Severe water damage: Reno or sell?

[Devstar]

Here we go...
I recently bought a 2004 Salem camper from a dishonest seller and later found severe water damage throughout. We are on the fence about gutting it and renovating it or just selling it as a fixer upper for someone who might want to take on a project. We could do the work and the idea of making it how we want it is appealing, but the time and $ is less than so. This is our first RV purchase and we need a little friendly advice from experienced campers (especially ones that might have taken on a project like this themselves). Thanks in advance!

[AppFire]

Agreed, not everyone would have the skill and patiences to tackle this. It is exactly how the wife and I wanted it, and its paid for. Thanks

Chris

[SidecarFlip]

very nice. Big job but it's yours as you want it. Not an undertaking for everyone however.

[PatrickA51]

azrving wrote:
Appfire
Fantastic job.

X2
Excellent job. Thanks for posting the photo's! :B

[azrving]

Appfire
Fantastic job.

[AppFire]

It can be done, here is my story...

Bought an '03 jayco quest a few years back for $900 from a guy who had bought it from his brother...one of those deals. Anyways, he just had put new tires on it and bought a brand new WD hitch and threw that in with the deal. So I basically bought new tires and the WD hitch. Long story short, I could not afford a new camper at the time and am very handy with my tools. Rebuilt the whole thing, new complete roof and joists, floors, gutted the inside, etc... Bought all new appliances and hot water heater, new electrical, plumbing lights, insulation, AC and so on. Took me around 4 months and I have around $4200 in it total. Not bad and I am not in debt for it. This last year I replaced the hubs and springs for a better ride and better breaking. Been on a dozen trips so far with zero problems...

Chris













Us in St Augustine Beach last week...

[time2roll]

See it already paid off. That would have killed you to damage your new RV 😉

Unless someone is unusually sensitive I doubt any mold in the walls will bother anyone. Nothing wrong with selling if you can get past the money thing.

Don't worry, the kids will fall in love with the next one too.

[myredracer]

Restoring a travel trailer can be much easier than a car or house. Cabinetry is just screwed or stapled together. Walls & ceiling paneling is just stapled with tiny staples. No glue and few fasteners that can't be easily pulled apart. Easy to gut down to bare studs and floor joists. But replacing rotten studs, rafters and sub-floor will be a lot of work. There are some good youtube vids that show what some have done with total gut and rebuild projects.

If you're younger, full of energy and ambition and a handy type or tradesman, you might fix it all up. You'll end up with a much better RV in the end too. But that'd all be time away from your family - not good... Would take a LOT of hours in total. I'd rather put that kind of time into a vintage Airstream or Silver Streak. You *could* store it somehow and pick away at it over time. You'd also want a table saw, chop saw, compressor & air nailer, various hand tools and not to mention, will need to find various RV-specific materials to do the repairs.

I'd be inclined to sell it, take the loss, suck it up, and move on. The first house I built was during the 80s recession. When it was done, had to sell it at a loss and move to another town for a new job. Life is unfair sometimes but you get over it.

If it was bought as-is where-is, that's unfortunate. Too bad you didn't come here before the purchase. It's highly recommended to spend a few $$ to hire an RV tech to go through a used RV. There's so many things a person can't see or know what to look for. Even some new RVs should be independently inspected.

On the bright (-er) side, there are usually tons and tons of used RVs on the market, esp. CL but may want to wait until the end of the season to look for better deals

[Devstar]

Thank you all for the replies. We thought about sealing what we can and using it for a while so at least we are out there camping, BUT we have small kids (the youngest is 2) so we worry about mold exposure. We recently backed into a tree and it exposed the inside wall and it literally looks like mulch inside. I think we are leaning towards selling just because of the time factor involved. It's just sad bc our kids have camped in it twice and have fallen in love with it. That really is the worst part!

[ksg5000]

Fixing extensive water damage take skill, money, space, and patience (not a quick project). And you rarely recoup your investment. If your goal is camping then you might consider selling the rig "as is".

[time2roll]

Seal the roof and other leaks and use it as is for a couple years. Forget the renovation and go camping. Have some fun and gain some experience on how you like the RV experience. NONE are perfect and will never quite match the quality of a regular house. So keep one eye closed for now and trade it in after a couple years.
JMHO

[pianotuna]

If you enjoy the work then go for it. Otherwise walk away or sell "as is".

[BB_TX]

If you are thinking about buying another.

A good friend had a 19' TT that developed leaks around the roof line. Before he realized it, he had significant water damage to wood frame. Estimated repair was about the listed value. After much thought, he went shopping for a new TT. Dealer offered what my friend considered a fair trade-in value considering the condition (dealer was aware of damage). And he ended up with a new 21' TT for not a lot more money than he spent on the original.

[SidecarFlip]

Been my experience that almost every used unit has at least some intrusion issues (and I've looked at dozens of them). Even found damage on new units on dealers lots because, once the unit is built, it goes outside, in the elements and stays there, from the builders yard to the dealer, always outside and today, builders don't take the care in sealing a unit properly and end users don't maintain seals so, they rot.

RV buyers are under the false assumption that they can let a unit sit outside, in the weather, for an extended period of time with no pro-active care and it will be fine. Don't work that way.

Without continuous seal maintenance and inspection, every unit will leak and rot, even an aluminum framed unit because the interior walls are still wood or some wood based substrate.

Basically, it distills down to 'how much rot' is on a used unit and if you want to remediate it. Some units are past fixing, some can be fixed, all distills down to what you want to do, camp or work on a unit.

I read a ton of posts on this site about rusty screws and delam and stains on interior walls. All of those issues stem from water intrusion.

have fun and decide but whatever you decide, take continuous and pro-active care of the unit.

[valhalla360]

If it's several places and extensive...walk away unless you just like projects. It won't make financial sense by the time you are done.