MrBreeze Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) Hello all. Thanks for letting me stalk you for the past couple of years. I'm ready to make my purchase and get rolling. Any advice on my first rv purchase is greatly appreciated. How much do I really need to spend to get a quality rv. My plan is to live full time in my rolling home. Is it better to spend 12k and get a really nice piece of equipment thats mostly ready to go or $6-8k and have money left over to play with and fix her up. I am hoping to add some solar and remodel a few things that I've seen across the internet that I feel would improve how I live. I eat a lot of real foods so having a larger fridge might be importants. Replacing a nice working dometic fridge would seem shortsighted at best. I'm handy enough to fix things as needed but having a good start seems advantageous but would take most if my budget. https://wichita.craigslist.org/rvs/5380190307.html This one is super nice and ready for the road. https://tucson.craigslist.org/rvs/5377448487.html This one is not as nice looking, has a patch job on passenger side. From my needs point of view I see benefit in both. Buying a super nice road ready machine with fewer issues would be priceless. The nice one could look nice but have been sittin in a barn not running the engine. The more affordable one could have some wear but generally be well taken take of and looked after and be perfect for my family. Is six grand more just peace of mind. Is it really worth it to pay twice as much? Or less and remodel as I wanted to anyways. Whats a dreamer to do? Edited January 20, 2016 by MrBreeze Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 The one in Wichita was messed up enough that they had to repaint the whole thing. originally came with stripes and stuff so you have no idea how nice it really is. The one in Tucson is an Odyssey Americana and they are wonderful rigs. This one has obviously taken some hits. probably could be made to look better but it just keeps coming up on craigslist again and again. Don't know if it's a real sale or not or if people just keep reselling it. I'd be very careful with this one Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBreeze Posted January 20, 2016 Author Share Posted January 20, 2016 thanks Linda. It hadn't occurred to me that it could have been painted. And could be a sign that something went awry.I just thought it looked rather clean and at 12K the owner thought it was worth a lot. I guess that's my point is it's just confusing and all over the place price wise. I agree, and thought the same thing when I recently saw that add in Tucson again. I lived in Tucson for the last several months and had noticed it on several occasions. I think that it looks real. Its the same verbage, some of it not professional, and the ad isn't repeated several times in other places. Just always that same ad. He might just be holding out a price it is not worth. I didn't go look at it when I was in Tucson but I saw a different one in the same price range and my first impression when I walked in was, this is going to need a lot of work. my overall question isn't these two specific ones, sorry, but if you were in my position is it better to spend more money up front for what is hopefully a quality RV or go a little cheaper and save some money for fixing and emergency use. Sounds like that's going to come up either way. Thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjrbus Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Two schools of thought. I thought I could find a really nice Toy for $10,000. The "mint" condition ones I went and looked at needed a bit. Old tires, delamination, AC just needed a charge. If AC needs a charge it is broke, no maintenance records on and on adnauseium. I am sure there are nice actually maintained ones out there for sale but I was not finding one and did not want to spend 2 years looking. So I bought a cheaper one that was solid, and am slowly doing what needs to be done. I do not see where either way is wrong or better. For me this is more of a hobby than trying to find a place to live. After I bought mine I met an older gentleman in the area who bought a 94 Sea Breeze in great shape with low miles for $11,000 in CA. He said he has spent $2,000 more on it and it needs another $1,000. Tough choice, good luck. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linda s Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 I find in general that whatever you spend there will still be things to fix. I only know one couple who refurbish Toyota RV's that make sure everything is perfect and they sell on eBay for way more then 12 grand. You need to become a motorhome expert. learn about water damage and how to check for it. Always find a mechanic near the motorhome to check out the engine. Learn how to check all appliances for condition. A new fridge can cost close to 800 bucks. V6 Toys need to have had a valve adjustment at 60,000 miles or your going to have to have one done, possibly hundreds of dollars. There is so much more. All you have to do is come here and ask. Post listing for what your looking at and sometimes we can see problems just from pictures and at least come up with some questions for you to ask the owner. Kind of like buying a new house and finding out after the foundation is bad. You need to dig deep and no matter how deep you will always find something else later Linda S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmowrey Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 As Linda points out, there aren't many people refurbishing Toys and then selling them as drive-off-the-lot perfect RVs. So whatever you get, you are going to have to do some work on it. And in my opinion, this is going to be an ongoing adventure. These things are 30 years old! By the time you upgrade everything, it'll be time to start back at the beginning again. It's kinda like painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Once you finish, it's already time for the next coat. But to me, that's part of why we get ourselves into these sometimes aggravating and hairpullable little motor homes in the first place. They are project homes. Very utilitarian (or at least ours, which we've had for 3 seasons now, has been), but you always have to be noodling with them to keep them in shape. The guy we bought ours from (and ours was a real peach on a lot of levels) told me, "Don't buy one of these unless you are ready and willing to have a screw driver in your hand at the ready at all times!" But what else would we do with our spare time. And from what I've heard, even a brand new 100,000 motor home has problems the develop on an ongoing basis. I suspect it comes with the territory when you put a house on wheels and roll it down the road. Stuff will be jarred loose, abused and need repairs. At least with our Toys, we didn't drop $100,000 on them at the get go! Whatever you get, have fun with it. Learn to smile and grimace and enjoy the unique nature of these classic little RVs. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVdaytrader Posted January 20, 2016 Share Posted January 20, 2016 If you can, buy one that was not driven on snowy, salted roads...mine wasn't and has NO RUST on the chassis at all...and check the cabover area very well. Any soft spots indicate rot and will be a BIG project to repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBreeze Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 Thank you for the advice. I've decided to look in the lower price range. I understand that this will be a large undertaking but it sounds like an adventure to me. I'm looking in the AZ and Colo areas and hoping for something that was in the desert with no rust. I have about four months of work free life to focus on getting it roadworthy for 100% full time loving (living but my typo sounds good too).Thanks again for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 You never know where you will find a rust-free one. I have come across Toyota RVs in northern Michigan and New York with no rust anywhere. I assume because they were only used in the summer. I bought my 1978 Chinook from Louisiana since I figured there would be no rust. It has some rust but different then from road-salt. My 78 is rust-free underneath but has rust along the windshield perimeter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmowrey Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 We found our 85 Dolphin in Michigan and it is a real peach. Absolutely no rust whatsoever. It lived indoors all its life and was never taken out on salty roads in the winter. In addition, it had been carefully undercoated to protect from any corrosives. A possible advantage to shopping for rigs in parts of the country where the winters are heavier is that they may have lived indoors rather than being left out in the elements in the off season. This is a huge factor. 30 years out in the Southwestern sun, for instance, will have taken its toll. So don't be afraid to go a little further afield in your search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.