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How NOT to buy a USED Motor Home - my story


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I was getting ready to retire and my dream was to travel around the country in an RV.  Originally, I wanted to live in it 80-90% of the year, so I was planning to sell my house and buy a fifth wheel and a truck. For a number a reasons, my wife and I decided we didn't want to sell our house, but we still wanted an RV and to travel.  We thought a used motor home would fit the bill until we sold our house. We saw a few at dealerships and watched adds.  We found an ad for the RV in Craigslist.  The asking price seemed like a good deal, so we went to look at it.  It was a 38' 2000 Monaco Knight with 51,000 miles on it. We were told the MH had "new" tires and batteries.  We were also told that it had been sitting for a short while.  The owner used it for a TV show RV World TV, where he demonstrated aftermarket additions to coach. Supposedly, the MH had all kinds of things added. The inside appeared to be in good shape. Just extremely dirty.  The motor started and purred.  The coach could move under its own power.  When I picked it up, the power steering line broke.  Should have asked for my money back then.  Instead, I had it towed to a truck repair garage.  Part of the repairs would probably have to be done on any used coach.  All brakes were replaced, fuel filter and oil filters replaced.  Transmission was serviced and coolant was replaced. Normal things.  Then the transmission control module had to be replaced and the alternator replaced.  It was $15,000 to make the coach road worthy.  The vehicle air conditioner is still not working.   I finally brought the coach home where I could check out its systems.  I am unable to check the stove because I need to get the LPG tank inspected before it can be filled.  The only appliance that worked besides one of the TV's was the microwave. The select comfort bed doesn't even work.  I found out that a short while meant 8 years.  I also found out that most of the extras don't work and it is less expensive to replace than to repair.  Case in point the tire pressure monitoring system. The sensors are $45.00 to replace (need 6) and I can purchase a new system for around $200.00.  My dream has turned into a nightmare.  Just a tale of caution for others.

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  • Tom Cherry changed the title to How NOT to buy a USED Motor Home - my story
1 hour ago, RorySamuels said:

I was getting ready to retire and my dream was to travel around the country in an RV.  Originally, I wanted to live in it 80-90% of the year, so I was planning to sell my house and buy a fifth wheel and a truck. For a number a reasons, my wife and I decided we didn't want to sell our house, but we still wanted an RV and to travel.  We thought a used motor home would fit the bill until we sold our house. We saw a few at dealerships and watched adds.  We found an ad for the RV in Craigslist.  The asking price seemed like a good deal, so we went to look at it.  It was a 38' 2000 Monaco Knight with 51,000 miles on it. We were told the MH had "new" tires and batteries.  We were also told that it had been sitting for a short while.  The owner used it for a TV show RV World TV, where he demonstrated aftermarket additions to coach. Supposedly, the MH had all kinds of things added. The inside appeared to be in good shape. Just extremely dirty.  The motor started and purred.  The coach could move under its own power.  When I picked it up, the power steering line broke.  Should have asked for my money back then.  Instead, I had it towed to a truck repair garage.  Part of the repairs would probably have to be done on any used coach.  All brakes were replaced, fuel filter and oil filters replaced.  Transmission was serviced and coolant was replaced. Normal things.  Then the transmission control module had to be replaced and the alternator replaced.  It was $15,000 to make the coach road worthy.  The vehicle air conditioner is still not working.   I finally brought the coach home where I could check out its systems.  I am unable to check the stove because I need to get the LPG tank inspected before it can be filled.  The only appliance that worked besides one of the TV's was the microwave. The select comfort bed doesn't even work.  I found out that a short while meant 8 years.  I also found out that most of the extras don't work and it is less expensive to replace than to repair.  Case in point the tire pressure monitoring system. The sensors are $45.00 to replace (need 6) and I can purchase a new system for around $200.00.  My dream has turned into a nightmare.  Just a tale of caution for others.

