Fix old trailer? Buy a new one? School bus conversion?

[nicole14]

Is it worth it to fix my 20 year old trailer or should I look for something newer?

A few years ago I bought a travel trailer that's now 20 years old. I lived in it full time (except for a few months, which caused a lot of problems). It was parked in a lovely little community with power, water, and sewer. I did not need a tow vehicle.

I'm going to be moving out of my community once I get things sorted out and am planning to live much more on the road. I like rural places and want to be able to do a lot of "boondocking". I'm a single woman, so safety is a concern. I'll also be staying around cities sometimes to visit folks.

Your site has been super helpful before and I'd appreciate any advice you want to offer.

Here are some of my biggest concerns about my trailer:

1. Rats/mice. They are gone now and their entries are sealed up, but they sure left a terrible mess. This happened during those few months that I wasn't able to live in my trailer. The whole area along the heating ducts was a pathway for them and I had to remove all the ducting, access doors, panels, etc to clean. And still I can't really get that area fully cleaned. There are screws holding various tubes to the floor, and because of the angles of the structure for the kitchen/bathroom area, it looks like I would need to entirely disassemble that whole end of the trailer if I want to clean this for real. I tried some enzyme sprays but I want my home to be actually clean and not just smell clean-ish.
2. Leaky slide out. All the seals around this are old and cracked and don't keep it water-tight. I had an electrician come to disconnect the ceiling lamp because water and electricity don't mix. I want to be able to enjoy my home even in rainy place, so this would need to be fixed. Probably full slide out roof replacement based on what I've been reading.
3. Heating/cooling/fridge/hot water. My trailer is hooked up to city power to run space heaters, the built-in air conditioner, the little dorm fridge I got when the built-in fridge died and a replacement was looking at $1,000+, and my Hot Rod for the water heater. There is also a 12V battery up front near the space for the propane tanks, and that battery seems to power the overhead lights, the water pump, and the slide out motor, but I don't know how to power anything else without that city hookup. Is this something I can easily buy some solar panels or a generator to resolve, or is this a big project? I want to be able to go to places that have high or low temps and still be fairly comfortable inside my home.

And then there's just all the general stuff off it being old like dingy blinds, some rust on the underside, needing a good paint job, replacing the laminate flooring.

Can you please give me an idea of how much it might cost to get this trailer in a good condition to live away from city power, to be clean, fix the slide, etc? What are the things I'm not even thinking about that I should be?

[tnrver]

IMO look for something newer and in better condition.

Rat & mice feces carry disease

Water leaks you're never really sure how much damage is done until you get into it

You could be throwing good $$$ into bad .


But if you know someone that can look at it and knows what they're looking at then they can advise you the best route to take...…..Good luck

[A32Deuce]

Steel Rubber has a line of RV seals. They cover just about any type of seal you could need if you want to go that way. They make rubber seals for the collector car market, so it is good. You will have to look under your TT at tires,brakes, springs and the hardware that mounts all of it. Plus you have wiring for lights and brakes under there to check. Also the condition of the frame itself. Make sure it is not rusted through and all the brackets and mounts are in good condition. Does everything inside work properly or will some have to be replaced. There is a lot to inspect and consider.

[nicole14]

Originally Posted by tnrver

IMO look for something newer and in better condition.

Rat & mice feces carry disease

Water leaks you're never really sure how much damage is done until you get into it

You could be throwing good $$$ into bad .


But if you know someone that can look at it and knows what they're looking at then they can advise you the best route to take...…..Good luck

Thank you for this reply. The rats have been gone for a while and we were told that there is not a disease risk at this point. Just the yuck factor.

For the leak, is there any way to investigate the damage to the slide out without actually removing the roof and needing to commit to full repair?

[nicole14]

Is this something that I could take it to a regular mechanic for? An RV shop? I'm concerned if I go to an RV shop that they are just going to pressure me into buying something from them regardless of the condition of my trailer.

