"lived in" vs "stored" ??

[tomcook]

Hi again,

I'm looking at an '89 that has been used very little. Probably no use of stove or oven. "professionally" stored, on blocks and readied for sale by a reputable secondary market dealer.

vs. a '91 that has been extremely well maintained, but used 6 months out of the year for its first 13 years and fulltimed for the last 2.

Both are 34' and the '91 is a "60th Ann'y Ltd Ed".

In the hundreds (thousands?) of ads I've looked at in the last few months, all make a BIG deal of "non-smoking". But IMHO, 15 years of use would seem to add up to at least 400 pounds of cooked bacon and fish. And the best cook in the world is going to burn at least ONE meal in that length of time. How clean is it possible to keep a unit like that??

Other things being almost equal, if the '89 really is "unused", would it be better buy??

Thanks.

Tom

[azflycaster]

I think every unit has to be inspected and evaluated as fas as it's condition. What the seller tells you is one thing, how it measures up is another. If the walls need to be scrubed from cooking, that's an issue. If the floor needs to be replaced is a much bigger issue. I looked at plenty of trailers before I bought mine. I found that many sellers were unaware of major problems with their trailers or maybe were liars. I lucked out, I bought mine from a forum member who took great care with this unit. Good luck to you.

[nickcrowhurst]

Tom, IMHO, your priorities should be water leak damage to the floor and consequent frame damage, and damaged body panels. The latter can be very expensive to replace. The former, frame damage, can be terminal. A pal, John, who I meet every winter in the Keys, bought a 34 footer of that vintage, and it has gone straight away to the salvage yard to be scrapped. The frame was totally rotted out, way beyond economical repair, and the damage was not visible to casual inspection. Using the search facility, you will find much advice on inspecting a possible purchase, but keep rotten flooring, water leaks, frame damage and damaged body panels as your priority. The model year and extent of use are way down the priority list for me.
Nick.

[tomcook]

Thanks guys,

A long time Airstreamer is giving the '91 a cursory look. If he says it looks pretty good, I will pay a mechanic to give it a good checking over before I go see it.

If I go to see the '89, I'll take someone with me that knows a WHOLE lot more than I.

Tom

[SilverToy]

May I add my paltry .02 cents?

When you talk to the current owners - this can be done even if the unit is for sale by a dealer (check the title!) - and then talk, and listen your ears off! If there are ANY red flags / heebiegeebies / discomfort / etc... during the discussion/ purchase process anywere use EXTREME caution. Those feelings will nearly always translate into expense - sometime HUGE $.

When I was looking for SilverToy I found plenty of trailers with LOTS of Red Flags. I wanted a trailer that I could camp in - not spend time fixing/restoring/etc... When the red Flags popped, it was end of discussion. Period. Keep looking as the trialers are out there. I found mine after about 8 month of looking actively!

Stay the course, know what you want and are willing to compromise on/ spend time and $ on, and stay commited to that. You and the trailer will find each other, sooner or later.

Hang in there!

Axel

[tomcook]

well, I did it !

Sort of. The PO and I have agreed that I have bought his 1992 34'er.

Of course, there is the problem of his being in MI and me in VA and I haven't bought a tow vehicle yet. My son made some remark about a CLASSIC "cart before the horse".

It's beautiful. The kind a/s'er that looked at it for me said "showroom condition".

Can't wait to get it home and move in. I'm sure I'll be back with lots of questions.

Thank you all for your help and encouragement.

Tom