A buyer goes shopping.

[Lakota Wolf]

We pull up to look at an RV bumper pull (B/P) that was advertised locally here for approx $4,000. This is a 1999 model 30 ft.

Typical ad says, was used for a short time while house was being built, and stored under an RV steel shelter cover. Well taken care of, all maintenance done on regular basis, Has roof top a/c (barely used), ducted furnace, (barely used), 3 burner stove top and oven,(oven only used once). Gas water heater,, only gets warm not hot,, maybe slight adjustment to heater settings is needed. Battery is only 4 years old and sometimes holds a charge. Fresh water tank holds water.

Tire tread is excellent condition, comes with one propane tank.

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Okay,, fair enough.. We pull in the drive and there it sits,, WOW !  This is about the time we should have just turned around and scooted out of there.. to late,, seller comes out and waves.. Well not to be rude,, we figured, lets amuse ourselves since we are here already.

We introduce ourselves being cordial and friendly and while the seller and the lady (prospective buyer chit chat) I walk around to take a looky loo at this ,,hmmmm, how to put it politely,, piece of Shot.

(lol). Sorry, thats about as polite as I can get.. read on.

First thing I notice is,,, Delamination,, who wouldda thunk it? A smooth side top of the garbage barrell of RV's. Bubbles bubbles everywhere,,, another case of a Bubble Guppy RV. (hey that would make a good cartoon).(gets my crayon out and writes that down for future reference). Anywho.. This has more bubbles in it then a roll of bubble wrap,, yes, it has lots of bubbles... was so tempting to walk around going pop,pop,pop,pop,pop, but I think that would offend the seller just a little. Oh common,,, you would have thought the same thing if you was there... common, you know you would.

I then look at the *really good tread on the tires,, and they are dated 2000 . Well they are a year newer then the RV,, so they must be good right? If the tread looks really really good, what can go wrong?

Ok so far,, strike 2 on the board. Then I notice the tires are sitting bow legged, (the top of the tire is way inside the fender and the bottom of the tire is sticking way out, slight tilt to say the least. I grab a tire and wiggle it.. and I was impressed that a tire can wobble that much and NOT come off. And that clunking noise affirmed to me that something was indeed holding that tire on there. strike 3 AND 4,, I open the door and fiddle with the screen door latch and finally get it to let go and step inside,, Just inside the door, the floor feels a little spongy, Hmm  maybe its made like that so when you work hard all day on hard rocks or concrete and your feet hurt,, the softness of the floor welcomes you with soft comfort. Kind of like extra padding in carpet,, strike 5.

I look down the ceiling from one end to the other, I notice the roof is a little lower in the center where the a/c unit sits above. Hmmm maybe thats designed to puddle up the water on the roof after a rain storm,, so the water doesnt run down the sides and staining it, Never know huh? Strike 6 (on my second set of fingers,, not good). This trailer has a rear bathroom (nice and roomy). The toilet is plastic and shows the normal cracks and broken toilet seat, held in place with zip ties,, Not the $2 toilet seat plastic bolts,strike 7,  I open the vanity cabinet and take a peek at the water lines and plumbing and they seem to be in place, but there is some water damage in the back corner of the floor,, sunk linolium curling up. pffffft   easy fix,, right? strike 8. The shower was upgraded with the top of the line garden hose cut to fit,, even having top notch brass fittings and shrink tape, Impressive to say the least, Strike 9,  I wonder back into the kitchen area, (has side kitchen). I take a looky under the sink, and I was really impressed by the workmanship of the water line repair. It was so professionally done, it should be in the HOW TO section.. They must have used at least 2 rolls of electrical tape, and quite possibly 3 rolls to wrap a leaking fitting. I guess you keep wrapping till the leak stops.Strike 10,

I have run out of fingers and thumbs,, and I am NOT going to take my shoes off to keep counting,, it just aint gonna happen.

I take a look at the stove and oven,, and for only being used ONCE,, it must have been one heck of a huge weekend meal, cuz it was beyond  used and abused.  Bad enough, most of the cook top was cracked and burned and scorched. In the front bedroom,, it had a slight leak around the roof vent, that fortunatly was repaired,, the wood wasnt spongy on the ceiling. Under some of the windows through out the rig,, there was a few soft spots, which everyone knows are *easy fixes. (you can laugh). I finish up a quick look through and joined in the conversation with the seller. They explain the husband is a construction contractor and has done all the maintenance and repairs on the RV since they have owned it. Reference the electrical tape sink plumbing repair.  I forgot to add,, I did look at the *good battery and it was a typical 350 CCA car battery with some serious corrosion even Coke couldnt clean off.. Anywho,, the potential buyer says we will be back in contact with them as we have another to look at before making a decision and we left,,, I would have preffered punch it and burn off the rear tires to get out of there,, but I promised to be on my best behavior and we left like a normal considerate person would.

The potential buyer knew by the look on my face and expression that she should just forget we even looked at that one and keep up the search.. lol...