joanne0012
Boston, MA
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maryandcoco wrote:...while I have it - or at least take a hose to it and water it down real good to check for leaks. But there is no sign on the interior of any staining or discoloration. Everything looks like brand new. The old boy seems to have really taken good care of it. I'll be very interested to hear what my mechanic has to say...
Unfortunately, leak detection isn't that simple. If the roof hasn't been resealed, it can leak for a long time before the problem becomes visible because the water travels in the walls. You need to actually FEEL all the surfaces (ceiling and walls) to see if any of them are soft or crunchy. Don't just run your hands over them, press down. Pay especially close attention to the cabover and below any windows. You can buy a new generator or fridge and have it installed in a day, but structural water damage is a major pain and expense to fix and can cause mildew-related problems, too.
Other than that, I want to say: Have a great time! Three years ago, at age 56, I bought a 1994 Class C with 120K miles on it, and I'm so glad I did! Enjoy!
Joanne
1994 Lazy Daze 23.5' TK
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Mr. October
Reading, PA
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Joined: 02/14/2007
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Mary . . . a few notes here. I applaud you for heading for the RV lifestyle. It seems the most frequent buyers these days are, in fact, single women (and their dogs  ). Having left the Winnebago WIT Grand National Rally yesterday, I can tell you that I am more impressed then ever with Winnebago and I feel their products are made for the long haul. They had a 1967 D22 in the visitor's center you could have driven out and gone camping in today.
That said, I'll only parrot what others have already said. Be sure to get the mechanics of the engine, suspension checked out. Check over the tires good. If there is ANY doubt, get new ones especially if it sat in storage for a long time. You will also want to Google Coach Net and get a roadside assistance package. Their rates are reasonable and they offer a lot of stuff beyond just roadside towing.
Additionally, look around these forums and elsewhere for the many groups of women on wheels. There are lots, and lots of women tooling around the country by themselves! I know several who started out knowing vaguely where the motor was but have become not only pretty mechanical but downright self-sufficient with their motorhomes. There are a lot of systems in the motorhomes: Engines, generators, 12-volt, shore power, refrigeration, etc. All will inevitably break or have something go wrong at some point. Most problems can be overcome by the user (except in extreme failure) with a little knowledge.
So by all means buy your RV! Then start enjoying and start learning. If you get the Minnie Winnie I can now personally recommend joining WIT (Winnebago Itasca Travelers) and going to the Grand National Rally next year. We just came from there and it was a far, far better experience then I could have EVER imagined. I pictured a week of beanbag baseball . . . hardly! Many learning opportunities for everyone from novice to expert.
There are also seminars called Life on Wheels that are supposed to be quite good too and open to anyone with any motorhome.
Good Luck!
Pete G. ('07 Itasca Navion 23H - Reading, PA)
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Artie322
New Jersey
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Joined: 06/22/2008
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Mary, I showed dogs up and down the east coast and into Canada in my younger years. We bought a TT shortly after we started showing because it just seemed so much easier when we saw all those other folks camped right there on the show grounds, and believe me, it was. Go for it. You'll have a ball!
I don't show any more, but I bought my cars and now my MH looking at each from a dog's point of view, so to speak.
Reggie
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maryandcoco
Seaside, Oregon
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Joined: 07/25/2008
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Well, I did get to talk to my brother this morning. He's at some campground up around Grand Junction Colorado. He was more encouraging and helpful that I had expected. I didn't want to tell him about this because I thought he'd say I was nuts and turn me off on it. But he was pretty helpful and far more positive than I had expected. He was more concerned about tires than anything else. He said if they are over 5 years old, replace them. And if they show signs of flaking, replace them. He also told me that by the time I get my stuff in the motorhome I'll probably find that I am overloaded anyway, so might want to consider not carrying a full tank of water since I will usually be gone for only a few days and can get water where I am at normally. I'm lucky we have a scale about 5 miles up the road so I will be able to check the weight as I load and see how much stuff I should be leaving at home and get it down to the appropriat weight the first time around.
I've already planned my first trip. There is a fun show in Mollala, Oregon on the 10th. It's a check in at the gate kind of deal with no pre-registration, so I think I'll load up the Winnie and the dogs and go for it. I am anxious to get the first trip under my belt before going further afield.
mary
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Bordercollie
Garden Grove, CA, USA
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Joined: 03/07/2002
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You may feel less intimidated by a 22 foot MH but consider a 27 footer like our Fleetwood 26Q with a rear gueen bed and plenty of rear storage space for dog crates, exercise pens, etc., etc. You can get awfully tired to climbing up and down ladder to the overhead bed or converting the dinette to an uncomfortable bed or using the jacknife sofa bed. 22 foot MH owners usually complain about shortage of storage space haveing to put stuff in the shower and on the floor.
