My two cents worth...I've had a 1978 Chinook Newport since 1999. Only wanted to "rent" it from a neighbor, but he wanted to sell it.
I figured to take my 2600 r.t. adventure and sell it when I got back home. Is my one and only m.h. experience. Gets 21 mpg and no matter how long it sits (sometimes 2 years), it starts right up, and goes on down the road.
Haven't spent any money except oil/lube, tune up. It had 72,900 when I bought it and has 76K now. I guess you can't kill those old Toyota motors and that's what keeps me keeping it.
Tires have lots of tread, but are dry rotted, so I'm looking into that issue. Somewhere, the house battery part has a short, but it's been there awhile according to older service records I got with it. No problem, I just unhooked the house battery. I'll trace it, if I ever decide I need it.
Everything works inside, although it's not new and shiny, it's functional. I like that's it older and I can tune myself. It's outrageously expensive to service computer tuned vehicles, so I figure this is on the plus side for an older r.v.
Have lots to learn, and like you, just found this site a few days ago; am interested in the axle issues, suspension etc. as well as fixing up in general. Good luck to us both.