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Old 07-09-2009, 10:08 AM   #1
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A Silver Lining might be up for sale soon :(

There are some grumblings from hubby about the hemorhaggic flow of money Silvie has already caused: new batteries, seat belts, fly wheel, torque converter, master cylinder. Repaired jacks, coolant system. New curtains, flat screen tvs, and lots of stuff for the interior. Purchased seats we can no longer afford to install after a 360 mile roadtrip complete with breakdown on 75. We have probably already spent $3000 and are looking at replacing the water heater now. She just needs way more work than the PO thought and more than the inspection led us to believe.

So, it is possible to likely we will be putting her on the market. If anyone knows anyone in the market, please let me know. Meanwhile, I will be selling stuff on eBay like crazy to come up with a reserve fund so we don't have to sell her just yet. I'm too fond of her already to part with her, but hubby does have a point. We've averaged $100 a day just in repairs in the short time we've owned her. The good news is that what I considered a very rusty undercarriage is apparently not bad and should not give us any trouble according to the brake/alignment guy and the mobile RV repair guy, Bob.

Sadly,
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1982 280 Turbo Diesel Limited
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"Ah, well. I'm off to get my life sustaining supplies - cornmeal and gunpowder, hamhocks and guitar strings."
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Old 07-09-2009, 10:59 AM   #2
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Audrey,

So sad!! I was looking to meeting and camping with you somewhere in MI. Any idea on an asking price? PM me back please.
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Old 07-09-2009, 11:17 AM   #3
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Now slow down there dear!!! I don't think we can afford #3 quite yet!!!
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Old 07-09-2009, 01:54 PM   #4
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Silver roller coaster ride

I have hubby pacified for a while. I went through the service records from the PO and found that belts and hoses were recently replaced (12/2008), as were many, many items that we thought we would be replacing soon (seals, filters, mufflers, etc). So, apart from the water heater, which can wait for a few weeks before we are due to be back on the road, and the brackets and alignment issues which cannot wait, we might be ok for a little while, at least long enough for me to create an emergency fund for the things that will inevitably go wrong with a 27 year old house sitting on a 27 year old truck.

I will still keep a list of people interested in buying her in case we get too far over our heads, but in the meantime, she is still ours!

And we would love to camp in Michigan with you guys! We're on the road at the end of July (to Rochester for an interment) and will not travel until then unless we get the water heater and brackets fixed before that trip. After that, though, assuming she is up and running, I'd love to explore Michigan and Ohio some more. We have loved Holland and Sleeping Bear Dunes and the little towns in Ohio near the mothership were beautiful.
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1982 280 Turbo Diesel Limited
Classic Motorhome
"A Silver Lining" or Silvie for short
"Ah, well. I'm off to get my life sustaining supplies - cornmeal and gunpowder, hamhocks and guitar strings."
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Old 07-09-2009, 01:59 PM   #5
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Great!!!

I have been following your posts. I was thinking that you have fixed a lot of things that should last a long time. It would be a shame for all of you not to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
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Old 07-09-2009, 05:04 PM   #6
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Thanks, that makes me feel better

I know we jumped into this without the proper forethought, but it seemed like such a great deal, such a great motorhome, and it really seemed like it might be a once in a lifetime opportunity. That is not to say that you all didn't warn us that there would be many, many pricey repairs in our future. Ignorance was bliss, now it's just ignorance. But, I agree with you. It would be a shame to fix this stuff and not have at least one problem-free trip!
I will see what the truck shop says after it installs the brackets and we'll go from there. Meanwhile, I get to keep her at least a little while longer.
Thanks for the words of encouragement.
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1982 280 Turbo Diesel Limited
Classic Motorhome
"A Silver Lining" or Silvie for short
"Ah, well. I'm off to get my life sustaining supplies - cornmeal and gunpowder, hamhocks and guitar strings."
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Old 07-09-2009, 11:30 PM   #7
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Keep it.

Hi,

Dear Audrey, you have weathered the storm and it has cost you dearly. And a 27 year old motorhome, or any RV for that fact, will always need some attention. Hopefully you have taken care of the biggies for now. What a shame it would be for you to spend all this time, effort, and money just to sell it and let someone else enjoy it instead of you. I just couldn't watch someone else traveling across this country in a motorhome that I fixed and never got to use. [ my thoughts, and I hope you think more before bailing out]
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Old 07-10-2009, 05:51 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS View Post
Hi,

