What sends RV's to Junk Yard

[danes-on-tour]

When we are on the road we tend to move every 3 or 4 days, and that mean we get so see a lot of campgrounds and RV's.

We do see a lot a new and newer RV's where it appears that the owners are neglecting all necessary TLC. This is everything from regular maintenance to damage left un-repaired. It always makes us wonder how someone can spend a large sum of money on a vehicle and not look after it properly. We do appreciate that not everybody is technically or mechanically inclined, but most people should be capable of setting up an appointment with a garage to f.x. have their oil and filter changed, or the chassis lubed. Many people we speak to don't even do that

My guess is that you in a fairly short time can damage an RV so much, that it ends up in a state where it's no longer wanted by anyone. It therefore ends up just sitting there rotting away before going to RV heaven.

[wanderso]

Robin Williams sends RVs to the junk yard in a 1 week vacation.

[wa8yxm]

I saw this article and I was reminded of stopping and chatting with an RV technician on my way out of the park yesterday.. She is workign in the storage lot, Re-Roofing a trailer, She had to tear it all the way down to the joists and put in all new plywood (What she was doing Saturday) then new insulation and finally whatever it's roofed with (Likely EDPM rubber).

Now we are talking hours and hours, she will be several days in fact, if the owner had had it towed to a dealer he'd be looking at at least 16 hours at 120/hr, likely more (per hour and hours both)

She is only 75/hr

What ruined this RV? Lack of roof maintenance. Owner had never set foot on the roof so did not notice where it was in need of attention.

last time I was on my roof..Yesterday And I'll be back up ther in two weeks.

Will likely mop it down 2 weeks from tomorrow (it needs it, but if I do it here I got to pay a rig-washing fee)

[wanderso]

We are not full time at this point so we keep ours in a covered shop on a concrete pad. Costs me $700 more per year than being outdoors on a slab, but I think it is worth it to keep it from the junk yard. The prior owner had a leak in the bathroom skylight that resulted in some wall board replacement. Luckily no soft floor or roof rafter issues. Removed the skylight and re-sealed it properly as well as removed and replaced all Dicor sealant on all roof locations as required.

I also check the rig every week when in storage anyway and we camp 9 out of 12 months of the year. I check the roof and window seals monthly as part of an ongoing inspection when I cycle the generator.

No leaks in the rain on any of our trips (I check at every rainfall) and less UV impact from the hours parked in the sun when we are not camping.

Carried away? Maybe, but it is worth the peace of mind.

[BCooke]

Originally Posted by wanderso

Robin Williams sends RVs to the junk yard in a 1 week vacation.

My youngest cousin stopped for traffic in Nashville and the minivan behind him did not see him (?) stop and hit him (estimates say) doing 60 MPH. Scrap.
I think he is going to wait before picking up another new unit..... he was driving it home from the dealer, it was his for 2 days....

[Wanabee FTer]

Originally Posted by newbe1

I notice a severe drop off of RV's (Class A) over 15 years old that are for sale. I am curious, if this is because homes of this age end up in the junk yard or are just not on the market because it is cheaper to just hold on to them.

As others have already stated, many old RV's leak to death and are worthless for resale.

You will find many old RV's slowly decaying in lots and back yards across the nation. Scrap dealers will not pay much, if anything at all to recycle an RV. Cars are much easier to process since they are mostly made of metal.

[jpriest]

I'm no expert, but just as it is easier to trade-in a vehicle I will bet a lot of folks simply trade-in their RV's. When that happens - and unless the dealer wants to struggle with a maybe sale taking up good real estate on the lot - they sell 'em at auction.

Everybody needs a car or truck, but not everybody needs an RV. Therefore, individuals selling them outright may be less-and-less due to minimal demand and the ever waning economy.

Having said that, I am currently on assignment in a remote part of the country (Southeastern NM). I am a field engineer for the Department of Energy overseeing fabrication of a bunch of equipment for a project in SC. Here, the oil and gas industry is booming. And although I am not in the oil and gas industry, I see a HUGE amount of folks living in RV's here who are. And there are NUMEROUS RV's for sale.

But again, this is a unique area with a transient workforce that buys them, lives in them, and sells them.

Anyway, that's just my 3 cents. That and a dollar-fifty will get you a cup of coffee.

[Davdeb1]

I, for one, would just sell or trade to a dealer. I would not buy one from a private owner, so I would to venture to sell one myself. If I ever buy another unit, I will again buy it from. A dealer.

Many people do not realize that they are better off just taking their MH that needs work to a dealer to buy outright. Low priced older RV'S are at a premium on lots. Anytime a dealer can find a halfway decent RV that will sell for under 50k, they will buy it.

