Well I am the proud owner of a 31 ft, 81 Excella II. It was in better shape than the 78 and it has the center bath and the rear twin beds. It was also in better shape mechanically than the 78. There is no water damage and very little in the way of exterior damage. There are a few small rock dings and no floor rot at all. The lights and brakes seem to work and it is a good thing because we drove it home in the dark. It seem to be well behaved. I have a load distributing hitch but did not hook up the anti-sway bar at all. It came with a hitch actually.
Congratulations on your new acquisition! Now you'll have lots of spare time to fill with finding out how everything works or doesn't, and making The List of what you want to change/clean/adjust/update/remove. It's a big part of the fun!
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— David
Zero Gravitas — 2017 Flying Cloud 26U | WBCCI# 15566
He has all of the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire. — Sir Winston Churchill
Here are the pics that the seller took. I will take some more tomorrow or later today since it is almost 3AM. It needs some little stuff but overall it is in good shape. I would grade it about a 90% outside and maybe 80% inside. The inside stuff is easy though. All the awnings work and there are awnings on every side. It has been replumbed with PEX and I hope it don't leak. The fridge and AC work and it supposedly has a new water heater. The control panel for the tanks seems to work. Not a bad trailer for $5k.
well done that looks v.tidy for 5k. if i could find something like that i would definately ship it home! unfrtunately in Europe the longest you can put on the road is 27ft.
I would have prefered something a little shorter but I got tired of looking. The shorter ones are hard to find or they are trashed. This one just needs a few little things and some major cleaning. I have seen some that were pretty on the inside but questionable mechanically. This one is also newer which means a little less stuff to fix.
What do you pull a trailer with in Europe? A mini-cooper won't pull much. How do you afford gas for the thing?
Well I do have some floor rot issues in the back section under the beds. It was well hidden. I don't seem to have any separation issues as of yet so I am thinking of pulling the bad floor and splice in some new pieces. I guess the good thing is that the bathroom is not in the back. The beds should be reasonably easy to remove and fix the floor. How is the water getting in back there? I have checked the floor in several places father forward and I don't see any problems there. There is some rust on the frame but it does not look bad. I assume that frame separation occurs when the rivets between frame and the skin give way and it has nothing to do with the floor? The rot was hidden under the carpet under the beds. Any advice on how to proceed here? We want to take her to the beach 3rd week in october. I got the water system going and there does not seem to be any major leaks that I can find. Everything seems to work.
I would have prefered something a little shorter but I got tired of looking. The shorter ones are hard to find or they are trashed. This one just needs a few little things and some major cleaning. I have seen some that were pretty on the inside but questionable mechanically. This one is also newer which means a little less stuff to fix.
What do you pull a trailer with in Europe? A mini-cooper won't pull much. How do you afford gas for the thing?
Perry
yes you're right a mini cooper wouldn't be my choice of tow vehicle but the range rover will do the job!! as for gas i don't intend pulling it often as it will be a consession stand and therefore mostly static!, good luck with your rear end doesn't seem too bad by the sounds of things as for rear end seperation from what i gather it's more of a frame problem when the shell pulls away from it (but i maybe totally wrong on that assupmtion) but it seems to be the rear bath models anyway so you should be safe!
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