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$1800 1985 Fixer Sunrader in Southern Oregon


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If anyone is interested. I drove 150 miles and back to look at it, and was under the impression it was in better shape.

http://medford.craigslist.org/cto/3813321721.html

Dry rot every where on the walls under the windows, on the ceiling. Ceiling is sagging, and peeling where fiberglass is exposed. Tires are cracking and would have to be replaced. Seals around windows are old and cracked. Chassis has 200k miles, motor is unknown mileage 4 speed carb. Guy says it overheated going up a hill when it was really hot. AC not working, Heater not working, Fridge not working. Table missing. Floor was black and probably rotted. Does have the 6 lug full floating axle. Bathroom was surprisingly decent. The rest felt like a mold infested car that had been sitting out in a field for 20 years.

It looked decent from the outside. So what do you think a fixer like this should be priced at? I was going to offer $1,000 but wasn't even sure if I should do that...I want nothing to do with this one. I did find that a corolla gets 38 MPG at 75MPH though! wow!

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What floor plan was it. if it was the little one someone might be interested in it for the shell alone

Linda S

Yes it was the little one with the rear dinette. If you're interested in just a shell theres another person selling just the shell here

http://eugene.craigslist.org/rvs/3778141976.html

How much work is involved to completely gut a sunrader and redo the walls? Maybe i'm being unreasonable but this thing needed 3k+ to bring it to camping worthiness (not to mention the time). Had the tires been in decent shape and if the engine didn't have any issues (I forgot to mention it might have a timing problem) I probably would have bought it and taken on a project. This is the first sunrader i've ever looked at in real life. I thought for sure i'd be driving it home today, but as of yet I am still motorhomeless.

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Dear Motorhomeless,

Unless you've got a lot of spare time on your hands and a bunch of extra cash saved up, I'd keep looking a little more. There is many micro-mini's, Dolphins, et al available for sale with not nearly the amount repairs needed as that Medford unit. I thought that the "shell" that you had found in Eugene was pretty cool. You don't see a mere shell being sold everyday. Did you ever learn from it's owner why the truck drove out from underneath it?

-Riverman77

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A lot of work. I'm doing all that to a Chinook right now. A Sunrader would be even more work. Lots of time, lots of money. Worth it if you like that sort of thing, but it won't be some quick, cheap, fun little project. I mean it will be fun, but if you've ever done home renovations, it's just like that. Think of gutting a small cabin and starting over.

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It's a Sunrader shorty with the good axle.One near me with similar mileage just sold for 6500 bucks. Redoing the interior is not as hard as it sounds. If you have some skills it would be a great project especially if money was tight.

Linda S

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Dear Motorhomeless,

Unless you've got a lot of spare time on your hands and a bunch of extra cash saved up, I'd keep looking a little more. There is many micro-mini's, Dolphins, et al available for sale with not nearly the amount repairs needed as that Medford unit. I thought that the "shell" that you had found in Eugene was pretty cool. You don't see a mere shell being sold everyday. Did you ever learn from it's owner why the truck drove out from underneath it?

-Riverman77

Thanks for the tips everyone, and no I haven't inquired why he is just selling a shell, odd indeed.

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It's a Sunrader shorty with the good axle.One near me with similar mileage just sold for 6500 bucks. Redoing the interior is not as hard as it sounds. If you have some skills it would be a great project especially if money was tight.

Linda S

Is there anything on a sunrader that can be un repairable due to dry rot? When the dry rot hits the flooring, does the shell have to come off and then the floor needs to be redone? I suppose if I knew what was under all that dry rot, I don't mind tearing off walls an redoing walls, but flooring sorta freaks me out for some reason.

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Is there anything on a sunrader that can be un repairable due to dry rot? When the dry rot hits the flooring, does the shell have to come off and then the floor needs to be redone? I suppose if I knew what was under all that dry rot, I don't mind tearing off walls an redoing walls, but flooring sorta freaks me out for some reason.

As it should. The floor of a Sunrader is its foundation. The rest of the shell is pretty much impervious to structural damage, but, it does sit on a floor. I honestly don't know exactly how the floor ties into the fiberglass shell. I think it pretty much just sits on it and is bonded by fiberglass resin. From the sounds of it, this thing sat neglected for many years and a lot of water found its way in the various windows/vents. And all that water is subject to gravity which means a good bit of it made it to the floor.

The fact is is the sought after shorty rear dinette gives it some worth. If it was on the other end of the country, i'd probably give it a look. The question is, is it worth what he's asking.

Some here have actually yanked sunraders off their perches. Perhaps some of them can give you a better idea about floor repair/replacement.

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Is there anything on a sunrader that can be un repairable due to dry rot? When the dry rot hits the flooring, does the shell have to come off and then the floor needs to be redone? I suppose if I knew what was under all that dry rot, I don't mind tearing off walls an redoing walls, but flooring sorta freaks me out for some reason.

My Nissan Sunrader's floor was pretty nasty. Had been abandoned in a field in New York for 2 years with broken vents and leaking windows. Previous owner had put down 3/4 inch plywood and it was wet underneath when I pulled it up. I rehardened the floor with resin and hardener the same way they save the wood on old houses on "This Old House" on PBS. Put steel braces underneath to ad some support and then scewed down 1/4 inch luan. It's quite firm now. I didn't pull out cabinets or anything major. Sometimes simple is the way to go.

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