Community Forums

Mike Brown · 01-01-2018, 05:56 AM

Good morning all and Happy New Year! Hoping this will be the year I get my first motorhome! Planning on looking at a 1998 Winnebago Brave SE (no slide out) this coming weekend! Posted on the Ford Chassis site but would like to know if there are any specific things I should be looking for or questions I should ask concerning the Winnebago side of this rig? I know it has 55,000 miles on it, the electric step is not working and the generator will not start at this time (ran okay in the fall)? Asking price is $11,500. Thanks in advance for any advice you may have for me!

Mike

billgallivan · 01-04-2018, 08:47 AM

that is about what i paid for my 98 sunrise, check dates on tires, as likely they are older. we love ours, but wish it had dual a/c., also check house batteries , as they are also likely to be older.
good luck,,be sure to take it on the highway during your testdrive

billgallivan · 01-04-2018, 08:50 AM

also,,check the vintage forums,,this one seems a little slanted to the new rigs.

FIRE UP · 01-04-2018, 11:27 AM

I second what Billgallihan states. Do check out any and ALL systems, water pump, heater(s), tires, (condition and year of DOT), and many, many more systems. I sometimes think it would be nicer to own an older coach than the one we have which, is really not that much newer than the one you're thinking of. Ours is an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330HP CAT engine.

Fixing, maintaining, altering, etc. of that potential coach of yours is considerably easier than ours. But, that's another story. Anyway, being that it's a '09 and a Ford, I'm gonna presume it's a 7.4L 460 cu.in. I've had two of those and, I loved both of them. All kinds of power. Don't expect any gas mileage though, NO MOTOR HOME get's any form of gas mileage, no matter who tells you they do.

Winnabago's been in business for eons of time and, I think they put out a pretty good line of products. Yeah, they have their issues but, THEY ALL DO, no matter what the brand is. Being that it's a '98, do a really good and thorough inspection of the roof, and each and ever seam, vent, connection point, joints for the front and or rear caps, and all that. Winnes have been using a one-piece fiberglass roof for a long time and, it's a pretty good system but, it does have one drawback.

And that is the roof radius on each side. It is attached to the gutter/side rails via caulking/adhesive ONLY! And, that caulking/adhesive CAN break loose which, can cause the roof to start to separate from the side rails/gutters, NOT GOOD! So, if you find bad sections of caulking/adhesive, not really a big deal. There's plenty of threads about how to go about resealing.

I'm also going to assume that, that year era Ford is using a 4-speed auto. Make sure on your test drives that it shifts smoothly and without issue(s). The interior on most Winnes is pretty good construction and, therefore should not present any issues. But, that's not to say there ISN'T ANY. Anything that old could have issues. Again, no biggie if you're the industrious type, like me. Take things apart, figure out what's needed to repair/replace, and, put it back together, no biggie.
Scott