No Longer An RV'er Wannabe...

[NW-Bound]

I am no longer an RV'er wannabe...

That's because I am now an RV owner.

Yes, I finally came across one that I couldn't say no to. It's a used class C of the type that I have been shopping for: no more than 26ft in length, so that I can keep it at the city home and not having to send it into exile at the boonie home, where it rains and snows and hails...

I don't know about posting pictures, as it does not have the "wow" factor like a new one. But I will say that it is older than 5 yrs. It has but 25K miles on it. Does it have any problem? I will know when we take it for our first trip. But the outside is clean with absolutely no dents. The inside is also clean, as the previous owner is a retiree and a careful user. In fact, I don't think they have used the range cooktop and the oven at all. The refrigerator is also cleaner than those of used RVs I have looked at.

I am going through everything to make sure it works, and to understand how things work. The two problems that I knew are: 1) the 4KW generator ran rough, and 2) the front windows leak.

The generator ran rough because the RV was sitting for the last couple of years. It was amazing that it even ran. Seeing that it ran and produced power, I knew the worst I would have to do was to change out the carburetor (they are no longer rebuildable, as I read on the Web). As it turned out, I was able to clean it without disassembling it even. It purrs at the flick of the switch now.

About the front window leak, I did not notice it until we got home and took the curtains off to wash. It appears to have caused no damage. My top priority now is to remove and to reinstall a couple of windows with new butyl sealant putty tape. Mere silicon caulking like the previous owner did wouldn't fix the problem for real.

My wife is really into it now. In fact, she loves it!

Her nesting instinct is in high gear now, and she has been decorating!

I don't know when we can take our first trip. Still need to fix the windows, and then to get some time off from my part-time work which has been running more like full-time. When can I learn to say no to money?

But, but, but will I need lots of money to fill the gas tank? The largest engine size I ever owned was on a Ford pick up with a 390 cu.in. engine. This one is 7.4 liter, or 454 cu.in.

 

[REWahoo]

Heh heh...Gotcha!!!

 

[Dawg52]

Just be sure to visit a few of these on your trips. I will be a happy stockholder.

 

[NW-Bound]

Heh heh...Gotcha!!!

About the leak? Heh heh heh... I hope it won't get as bad as Andy and his first LazyDaze class C where he blogged about putting down buckets in strategic spots in a rain storm to catch the leaks. Heh heh heh... Why not use a funnel and a drain hose to use the water to refill the water tank? Heh heh heh... Soon, I will be able to commiserate with fellow RV'ers.

 

[NW-Bound]

Just be sure to visit a few of these on your trips. I will be a happy stockholder.

I crawled under to look at the tanks. Where are the black tank and the gray tank? Oh, there they are. And what is that even bigger tank? Oh my gosh, it's the gas tank at 55 gallons. It dwarves the other tanks at only 30 gallons, I think.

Oh well, that comes with the territory. I am trying to think of the money we'll save on lodging and meals when we go on our trek.

Just now, my wife tells me she is heading out to the RV to lounge in it.

Will that feeling outlast our first fill-up? Heh heh heh... I will keep everybody posted when we take our first trip.

 

[RonBoyd]

I am no longer an RV'er wannabe...

 

[Moemg]

Congratulations on crossing something off your wish list !

 

[nwsteve]

NW Bound
Congrats on your new purchase. I remember how excited we were with our first RV purchase. You probably know this already but if not, please check the age of your tires. Very few RV's ever wear out their tires to use, they age out. You can find your tire's manufacturing date on the side wall. If they are over 7 years (some say less), you should consider replacing beforing hitting the road for any long trips. BTW, tires can be older the model year of the vehicle you purchased. I had to replace all my unit's tires even though they have had plenty of tread.
Enjoy your new lifestyle.
Nwsteve

 

[Martha]

Cool. Did you get a LazyDaze?

 

[W2R]

Congratulations!! I am so happy that you got something you really wanted.

I think you should post pictures, because to many (most?) of us, a new-to-you RV has a tremendous "Wow!" factor, whether it is pre-owned or not. Besides, you mentioned that the outside doesn't have any dents or anything.

Time to start thinking of where your first destination should be.

 

[fisherman]

Congratulations and enjoy. We only have a TT but we really like it.

 

[Westernskies]

with apologies to FD...

This thread is USELESS without pics...

 

[NW-Bound]

Congratulations on crossing something off your wish list !

This should do it for me for a while. As you all can see, I pondered and studied for a while before making this purchase (in cash of course), so I am not an impulse buyer.

I will need to fill my "bucket list" with locations to visit. So many places, [-]so little time[/-] so little money for gas...

NW Bound
Congrats on your new purchase. I remember how excited we were with our first RV purchase. You probably know this already but if not, please check the age of your tires. Very few RV's ever wear out their tires to use, they age out. You can find your tire's manufacturing date on the side wall. If they are over 7 years (some say less), you should consider replacing beforing hitting the road for any long trips. BTW, tires can be older the model year of the vehicle you purchased. I had to replace all my unit's tires even though they have had plenty of tread.
Enjoy your new lifestyle.
Nwsteve

Thanks for the reminder. The tires are not original. The previous owner has already replaced them once, and they still look great, having perhaps 5,000 mi on them. At least that is the case with the front tires and the outer rear ones. The date code on one said 06. DW agrees with me that the ride is better than other RVs of the same size that we have test driven. Could these Michelin tires be that much better?

