Sunday, June 2, 2013

Might Drive A Motorhome Today

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com
 
My volunteer work at the school in Allende has me driving back and forth through a great part of our state.  Mountains views, it is green everywhere and in the early morning lots of cool air.  Once in awhile I see an rv for sale but I shudder to think what condition it may truly be in.  

Over the last month I have seen a Bounder motorhome in a lot that sells tractor trailers.   Friday I just couldn't resist and I had to pull in.   It is a 1993, 36ft with doors in both the front and the bedroom.   It is truly good condition.  It could use a good wax job but other than that, not a scratch.  All the compartments appear to have never been used although the fabric or carpet could have been changed out at one time.   It has the original wood and fabric shades (forgot what their called) and the fabric on the furniture is typical of that year but also in good shape.  

They had taken the battery out so he went and got one, hooked it up and in I went to fire it up.  I was waiting for a big thud but it started right up.  I let it idle for about 30 minutes to see if it got hot but the temp gauge stayed steady at just below half.  There is a ladder on the back so I climbed the roof to check it out.   Needs a good wash but seems to be in decent shape. 

There are no bells or whistles so to speak.  The motorhome was purchased by a Mexican couple three years ago who imported it, paid the taxes and plates and then decided they didn't want to rv for obvious reasons at the time.

The generator wants to start, sounds like it isn't getting fuel and the dash air conditioner blows cold but only from the defrost vents.   Shortly after I had started it up, the dealer showed up and said it was on consignment.  I asked him if we could have it hooked up and spend the night in it to try everything out including driving it around the lot for awhile and he said he was all for it.  The price is high, but just like the 40 foot travel trailer we bought, I was able to show the previous owner its real value along with the cost of import and taxes.

So today we drive down and take another look at it.  I doubt it is going anywhere and if it does it really doesn't matter but it sure gives me something to do in this miserable weather.  We are thinking of heading out sooner to Jalisco as the heat has been close to 38C and the humidity very high.   Even the pool water is warming up.

6 comments:

  1. Cool! So what's the asking price? Something like that would probably sell for around $12k in the U.S., no?

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  2. They're asking 220k or 17.6k U.S., the NADA shows it around 8K, add import and taxes which is only fair, and that would be around 122k. I doubt the owner expects to get 220K out of it. I can't take it out on the road because the plates are expired but the lot is about 2 acres of gravel, I figure I can do some donuts. All the manuals are there in their original folder. I need to check the engine type and see if I can find someone local to check the generator, engine and trans. The tires have good tread but they look a bit old so that is another expense if I can find them here. I

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  3. You should change the tires no matter what, rubber wears out. Seven years MAX on new ones.

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  4. The generator thing might just be not enough gas in the tank. I know mine requires the tank to be at least a quarter full to fire up. I forgot about that a couple times when I found it wouldn't start. Good luck.

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  5. Thanks Mike. I never thought about it, but now that I remember, the gas tank is down to almost nothing.

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  6. Wandering Mike is correct about the generator. You have to have over 1/4 tank in it to test it.

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