Help - Used Motorhome Purchased Needs $10,000 Worth of Repair

[Tonk Mom]

So, to add more to the pot, the brakes on my car just went out so we stopped by an auto supply place on the way home and bought pads and my husband just finished putting them on. He's really good mechanically and if he had the equipment and a better back, he could probably do the RV.

[Phil57]

Jill I am 55 and have had three surgeries on my crevical spine from C 3 -T 1. I am on LT disability and suffer from constant pain. I take lots of pain meds to get through the day and my typing is proof they work. I am a fair shade tree mechanic and try to do what I can myself. Sometime its a choice of doing an hours worth of work and being done for a day or two from the pain or hiring it out. I only work on mine when I'm not on pain meds and it takes its toll. I sometimes take several days or weeks to get a simple job done but I do what I can. I tell you this so you know I do understand what your husband goes through. Have him get a friend or a teen age kid from church or a friends kid that may want to learn a thing or two. Have your husband teach this kid and at the same time do the heavy lifting. You can pay him and if its a good kid it will be a win win for both.There is a lot I can still do and I'm darn stubborn about doing it myself. You have your hands full with a 98 MH. Try to limit your projects to make life easier. Things dont have to be perfect. I had to learn this when we got our MH. I ended up getting all this stuff and made thing much more completed than it had to be. Work on the basics of the MH. Make sure it wont leave you stranded on the road first then work on the fun things like the freezer on a slide and the Sat. dish. We did that and it takes so much work to get packed and ready that I'm too tired and sore to go. I wish you both the best and I hope that your DH finds some relief from his pain. As far as I have seen their is not a good option out their and I have tried most of them. More details on that can be in a PM.

[great white]

I'm not trying to stir the pot, but if hubby is knowledgeable and capable enough to change brake pads on a car he can do brake calipers on an RV. It's mostly the same task except he needs to remove a brake line and bleed the brakes to change a caliper.

Hydraulic jacks take essentially the same force to raise the vehicle and it's even harder to get stooped over into the wheel well in a car as opposed to a truck.

Also, if you change the calipers, you're almost changed out all the brake fluid during it. Use a syringe and suck the brake fluid out of the reservoir to about 1/8 inch above the bottom and then about 10 bucks in brake fluid will refill the entire front brake system with fresh fluid (IE: what they are calling a "flush").

Brake fluid is hygroscopic, it pulls water right out of the air. The master is not as "sealed" as many seem to think. This creates issues in the brake system such as internal rusting on steel components (but not only rusting, as I will expand on in the next paragraph). Combined with seals that break down in the system over time it eventually becomes "contaminated".

However, in the greater scheme of things, all this usually does is lower the boiling point of the fluid. This can give you a soft pedal after heavy brake usage. IE: trailing brakes down a mountain pass, etc.

What happens is the water boils to steam under heavy braking. It;'s a very small quantity, but steam is compressable while brake fluid is not. This compressibility in the system (that is not supposed to be there) makes the pedal feel "spongy" when it happens. The brakes will still work, but it's a very unsettling feeling when it does it and you're halfway down a 6% mountain pass.....

Most of your other items seem kind of "sketchy". Roof's can be patched, do you really need AC (even so if it's working it's working), and if your rig has both 12v and shore power services available your converter is working.

It's also a little hard to understand spending 11g on an older rig because you want to save/don't have money, then dropping 4g into what could be interpreted as "want" items and then "balking" at spending money on safety items like brakes. Not trying to judge, it just doesn't seem very consistent with your stated situ.

Where do you live? There may be a few good Samaritans on the board who wouldn't mind giving you a hand. I know I would have no trouble popping down the road and hour or so to help someone change out brakes. It's a 30 min job for me (I've got just the "tiniest bit" of experience at it ), so no sweat off my back. I'm sure there's others out there that would feel the same way about it. Maybe close to you right now....

Good luck (sincerely) in making a new life elsewhere.

[Tonk Mom]

Hi Phil~

Ed is 56 and sounds like you, but he has not had surgery. So far the doctors say there is nothing that can be done, but I am not sure I believe that. He does do as much as he can and it does take longer now and you are right, he will suffer for days. The motor home is already 99% packed with clothes, food, toiletries, cooking appliances and anything that I thought we would need. The "fun" stuff will be worked on after the major stuff, as you suggested and that is how we are doing it. I figure we will bring the facets and lights and stuff with us that we can do on the road.