I still need to check all tire pressures, particularly the inner tires. I did not know that these light-truck tires are more cumbersome to check pressure, particularly the inner rear ones.

 

[NW-Bound]

No, it is not a LazyDaze. They are relatively rare. Two weeks ago, there was one offered on eBay and was parked only 30mi from me. It was an older one, but got only 9K miles on it. The floor plan was not ideal for us, but it was a clean one as I could tell from the pictures. His "buy-it-now" price was also reasonable.

I called the owner at 9PM to set up an appointment to see it at 11AM next day. As I watched eBay daily, I probably called him the same day he posted.

Well, he called me back at 9AM the next day, saying that it was sold. So to this day, we have not set foot inside a LazyDaze.

Having watched the used RV market and seen what got sold and what did not, I developed a feel for the market. When I stumbled across the one we bought, I knew it was a good deal, but still pondered why it was so good. Well, by the time a good deal got confirmed by the market, then it meant it got snatched up by somebody else. Same as with stocks, you've got to have cash on hand, then pounce as the opportunity presents itself. Buy, buy, buy...

PS. The fact that the generator ran rough might have scared some people before me. By researching on the Web, I knew to look for the sign that it was only a carburetor problem. Andy Baird lamented the fact that he spent more than $1K on a prematurely failed rotor. And it takes more than $3K to replace an Onan generator, I have read.

 

[NW-Bound]

Congratulations!! I am so happy that you got something you really wanted.

I think you should post pictures, because to many (most?) of us, a new-to-you RV has a tremendous "Wow!" factor, whether it is pre-owned or not. Besides, you mentioned that the outside doesn't have any dents or anything.

Time to start thinking of where your first destination should be.

It is prominently parked on my driveway now. It looks nice enough in a picture, but I am a shy and paranoid person. What if some board lurkers happen to live in my neighborhood and I have posted something to piss them off in the past?

About places to go to, there are so many places we have not been to, my bucket list would be several pages long.

with apologies to FD...

This thread is USELESS without pics...

I've got to think about pics. See above post.

Hey, I remember last year you posted something about renting an RV to tour New England. However, I did not recall seeing your "trip report".

 

[NW-Bound]

Congratulations and enjoy. We only have a TT but we really like it.

I have pondered the TT option for a long time, but am somewhat limited by what we can tow with our existing SUV, even if it is rated for 5,000lb tow load as the engine is a V6 and not a V8. A TT allows excursion using the tow car, which is nice.

Shorter class C as this one is, by the time I get it leveled and hooked up at a site, I may not want to take it out for daily drive. I may have to look for a used Honda CRV or a Saturn soon to use as a toad.

 

[hankster]

We used to have a Class C and enjoyed it very much. Have fun with your portable motel room and post some camping pics when you start getting out and about.

 

[NW-Bound]

I did not buy the RV right away when we saw it but put down a non-refundable $200 deposit on it. Armed with the VIN, I went home and researched on the Web. Here in AZ, I could see on the Web that the vehicle was last tested and passed emission control in 2007. So, that ruled out the possibility that it might have failed emission test and required expensive repairs before the owner put it away. After sleeping on it one night, we went back to buy it and went with the owner to the bank for him to see us draw a certified check in his presence.

Here in AZ, private auto sales are not taxed, which would be 8.7% at a car dealer! That saves me a bundle. And this one was nearly as clean as the used ones that were detailed by RV dealers.

 

[brewer12345]

Congrats! You will have a great time with this thing and the gas will be no big deal.

 

[REWahoo]

What if some board lurkers happen to live in my neighborhood and I have posted something to piss them off in the past?

Geeze Louise. If someone really wants to find you they don't need a photo of your RV to do so. Post the damn pictures...

 

[W2R]

It is prominently parked on my driveway now. It looks nice enough in a picture, but I am a shy and paranoid person. What if some board lurkers happen to live in my neighborhood and I have posted something to piss them off in the past?

Well, UncleMick lived in New Orleans for years, and Molly and others live here now. I am really not worried about them but as you point out, there are the inevitable lurkers, and I am a very vulnerable, rapidly aging woman who lives alone. I am not worried that they can tell where I live from this photo



I guess if I was, I would have taken the picture from another angle that didn't even include my house. If my car was as big as an RV, I'd take a side photo that included very little but the RV and sky anyway (not because of fears of being identified, so much as due to the fact that an RV is huge). Notice that on the photo of my Venza, I did NOT include the license plate. I think that is probably a good idea just because I am cautious too.

 

[Dawg52]

It is prominently parked on my driveway now. It looks nice enough in a picture, but I am a shy and paranoid person. What if some board lurkers happen to live in my neighborhood and I have posted something to piss them off in the past?

You live in central MS? Just take it for a cruise this weekend and post a pic from some parking lot.

 

[CuppaJoe]

Glad you finally made the decision, NW-B; I'm amazed at how careful many are, I mean about purchases. When I want something, it takes me about 1/2 day to go ahead and buy, of course all I wanted recently was a side table. If you are very careful about the angle, I'd probably have to drive round and round millions of blocks to find you. j/k

 

[IndependentlyPoor]

Actually, I am more interested in interior photos anyway.

 

[haha]

It is prominently parked on my driveway now. It looks nice enough in a picture, but I am a shy and paranoid person. What if some board lurkers happen to live in my neighborhood and I have posted something to piss them off in the past?

Drat! BTW, did I ever confess my intense love and very strong desire to see you soon?