How used is too used?

[bobbyg123]

Hi everyone. I'm a longtime (10+ years) travel trailer owner, and I'm strongly considering moving to a class C rig as my camping lifestyle has changed over the years.

My question is fairly generic, but I'm wondering what criteria you experienced class C owners would look at when considering a used camper. The usual stuff like mileage, how many owners, the overall condition of the unit is what I'll typically go by, but are there other hidden factors with Class C units that I should keep in mind?

There are a TON of used Class C units on the market, and even rigs that go back to 2007 often times only have 60K miles or less on them. I'd just like to hear what you would be looking closely at if you were in the market for a used camper.

Thanks in advance.

[maillemaker]

To me, the biggest thing to pay attention to is your nose.

Water intrusion is what kills most RVs. If you walk into an RV and it smells like musty or moldy, leave. If you see evidence of water damage, it will always be more extensive than what you can see. Look for delamination. Push the walls up near the ceiling and feel for solidness, not mushiness or crunchiness. Look at all the places where plumbing is accessible and look for evidence of leaks.

Basically if it smells, looks, or feels like rot, walk away.

[T18skyguy]

If you buy from an owner that has always had the rig under a cover, that's a bonus. If he cares enough to spend thousands on a cover, he'll usually maintain everything else.

[bobbyg123]

Bordercollie wrote:
I am not a fan of short class C's, need a rear bedroom with RV queen bed.

I’m early into my research, but I’ve come to that conclusion as well. I’ve got 12 year old twin boys, so 2 sleeping areas with a bunk over cab and a rear bed would be ideal. Comfortable seating during travel is also important to me. I want to keep it under 30’.

So far, these are my favorite floor plans.

Sunseeker 2700
Four Winds 28Z
Jayco Redhawk 25R
Minnie Winnie 25B

[Bordercollie]

Fridges, roof A/C units, furnaces, water heaters, RV generators, fresh water pumps, dash A/C units, converter/chargers and house batteries that are over ten years old may need repairs or replacement now or later. So, if you buy a 5 year old rig, and are lucky, you may not need repairs or replacements for some time. Our 2004 Tioga has had major items replaced, ask to see paperwork. Set aside some bucks for repairs/replacements as needed. The drive train may not need major repairs but good to have a pro truck mechanic check it over. I am not a fan of short class C's, need a rear bedroom with RV queen bed.

[ernie1]

I agree with most of the comments already stated. One issue that hasn't been brought up is your assessment of the seller and how he presents himself. Does he care much about little details of the rv like stains on the carpet, is there cooked on food and crumbs on the stove? What does his house, garage and other vehicles look like? Does he have pets that he takes with him in the rv? You may not care about the pet issue but I do because I'm allergic to pet dander and have a very keen sense of smell. I'll sum it all up by saying you would never have to worry about buying any rv from me no matter how old nor how many miles it has on the speedometer. I take care of my vehicles because I don't ever want to be stranded on the side of the road if I can help it at all.

[BFL13]

We did that last year from a 5er to a Class C. Big thing is having wheels once you get to your camping spot. Easy for us, just drive the C over to wherever and back. Some folks need a car to tow. Another way if the camping spot is not too far away, is for one of you to drive the car and the other to drive the C to the camping spot.

The actual OP question depends on too many factors, but IMO the main one is how good you are on DIY. And DIY on what?

Eg, I am good with the RV stuff, but not on the truck type things. So I mostly didn't care about the "house" side, since I can fix all that myself mostly, but if the truck part is no good, I am helpless. That means also, I cannot tell if it any good before buying it unless I can get it to a garage I trust and get an estimate.

Generally, I agree with the above advice, if you have X dollars to spend, get a cheap RV and use the rest of the money to get it into shape. For sure, since every RV needs some work, if you blow it all on intitial cost, you will have to borrow more to get it into shape.

We are very pleased with our new to us 1991 we got last year 🙂 It is a better floor plan etc than many new ones we have seen.

I agree about leaks! We had some, but Eternabond is your friend at $100 a roll. Not that big of a deal if you are handy.

[Photomike]

The way I look at it is a new or newer low mileage unit can have as many or more problems then a well used one. I would rather buy a older unit in good shape that is cheaper and put in my money to fix things that need fixing if anything, then to buy new or newer and spend a ton and still have issues. My 19G was affordable, I did some servicing and it is as good as you can get it - in some ways better than if it was new as I upgraded items to my specs.

