Wanna be RV owner looking for help please!

[scottishlad]

Hi there, I'm hoping the group can help with some thoughts and suggestions on buying an older RV motor home.

I'm trying to convince my better half that buying an RV would be a good thing to do for us and our three kids. However she's not too crazy about spending the $30K, $40K and more for the RV's that we've been looking at( mostly later year with a slide).

To this end we've started looking at "older RV's" that are much cheaper. We recently viewed a 1992 class A Gulf Stream Crown Regis that a local dealer had just taken in on trade. It's in overall good condition both inside and out and certainly seems to be more "upmarket" than a lot of other older ones that we've looked at. According to the dealer the previous owners had it just over a year. It has 99000 miles on the clock and shows 28? hours on the generator. dealer says he's planning to price it at around $10K (after he fixes a crack in the fiberglass on the drivers side).


During their ownership the PO's replaced the engine, dealer has receipts that show approx $6K spent on motor.
My question is with this mileage on the RV what other failing items could I expect to see? Is this the sort of mileage where furnaces or refrigerators start to go toes up? The generator usage seems strangely out of whack with the overall coach mileage. If the gen has gone "around the clock" (as I suspect) on the hours used indicator is this another time bomb?

Does anyone on the forum have any knowledge of this manufacturer and this model, reliability, longevity, desirability etc?

Also what are the groups thoughts on the price of the unit? I could only find one Crown Regis in the whole country when I was searching the online classifieds.

Thanks in advance for any and all help. Regardless of how this one turns I'm hoping to be a new RV owner soon!!

thanks
Blair

[scottishlad]

Hi there, I'm hoping the group can help with some thoughts and suggestions on buying an older RV motor home.

I'm trying to convince my better half that buying an RV would be a good thing to do for us and our three kids. However she's not too crazy about spending the $30K, $40K and more for the RV's that we've been looking at( mostly later year with a slide).

To this end we've started looking at "older RV's" that are much cheaper. We recently viewed a 1992 class A Gulf Stream Crown Regis that a local dealer had just taken in on trade. It's in overall good condition both inside and out and certainly seems to be more "upmarket" than a lot of other older ones that we've looked at. According to the dealer the previous owners had it just over a year. It has 99000 miles on the clock and shows 28? hours on the generator. dealer says he's planning to price it at around $10K (after he fixes a crack in the fiberglass on the drivers side).


During their ownership the PO's replaced the engine, dealer has receipts that show approx $6K spent on motor.
My question is with this mileage on the RV what other failing items could I expect to see? Is this the sort of mileage where furnaces or refrigerators start to go toes up? The generator usage seems strangely out of whack with the overall coach mileage. If the gen has gone "around the clock" (as I suspect) on the hours used indicator is this another time bomb?

Does anyone on the forum have any knowledge of this manufacturer and this model, reliability, longevity, desirability etc?

Also what are the groups thoughts on the price of the unit? I could only find one Crown Regis in the whole country when I was searching the online classifieds.

Thanks in advance for any and all help. Regardless of how this one turns I'm hoping to be a new RV owner soon!!

thanks
Blair

[RV Wizard]

Blair, welcome to our website and forum. I am not very knowlegable on the particular model of Gulfstream you mention. I do own a Scenic Cruiser that they still make. There are a lot of good buys out there in the used market. I would recommend you do some homework (like your doing now) and take your time to make a decesion. You can always go to www.nada.com for an idea of the value. I would always look at the lower price they list. The generator would be far better off if it has been used than not. They should be run a minimum of 2 hours a month; loaded down with a 50% load. I might recommend you have a mechanic you trust look over the drive drain and be aware that the refrigerator could be a major expence if replacement of cooling unit is needed. Let me know if I can be of anyfurther help.

