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I,m thinking on buy a 1988 fleetwood southwind. My question is i what should i look for and should i go newer do to the year of rv. It has been stored inside and only out on trips in side is nice everything works that i can tell and drives nice. Is there anything i should look for before i make my mind up and buy. It dose need new tires and maybe brakes.
I was going to say new tires, but if it’s a great price, that can easily be accepted. Don’t worry about the age. If you like it, that’s enough. I’d recommend to make sure you know you’re other options before settling, just to avoid the possibility of seeing something a week later and thinking, ‘Doh, I should have thought of that!’…like slides!
Sounds like you tested all the appliances, take a peek at the propane tank. It’s probably in need of a sanding and repainting. Make sure to check if you have a converter or inverter as your power source. Inverters are seeming to be the best way to go. My old converter didn’t actually charge the house batteries.
Test the generator if it has one. Plug it into shore power to make sure all works and run it off the batteries to make sure all that works too.
I’m assuming you tested the appliances? Did you check to make sure the fridge runs on electric AND gas and both work?
Do both the roof AC units work? Do the furnaces work? Does the AC and heater in the dash work? Do the electric stairs work with the engine off and on? Does it have jacks and those all work?
Did you go up on the roof. Any saggy spots? Does the roof membrane have any bubbles under it?
Does it have an awning (price difference). Two 6V batteries are better than one 12V battery for house power (small price difference there too).
Check the ceiling indoors for stain spots. Make sure to look at the ceiling INSIDE cabinets where it can go undetected.
Hopefully you’ve got some idea from this
Let us know how it goes and if you get it. Please post pics too. How exciting! Best of luck to you 🙂
Well i have gone and purchased the RV on Monday Nov 30th and started my RV life. I would post pic not sure how to do it on here. Its a 1988 Fleetwood Southwind 27 footer in really good shape the guy kept it in a garage unless its was being used. So far everything works except the cable hook up but that is no big thing. First thing i did was put insurance on it and drove it down and had 7 new tires put on 6 for the rv and one for the spare never know got to be save. Happy with my purchase just need to learn more about what i have and how everything works and i should be ready for anything. At this time living in a rv park in Oregon and its raining but still having a good time.
Congratulations Jimmie! How exciting! You did the best thing you can do right away which is get new tires. One Camping World I talked to said 85% of their business is damages from tires blowing out. Yikes.
Best of luck and congrats on the new life ahead 😀
I just joined this forum. Pippi,you are outrageous. I am 59, married with one son, and it gives me great confidence that there are people like you to keep it all going.
As far as buying a motorhome, in the mid 1980’s, manufacturers were still using wooden frames on there motor homes frame construction. Beautiful looking motorhomes, that, if maintained properly will give many years of service.
I opted for a Champion LaSalle. I am the 2nd owner. It is 24 feet long and the frame is made of galvanized steel. It has a 454 Chevy and can tow 10,000 lbs. This thing is a beast. I have had it for nearly 20 years. I do all the maintenance. I had to replace the water heater, a common problem, I think I am going to add an insulated tank to extend the shower time. The fridge, a SIBIR(Horrible Refrigerator), now out of production), did not last long, though it was brand new when I purchased the motorhome. It’s one of those cases if you don’t use it, you lose it. It was a three way model, and far too expensive to replace. I have purchased a separate 12 volt to 120 volt inverter, and found a very nice used fridge a “Habitat for humanity that only required me removing 1/16 of an inch from the opening to install. When this unit is cycling, it only uses 1.0 amps. While it is not a three way, it only cost me $60 dollars. I have set up a separate batter for it to use while driving, and I calculate, with careful usage, I should easily get 4 days without recharging the battery. Of course, at any site, I can just switch it to the 120 Volt outlet, and then recharge the battery. I have a 4000 Watt Onan Generator in the motorhome
Try and find a motorhome with a steel frame. Their out there. I am currently customizing the Interior of my motorhome, and going through the whole thing, new tailights, which are extremely universal. A solid built frame will make a trailer or motorhome worth doing major repairs. The wooden framed models (Especially Class A motorhomes) tend to start to creak as the joints get lost, and that starts to cause leaks.
Your Fleetwood sounds like it was extremely well maintained, and should give you many years, if not decades, of fun.
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