30-40 year old LDs March 24, 2021, 06:30:32 pm RV sales are at an all-time high. I have heard dealer lots are near empty, but I have no first-hand knowledge of that.You probably know that 30 year LDs are on offer for double the price they fetched in 2019. I know a few people that are buying and flipping them for twice what they paid for them after making a few cosmetic improvements.They say everything is worth what a buyer and seller agree it is. How did that work out in the Dutch Tulip frenzy? Someday the music will stop and not everyone will have a chair. Will $4 gas stop the music?This is the wheel skirt off of one of the now valuable 30-year-old LDs. It was held on with electric tape and the hinges were painted shut. Looks like the result of an unscrupulous and deceptive seller coupled with an overly eager and naive buyer.I am thinking that the people that will feel the most pain are those that can least afford the hit. 2 Likes
Re: 30-40 year old LDs Reply #1 – March 24, 2021, 07:40:19 pm I tend to agree with you Don. Even a well maintained LD will reach a point where it has very little value due to being very technologically “old”. A lot of people are buying these ancient rigs because they’ve heard that LD are well built, believing they’ll last forever. Nothing could be further from the truth. Even with an enormous amount of care, these old rigs are going to have problems, and they’re going to cost more than they’re worth to fix. Engine, transmission, suspension, generator, fridge and air conditioning repair/replacement will easily eclipse the value of the RV.And, the older LD are on lighter chassis with less powerful engines and weaker transmissions. They can’t be expected to perform on the same level as a 10-15 yr old E450 equipped LD.Buyer beware, and keep looking......they’re out there. 3 Likes
Re: 30-40 year old LDs Reply #2 – March 24, 2021, 07:50:50 pm Sadly folks go into the RV buying world assuming it is the same as the car/light truck world. In the car/light truck world there are all sorts of rules and laws protecting buyers from themselves. In the RV world its buyer beware from start to finish. In my family when you asks the kids what is dad's number one law they will say 'never fall in love with something that can't law you back". glen 1 Likes
Re: 30-40 year old LDs Reply #3 – March 24, 2021, 09:26:43 pm We sold our old 84 itaska Sundancer 21 ft which we had owned for 20 years and 65K miles in December. Its last year with us it was used as a material and tool shed and support for the building of our Son's tiniHouse. The tiniHouse was done so it was time to sell the Road Warrior. We had tied to sell it in 2018 in the fall when we were going to loose our covered parking for it on the Oregon coast. We could not get anyone to look at it or make a serious offer for $3000. Over the years we rebuilt the carburetor, refrigerator, replaced the WC with a china one, new hot water heater, house water pump and installed a laminate floor plus many mechanical upgrades plus it was stored indoors for 18 years, no one wanted it. This December we put it on CraigList and within a week the first looker gave my son $6000 for it and they did not even start the generator. Go Figure! Karen~Liam 98 ~ MB NinA
Re: 30-40 year old LDs Reply #4 – March 24, 2021, 09:28:31 pm My LD is approaching 26 years old.I will be selling it when we get "the call" for a new one. I suspect in about a year.I wish I knew then what I know now when we bought it in 2010.So many upgrades.I wish the owners before me took care of it like I have.Someone is going to get a good rig and it will have only a little over 70K by then.😊 1 Likes
Re: 30-40 year old LDs Reply #5 – March 24, 2021, 10:07:50 pm As an owner of a 30 yr old LD, I know the joys and challenges of these old rigs. The engine of mine has been cared for by a Ford Master Mechanic and is in great shape. We put in a new transmission just after we bought it and it had 25k miles on the engine. We have since put on another 25k miles. It's 30 years old and only has 50k miles on it. One of the things we really like about the unit is the mechanics and the lack of electronic systems that make newer units so much more expensive and difficult to maintain and repair. Everything on my LD works and it all still looks pretty good. In the last week three people have asked me if I would sell it to them.My LD has some peeling and chipped paint and some cracks in the fiberglass, but it's what is expected of a unit of it's age. I had to make the decision a few months back to either sell it as is or commit the time and money investment to give it what it needs and keep using it. After checking out the prices of six year old models, it made more sense to keep it for now. I've done a lot of work on it, most of that chronicled in my posts and have made a few upgrades. Right now I could probably sell it for very close to what I paid for it when I bought it. 5 Likes
Re: 30-40 year old LDs Reply #6 – March 25, 2021, 08:41:09 am Mine is a 1988, purchased with 60K maybe. Just above NADA value. I replaced the in tank fuel pump which failed forcing fueling at 1/2 tank on the way home. I touched up the undercoat with spray cans. Put as much in to it for a Gear Vendors overdrive and never looked back. And put as much again in for rear brakes, brake booster, master cylinder, steering gearbox, catalytic converter, and radiator. My youngest (25 year old) lived in it as my front yard guest house for 9 months. Added 300W of solar my self, and I still have no doubt, it was the best thing I did. And I turned down offers to buy it during the Santa Rosa California Fires. 1 Likes
Topic: 30-40 year old LDs (Read 202 times)
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Topic: 30-40 year old LDs (Read 202 times)
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