Opinion on this Toyhauler
#11
06-03-2013, 05:49 PM
OK, now you are in my line of work. I have been an RV Tech for the last decade and a half.
First and most important is the roof. Get on it, and walk every inch of it, especially the corners. If you see or feel ANY soft spots, walk away. If there is any water damage on the roof, you will most likely have it in your sidewalls.
If the sidewalls have gotten ANY water in them, they WILL delaminate.The only repair is a sidewall replacement. Telltale signs are slight, to large bulges on the sides of the outside walls.
Look around the bottoms of all outside cutouts. (windows, compartment openings, refrigerator vents, furnace and water heaters), any place water can seep in.
If the roof is EPDM,(thin white rubber), rub it with your hand, hard. See if you get a lot of chalky white residue on your hand. If so, your roof is nearing the end of it's life. If your roof has black areas, or very thin layer of white left on it anywhere, you need to spend about $5,000 on a new roof.
Inside, open all the cabinets and closets, look for any brown or faint brown streaking in any of the wall boards, those are signs of a roof leak. Push on the walls, front to back, any soft spots indicate water damage. Also, use your nose, if you smell anything musty, or moldy, good chance of hidden water damage. All water damage is very labor intensive, any water damage should be a deal breaker.
Now, if that's all good, let's look at the appliances. The roof A/C and your evaparative refrigerator are your most expensive appliances.
The roof A/C with doors closed should reach at least a 20 degree split with the outside temp. example: 80 outside, you should get 60 inside, on average. If the trailer is a 50A setup, it will probably have a 2nd roof air, if so, the split will be greater.
Make sure the reefer is cold next time you go look at it. have them turn it on the day before. It can take up to 8 hours to get to temp. Have them turn it on AC power the day before. When you go and look at it, switch it to gas, and you should be able to hear it change over, if not, pull the outside reefer vent, and look at the burner assembly, and see if it's burning.
If it has a household 110 only reefer in it, walk, it's useless, and it will cost you about $1200 to replace. Check furnace and water heater operation.
If the tires are more than 5 years old, they need replaced.
This will take you about an hour to check, and can save you thousands down the road. This is what I do to all our trade ins, before any paperwork is signed or deal finalized. I have saved my company hundreds of thousands by doing this. I could give you more, but this should take care of the most expensive hidden repairs.
First and most important is the roof. Get on it, and walk every inch of it, especially the corners. If you see or feel ANY soft spots, walk away. If there is any water damage on the roof, you will most likely have it in your sidewalls.
If the sidewalls have gotten ANY water in them, they WILL delaminate.The only repair is a sidewall replacement. Telltale signs are slight, to large bulges on the sides of the outside walls.
Look around the bottoms of all outside cutouts. (windows, compartment openings, refrigerator vents, furnace and water heaters), any place water can seep in.
If the roof is EPDM,(thin white rubber), rub it with your hand, hard. See if you get a lot of chalky white residue on your hand. If so, your roof is nearing the end of it's life. If your roof has black areas, or very thin layer of white left on it anywhere, you need to spend about $5,000 on a new roof.
Inside, open all the cabinets and closets, look for any brown or faint brown streaking in any of the wall boards, those are signs of a roof leak. Push on the walls, front to back, any soft spots indicate water damage. Also, use your nose, if you smell anything musty, or moldy, good chance of hidden water damage. All water damage is very labor intensive, any water damage should be a deal breaker.
Now, if that's all good, let's look at the appliances. The roof A/C and your evaparative refrigerator are your most expensive appliances.
The roof A/C with doors closed should reach at least a 20 degree split with the outside temp. example: 80 outside, you should get 60 inside, on average. If the trailer is a 50A setup, it will probably have a 2nd roof air, if so, the split will be greater.
Make sure the reefer is cold next time you go look at it. have them turn it on the day before. It can take up to 8 hours to get to temp. Have them turn it on AC power the day before. When you go and look at it, switch it to gas, and you should be able to hear it change over, if not, pull the outside reefer vent, and look at the burner assembly, and see if it's burning.
If it has a household 110 only reefer in it, walk, it's useless, and it will cost you about $1200 to replace. Check furnace and water heater operation.
If the tires are more than 5 years old, they need replaced.
This will take you about an hour to check, and can save you thousands down the road. This is what I do to all our trade ins, before any paperwork is signed or deal finalized. I have saved my company hundreds of thousands by doing this. I could give you more, but this should take care of the most expensive hidden repairs.
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