Wife and I want to start doing some camping and riding our Harley. Since I am a kidney dialysis patient, a toyhauler makes perfect sense. I don't know much (anything) on them and want to make sure I am getting a fair deal.

Here's the stats:

2008 Cherokee Wolf Pack 27' DFWP
2 Captain Chairs
Stove & microwave (no oven)
Santi-flush
18' Checkered Awning (manual)
Fuel Station - no generator
Spare Tire
8 Tie downs and all the hoses for hookups

They wanted $17,500 I talked them down to $15,500. From what I could visually see the camper is in excellent condition. They said they only used it 3x and decided to sell it since they do not get use it like they should. What do you all think?

Raxus


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Check for roof leaks, leaks around windows and soft spots on the floor. - Do that with any RV you look at.

 

Yup looked at all that. Seems pretty sounds and hardly used!


Rax


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Google that model you'll find nada guides and Forest River Forums.

 

You're going to want a generator. Get a good honda unit.

 

Just wrestled with that exact same decision and finally ended up opting for a decent used class a motorhome with a v10 ford so that my wife and I could be a little more comfortable and then tow my bike in my trailer behind it..We found that pretty much anything with a bumper pull was going to have us sleeping in the "garage" and then we'd have to leave the bike out at night..or I had to spring for a bigger truck to drag a fifth wheel toyhauler..

 

Just make sure you get one that loads from the rear.

 

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.

Edited to add:

Check the water system, turn on the water pump, open a faucet, then shut off the faucet. You should hear the on-demand pump turn on when you open the faucet, and the pump should turn off moments after you shut off the faucet. At about 40 psi, the pump will turn itself off.
If your fresh water system has a small leak anywhere, within a minute or two, you will hear the water pump cycle for a second or two. The pump coming on is telling you, you have a leak in the plumbing.

Monitor panel: Check your "levels test", and see if your black and grey holding tanks are registering correctly. They should read empty. Dirty or faulty tank probes will show full tanks, even when tanks are empty.

 

Agree with aggressive water leak search. I've been told to make extra sure that bathroom floor has no sponginess whatsoever. These issues lead me to think the new all aluminum toy hauler trailers might be the way to go.

 

Great writeup Bestrafen. Will check out what you advised to do.


Rax

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