Why let it just disintegrate in your yard?

[kat_nda_sand]

We sold our via craigslist to a private party. Couldn't see a dealership wanting our old motorhome, plus I'm sure the dealership wouldn't give us as much as we could get ourselves. And the reason we sold ours was because we heard from a friend of a friend that there was a steal of a deal on a newer motorhome which we bought from a nice older couple.

I like buying from previous owners because you can tell how they took care of it, you get all the ins & outs of how things function and if it was a part of their family. You won't get that at a dealership.

[jpriest]

Originally Posted by Davdeb1

I, for one, would just sell or trade to a dealer. I would not buy one from a private owner, so I would to venture to sell one myself. If I ever buy another unit, I will again buy it from. A dealer.

I would agree.

[fredaevans]

Originally Posted by RustyJC

Other than the obvious damage from a collision, the greatest enemy of an RV is water intrusion and the resulting rot, delamination and other damage. The risk of water intrusion increases with age as sealers age, harden and crack, roof materials age and crack, etc. That's why RVers must be religious about monitoring the condition of external surfaces and sealants and repairing/renewing them when necessary.

Rusty

+1 here. Everything has a 'shelf life,' even 'us.' And I'm in total agreement, what 'kills' many older units is as you describe above. How much money are you really willing to expend when you find you're in deep do-do?

Remember taking my Gulf into my local shop (and they're darned good at spotting .... Phone call: "Errrm .. Mr Evans our xyz did an inspection on our roof and found some soon to be problems."

'What kind of 'problems?'

'Simple to fix but it will add an hour or two to your bill.'

'Fix it.'

What are your choices if the unit is in (otherwise) good condition ... if you want to keep it that way?

[PatStab]

We sold a newer nice one to buy a very old 92 American Eagle my husband saw. It had some leaks, the main one was at the hallway skylight, but it must have spent most of its life inside. I'm guessing it wasn't outdoors all that many years. But about all they had done to the roof was slather lots of sealant on the skylights, and poorly at that and 2 of them were cracked. I couldn't see where much of anything else had been done to the roof.

My husband took off the AC's and I worked to take off everything else inclduing the sealant, what a job, took me a month or more. We used liquid roof and made the roof really nice again plus all new everything up there, that was just the beginning.

But our biggest problem has been getting mechanics to do routine maintenance on a timely basis. They get the motorhome and keep it forever. I don't know why. The first time they kept it for weeks on end and still didn't do half of the maintenance we wanted down.

So we took it to another place and it was there a long time and when I went to get it he started the generator, which had been running just fine for us and said it overheated. So now I am waiting on a part they said had to be manufactured since its 20 years old. We are willing to have it fixed but I'm sick of waiting on it.

We will see how it does if we ever get the motorhome back again.

We had hoses, belts, seals, etc replaced as we don't know when they were done, if ever so we are replacing things before they fail just to be safe. You can get a small fortune in one especially if having to hire it done. My husband is capable of doing 90% of it but not enough time.

But these mechanics get these and just never seem to be in any kind of hurry to get them done. Perhaps they are just overwhelmed with work.

I still have no problem getting an old one this thing is built like a tank.

We also have 2 1983 Silver Streaks one we rent out and will the other once its fixed up. Now those are some great old aluminum travel trailers. Neither leak and we have never done anything to the roofs except wash them since we have had them. I washed one down today and cleaned off pine needles. Going to have to replace one vent cover and that's all I see so far but will get on top in a couple of days to see if it needs more.

Yes, if folks had maintaned the old RV's they would still be nice. But folks get tired of them or just start letting things go then like most said they leak and then get worthless. The 3 we have all have aluminum or steel frames no wood frames so that makes a big difference. We also have a 2007 Jayco 5th wheel and I can say these old ones are 10 times the quality of that one. They will probably still be going after it is gone, though maybe not as we take good care of everything we have.

Personally even with all the issues getting the old one up to date I hope to keep it for some time. And I hope to enjoy it if we ever get it back again. We like restoring old things.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by 4Knights

Sounds like you just need to give yours to me and I'll give mine to someone else, that way we all get newer rigs!

But who will give me a 2013 King Aire at over $800,000? Actually I'd take a 2013 Dutch Star (they list for only $375,000) so that might be easier to come by!

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Wanabee FTer

As others have already stated, many old RV's leak to death and are worthless for resale.

You will find many old RV's slowly decaying in lots and back yards across the nation. Scrap dealers will not pay much, if anything at all to recycle an RV. Cars are much easier to process since they are mostly made of metal.

Friend of mine did exactly that to a TT. Ended up paying to have it demolished and hauled away. Plus they got the salvage from it.