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HighMilage · 03-12-2016, 02:37 PM

Was hoping someone here could guide me in the right direction. There is a 96 TS 5er for sale near me for $4000, I am not sure what model it is as I could not find the info on it. However, it has 2 slide outs, one for the living room and one for he master bed. The trailer (To my eyes) looks OKAY, but the floor under the living room slide is badly rotted underneath (If you look under the slide there is a hard plastic sheet covering the bottom and the one corner is a bit exposed, upon inspection of this corner you can see crumbling plywood). I also noticed that on the other end of the slide, also underneath it, you can see what looks like rotting of the fiberglass (is that possible?) at the floor seam. Now I am interested in this trailer, but I don't want to buy a money pit. Oh, the sealant on the roof is cracked, but not pealing. Is this an issue? I would reseal the whole unit if I were to buy it. Can you guys give me your more educated opinion on this trailer?

Here is the trailer (Please let me know if I am not allowed to post links)

Half Dimes · 03-12-2016, 04:34 PM

How handy are you? The rot won't get better and it will very likely get worse without attention. Given an appealing purchase price, if you were to invest sweat equity you might come out ahead. Personally, rotted floors are not a project I would tackle.

I would recommend finding an unbiased professional to check the rig stem to stern, much like a home inspection. At least you would have a better idea of what you are facing. Any expense for the inspection would be money well spent whether you purchase or not.

HighMilage · 03-12-2016, 04:58 PM

I consider myself to be fairly handy, but I am by no means even familiar with RV construction. That does not mean I am unwilling to learn however. As for an inspector, how can I find one? Just search "RV inspector"? (Funny thing is, that turns up the place that is selling the camper). I did some more research and from what I can find, these campers usually hand in the 10K-14k range for price. Does that sound correct? Basically, I'm trying to see if the repair costs would be justified.

Half Dimes · 03-12-2016, 05:07 PM

If I was to look for someone to inspect an RV, I would go with recommendations from others. Definitely not someone recommended by the selling dealer. Easier said than done depending on where you live, I guess. As to price, the best you can do is some level of comparison shopping both on-line and in person if there's other used RV dealers in your vicinity. Sounds like you may have already done that.

Regarding the slide floor, here's a you-tube video about a floor repair:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItckXrP8wa0

Don't forget to check tire age on the unit as well. Anything over 5 or 6 years old should be replaced even if the tread looks good. Good luck.

clifford j · 03-12-2016, 05:09 PM

Consider paying yourself 20 bucks an hour and you spend 100 hours to fix the 5er. 4 grand for the unit and 2 grand for labor ,6 grand is still a lot less than the going rate for units like you have. Aside from the damage you found, make sure that's all there is to fix.

CLIFF

HighMilage · 03-12-2016, 06:01 PM

OK well this is how I did my inspection (Keep in mind that I do not have any prior experience), First thing I did on arrival was inspect for obvious damage and I found:

1. slight damage to rear bumper
2. cracked sealant on roof
3. rotten plywood under larger slide
4. minor rust on frame near bumper

Next I checked the tires:

1. Excellent condition
2. Age is 6 years (Bad, from what I have been told)

I then moved to the inside, where I checked:

1. Insides of cabinetry throughout the trailer
2. solidness of floor and walls
3. condition of frig
4. water stains

And I found:

1. Possible staining of ceiling in one cabinet
2. Horrible wreaking of frig as it was left closed

There is also really bad odor from a smoking, I found that and O-zone machine will remove the odor and some good elbow grease for the staining.

Did I miss anything...?

Also, I want to thank those who have responded thus far, as this is all new to me and it is nice to have more experienced people to guide you.

**TonyDi** · 03-12-2016, 08:29 PM

If you are able to replace the flooring yourself. You'll be in good shape. The water stain in the cabinets are most likely from the cracked roof sealant. That's easy to redo. If the tires are bad that can be a significant expense. Get a quote on tires and you should then be able to come up with what the true cost will be to you.

Best of Luck. Let us know what you decide.

Happy Trails!!!

HighMilage · 03-13-2016, 10:58 AM

So from what I gather, the census is that this camper (given the described condition) is well worth the asking price if I am willing to put in some work. Is this accurate?

t55watson · 03-13-2016, 11:09 AM

On NADA Guides they list that trailer as a 33 ft. The bigger ones all had 3 slides. Avg. retail was $8000 =/-. I dont think you will find a rig that old that doesn't need some repairs, that is why people trade them. Good luck.

HighMilage · 03-13-2016, 12:46 PM

I did notice that, but if you look at the 36 RKS, it has the correct number of axles and a quick image search comes up with an exact match. NADA only lists one slide though and even so, it is still valued at $8,700 average. Other models in the 36 range of the same year go for around $12,000 on RV trader. I may be looking in the wrong places though to determine value.

Half Dimes · 03-13-2016, 01:05 PM

You know at least some of the problems with the rig. If you decide to buy, be sure to offer less than the asking price because of those issues. If the dealer balks, be prepared to walk away. If the rig has been on his lot for a while, he may be receptive to offers.

And don't forget what I said about looking at tire age. At six years old, you may be looking at having to buy four new ones.

HighMilage · 03-14-2016, 12:33 AM

Well... if it is still there on the 16th, I think I might go after it. I spent lots of time surfing the web and at the library the last two days learning about RV slide out repair. If anyone else has something to add I would very much appreciate it. To those who have given their input, I thank you very much.

W4RLR · 03-14-2016, 01:12 AM

My fiver of similar vintage is in the midst of a two year restoration. Not long after I moved to Tennessee from Florida, I was hospitalized for several months. During that time the roof of the fiver was struck by a falling tree branch.

When I recovered, I opened up the RV to find that water had penetrated to such an extent that I thought the trailer was a total loss. Thankfully I have a good friend from my high school days who likes a challenge. So far, he gutted the interior to the wooden frame, removed the roof, installed a new roof to include new stringers, wood deck, and new EPDM roof, rewired both 12 and 120 volt systems, installed an Amish cooling unit in the Norcold refrigerator, beefed up the roof system on the slide out room, and installed LED clearance lighting throughout.

That has kept him busy for nearly two years. The more he works on it, the more stuff he finds wrong. Thankfully, he has exorcised most of the gremlins that plagued the now antique Jayco. If you want to take a chance on having to do much the same things my friend and I faced, roll the dice. But if you don't have the skills in carpentry, electric and plumbing, you might want to pass unless you have a friend with those skills and a lot of time.

wingnut60 · 03-14-2016, 07:44 AM

HighMileage,
You've had excellent advice so far. But NADA is pretty useless for pricing on any unit. What you think it is worth is what it is worth to you. If you can do most of the work yourself, and want to devote many months to the work, then maybe its something to try.
I would guess there is probably $1-2k of material that will be needed, and another $4-5k if the roof needs replacement (if the roof leak indicated by the stain has resulted in rotted roof panels, lots of labor involved). The slide floor can be a test of your skills if you have to do it in place on the trailer.
And, after all of this, you will still have a 20+year-old trailer. TS was considered a good unit back in it day, and I still see them on the roads as I travel.
Good luck if you buy it, and please make a record of the repairs and photos as you do the work to help others who would try this also.
Joe