Don't be discouraged. I just bought a 99 Diplomat less than two weeks ago that has new issues everyday. (Notice I said issues, not problems?) I sold my house, a beautiful 30+ acre paradise on the Suwannee River, and we close in 3 days and have to be out by 2/10. MH isn't ready, house isn't emptied, barn and shed both full of stuff that has to go. (somewhere?) I keep working on the MH, wife keeps working on packing the MH, packing for storage, packing for donations, yard sale, and give aways, bagging for dump. And did I mention the MH still isn't road ready?

I'm trying to find and line up a good service center for a complete motor, tranny, generator, and chassis service. Hoping to find one tomorrow that can get me in and out same day, this week. Know it's gonna cost me a bundle. Just another adventure. I haven't sanitized the water system yet, still having issues with house batteries, only front ac is working and that isn't as cold as the dash ac. 

So just keep working that list. Concentrate on things that prevent you from safe travels. Like bad brakes, ruff engine, bad tires. Some things you can, and  will have to, fix on the road or at the campground. We're going full time right now. Some day we may decide to settle back into a house, maybe not. So get yourself some new tires and some good tire insurance, and get a really good road side assistance plan and go for it. 

I bought mine from a private seller, not a dealer. He admitted he new absolutely nothing about MH's. He inherited it from a friend. I knew even less. I bought it and drove it 200 miles home. I've been dumping time and money in it since. I expect that will continue for a time. But when I'm done, I'll have a better MH then anything, regardless of cost, made after the DEF motor was put into production. Yours is the same. Have faith. Don't give up. The road awaits us.

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Guest Ray Davis

If it's any comfort, I have read many reports of people purchasing new RVs and having all sorts of things needing repairs.    Some making payments while the coach is sitting at the dealer for months waiting to be repaired.

 

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...but still cheaper and less work than a big boat :) 

Besides, there are a bunch of us on here, notably engineers, former machinists, pilots, and other semi-austic types who actually enjoy messing with our toys.

Welcome to the Arena, Rory!

 

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I bought my coach in a similar way. I knew it needed tons of work from the start. The coach is 20+ years old and nothing worked as it should. I've made a list and I work on that list everyday. Mine had been abandoned and was acquired by a dealer who was going to part it out. I suspect someone was using it as just something to live in and not driving it for years and when some of the systems stopped working , it was just left to die a slow death. Along with people living in it , it had a family of chipmunks also living in it and to this day I still find nuts and traces of Chip & Dale. You can't buy a 20+ year old motorhome and not expect to spend a chunk of cash to keep it road worthy especially if you're not doing the work yourself. Good luck 👍 

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I feel your pain. The coach I purchased 2 years ago is still in my shop undergoing major renovations. The engine ran perfectly but everything else was not as advertised. I purchased after receiving an inspection report. On delivery or "pick up" the owner was nowhere in sight. Left the keys and signed title in the coach. A real world learning experience. 

On the bright side I have learned many new to me skills.

Tom

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13 hours ago, Dick Roberts said:

I'm trying to find and line up a good service center for a complete motor, tranny, generator, and chassis service. Hoping to find one tomorrow that can get me in and out same day, this week.

Maybe you can find a mobile mechanic that can come to you.  That way you can help pack or focus on the MH while waiting.  Perhaps others can recommend one for your area . . .

As for buying an imperfect coach . . . . we've all probably been there.  Our first coach the used dealer bought MH's at auction and flipped them.  Most of his coaches were higher class DP's than the Fleetwood gasser he had.  He didn't want to "fix it" and just unload it.  He disclosed all the issues honestly but in the first few months something would fail every trip.  Nothing major and not his fault, but he met us half way on a fuel line that ruptured the first 30 days (didn't have to do that).  Eventually everything worked every trip which was probably every 2 weeks.  We were lucky.  Same with our Endeavor, which we purchased private party without an inspection.  Maybe we got lucky again.  It still had issues but we got through them.  It still has a few issues.

Being handy is essential, that's for sure. 

