Purchase A 90's +

[maseratibillm]

Hello: I am new to this game, however I have owned several Toyotas.and love them. i am looking for a 90 or newer motorhome to purchase. Can someone give me advice as to what to expect from the motor home and what issues I should look out for when purchasing one....any quirks for the 90's years?

Thanks so much and I am glad to be a member of this group.

Bill Muse

[jjrbus]

Hey Bill

I'm down here in Ft Myers looking for a 90+. Maybe we can be of benefit to each other?

I do not know alot about them, so can only tell you what I have seen so far. Look inside for water damage. If the roof was not cared for, maybe other maintanence was not done? Look along the sides for bubbles in skin, not tiny minute bubbles but larger areas that indicate the skin is loose and will need repair.

I looked at one in Tampa, claimed new roof air, tires and brakes. The roof air is newer, not new. The tires have lots of thread but are 6 years old and weather checked, need replacing. If they stretched the truth about tires, what else are they wrong about? Or lying? Google DOT dates for tires and check the dates when looking. For me anything over 7 years old needs replacing now!

Trailer hitch, talking with lady who said she flea markets all over when she travels, big heavy duty trailer hitch and too big a trailer to be towed with one of these sitting in yard. Lot's of wear and tear, I'll skip that one.

Unplated vehicle, I am not buying anything I cannot drive and I am not risking driving an uninsured, unplated vehicle, but that is just me. They want to sell something for thousands of dollars, let em put plates and insurance on it.

Generator won't start or runs badly, just needs carburetor cleaned. Another sign of lack of maintenance or neglect. Maybe $50 to repair, maybe $500, likely genset is junk and needs replaced.

Inside step everyplace, look for soft spots in floor, repairable but big job.

Take a large cloth or cardboard and crawl around underneath, looking for damage, rot or rust.

With Vin # you can check title in FL https://services.flhsmv.gov/MVCheckWeb/, not much info but maybe uncover some discrepancies Also https://www.nicb.org/theft_and_fraud_awareness/vincheck, these two are free, before signing on the dotted line use a paid service for full disclosure.

Year discrepancy, 1990 vehicle, camper body added in 91 and they say it's a 92. Long story, I'll spare you the details. It's whatever the title says it is, not what they think it is. Until you are looking for parts then it's a 90 for the vehicle.

Lot's of things to check, read the forums and see what people are fixing, good indication of what to look for. JIm SW Florida.

[Skydancer2992]

I owned Toyotas since 1986, putting about 200K on each before selling/trading/divorcing. When it came time for a camper, the choice was a Toyhome.

Mine was listed on Craigslist, a silent auction at the Hotsprings Habitat for Humanity. The camper was missing part of the corner over the driver side and was taped over with metal tape. No bids except mine, $2500.

After some fiberglassing and repair of wood rot, the camper has worked well for me. The camper part takes more work to maintain. The Toyota part seems to keep on going without complaint.

My Warrior is a 91 model but the chassis is a 1990 Toyota. My impression is that many others have a similar combination of camper/chassis being a year's difference. As for wear and tear, she is over 236K but doesn't show it on the Toyota side.