We have two large Border Collies and have to step over them a lot.
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davemittan
North central Arkansas
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Joined: 01/05/2007
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I checked out that small pic in your profile - do you have 3 Cocker Spaniels? Say 35 pounds each? Do you carry crates with you? Does the MH have a slide?
The reason I ask is the 22' might be a little small for 3 dogs that size, especially with crates. We carry 3 dogs and their crates - they're smaller than Cockers. It would be tough if we didn't have the slide.
I'm thinking about floor space - there isn't much of it in a 22' MH.
* This post was
edited 07/26/08 05:23pm by davemittan *
Dave
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maryandcoco
Seaside, Oregon
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Hi Dave, You are right about the floor space, but I took all three dogs for a ride today and they just took over the couch and the dinette. In fact, one of them moved into the passenger seat. My plan is to store crates and ex-pens in the overhead sleeping area, which I will never climb up into. I'll sleep on the couch that makes into a bed, leave the dinette set up, and I think there'll be plenty of room. Once I'm parked I have multiple ex-pens that can be hooked together to make a fenced yard next to the motor home for them. I just have to get some shorter ex-pens to close off the bottom of the motor home so they can't go under it. My dogs are all pretty small, 27-28 lbs each and they don't need a great deal of room when going down the road. Most of the time now they ride in their crates. Having the freedom to lay on the couch and the dinette will be a great luxury for them. This little Minnie Winnie is about the best I can do moneywise so I pretty much feel really privilaged to even get that.
I am running into some interesting issues though. I have it for the weekend to take to my mechanic and have checked out and have the opportunity to drive it around and play with it a little. Everything seems dry and no sign of any leaking. But the ALS light came on halfway home and I had to pull over twice because it was sort of shaking like you were driving over a washboard road. Once I shut it off, started back up, and the light went off it drove fine. My mechanic thinks its calipers and hopefully an easy fix. We'll know more tomorrow.
Then I climbed up top and looked at the top of it and the air conditioning unit, which I have not yet attempted to run has a lot of broken plastic on the housing. Could be somebody drove under a tree or something with it. I see signs of silver duct tape on it, so it's an old issue. I'll have to take it to the RV repair up in Warrenton on Monday and have them take a look at that.
I crawled under it and the exhaust pipe is all rusty and has holes in it so tht will need to be replaced.
I was going to fill it with water and check the holding tanks for leaks, but when I took the lid off the water input I see it has a very small input hole. Not big enough for a garden hose. How does one fill those holding tanks? Do you have some sort of special attachment for your hose? There are no instruction manuals in the rig, so I'll have to either figure these things out or get help from the RV repair place. It has been suggested that I take it to them anyway to have the windows and everything re-sealed just to be on the safe side.
There is no propane in the tanks so I can't really check that whole system without filling them - also a job for the RV Repair place I suppose. The tank itself looks a little rusty, but that's probably normal for the age and probably just needs to be checked out.
It appears to have electric seats but they aren't working. Luckily, the driver's seat is perfect for me so I don't need to move it, but will want to have it fixed.
The generator starts right up, but I have not messed around with trying to figure out how to make sure things are running off the generator - like the refrigerator and get things going. I guess that's a job for tomorrow when I am with the mechanic or else Monday up at the RV repair place.
I think if the engine and tranny are good, I can afford to fix all the other little things and maybe even have an awning installed.
I looked on line and I think $8,000 sounds ok on the price as most others were upwards of $14,000 - $15,000 and then you get into the really expensive stuff that I so can not afford. $20,000 and up. Just out of my ball park. I want to be able to write a check for it and know that I don't owe anybody on it. I'm sure I could get a reasonable deal at a dealership in this market, but would still be looking at a lot more money. Just don't want to do that.
But tomorrow and Monday will tell a lot.
Mary
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davemittan
North central Arkansas
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Joined: 01/05/2007
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We started off with a 22' unit - I ultimately removed the passenger seat and made a platform for two Vari-Kennels to ride on (to get them at the same height as the coach's floor). It seemed like a strange thing to do, but that relatively small amount of gained floor space made things a lot easier. (DW concurred, even though it meant she rode in back when we were rolling.)