There is no one here that can help us as we don't really know anyone and this area is not a friendly place to be. Our only friends moved back to Canada as they were in the same position with us regarding the house and hating the area. Ed replaced the toilet himself and cleaned the black tank and other stuff like that.

Thank you, Phil for your message.

Jill

[Tonk Mom]

Great White~

We did not plan to spend so much on not really needed stuff. I just kept finding things I thought we needed like a new toilet, bed, hoses, faucets, showerhead, fire pit, satellite (we really did not need that, I know) and similar things. My husband keeps telling me to stop buying stuff and he is right. Actually, we should have bought a better motor home, but a year ago, we were in a different position than we are now as we started an on line business and are doing pretty good. Had we been where we were now, last year, we would have bought a much better RV, but this is what it is now.

No one is balking at safety items. Those take precedence.

We live in South Florida.

Jill

[Phil57]

Jill feel free to PM anytime and I wish you the best. I know that sometimes the conversation on forums and get a little off track. Its hard to understand who we are talking to when its just a screen in front of us. It's easy to judge and harder to understand what a person means with out the body language and facial expressions that we have in face to face communication. I also know that people can and do say thing on a forum that they would never say to a person face to face. What you have taken on as I said is a huge job. A 98 MH is always going to need something and it will never stop asking you to throw more money into it. I hope you will stay active on the forum and keep us updated on how life on the road is treating you.

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Phil57

...I also would not pay someone to do it and certainly not what was quoted to the OP for this simple and inexpensive PM...

My point exactly, the reply was addressed to the op.

[Phil57]

Originally Posted by OldCoot

My point exactly, the reply was addressed to the op.

Not sure what was meant here but it seems like I have irritated you in some way. If I made a comment that was none of my business than I missed how forums work.

[Tonk Mom]

I did some research on used motorhomes, but obviously was given bad information and if I knew that an old one, which I thought was in good condition was such a problem, I would have purchased a newer one. It is really a shame that people lie, even more these days when times are tough. It seems that the tougher things get, the more people with money want to take from the ones with less money.

[bodzcampers]

Yeah, I think anyone would agree that lying and trying to cheat others is not so good.

I hope your RV adventure turns out to be healthy for you and your husband.
Sometimes I'm tempted to cave and walk away knowing my house is worth less than I paid for it too. Sometimes I want to do the very thing you are doing. Most RVers are helpful, so, when needed, I'm sure you'll have help along the way. In your journey to find your new home, are you planning on staying in CGs?

[OldCoot]

Originally Posted by Phil57

Not sure what was meant here but it seems like I have irritated you in some way. If I made a comment that was none of my business than I missed how forums work.

Not in the least, I was just addressing Jill in the exorbitant cost of the brake estimate and the needless item of flushing as it was an added cost.

p.s. I quit!

[Tonk Mom]

Don't quit, Old Coot!

[Tonk Mom]

Thanks, bodz. What is CGs?

My attorney actually suggested we do this as to not throw good money after bad. We tried for a modification, but those are few and far between and end up better for the bank anyway. One of the factors is that the homes here went down so low (one of the worst hit areas) and people who normally could not afford to buy, bought in this little development so we are not living in a very desireable neighborhood. Most don't speak English, but that is not what is the worst part, they live many in a unit, let their kids run in the street and play let's see if we can get hit by the car, there are drug dealers and prostitutes living in here. Homes used to be $350,000 plus and then for a while sold for less than $100,000, so you will get a different class of people. I still owed $200,000 on my townhouse and could not justify paying that when I had already paid $200,000 on the unit (down payment plus interest for five years). Not to mention the upgrades we did after we moved in. It was a very, very hard decision and I didn't sleep well for months until I got used to it. I'm the type of person that doesn't buy something if I can't pay for it up front, which I now see is stupid since I lost my savings and people who were irresponsible and put down nothing to minimal and lived among their means, lost nothing when they walked away. The bank won't budge on a modification, so short sale or even foreclosure, I just don't care anymore. No compassion. But, with our age and with jobs so scarce, you have to make a decision to continue with your obligation and overpay/run out of money or do what is best for your survival and have money in your pocket. I lost my job two years ago and no one was hiring. It happens.