Dear Audrey, you have weathered the storm and it has cost you dearly. And a 27 year old motorhome, or any RV for that fact, will always need some attention. Hopefully you have taken care of the biggies for now. What a shame it would be for you to spend all this time, effort, and money just to sell it and let someone else enjoy it instead of you. I just couldn't watch someone else traveling across this country in a motorhome that I fixed and never got to use. [ my thoughts, and I hope you think more before bailing out]
For what it's worth - I agree with the above. Your too far into it now to not keep it and enjoy it a while. A few good camping trips will soften a lot of bad repair memories.....
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Old 07-10-2009, 11:32 AM   #9
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Having owned a few RV's & boats, in my experience, you should probably expect to spend double what you paid for the (27 year old) coach over the next couple years. I'm assuming you paid around $15-17k for the coach, based on what I'm seeing currently. I anticipate spending about that initially, then probably doubling it with deferred maintenance, repairs, updates. That's if nothing really major comes up, like a $11k total strip / plasticoat job.
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Old 07-11-2009, 01:10 PM   #10
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We've spent quite a bit on maintenance, and will probably continue to do so, but the freedom it has allowed us makes it worth it...looking forward to a market that will allow us to get rid of the home without wheels and get seriously full-time, as opposed to 9 mos/yr...hang with it, if you can...
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Old 07-11-2009, 04:57 PM   #11
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I hope we can. The next two weeks, she will be at the storage place. Before our end of the month trip to upstate NY, I'll get her into the shop for alignment and a really thorough inspection and maybe brake lines, and our mobile RV guy will install a water heater if I can get a good enough deal on an Atwood. We can't just do without hot water, which I'm perfectly willing to do, because the big leak is at the water heater where it can't be bypassed. So, it's either spend time and money trying to fix the leak, which looks dicey anyway given its location against the sub-floor, sort of under the heater, or replace the heater and at the same time, simplify some of the kooky connections and install a permanent bypass for winterizing. While it will certainly cost more to replace, it seems silly to spend on repairs to a 27 year old jerry-rigged water heater when the replacements are warranted and fix in the same spot. Also, to start it, we've had to do the old "Fonzi" bump with one of us outside at the tank and one of us inside at the switch every time.
With luck, that will be our last big expense for a while at least. I want the thorough inspection because I'd rather do preventive maintenance, as advised here by so many, than costly repairs. I feel like a lot of what we've had to do could have been prevented--at least based on the good information I am gathering here.
So, for now, she is safe at the storage facility and not costing us anything extra. It gives me some time to sell on eBay and build up a "fix 'er up" fund so the next repairs won't be as shocking. Who am I kidding? We'll be horrified, but I sure do love being able to throw the kids in her and take a weekend trip, especially in such a beautiful state like Michigan.
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1982 280 Turbo Diesel Limited
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"A Silver Lining" or Silvie for short
"Ah, well. I'm off to get my life sustaining supplies - cornmeal and gunpowder, hamhocks and guitar strings."
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Old 07-11-2009, 05:22 PM   #12
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Audrey,

Heres what I do... I keep all my reciepts in a handy file so I an refer to them if I ever needed to but heres the tip.. Never never add them up! If your spouse asks about the overall cost.. just round the number way down..


The point is that there would always be something better to spend your money on but there are not many things that give me the same joy that the Airstream brings. Hang in there.. it will settle down and become manageable.

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Old 07-11-2009, 06:42 PM   #13
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If the Fonzi bump works, it sounds like a bad connection. Corrosion is preventing a good connection. Try taking some sandpaper or steel wool to all of the electrical connections. Sometimes just disconnecting, then reconnecting a couple of times will be enough to expose clean metal for a good contact.

Ricky
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Old 07-11-2009, 07:28 PM   #14
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Fonzi works for now but the leak is the deal breaker

The leak is right where the water heater bypass connects to the heater, at a brass spigot looking part, sort of wedged under the unit against the plywood subfloor. It's so jammed in there, I'm not even sure I could fix it without removing the unit or damaging the subfloor any further. If it were not leaking, I could live with the Fonzi bump. I cleaned off and out everything I felt I could safely touch --with no result. I suspect there is some build-up of something inside that I can't get to--maybe wasp nest, spider web, gunk. Anyway, it is the combination of the leak which may or may not be easily fixed and the lighting issue that make me concerned from a safety standpoint. I don't want any more water damage to my floor under the sink and I don't want to start trying to fix a leak, cause more problems, and incur more expenses if I can simply swap out the water heater and eliminate my two big issues. My mobile repair guy might even be doing the work in exchange for one of my newish Flexsteel chairs which I think would be an awesome deal for both of us. He would get a great captain's chair and I would get a new water heater for just the cost of the unit.
Fingers are crossed on that one.
Anyway, I will take the above advice, squirrel away my receipts, and hope for the best. I am optimistic that our NY road trip will go well and that will surely buy me some more time. Then I just need hubby to decide on a guys' trip to an Ohio State game that will make him love her as much as I do. She just needs to not break down on him while he's there.
Thanks.
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Audrey
1982 280 Turbo Diesel Limited
Classic Motorhome
"A Silver Lining" or Silvie for short
"Ah, well. I'm off to get my life sustaining supplies - cornmeal and gunpowder, hamhocks and guitar strings."
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Old 07-11-2009, 09:11 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by swanky View Post
and our mobile RV guy will install a water heater if I can get a good enough deal on an Atwood. We can't just do without hot water, which I'm perfectly willing to do, because the big leak is at the water heater where it can't be bypassed.
Atwood Water Heater - 6 gal LP - Item - Camping World
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Old 07-11-2009, 09:26 PM   #16
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FWIW...the water heater may have a circulating line that heats the water with the engine...that may be a source that you could bypass until you're ready to tackle it...?
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Old 07-11-2009, 09:37 PM   #17
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The problem isn't lack of hot water. I don't mind the lack of hot, but the leak occurs when the water pump is on regardless of whether we are operating the water heater. I thought to bypass the water heater entirely, so we can still have water, but that's where things get hairy as the connections are all sort of jammed under the unit and it does not appear that I can simply disconnect the water heater which would be fine with everyone.
In fact, I'm the only one who uses hot water and our next trips will be at places that have showers, so it's really not necessary to have hot water. Greasy dishes are fine.
I am watching eBay for cheaper units. Camping World's install prices are good, but they charge at least $100-150 more than you can buy the same units for on eBay and those include warranty, too. I'll find my deal and if the seat swap doesn't work out, I think it's all a fairly straightforward removal and replacement that we could do ourselves. Or, at least I could start it, get frustrated when something is not as it should be and call my dependable neighbor, Mr. Fix-it to help me out of the jam.
I just want to have water in the coach--it really does not have to be hot. If I can find a way to bypass the water heater and still have water, that will be our preferred solution.
Thanks,
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1982 280 Turbo Diesel Limited
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"A Silver Lining" or Silvie for short
"Ah, well. I'm off to get my life sustaining supplies - cornmeal and gunpowder, hamhocks and guitar strings."
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