[Arizona]

Sounds like it has lots of problems. There is a market for it as hunting camps. I would have a knowledgeable person ( find someone in an Rv Park near you and offer lunch) to go look at a few on Craigslist within your budget. There are lots of well cared for trailers for good prices. Good roof is most important. Paying an Rv shop to fix or replace things gets expensive fast.
Good luck

[nicole14]

Originally Posted by Arizona

Sounds like it has lots of problems. There is a market for it as hunting camps. I would have a knowledgeable person ( find someone in an Rv Park near you and offer lunch) to go look at a few on Craigslist within your budget. There are lots of well cared for trailers for good prices. Good roof is most important. Paying an Rv shop to fix or replace things gets expensive fast.
Good luck

Thank you for the advice.

So next... How do I figure out what kind of new home to buy?

[A32Deuce]

Do you have a pickup truck to tow a tt. Maybe a Class C,would do the trick. Or maybe a small Class A. Where you want to go and do will help you decide. Smaller driveable s allow you to get around with out a towd behind. One might cancel out the other price wise. A lot to think about.

[monkey]

Maybe a class B , or conversion van ???? Unless you can do a lot of work yourself, sounds like a lot of money to "restore" an older trailer....

[nicole14]

Originally Posted by A32Deuce

Do you have a pickup truck to tow a tt. Maybe a Class C,would do the trick. Or maybe a small Class A. Where you want to go and do will help you decide. Smaller driveable s allow you to get around with out a towd behind. One might cancel out the other price wise. A lot to think about.

I don't have a truck currently but am open to it. Ive also seen that class As can tow a small car behind them, and that would be handy because then I could go into town just in my little car when I need. But I can sell the small car and get a truck if needed.

I want to be able to go out into nature places like natl forests, mountains, etc. I'd like to spend a while in Alaska, and the temps there can get to -40, so insulation is important. Or I can go warmer places in winter than Alaska.

I'm a big fan of California coast also, and some of those roads had turns that worry me with a long rig. But I don't want to get something too small and then need to sell it in a couple years if I partner up with someone or have some kids.

I love Wyoming as well, and I don't think that there would be as much issue with sharp turns, but I don't want to be limited to just flat places like Wyoming.

I want to make sure I'm either going to spend max 5k getting this current trailer livable for the next year or so while I get more experience with road living, or spend maybe 50k on something that I can see myself living in full time for 10 years. I don't know how reasonable this is and I'm hoping to get advice from folks like you who know more than me.

[A32Deuce]

We bought a class C and tow a car trailer since our SUV can't be towed 4 down. We have a 2012 and few problems with it. On here it looks like anything newer then 2014 has problems. Not bad if you are handy. Trucks new/used hold their value, so that route could be expensive. Size of the PU also will determine the size trailer to safely tow. You will have to do a lot of research to get an idea on size and cost to suit your needs. There are various sizes of driveable s that can tow a car. Just need to see what will suit your needs.

[nicole14]

Originally Posted by A32Deuce

We bought a class C and tow a car trailer since our SUV can't be towed 4 down. We have a 2012 and few problems with it. On here it looks like anything newer then 2014 has problems. Not bad if you are handy. Trucks new/used hold their value, so that route could be expensive. Size of the PU also will determine the size trailer to safely tow. You will have to do a lot of research to get an idea on size and cost to suit your needs. There are various sizes of driveable s that can tow a car. Just need to see what will suit your needs.

I don't understand some of this. "towed 4 down"? What newer than 2014 has problems?

[A32Deuce]

4 down is towing a car with a tow bar, 4 wheels on the ground. Tow dolly is 2 front wheels on the dolly for front wheel drive cars. Problems sound like as the economy picked up the workmanship on some RVs got sloppier. Not saying all of them, but many more then I ever had with ours. Just read here and on other forums. It almost seems there are as many complaints against as there are for. Dealer seems to be the biggest problem getting things fixed. Just do good research on units and dealers. Also, If you didn't buy from them, they don't have to fix it. That seems to be the dealers game now.

[rvethereyet]

Originally Posted by nicole14

Is this something that I could take it to a regular mechanic for? An RV shop? I'm concerned if I go to an RV shop that they are just going to pressure me into buying something from them regardless of the condition of my trailer.

That is funny. once they give you the cost of estimated repairs they will not have to apply pressure.