- bob

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I guess we got luckily!

We had a Class C we bought new and had it for ~8 years before we started looking to upgrade to a DP so we started looking.  We went to RV shows, stopped at dealerships, looked at rigs on all the available websites, checked Craigslist and if anything came up that looked decent we'd go to look at it.  We weren't in a hurry so we took our time. 

In late 2008 (Nov), I volunteered to drive my parents from Wis to FL for their winter trip, I flew up and drove their van down stopping at our house in E TN where my wife joined us following us in our van.  As we were traveling somewhere along the trip I saw a posting on Ebay for a 2002 Windsor.  Pictures looked great and the price seemed unbelievably low.  So after dropped my parents off and driving up I95 we decided to stop and look at the coach.  Turns out the listing was from a transport company that moved repo coaches for the bank.  The owner would pick one up every once in a while and flip it.  The coach was parked in a wrecker type yard, didn't look great but since we were there we decided to look at the rig, it looked good from the outside.  Me and my wife walked into the rig, turned to each other and said "WOW".  The rig was immaculate, you could tell it was taken care of but there were no records with it.  So for 2 hours we checked everything out.  I crawled all under it, through the bays, onto the roof.  Tested each appliance.  I could not find anything wrong with it, not one thing. 

We didn't even make an offer, decided to think about it, so we drove on home.   Thought about it for the Thanksgiving weekend and finally gave the guy a call Sunday and made an offer that was accepted.  Told him I'd do a bank transfer for the down payment on Monday, which I did at lunch, so we were locked in.  I had been on vacation for +1 week so trying to catch up on my office work.  When I got back to my desk there was a note the GM scheduled a meeting at 3PM and attendance was mandatory OH OH.  Went to the meeting and he announced that the operations were shutting down and going on care and maintenance  YIKES. 

I thought about backing out of the deal, but I'd loose the down payment, but decided to just go through with it.  This during the "great recession" so prices were down, we paid ~50% of NADA.   I was between a rock and a hard place.  I ended up being laid off ~Mar 2009.  

In May I volunteered to drive my parents back north from FL.  On the way back down I had an idea to go to Alaska, so my wife and told her.  She wasn't so sure but I told her either way I was leaving June 1 with or without her.  She decided to go.  3 1/2 month +14K mile trip on a rig we only owned a short time.  Didn't have any problems and overall the rig has been pretty good to us.  We still have it, it has ~118K miles on it now and I wouldn't be afraid to drive it to AK again.  Ya I've had to fix things over the years and in 2021 I decided to do several upgrades.  Spent ~$10K for new tires, batteries, FASS system, Bluesea MLACR, added a second smaller inverter, new flooring LVP Pergo, transmission cooler. 

So I guess you can get lucky if you take your time and find a rig that "feels right"

 

 

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Don't feel bad. We bought a 2000 monoco diplomat 38d in 2020 did  more maintenance than you could imagine  new exhaust manifold, water pump, all hoses, new transmission lines, had 26,000 miles on it. Did a quick trip to Arizona coach ran great. June of 21 we were going to make a trip to the East Coast. Left Southern California made it to 35 miles East of Flagstaff Arizona. Pulled onto the off ramp  .went to take off from the stop sign and lost all forward gears. Ended up getting towed back to Flagstaff and 3.5 weeks later and $10,875.00 we had a new transmission Ended up we had lost the C3 clutches in the transmission. We continued on our trip and had a great time. But things Happen. 

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I agree with most others, hang in there, these are complex mobile systems.

We bought our current coach from a craigslist ad, upon delivery the seller started informing us of "things" that might happen including the loss of all dashboard gages. Sure enough, the gages didn't make the 7 mile trip home before they flat lined. It took me hours and hours of tracing wires and checking connections until finally I replaced the speedometer gage to get a functioning dashboard. Frustrating? yup, but I now understand my coaches wiring system better than anyone and can affect my own repairs. 

Welcome to the club, don't hesitate to ask questions.