Biggest thing is a good body and camper shell.

[Chum_lee]

All good replies. One other very important thing: Previous major accident, flood, or fire damage.

Most motorhome manufacturers only get one chance to get it right. That occurs in the factory when it is initially assembled. (today that can be beyond the scope of many manufacturers) Combining that with major catastrophic repairs done on a shoestring budget (or trying to make a buck) can compound the issue exponentially. Don't get caught holding someone else's bag!

Chum lee

[bobbyg123]

What I need to start digging into now are the brands I can trust, or more importantly, those I should stay away from.

[DrewE]

Delivery trucks, shuttle busses, and other commercial vehicles built on the same chassis as motorhomes often go for hundreds of thousands of miles. Mileage (or lack thereof) in itself would not be a primary concern for me. I do think that, all other things being equal, lower mileage means less wear and tear on the drivetrain etc. and would be slightly preferred, but should not be the biggest concern. There are some chassis parts that tend to need repair or replacement due to age, more or less regardless of mileage; there's a good chance that fifteen year old brake calipers may need rebuilding or replacement, for instance. Some seals and belts and hoses and bushings and such also deteriorate with age.

I would avoid units that are old enough to not have fuel injected engines.

Like wrvpo said, check the house and house systems carefully. That's where you'll more likely have work to do and more maintenance to keep up with. A 2012 unit with 10K miles could be in great shape, or could be subject to lots of deferred maintenance. A 2012 with 60K miles could be very well maintained or beat up. (At least with 60K miles the tires would hopefully have been replaced once and have at least a couple more years left in them.)

[westernrvparkow]

I think one of the least likely areas of failure in a used RV that passes the initial smell test is the engine and chassis. You can have the engine and brakes checked by any mechanic for a reasonable fee and be pretty confident in their assessment.
You are much more likely to have house issues. Structural integrity is number one. Look for leaks and look for delamination if it is a fiberglass shell. I would look over the plumbing. I would be concerned the electronics are due to age out. It's not a lot of money, but retrofitting modern TVs and sound systems can be time consuming and tricky. A refrigerator failing is expensive as well. Be sure the heating and cooling is in working order. Good Luck.

[bobbyg123]

map40 wrote:
DON'T FALL FOR THE LOW MILLAGE TRICK!!!!!!!
I have an RV rental company. They only units that work well are the ones that have been used regularly. I have sold units with 300K miles ex-rentals and they are still rolling around.
I have bought units with more than 100K miles, ex-rentals, not one mechanical problem. As long as they were maintained propperly.
All the units that I got with low millage for their age ended being a money pit. New appliances, new hoses, new seals, so on and so forth.
Look for signs of water damage, specially in the cab over.
Maintenance records are important. I always look at the little things. Light the burner cover in the stove, see how clean it is. Look at the steering greasable joints, check they are not dry. Age of tires and condition. Brand of oil filter used, how clean are the battery connections. Basically, little things that tell me the owner took good care of it. A new air conditioner is $600. A new transmission a year from now is going to be $4000.
If it was propperly maintained, I would not doubt buying a high millage RV. The V10 and the Ford transmission will do over 200K with no problems if it was excercised and used.

That was my inclination as well. If it's a 2012 unit with 10K miles, for me, that's a red flag in some respects. If it has 60K miles, at least you know the owner was out on the road with it.

[SidecarFlip]

My take on it is, is it used or abused? Only you can decide that.

[camperdave]

I just did this (old TT to newer but still old C). Roughly speaking, I narrowed it down to an 03+ Ford chassis which guarantees the most updated V10. No worries about spark plugs or anything like that, it's a true 300k mile motor.

From there, it was all about condition. I was not so much concerned with mileage. First and foremost, inspect every corner and joint, look under every mattress, pull up the carpet a bit in hidden corners, and look for ANY sign of water leaks. This is the single biggest killer of RV's. And in C's, it's the cabover that is most suspect, but really a leak could be anywhere.

I then gave a greater preference to rigs that were privately owned, since I could actually speak with the owner and get a feel for it's maintenance history. Most I saw on dealer lots were trade ins, the dealer literally knows nothing about them.

Carfax can sometimes give you a rough idea of it's usage. For example, you'll see the mileage each time it changed hands and may be able to tell if it was driven 50k in the first two years, then sat for the next 6 years unused or something like that.

Have fun and take your time! I looked for a few months and ended up traveling out of state to buy.