breakers would blow. He pulled down a panel over a storage cabinet and found non-standard wiring. I stopped the inspection there. I paid a total of $800.

So I am $1500 in and haven't made an offer on a coach. Part of the problem is I was looking at consignment lots where there a lot of coaches to choose from. However, they won't let you take the coaches off the lot so you have to use mobile technicians (more $).

I offered to give the salesman on the second coach a copy of the inspection reports to pass to the owner, but he refused. He said he would drop the price of the coach down by $10k and someone would buy it. (BEWARE!)

Now I am looking at two other coaches. The first one (a 2001) has full maintenance records since 2003. The coach has had every scheduled maintenance plus many repairs during that time. The other coach (a 2005) the owners claims that he is selling it for his mother and she may have maintenance records but he is not sure. In either case, I will ask the owner to take to coach to the local Cat/freightline shop for a check of the engine and chassis. That will save me significant money over a mobile technician.

I am leaning toward the 2001 because the owner has been very straightforward with maintenance records and discussion of how they used it. Hope to get a look at it in person Sunday when the rain lets up.

Monty

akadeadeye · 10-23-2015, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FreddieMac

My wife and I have decided to try and go the used motorhome route. We are looking for a dp and have gotten much advice to have a technician look at it before purchase. How did any of you go about finding a company or technician in an area? What did it cost you?

Go visit a couple of nearby RV Parks, or call them and ask the management for a referral. RV techs are often called to come and work on an RV while it's parked at an RV park and the RV owner usually gives feedback to the RV park people. We have found a couple of them this way.

Don

shiggs68 · 10-23-2015, 12:06 PM

Montyhp, I understand your $1500 investment thus far. You should also realize that the cost of the inspection and the cost of any repairs can be negotiated into the final price to recover some of your investment.

Also, your comment on independent is right on. As a NRVIA member, the inspector must pass an ethics exam that basically says your inspection results cannot cause a financial gain as a result of repairs made by the inspector or the company he works for. Independent third-party.

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alpha99 · 10-26-2015, 06:38 AM

You're getting ripped off by these inspectors, they should be charging a flat rate of no more than $300 at the most.

There is no way I'd pay $1,500 on coaches I don't own! Negotiate the inspection fee in advance or walk away. It shouldn't cost more than $300, which is also the standard rate to inspect an entire house in the real estate market!

Cheers!

Kiawah · 10-26-2015, 07:21 AM

Quote:

You're getting ripped off by these inspectors, they should be charging a flat rate of no more than $300 at the most.

There is no way I'd pay $1,500 on coaches I don't own! Negotiate the inspection fee in advance or walk away. It shouldn't cost more than $300, which is also the standard rate to inspect an entire house in the real estate market!

Alpha99,

Just how is it.......that you would realistically negotiate the inspection fee, into a coach that you don't end up buying? No seller is going to agree to pay for some inspector, and then you decide you're not going to buy the coach for some reason.

If you were selling your coach, and I showed up and said I wanted to take it to a bunch of places to have things inspected .....you might say yes go ahead, but I doubt you'd agree to pay for whatever those charges might be. I may never get to the point that I'm willing to buy it, and we haven't agreed on a price yet, since I don't know what kind of condition the coach is in and risk I'd have. If you pay for my inspections and I don't buy, then are you going to pay for whomever the next buyer wants to take it to for their inspections as well?