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I'm in the club too, bought this one from an old guy who wasn't able to drive it anymore who seemed pretty honest and I didn't checked it over as good as I should have so now I'm fixing the things he failed to tell me about that were obviously there before I bought it. I have the P7100 fuel pump and the steering box leak to fix this spring still but the rest is pretty much done. I was able to go on a couple good trips so far with minor issues though including a cross Canada one. I think by the time a fix what's left of what he didn't tell me about I'll be at 10G's roughly.  

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Thank you all for your stories. It makes me feel better.  Just overwhelmed and out of large amounts of cash to put toward the repairs at this time.  On another note, I have fixed the bed.  I found a store on Ebay called Deelz4less.  They sold me a new-used pump for half as much as Select Comfort wanted. I highly recommend them.  So, one step forward that didn't break the bank.   

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Hopefully the repairs will dollar cost average out not to be so bad thru the yrs. I often look at things that way sometimes to make myself feel better. If you had an amount in your mind you thought would be acceptable going in then just look at the difference you paid in that way.🤔

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Don't feel like the lone ranger. Many find the coach they bought has many issues. I see it a lot on our service lot and I feel bad having to be the bearer of bad news and having to tell a customer their coach they just bought needs a " great deal of work ". For me, sometimes it is heart breaking.

I wish there was an online class that taught prospective buyers what to look for as well as annual costs for owning a used coach. There are many RV inspectors out there but they are not all created equal. ( Just ask Dr4film. ) In the boating world they use a 10% rule. In other words if you bought a 40 ft yacht for $ 200,000 then you budget $ 20,000 for maintenance and repairs. Obviously motorcoaches are not that high but people need to be aware that there are ongoing costs with these vehicles.

I have heard of many dollar figures associated with annual maintenance costs. Some say put $ 300 a month into a savings account for repairs and maintenance while others say that is to high or too low. Either way a coach owner has to calculate not only routine maintenance but ongoing repairs. Tire prices are getting out of hand. New AC units are costing close to $ 2,000 for new ones. Roof maintenance, washing, waxing, slide adjustments and repairs, beltline repairs, the list goes on. Water leaks and intrusion is another and our highest bill ever handed to a customer was $ 21,000 for replacing the entire floor in a bathroom and bedroom in addition to mold remediation. It also doesn't matter which type of model Monaco you own or what year. We have handed out some very high repair bills for water intrusion on everything from gasser's to Sig's.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to put an inspection plan in place and stick to it. Learn what to look for and then stick to a routine inspection schedule. One new seminar I am conducting at the gathering this year is to teach owners what to look for. As a coach owner you need to be proactive and constantly look for problems. One small issue can be fixed for a few dollars. Letting it go can cost you thousands.

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I used a mobile mechanic a year ago on our 96 Endeavor.  He worked for Tampa Mobile Service associated with Camping World in Dover, FL.  Their phone number is 813-696-3390.  The tech drove more than a hundred miles to get to us down in North Port.  He came down from around New Port Richey.   I think his name was Chris Grob.  His phone number was 813-279-3466.  He fixed our broken slide motor in one trip.  If you're willing to part with your coach for a few months, there's Lazy Days in Seffner.  Chris T (throgmartin above) with Talin, in Brooksville, did an outstanding job on our slide guardian plates.  

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On 2/1/2023 at 8:15 AM, throgmartin said:

Don't feel like the lone ranger. Many find the coach they bought has many issues. I see it a lot on our service lot and I feel bad having to be the bearer of bad news and having to tell a customer their coach they just bought needs a " great deal of work ". For me, sometimes it is heart breaking.

I wish there was an online class that taught prospective buyers what to look for as well as annual costs for owning a used coach. There are many RV inspectors out there but they are not all created equal. ( Just ask Dr4film. ) In the boating world they use a 10% rule. In other words if you bought a 40 ft yacht for $ 200,000 then you budget $ 20,000 for maintenance and repairs. Obviously motorcoaches are not that high but people need to be aware that there are ongoing costs with these vehicles.

