caddismadness Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Hi All! I'm new to the forum and to R/Ving in general, so thanks in advance for any advice you all may provide. I saw a '84 New Horizon for sale with 69,000 miles, and it peeked my interest. He is asking $2,800 for it, and claims it's clean, drives perfect and everything works. Since i'm a total neophyte, what questions should I ask and what should I be looking for to determine if this is a good deal or not? I don't have the time to do any major repairs on it, since I'll need to drive it home almost immediately, which is over 1,000 miles away. Any advice or suggestions on what to look for would be greatly appreciated. Much thanks!! -Barrett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caddismadness Posted October 15, 2009 Author Share Posted October 15, 2009 Really? nobody has any input for a newbie? Any advice is highly appreciated. Thanks guys! cheers, Barrett Hi All! I'm new to the forum and to R/Ving in general, so thanks in advance for any advice you all may provide. I saw a '84 New Horizon for sale with 69,000 miles, and it peeked my interest. He is asking $2,800 for it, and claims it's clean, drives perfect and everything works. Since i'm a total neophyte, what questions should I ask and what should I be looking for to determine if this is a good deal or not? I don't have the time to do any major repairs on it, since I'll need to drive it home almost immediately, which is over 1,000 miles away. Any advice or suggestions on what to look for would be greatly appreciated. Much thanks!! -Barrett Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoprat Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Really? nobody has any input for a newbie? Any advice is highly appreciated. Thanks guys! cheers, Barrett First, price sounds good. Second, walk inside and knock on walls and see if floor and walls feels or sound spongy. If so, your going to have to deal with rot. Third, test drive. Be very critical here. Make sure all lights work, engine runs well, and most important, see if brakes will stop you. It will take longer to accelerate and stop with a motor home because of the weight. Forth, make sure it has a dual wheel rear axle. Hope this helps. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caddismadness Posted October 16, 2009 Author Share Posted October 16, 2009 First, price sounds good. Second, walk inside and knock on walls and see if floor and walls feels or sound spongy. If so, your going to have to deal with rot. Third, test drive. Be very critical here. Make sure all lights work, engine runs well, and most important, see if brakes will stop you. It will take longer to accelerate and stop with a motor home because of the weight. Forth, make sure it has a dual wheel rear axle. Hope this helps. John Thanks John! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodybagger Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Check for wobble at the extension housing of the transmission if it is an automatic. Also, check the fluid for a burnt condition. The mileage is right for tranny problems to begin showing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caddismadness Posted October 17, 2009 Author Share Posted October 17, 2009 Check for wobble at the extension housing of the transmission if it is an automatic. Also, check the fluid for a burnt condition. The mileage is right for tranny problems to begin showing up. Thanks Bodybagger! Luckily it's a manual. I went and checked it out yesterday and bought it for 2,200. Needs a new R/V battery, but it seemed like the price was right. Drives like a champ. Any other suggestions before I take it on a trip? I need to think of a name for her. An owner's manual would be great if anybody has one. Thanks again, -B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Thanks Bodybagger! Luckily it's a manual. I went and checked it out yesterday and bought it for 2,200. Needs a new R/V battery, but it seemed like the price was right. Drives like a champ. Any other suggestions before I take it on a trip? I need to think of a name for her. An owner's manual would be great if anybody has one. Thanks again, -B Treat it like you would you family sedan check the fluids,tires and tire pressure maybe change the oil and filter, lights regular stuff. I would look the tires over pretty good check for cracks and ware make sure they are "D" rated not passenger car tires your new little motor home is pretty heavy despite it's small size. There should be a metal plate some where near the drivers door with recomended tire pressure it will be from the coach manufacture not Toyota my guess would be around 50 psi. Sounds like you got a pretty good deal they are great fun you'll find all kinds of excuses to go camping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caddismadness Posted October 23, 2009 Author Share Posted October 23, 2009 Hi all, I recently bought a Toyota New Horizon, and it's a great little rig. Seems to work great. If anybody else on the forum here has one (or similar), perhaps they could answer a quick question for me. There's a little silver toggle switch on the left hand side of the steering wheel that turns on what sounds to be some sort of fan or something, which sounds like it's located somewhere behind the passenger seat under the camper shell. Does anybody have any idea what that is? Treat it like you would you family sedan check the fluids,tires and tire pressure maybe change the oil and filter, lights regular stuff. I would look the tires over pretty good check for cracks and ware make sure they are "D" rated not passenger car tires your new little motor home is pretty heavy despite it's small size. There should be a metal plate some where near the drivers door with recomended tire pressure it will be from the coach manufacture not Toyota my guess would be around 50 psi. Sounds like you got a pretty good deal they are great fun you'll find all kinds of excuses to go camping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted October 24, 2009 Share Posted October 24, 2009 You can call the previous owner and ask them. it is not a stock/normal RV thing so I doubt that anyone besides yourself will have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wetboy Posted November 19, 2009 Share Posted November 19, 2009 Hi Barrett, I have an 85 New Horizon That I have gone completely redone. I know you have already bought it, unfortunately I just saw this post. The NUMBER ONE thing you need to look at on your rig is the rear axle. Make sure it is NOT the original 5 lug. Most of the cheap rigs I've seen have been the older axle. they will come off on you the second you put a lil weight on them. These were subject to a DOT recall, and for good reason! Your rig should either have a six lug axle, or a 5 lug upgrade. There's lots of info with pics on this particular issue. Just make sure it is your FIRST check. Other than completely redoing my interior to get rid of the outdated dark wood, and installing Bamboo flooring, I upgraded the Alternator, DC wiring, and isolator. This was necessary because I like to stay out boondocking for weeks at a time, and I put in 5 -120 amp/hr batteries and 2500 watt inverter. The lousy 30 amp alternator was BARELY putting out 5 amps to the coach batteries while on the road. Now I have a 160 amp, and it charges them up quick. I don't like running a loud generator. So my battery pack takes up the gen area. Other than that, just flush everything in the engine/tranny, Seal everything on the roof you can find, then run a hose up there to flood the roof and look for leaks. I had a few, but nothing that wasn;t sealed with some silicon. I'm going to be Coating the roof with Kool-Seal before I move out west with it. Oh, one other thing. When I got mine it had been sitting for years and the gas tank had tons of rust in it. As I tried to drive on the Interstate, the filter in the tank became clogged and The engine would quit or choke regularly. I was stuck all the way cross country and after finally having the problem correctly diagnosed, had the tank pulled, cleaned, and a new pump and in-tank filter replaced. An 8 hour, $600 job in San Diego, but I was able to drive all the way back to Florida with no problems after that. If I was at home, I could have done it myself for the cost of a new pump. It's really easy to drop the tank. I highly recommend dropping and cleaning it. You are gonna be shocked at what you see floating in there! As soon as I can find a bigger tank, I will be installing that along with a new sender unit. Mine is rusted out and inoperative. That lil 18 gallon tank only gives me a max range of 200 miles. I'm looking for a 26 gallon or larger. I'll make one if I have to as I can weld my own.... Get the inside the way you want it. Makes living so much better. I put a recliner in mine and it feels soooo good to kick your feet up with a beer after a full day! Anyway, good luck and enjoy your rig! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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