Dave
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midnightsadie
ohio
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Joined: 01/07/2008
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find some one who will do repairs in your drive way or there house, some one who could use a few bucks ,BUT knows what there doing , taking it to a dealer is around $80.bucks hr labor . eats up your reserve funds real quick , most repairs can be done with a little common sense,
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Mr. October
Reading, PA
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You are on the right track here with checking things out. Don't worry about the A/C housing. Those get broken and replaced all the time. You can buy one at almost any RV dealer. Make sure you get one that fits. Not sure about the freshwater input. It sounds like someone may have a quick disconnect on there. That should screw off if that is the case. The freshwater input should be a standard hose fitting.
Regarding a manual, call the manufacturer. They may be able to send you a copy.
I would definitely fill all the tanks and check for leaks, make sure the water pump works, etc. I would take a hose in and fill the black water tank (open the toilet, add water with the hose until full). Same with the kitchen sink. Then, make sure the levels sensors show them both full (and they show empty now). Check both tanks thoroughly for leaks. Inspect that propane system really well. Critters sometimes like to chew any exposed rubber lines if they use rubber. If they are copper or black pipe inspect carefully for cracks. Ultimately, you are probably going to have to put some propane in to try it out. Does it have a propane leak detector? (If not, ultimately you need to add one.) You may want to work with a dealer to safely check out the propane system.
Have fun! I think you are already on the right track with this.
Start the generator again and try running the air conditioner. That will be a good test of both systems.
maryandcoco wrote:Hi Dave, You are right about the floor space, but I took all three dogs for a ride today and they just took over the couch and the dinette. In fact, one of them moved into the passenger seat. My plan is to store crates and ex-pens in the overhead sleeping area, which I will never climb up into. I'll sleep on the couch that makes into a bed, leave the dinette set up, and I think there'll be plenty of room. Once I'm parked I have multiple ex-pens that can be hooked together to make a fenced yard next to the motor home for them. I just have to get some shorter ex-pens to close off the bottom of the motor home so they can't go under it. My dogs are all pretty small, 27-28 lbs each and they don't need a great deal of room when going down the road. Most of the time now they ride in their crates. Having the freedom to lay on the couch and the dinette will be a great luxury for them. This little Minnie Winnie is about the best I can do moneywise so I pretty much feel really privilaged to even get that.
I am running into some interesting issues though. I have it for the weekend to take to my mechanic and have checked out and have the opportunity to drive it around and play with it a little. Everything seems dry and no sign of any leaking. But the ALS light came on halfway home and I had to pull over twice because it was sort of shaking like you were driving over a washboard road. Once I shut it off, started back up, and the light went off it drove fine. My mechanic thinks its calipers and hopefully an easy fix. We'll know more tomorrow.
Then I climbed up top and looked at the top of it and the air conditioning unit, which I have not yet attempted to run has a lot of broken plastic on the housing. Could be somebody drove under a tree or something with it. I see signs of silver duct tape on it, so it's an old issue. I'll have to take it to the RV repair up in Warrenton on Monday and have them take a look at that.
I crawled under it and the exhaust pipe is all rusty and has holes in it so tht will need to be replaced.
I was going to fill it with water and check the holding tanks for leaks, but when I took the lid off the water input I see it has a very small input hole. Not big enough for a garden hose. How does one fill those holding tanks? Do you have some sort of special attachment for your hose? There are no instruction manuals in the rig, so I'll have to either figure these things out or get help from the RV repair place. It has been suggested that I take it to them anyway to have the windows and everything re-sealed just to be on the safe side.
There is no propane in the tanks so I can't really check that whole system without filling them - also a job for the RV Repair place I suppose. The tank itself looks a little rusty, but that's probably normal for the age and probably just needs to be checked out.
It appears to have electric seats but they aren't working. Luckily, the driver's seat is perfect for me so I don't need to move it, but will want to have it fixed.
The generator starts right up, but I have not messed around with trying to figure out how to make sure things are running off the generator - like the refrigerator and get things going. I guess that's a job for tomorrow when I am with the mechanic or else Monday up at the RV repair place.
I think if the engine and tranny are good, I can afford to fix all the other little things and maybe even have an awning installed.
I looked on line and I think $8,000 sounds ok on the price as most others were upwards of $14,000 - $15,000 and then you get into the really expensive stuff that I so can not afford. $20,000 and up. Just out of my ball park. I want to be able to write a check for it and know that I don't owe anybody on it. I'm sure I could get a reasonable deal at a dealership in this market, but would still be looking at a lot more money. Just don't want to do that.
But tomorrow and Monday will tell a lot.
Mary
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