I have heard of many dollar figures associated with annual maintenance costs. Some say put $ 300 a month into a savings account for repairs and maintenance while others say that is to high or too low. Either way a coach owner has to calculate not only routine maintenance but ongoing repairs. Tire prices are getting out of hand. New AC units are costing close to $ 2,000 for new ones. Roof maintenance, washing, waxing, slide adjustments and repairs, beltline repairs, the list goes on. Water leaks and intrusion is another and our highest bill ever handed to a customer was $ 21,000 for replacing the entire floor in a bathroom and bedroom in addition to mold remediation. It also doesn't matter which type of model Monaco you own or what year. We have handed out some very high repair bills for water intrusion on everything from gasser's to Sig's.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to put an inspection plan in place and stick to it. Learn what to look for and then stick to a routine inspection schedule. One new seminar I am conducting at the gathering this year is to teach owners what to look for. As a coach owner you need to be proactive and constantly look for problems. One small issue can be fixed for a few dollars. Letting it go can cost you thousands.

Confessions of a “keeper” of records person.  I don’t do the major engine or chassis servicing.  I don’t change my tires.  I have 65K in 14 years or 168 months, Bought new.  i have had 2 Allison services; front wheel bearings repacked; rear differential oil changed (to Synthetic).  Genny has had coolant changed. Hydraulic system serviced twice. So, I think I done most of the things that folks do,  I do as much as I can or feel qualified to to.  That includes all electrical and have learned a lot.  Chased a pesky MPX gremlin and it’s fixed.  Done some heady duty recabling to improved the incoming voltage to the front hydraulic unit.  I added sway bars and changed out shocks to premium Source.  Added a Watts link and had a Blue Ox TruCenter installed.  Did all my baseplate installs and added braking systems to 2 Toads.  Many here have mentored me and help me troubleshoot.  Upgraded to a Res Refer.  Had the AH serviced regularly.

Had to replace the entire Lippert front slides hydraulic unit die to two high resistance connections and finally found the source of a slight voltage drop in the main 200A feed….and have a switch to go to Chassis if needed. That was my most expensive repair.  Had a cable on my BAL Accuslide fail and the entire rear bedroom wardrobe wall had to be removed.  The other major item was a shattered drivers glass and had new factory glass installed.  Chris made new vinyl toppers for me in 2015 and they are just as good as new.  Have not had any Cummins work done….THANKFULLY.  Kept looking after my batteries and are only on the second replacement and they will last several more years.  

OK….I keep record and record if a repair was an upgrade or fix,  that includes all the normal engine servicing,  I shop and buy all supplies for my OTR shop and that saves a bundle.  SO….here is the breakdown.

It has cost me around $250 per month.  NOW add in another $65 for “UPDRADES” or niceties…TPMS, upgraded Tow Bar (heavier toad).  I salvaged a lot and sold my takeoffs of eBay.  So Chris’s $300 is a little low, for me.  BUT, my annual UPGRADE expenses are coming down.

My ratio  of Repairs to upgrades is about 4:1.  

I spend about TWICE as much on Maintenance and Upgrades as I do on Fuel.  My Fuel costs are almost the same as our CG fees…so do the math.  Now, we traveled extensively and put 60 K on it in the first 10 years.  We averaged over 115 miles per “night”s stay”…so we moved on.  We spent about 60 nights each year on the road.

These $$ ain’t cheap.  That does not include Covered storage and insurance and taxes….  

BUT….we have had a ball.  We never bought it for an investment.  

BUT….if I did some honest calculations….as we had our GK’s (2) with us 1/3 or more of the time and our kids for at least a few months…..if I had driven a big SUV and stayed in reasonable hotels and picnicked like we usually do for lunch…..I think I spent  Less and we traveled much more comfortably…

Your mileage and enjoyment may vary….LOL

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