Need opinon on 32' Excella 1987

[George-CT]

Greetings from Cold Connecticut. We are looking at the mentioned Excella and would like to hear from you that have one or owned one as to if there are any problems with them in general. It looks well kept, clean inside. Finish is dull but that does not bother me. Rear queen bed . My main questions would be, does this year have the polybyutel plumbing, electric or hydralic braking.... I'll be pulling it with a dually so should be no problem there. Any input would be much apprecaited.

George & Jane

[JD85EXCELLA32]

George & Jane

We have an 85 32' excella and it has electric brakes so I would assume that the 87 does also. I will admit that mine does have the gray "polyb." plumping and so far it is working fine. I understand from other reads on this forum that the joints/elbows and T-fittings are the problem area's.

Good luck

[Excella3287]

Have the very same unit with dinette and full bed. In five years very little repair with plumbing only two leaks one of which was my fault. It does have electric brakes. I also tow with a chev 1 ton dually no problems there. It's nice to go uphill at 55. Good luck and If I can be of further assistance please pm.

[ke4pk]

We have a 1988 32' Excella 1000, twin rear floorplan and the only problems with the plumbing to me is that the 3 drains for winterizing that are under the kitchen sink are very hard to open and close due to the fact they are so crowded together in such a small space. Also the drain for the fresh water tank on my unit is located right behind the curbside front wheel and is a pain to drain.

One other plumbing aspect is that the water filter is in the bathroom cabinet and is also close quarters.

All else is ok.

[j54mark]

It will have the dreaded polybutylene tubing, but as was pointed out above, it is not really the tubing that is a problem - it is the connectors. They can all be reached from inside the coach, and all replaced with either Flair-it or Qest connectors. I prefer Flair-it.

Obviously you need to check the floor for past or ongoing leaks, and check to see if the axles are still good.

I personally believe the 80's units are the best values out there. But then I own one.

Mark

[George-CT]

On the polybutylene tubing, on my Monaco it has the same tubing and I use the 45 lb restrictor in the line.... Is this enough to eliminate the problem in the A/S also?

I will check for floor rot, I see that mentioned often on the board here. I'm assuming that comes from someone leaving windows or vents open and or leaking fittings rather than a design flaw right?

And one last question what would you look for on the axles other than them being straight or rusted thru or broken U bolts. Having never been under a A/S I'm not sure of their setup regarding axles but I have craweled in and around many boad trailers axles......

I'm really impressed with the feed back here on this forum site....There is a wealth of information here on these units.

The A/S will live at my daughters in SC while the older 89 Monaco 36 DP lives here with us. We go west in spring and winter down south but usually just park in the south lands.....where as in the west we are roaming most of the time.... Being used older but solid rigs we are able to afford both. As a retired steel erector, Ironworker, we have learned to by quality used and not concerened about getting my hands dirty with projects and I get the best bang for our buck at the end of the project.

Safe travels George & Jane

Originally posted by j54mark
It will have the dreaded polybutylene tubing, but as was pointed out above, it is not really the tubing that is a problem - it is the connectors. They can all be reached from inside the coach, and all replaced with either Flair-it or Qest connectors. I prefer Flair-it.

Obviously you need to check the floor for past or ongoing leaks, and check to see if the axles are still good.

I personally believe the 80's units are the best values out there. But then I own one.

Mark

[j54mark]

"Is this enough to eliminate the problem in the A/S also?"

It will help, but it will not eliminate the problem in ANY RV. The fittings - elbows, tees, connectors, etc., will fail in no discernable pattern. Some will crack, some will blow completely apart, some will apparently continue to work fine for decades to come. In the meantime I would suggest never leaving your coach unattended with city water connected or with the pump on.

Seriously, though, replacing the connectors is not the worse thing in the world.

"I will check for floor rot... I'm assuming that comes from someone leaving windows or vents open and or leaking fittings rather than a design flaw right?"

Any RV will leak. In my opinion an Airstream is less prone to leak than most brands. BUT!!!!!!!! The consequenses can be serious due to the design. The floor is a structural element and cannot (always) be patched in. See some of the many posts on "floor rot" or "floor replacement."

"what would you look for on the axles"

Worn out torsion axles. See the posts under "Wheel and Axle Forums" or go to the Inland RV site and follow the links to the page on how to check for worn out axles.

Good luck to you,

Mark