I also realized that most of the money I put into the RV with the exception of a new toilet, bed, faucets, tvs,I would have put into a new one anyway as they weren't for repairs, just stuff, like the fire pit, BBQ, things I thought I would need if I stayed in it 6 months.

So, we will bring the RV to the other mechanic tomorrow and it the price is not horrible, we will let him do it, otherwise my husband will do it. He knows how, he just thinks he might not be up to it.

[Taranwanderer]

This may or may not be helpful...but I'll toss it out there anyway.

It sounds like you guys bought a "starter" RV because, considering your financial situation last year when you were shopping, that was what you could afford. Fair enough. But being new to the "lifestyle" (and BTW, I thought that term was reserved for another, uhh, recreational pursuit unrelated to camping,) you have to realize that you either need to be able to do stuff yourself or be prepared to throw money at the RV for everything. Now it does sound like you maybe have a better mechanic than the first rip-off shop, and he may well get you on down the road for a reasonable amount of $, but consider this: that '98 RV is going to continue to nickel and dime you, possibly to financial ruin, if you aren't able to do work on it yourself long-term.

If you're in a better place financially now, I'd suggest taking the bath on it and trading it for something that's newer, in better shape, etc. Otherwise, you're going to be resurrecting this thread in 6 months with a new set of problems that need to be fixed, and you might be out on the road in the middle of nowhere when it happens. If you could do the work yourself, it wouldn't be such a big deal. But you need to consider what is your time worth, and what is the aggravation worth when you're on the road and having issues and can't fix stuff yourself. You might lose $ on the transaction, but I'd be looking for something newer and more reliable. It will be worth whatever you lose to gain the peace of mind of having a reliable unit under you. Good luck either way!

[Tonk Mom]

Thank you for those kind words and it is a very good suggestion.

[bodzcampers]

CGs = Campgrounds

Personally, I would do something similar to the above poster, but everyone knows best what is right for them.

I would work on stability. I would sell the RV and buy a mobile home in a nice senior park (50+), pay the lot fee, have a more durable home in a community where you can keep established doctors, etc. Maybe in FLA mobile homes are expensive. But not everywhere. I've seen them even for free on Craigslist. They would need some fixing, but you'll have cash from your RV sale. And, any RV will need more repairs and maintenance.
They are just not made as durable as a real mobile home. CG fees and gas will be an expense more than a mobile home lot rent. Make it close to stores so having a car is not such a big deal. Start small. Be stable. Work on your e-business. That's my true advice.

[clancythecamper]

Wow ~ looks like you've got your hands full. I confess, I did not read the entire post; having said that, I would start with safety issues and find the most reasonable, reputable dealer possible.

Wishing you the best!

[bodzcampers]

Here's an example of a very affordable, but nice mobile home for only $3k.
Located in Rochester Hills, MI. Trust me when I say that Rochester Hills, MI is a very nice community! I just checked my local craigslist to provide examples.

350 Tourangeau - Mobile/Manufactured Home For Only $2,999!.

[Tonk Mom]

We have been looking to buy a mobile home, but the prices have been rising and the lots fees are outrageous. We seen $75,000 home price with $1,000 lot fee and we have seen $135,000 with $600 lot fees, so we are trying to find foreclosures or short sales, but the problem with that is the mobile home dealers are really mobile home investors and snatch up all the low priced homes and flip. We are looking in LA as I am very home sick and need to go home. Prices there were good for a while and I did not act fast enough and we are really priced out of anything. The regular homes were really good prices and I couldn't get a realtor to help me in my price range as they didn't want to do the work and not make a huge commission and then the investors came along and purchased in bulk. It is a different time, people with money are desperate to get as much as they can even if it means putting others out on the street, so they can die with more money than anyone. I think it is like a contest now.

[Tonk Mom]

Thanks, bodz, but I have no desire to live in Michigan and that home is teeny tiny. I need the warmth all year round and my friends are in LA.