which do I buy?

[happy twin]

Ok, I need help here.

18 ft. v6 1990 sunrader had 50k mi and asking $15,000, no gen., seems fine shape (soft floor???)

21 ft. 94 itasca has 125k mi and asking $14000, gen, seems in fantastic shape.

what do you all think?

thanks,

happy twin

[DanAatTheCape]

Ok, I need help here.

18 ft. v6 1990 sunrader had 50k mi and asking $15,000, no gen., seems fine shape (soft floor???)

21 ft. 94 itasca has 125k mi and asking $14000, gen, seems in fantastic shape.

what do you all think?

thanks,

happy twin

Never been in a sunrader so I can not comment except to say compare features, space etc. A soft floor is NOT a good thing. Floors get soft from water. I think a sunrader is all fiberglas which may make it acceptable once the source of the water is found & the floor is replaced

I just bought a 92 itasca spirit - the prices you quote seem rather high to me but from watching Ebay, rvtrader.com & rvtraderonline.com the west coast does seem to be noticeably higher then the east. I bought mine for $9,000 with 3 problems - a generator that needs what appears to be governor work, a leaking front window & a noise that sounds like a pinion bearing. I have a mechanic who is quite reasonable in a nearby small town who pulled the chunk which I left at what I call a real rear end shop in Orlando. Many people shyied away from the camper because fo the rear end. THe chunk looks good but the pinion bearing can not be seen until it is taken apart and the noise is under load only. If not that then we are talking transmission.

The window was interesting. I pushed it out and resealed it with a buytl seal I bought at a rv shop. While it was out I took pictures - from the bottom of the window up the front of the camper is made of cored stryofoam. Below the window it is wood.

With the mileage you mentioned on the Itasca, in perfect condition I would expect itto go for about $11-12K around here. Some one may pay more. I saw one that sounds like what you described that was located nearby that got $13,500 with lower mileage - I think it was bought by a west coast dealer.

One reason why I like the late model Itascas (and winne Warriors) is that most of the top is one piece of metal - which must be galvanized, and of the 3 I saw, none had leaks except at the front. The V6 seems like an excellent engine.

I would price a genset - it makes a big difference in comfort.

[Gulfstream Greg]

We have an 86 18 ft Sunrader. Comparing the floor plans is what you want to do. My wife hates how cramped our little 18 footer is. She really likes the roomier Itasca's. The Sunrader is not only shorter its narrower also. As for the soft floor, yes it could be water damage but more likely the floor has delaminated itself. The way a Sunraders floor is constructed is with a 3/8 sheet of plywood then a core of foam then a skin of aluminum on the bottom. They originally are glued together but after time the pull apart. And on top of that sunrader did not build enough brace support under the floor which compounds the problem. There really is no way to glue the panels back together that I know of. I put down 1/2 inch ply on the existing floor and screwed it down. I did not glue it in case I needed to remove it later. It works really well. I can still feel it flex under my 200 pounds but its a really solid feeling. On top of that we put vinyl floor covering and got rid of the carpet. Much easier to keep clean with a long haired dog.

I think your choice in floor plan is the buying point. The 18 foot sunrader with the 180 degree plus view out the back is really nice. Usually a much better view than a side window looking at the rig along side of you in that packed RV park. The bath shower combo in the sunrader is probably considerably smaller than the Itasca. We keep our soap on a roap. I have no idea how much a fully loaded Itasca would weigh. Our 18 ft SR is right around 6900 pounds fully loaded. It is a 4x4 so that adds a couple hundred pounds plus. Which ever one you decide there is a concern with the V6. There was a head gasket recall from Toyota. Its really important that it was taken care of. You may have to supply the vin number to toyota to find out for sure.

[futar]

Sunrader uses more premium parts and better engineering than Winnebago. The Winny rear air bags are junk and poorly installed. Sunrader uses the best over the axle bags. They last a lot longer. The Sunraders use a ducted premium premium propane heater, Winny uses the cheapest. Sunrader uses remotely ignited automatic water heaters while Winny uses the cheapest manually ignited ones. Winny assembles things by having intoxicated workers fire staples at a hundred feet distance (at least it seems so). The aluminum Winny roof is concave letting water collect.The Sunrader roof is slightly convex keeping water off. Winny uses tons of pressboard which swells and rots.

No contest as far as quality and engineering.

[happy twin]

Thanks so much for your input, everyone.

Any more opinions appreciated too!

Next question re. these is on the sunrader:

size of beds in 18 ft.er? (rear dinette bed and cabover)

dimensions of exterior and interior width?

thanks again,

happy twin

[Diesel_Aggie]

My data is for a 1983 18' rear dinette model. Front bed 51" x 76". Dinette bed 43" x 76" Interior width is 76-77" depending on where I measure and how straight the tape measurer is. Exterior width is 80" rear not counting the rear fender flares or mirrors. It's very easy to maneuver or park. It is shorter than my 1994 F-350 crew cab long bed and has a tremendous turning radius.

I also have the soft floor and am debating what to do. Turbo Greg's layover idea is promising. I'm also trying to get more info on reinforcing the underneath as Bajadulce did. In mine the plywood is not delaminated and has no signs of water damage. Seems that Greg's theory of delamination of the foam composite construction due to bad/lacking support design is correct.