What to Buy. Used under 30k.

[pelak036]

Hello. I have found this forum to be the most useful for motorhome information. I'm looking for a solid motorhome with good insulation to drive a couple thousand miles per year. Thinking diesel for the torque and towing capacity. Want to tow vehicle or trailer with UTV. Small chance of wanting to tow flat bed around 14k total loaded.


I think a newmar model is best based on browsing forum. Dutch Star, Mountain Aire.


Let me know your thoughts. Michigan area. Will drive hundreds of miles to purchase / pickup.

[bizzerbiz]

12 years ago I purchased a 2000 Newmar Dutchstar 3865 for 35k and sold it 2 years ago for 29k. And from what I continue to see in used RV'S for sale in my area, you'd be able to get that year vintage or maybe up to 2002.
Can't beat a side radiator for a first time entry into RV'ing. I found the Dutchstar very practical to maintain and easy to drive. Cat 3126 was a great motor with the Heui fuel pump loving very clean motor oil to keep it going. Towing capacity is 10k. Best of luck to you.

[pelak036]

Wow, only 6k depreciation over 10 years of owning! Definitely keeping my eye out for a good condition Newmar around year 2000.


Did you have any inspections done before buying? I'm wary of undisclosed roof issues, etc.
Do you have any tips besides obvious signs of damage?

[d23haynes57]

For a limited budget yes, there are some good deals out there, but you need to consider your ability to accept risk and also support it maintenance wise. After you spend the money to get into it, can you handle a major breakdown? Yes, Diesels are nice, but repairs are costly. A side radiator or related cooling fan failure can be a $10K event. Engine, $30K to $40K. Maybe a newer gassser makes sense. A key part of this is how much maintenance and upgrading can you do yourself. Some thoughts!
If you can't afford to consider its price point when it was new, you may not be able to support it used.
The purchase price just may be the down payment.
Everything for sale has one thing in common, the current owner no longer wants it.
You will not get your money back. The value comes from the use and enjoyment.

[Isaac-1]

Just to give you an idea of the market, my brother in law just bought an entry level diesel pusher 2002 Fleetwood 37 ft diesel pusher a couple of weeks ago for $15K in Amarillo, TX (he flew there to pick it up and drove it 700 miles back home). I saw it last week and I was surprised how good of shape it appears to be in for the price, though of course I did not do a complete inspection. (it does need new tires, new cargo compartment latches, and the vinyl graphics are cracking), so call it $4,000 -$5,000 to make it road ready including tires

[jacwjames]

Just did a quick search on RVtrader.com for a Class A diesel under $30K. There are some listed.


So things to consider
Tires, new set of 6 will be +$4K

Batteries may need replacing, my chassis battery lasts 4 year $270, house batteries 8 years $600.

Bare minimum service would be oil and filter change, air filter, fuel filters, air dyer filter, serpentine belt, transmission service oil & filters, differential fluid change, hydraulic fan drive fluid and filters. Probably $800 if you do it yourself.



My Monaco roof is fiberglass, pretty indestructible but you need to check and seams and the side wall belt molding and top and bottom. Took me 6 days to do the roof cleaning, check seams, and then paint with Rustoleum Topside paint, and then did beltmolding, stripping out all the old caulk, cleaning, and then putting down a bead of Geoflex. I used tap to put down a clean bead. Not much money but time.



Then there is all the appliances. I replaced both my AC's 4 years ago, cost $3K.

If it has a Norcold refrigerator I'd replace, they are a fire hazard, not a matter of if but when. I replaced mine with a residential, $1000 if you do it yourself.



Other stuff can fail, so I'd suggest having a $10K reserve fund or a high limit CC.



I do all my own maintenance and repair, if I didn't we couldn't afford keeping it.

[pelak036]

Thanks for the breakdown of common issues. I'm a diy fixer for basically anything. But good to know a rough estimate.
I'm messaging people on a few ranging frlm $20k and $32k. So far no has provided any useful maintenance records or a professional inspection... I'm not in any hurry, so I'll keep looking and expand my search area. I'm not opposed to flying somewhere and driving back. I did that with my last car to get the perfect one.

[jacwjames]

Originally Posted by pelak036

Thanks for the breakdown of common issues. I'm a diy fixer for basically anything. But good to know a rough estimate.
I'm messaging people on a few ranging frlm $20k and $32k. So far no has provided any useful maintenance records or a professional inspection... I'm not in any hurry, so I'll keep looking and expand my search area. I'm not opposed to flying somewhere and driving back. I did that with my last car to get the perfect one.

FWIW, we wanted to upgrade from a Class C to a Class A DP. We weren't in a hurry, took ~3 years until we found our current coach. Found it in 2008 during the Great Recession, it was a repo, paid ~50% of NADA value and still worth ~75% what I paid for it.

