'88 Fleetwood Rally

[MeganStu]

A cousin died and the family is going to sell the RV. I am considering buying it. As the caretaker of my elderly, frail 90 year old mother, it would be nice to get away. She would be comfortable in an RV and we could get away from the house. My question is this: the 24 foot Rallye has 28k original miles, a Ford 400 something engine. From what I have seen and know about the family, the Rallye was nicely taken care of--however, it was stored on driveway in sunny Southern Calif. Interior is nice, not faded and not a dent, scratch or other wear to be seen. This would be my first RV, and I am concerned about the age of the vehicle. Can anyone give me some pointers as to whether this would be a good purchase? Would love to purchase a newer model but that would be in the future. Any suggestions, remarks or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Meg

[leadman]

I bought a 88 Itasca on a '87 Chevy P30 chassis almost a year ago. Being a mechanic and shop foreman I knew there would be work to do, and there still is.
RVs can deterioriate just a fast sitting as being used. The tires dry rot, same with belts and hoses. Seals dry out in the drivetrain.
Mine had the old style electric convertor that had a coil in it. Had the generator running and it stalled, when the coil deenergized it sent a spike thru the wires and zapped the new digital tv. I replaced it with a new convertor that does not do this. If I would have had to pay to have this done it probably would have been $600 or so, I did it for less than $200. The convertor changes 110v to 12v to charge the batteries and also powers the 110v appliances.
Not saying the Mh you might buy will have problems like this or more but most of them do, even when they are almost new. Remember the movie Money Pit? That is pretty much a Motorhome.

[Gary - K7GLD]

A 'getaway" for fun and relaxation, in a 24 foot MH involving a 90 year old parent sounds more like an invitation to disaster, than fun - even if you get along REALLY well in larger surroundings...