Considering a 05 255ds and could use some advice

[robsox128]

Hi all,

As the title says, I an thinking about purchasing a 2005 255ds from a friend. I took it out for a few days and have a few questions/concerns that I hope you can help me with.

1) when I filled the fresh water tank, I noticed a dripping from the roof at the drain spout on the rear driver’s corner. Is the overflow on the roof? I am worried that the water intake may be leaking into the wall though I could not feel or see any water or moisture in the coach and the wall is solid.

2) the hot water heater only gets to a luke warm temp. I don’t believe it is an issue with the outside shower or HW fill valves though I don’t have a reference of the proper valve positions to be sure. I didn’t remove the anode, but it appears rusty and has likely not been changed in a long time.

3) there is a slight sag (an inch or 2) and a periodic squeak while driving in the passenger side rear. I’m guessing one of the spacers fell out of the the leaf spring but wanted to see if others have seen an imbalance in height from right to left with this unit. Also, this was noticed while driving (by a car following us) with the fresh tank empty if that means anything.

4) there were 2 small water leaks, one from the awning and another on the passenger side where the nose cap meets the coach. Both have been repaired and the walls and roof seem solid but the headliner is sagging a little at the seams and is slightly discolored in those areas.

5) he wants the NADA low retail without options though it does have all of the available GTS options except full paint and diesel. It has 60000 mi on it and has been stored in a heated storage space in the winter.

Any thoughts on the seriousness of these issues or if this is a reasonable deal would be appreciated. I see very few used B+‘s apart from dealer listings at way above NADA so it’s difficult for me to determine a value.

Thanks for any help

[rockfordroo]

See comments in red below.

Originally Posted by robsox128

Hi all,

As the title says, I an thinking about purchasing a 2005 255ds from a friend. I took it out for a few days and have a few questions/concerns that I hope you can help me with.

1) when I filled the fresh water tank, I noticed a dripping from the roof at the drain spout on the rear driver’s corner. Is the overflow on the roof? I am worried that the water intake may be leaking into the wall though I could not feel or see any water or moisture in the coach and the wall is solid.
FW tank vent is not on the roof. If the AC was running at the time, you were seeing the condensate from the AC. The AC removes moisture from the air and it drains across the roof to whichever corner happens to be lowest.

2) the hot water heater only gets to a luke warm temp. I don’t believe it is an issue with the outside shower or HW fill valves though I don’t have a reference of the proper valve positions to be sure. I didn’t remove the anode, but it appears rusty and has likely not been changed in a long time.
You need to check the position of the water heater bypass valves. If the bypass valve is not fully closed, you can have this situation. (Also check that the outside shower faucets are closed, if you have one, as they can also bypass flow.) I've attached a generic plumbing pic showing the many ways that your water heaters valves may be arranged.

3) there is a slight sag (an inch or 2) and a periodic squeak while driving in the passenger side rear. I’m guessing one of the spacers fell out of the the leaf spring but wanted to see if others have seen an imbalance in height from right to left with this unit. Also, this was noticed while driving (by a car following us) with the fresh tank empty if that means anything.
Can't help you with this one.

4) there were 2 small water leaks, one from the awning and another on the passenger side where the nose cap meets the coach. Both have been repaired and the walls and roof seem solid but the headliner is sagging a little at the seams and is slightly discolored in those areas.
Hopefully this is "past damage" and you'll have to live with it. Provided you're sure there's no wall or roof damage. If you're not sure, it might be better to walk away.

5) he wants the NADA low retail without options though it does have all of the available GTS options except full paint and diesel. It has 60000 mi on it and has been stored in a heated storage space in the winter.
Can't help with this.

Any thoughts on the seriousness of these issues or if this is a reasonable deal would be appreciated. I see very few used B+‘s apart from dealer listings at way above NADA so it’s difficult for me to determine a value.

Thanks for any help

[robsox128]

Rockfordroo, of course it was the air conditioner, I’m not too smart sometimes

[rockfordroo]

Originally Posted by robsox128

Rockfordroo, of course it was the air conditioner, I’m not too smart sometimes

Don't feel like the lone stranger. We all have those moments.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by robsox128

Rockfordroo, of course it was the air conditioner, I’m not too smart sometimes

Could also have been puddles in the rain gutter. As you fill the water tank the trailer level changes, of course.

Larry

[grumpy0374]

I looked up low retail on a 2005 Lexi 255ds GTS, about $17,000.
Without knowing complete history, and possibility of having to buy new tires, maybe HW heater, ect, if rest of coach/chassis is in fair cond, offer $15 grand and see where it goes from there.
Your looking at a 13 year old rig. Low mileage dosen't mean much, only about 4600 miles a year, which may mean a bunch of short trips, or one long one each year, after which rig sat for many months.
Offer low, all they can do is say "no".
Remember, if he's your friend, how will the friendship fare if something major goes wrong after you buy it?
Grumpy