It came with zero maintenance records, I inspected it myself and could not find anything wrong. But when I drove it back to TN first thing I did was take it to a Cummins shop for inspection and service, came back with flying colors.

Even still over the years I had to put money into it. In 2021 I decided to replace both AC's, added a second inverter, new flooring, other stuff, spent ~$6K not including tires and batteries.

Owning a Class A DP isn't for the faint of heart or light of pocket book.

[Goettsch]

It is not uncommon to put 10% of value a year into service and maintainance, then add insurance. Doing most yourself. Any larger repair will be in the thousands more. Research carefully typical cost. A friend with a older very well kept prevost was told 10k a year to keep it in condition. He found that to be true. Just be prepared for unexpected. I have owned four aircraft, every single one of them was cheaper than my motorhome to maintain. Including the twin engine one.

[SafariBen]

Dennis' post #4 is a lot more relevant than post #2, who timed the market amazingly, but otherwise didn't tell you how to be as lucky or wise as he was.



$30k will get you into the territory of a very painful mistake, it won't get you into the confidence of not having to walk away from it somewhere. Initial build quality, or lack there of, twenty some years of wear and tear, and today's labor rates, combine to make maintaining an old RV a consumptive exercise, almost never an investment. As long as you don't expect any resale, then you can enjoy it for what it does, you'll probably get along mostly great.


Doing nearly everything yourself is required, I can't see how anybody would even consider such a purchase unless they had the skills, OR were extremely confident in their mechanics, handymen, etc.

[bizzerbiz]

Originally Posted by pelak036

Wow, only 6k depreciation over 10 years of owning! Definitely keeping my eye out for a good condition Newmar around year 2000.


Did you have any inspections done before buying? I'm wary of undisclosed roof issues, etc.
Do you have any tips besides obvious signs of damage?

No, I had been looking for a long time so I knew what signs to look for cosmetically but not mechanically. I lucked out on that part. It needed 4 tires so that was part of the negotiation. I maintained it meticulously and kept all records, that helped. Obvious signs for water damage would be mold in dark areas, brown staining on ceiling. Cabinet Doors not closing easily together would be an indoor moisture problem. Be patient and look at several either in person or online so you can get a feel of what's Obvious. I do recommend getting an inspection when you find what your looking.

[Shane D]

Originally Posted by pelak036

Hello. I have found this forum to be the most useful for motorhome information. I'm looking for a solid motorhome with good insulation to drive a couple thousand miles per year. Thinking diesel for the torque and towing capacity. Want to tow vehicle or trailer with UTV. Small chance of wanting to tow flat bed around 14k total loaded.


I think a newmar model is best based on browsing forum. Dutch Star, Mountain Aire.


Let me know your thoughts. Michigan area. Will drive hundreds of miles to purchase / pickup.

Just purchased my first DP after years of research and years of TT and 5er RVing.

The problem with older DPs is that depending on how well the previous owners maintained them could result in a $30k difference in repairs/maintenance on a $30k RV. Sometimes when really nice old couples finally decide to sell their rig they haven't went on a trip in 18 months.

-Tread usually doesn't matter....get the DOT month/year number.

-Suspension to include shock absorbers, bags, and the system itself

-Engine. the good thing about a 20 year old diesel is there is plenty of data available to know what might go wrong lol. The years between mechanical injection and HPCR has a history of expensive repairs for fuel system driven problems. If you find a nice mechanical diesel the owner is probably too proud of it...that and it will be 1997 or older.

-gen set. know the pros/cons of LP vs Diesel. most prefer diesel. But be prepared to have it worked on regardless. Remember this thing will power your ACs while you drive down the road as most dash ACs are inop or not enough to keep the coach cool while driving.

-manuals, receipts, records. If you find a coach with four binders of manuals, records, and receipts that's a good sign it was likely maintained.

-know the difference between a fully laid up fiberglass roof made in a mold vs a pressed or glass over material roof.

this is just a start. good luck though.

[Iceclimber]

Originally Posted by pelak036

Thanks for the breakdown of common issues. I'm a diy fixer for basically anything. But good to know a rough estimate.
I'm messaging people on a few ranging frlm $20k and $32k. So far no has provided any useful maintenance records or a professional inspection... I'm not in any hurry, so I'll keep looking and expand my search area. I'm not opposed to flying somewhere and driving back. I did that with my last car to get the perfect one.

Just to be clear, you are expecting sellers to provide "useful" maintenance records and/or a professional inspection at your price range ? I could see expecting good records in the $150k plus range. Also sellers typically don't pay for an inspection. The buyer does.

[pelak036]

I am tempering my expectations after speaking with several sellers...
I have gotten zero maintenance records besides "replaced this x years ago". I'm starting to think this price range is a complete crap shoot.