Looking at a Minuet on the Oregon Coast

[sharbours]

Sean & I found a rather forlorn looking 6 metre near Newport last weekend. We left a note on the door, and actually got a call from the owner. He bought it for $4000 9 years ago from the original owner, and it's been sitting in his yard ever since.

He tossed out a figure of $1500 OBO, but we'll need to take a close look at it before we decide if it's something we want to tackle. (It's a 1978, so hopefully it has the aluminum floors.)

The obvious problems we could find without looking inside are: a broken curved front window (looks like it took a hit from a BB gun); the windows are open; it's been sitting a few hundred yards from the Pacific ocean for 9 years; the owner said the rear bumper might be loose, and that it's kind of mildewy inside.

We took some pictures of the outside, but I can't attach them from my iPhone. I'll try to add them tonight.

We have some idea of what we should look for - frame rust, floor rot (unless it's aluminum), the bumper issue, leaks, appliances, water & sewer system issues, etc. But, we could use all the help we can get. We'd love your input, especially anything specific to Minuets. We'll print out the trailer checklists off of the Forums here before we inspect it, too. If anyone wants to join us for the inspection, please let us know - we'd love the support & extra knowledge!

Thanks, and happy camping!

Sharon

[DanB]

Offer $1,000 and take it home. I would suspect that chances are very good that you will not loose money.

Of course, the $1,000 is the downpayment!

[mutcth]

Even though it has the aluminum floor, there can be floor issues. With heavy traffic, they can sag or get worn. Also, the cross-member spacing is pretty far apart (four feet, instead of the standard two), contributing to the situation.

I had some frame members in mine that had basically snapped free from the frame, but that's hard to spot unless the belly pan is down.

Check the clarity of the side and rear windows. They are made of acrylic rather than glass and can cloud or get scratched. The broken front window is a bummer, as it will have to be replaced with a smoked unit instead of the no-longer-available factory clear unit.

Good luck!

Tom

[Argonaut20]

That close to the ocean means there may be frame problems. Why is that bumper loose? Look for rust around the stove and furnace as the vent in the roof can leak and put water down on the floor. The aluminum floor can be helped with laminate flooring. The curved window is about $1000 and you will likely need a new axle. The windows in the side can be polished but they are going to need new gaskets as will the door and roof vents. If you can buy it for $1000 to $1500 you can probably afford to do the replacements on appliances if you do a lot of the work yourself.

[overlander64]

Something else to keep in mind with any of the Minuets is if the interior cabinetry isn't serviceable, you may find it problematic to construct replacement cabinetry that won't overload the chassis. All of the interior cabinetry is vinyl-clad aluminum so it very light.

The factory axle was very close to being overloaded if the coach were to be loaded to near its GVWR so many of us who have had new axles installed have upgraded the carrying capacity 500 pounds over the stock rating.

If air conditioning is important to you and the coach doesn't have an air conditioner, it pays to verify that it has the air conditioner prep package. From the paperwork that came with my '78 Minuet 6.0 Metre, it appears that the air conditioner prep package was an option. Presence of the package is marked by a blank plastic outlet plate in theceiling where the air conditioner power cord terminates.

As an extra note, if you aren't familiar with the Minuets, the 6.0 Metre coaches have a gray water tank, but it does not collect waste water from the shower as the tank is located on top of the floor in the streetside rear corner wardrobe. A blueboy tank is very handy for collecting shower water with these Minuets. . . . .

Good luck with your investigation!

Kevin

[sharbours]

Thank you so much for your responses! This gives us a lot of good information to bring with us when we go take a closer look at the trailer. Forewarned is forearmed, right?

Here are some of the pictures we took. I can't believe I didn't take any specifically of the axle. Oh, well - it probably needs to be replaced anyway. No A/C, but we'll definitely look for the prep package inside.

We do have a blue boy, and we recently replaced the shower curtain rod in our 24' Argosy with an articulated rod that gives us extra elbow room. With the Minuet being narrower, I bet that modification would work quite well.

[Argonaut20]

Just thought I would point out that the all aluminum and vinyl clad aluminum interior means cleaning is really pretty easy. Mildew can't work into the structure the way it can with wood. The plywood at the end of the seats can be easily replaced. The tambour doors on these '78 models have pretty heavy backings so they can be cleaned up and used unless the fronts are trashed or the mounts are damaged.

[3Ms75Argosy]

That curved window will be hard to replace.. $$ They only sell the tinted ones, but under a rockguard, you won't notice the difference.
Marc