[C Driver]

Hi Blair
Ditto on what Mike mentioned. Check the units you look at very carefully for water leakage, seals, etc. and use the NADA site for pricing. If you can get the dealer to give you at least a 30 day, or more, warranty on everything.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Another potentially large expense to check up on is the tires. RV tires usually die from age rather than tread wear - a tire has a usable life of only 5-7 years whether it is driven or not. Beyond that, blowouts will occur at most any moment (usually at the most inconvenient time!). Every tire has a date of manufacture coded on its sidewall, so you can check them. Don't be tempted to use old tires because they "look good". They WILL fail quickly if they are older than about 6 years. At 5 years you might elect to use them for a short time, but you will need to budget for tires within 12 months and new tires may be as much as $350 each, depending on size. 16 inch tires will be much less, around $130-$175, but 19 and 22 inch tires are EXPENSIVE.

The date code may be on the front or back sidewall and will be at the end of a string of numbers starting with DOT. The last group of 3 or 4 digits will be the week and year of manufacture. If it is 3 digits, the tire was built before 1/1/2000 and is read as WWY. If 4 digits, it was made after 1/1/2000 and is read as WWYY. WW is the week of manufacture (01 = first week of year) and Y (or YY) is the year of the decade. If Y is a single digit, the decade was probably 1990's and is usually followed by a small triangle to distinguish it from the 1980's vintage.

[full-timer]

Try all appliances out,water heater(make sure it is full of water,stove top,oven furnance,air conditioner,frig which will take up to 4 hours to see if working. Fill all tanks to check for leaks. Turn on water pump open lines see if pump working then shut off and wait awhile to see if it comes on if it does you may have a leak in the lines somewhere. Empty holding tanks to make sure they are not plugged up. Just go over everything close. Don't get in a hurry and buy. There are plenty of good ones out there.
Remember don't fall in love with anything that can't love back.
Joe
An Indian and a Gypsy

[troth]

scottishlad, I've read your post several times. In my humble opinion, I'd look for other coaches, not the one you address here. My personal thoughts are too many miles and too many potential problems. There's a lot of other fish in the sea of RVs out there. Find one that's been kindly used, has 50,000 miles, and one where you can talk to the prior owner about the systems & problems he's resolved. There's a lot of good advice on the threads here above mine; keep in mind some of these issues (tires, refrigerator, etc) can run you some significant expense to correct.

[RUFINIT]

You are getting alot of good advice. Unless you are prepared for breakdowns of appliances, plumbing, chassis etc. I would recommend you find a newer unit with less use. You can spend less, like the one you found, but you will add dollars and frustrations, ruined vacations etc when you need to do repairs. Sounds like you aren't real familiar with RV systems, therefore you will be taking your coach into a repair facility and $75 to $100 per hour for repairs.

You can find a not too used gas class A in the $40,000 range that will be in good shape and give you many years of service. It may be money well spent. You have to decide on that one. Good luck in your hunt for the right rv for you.

[scottishlad]

Many thanks to all that replied with advice and things to watch out for. I'm planning to go back and take a longer, closer look at this coach before I make a final decision on it and I'll be sure to utilize the good advice I've been given here.

As Fulltimer said "there are plenty of good ones out there" . So if this one doesn't work then I'm sure there's one somewhere that will.

Many thanks to all.

Blair

[nush]

take a look at class c moho. they are best for kids. rving is a great escape. class c moho are great starters. you can find a better deal on class c moho then what you have found in a class a. that will make the wife happy for now. once she has the experience, you will be able to upgrade. you are on the right track for your family.

[Ken and Faye]

Scottishlad, If the Gulf Stream chassis and drive train are in solid condition and the engine is new, I would take a chance with it. At $10,000 you could spend another $10,000 on repairs and still have a really nice RV for only $20,000 total. You can buy a newer one for $30,000 to $40,000 and still end up spending more money fixing things. If you don't mind the time and frustration of getting it the way you want it, I'd buy it and take my chances. Ken

[motorjock]

Have you considered a travel trailer? They are often much less expensive than a motor home and you don't have to tow a car behind you. Plus you'll have a vehicle for sight seeing once you get where you're going.