Lazy Daze Owners' Group

Water damage on 1992 LD should we buy it?

Reply #25 – April 08, 2014, 12:18:44 pm

Yahoo Message Number: 145690

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It looks like I'm a little late to the party, but perhaps I can share a few insights:
1. I would caution about being too complacent about general LD maintenance, simply because original buyers have a reputation for being knowledgeable, and have the means & motivation to keep their rigs maintained.
   Let me expand - an RV industry person told me the market is geared towards a two-year usage cycle. That is, people get excited, they buy (often times impulsively), they may/may not initially use their new toy over the ensuing months, and then, within two years, they've moved on to other things, or other things have happened to them, and the rig begins its final stages of life sitting in a storage or driveway.
   Now, clearly the LD buyer profile is different, but not that much different, and in many ways, actually has a few factors working against the rigs: the buyers' age & income bracket. Ok, so let's be generous and expand the typical two-year cycle to 5 or even 10 years.  However, I think it would be reasonable to say that the typical LD buyers is probably 10 years older, and more financially stable, than the general market, which means two things: (a) life's events are going to be coming quicker and might have great impact that could detract from upkeep or even continued interest; (b) higher income levels tend to shield people from DIY or even regular maintenance if they assume they'll just get another vehicle, or drop out of RVing altogether.

2. Second point: LDs are made out of wood; LDs have a tremendous design flaw in the form of Lake Newton; a wood structure being bounced around as in an earthquake will develop loosened joints & seams; and finally, our nation's roads are pitiful. Sometimes it feels like our cars - not to mention our LD - is going to fall apart as we drive down the road. All of these factors are not good for LDs or any RV for that matter.

3. Smaller RVs and trailers are experiencing a resurgence of interest from hobbyists and others interested in restoring these kinds of vehicles. Airstreams, Scottys et al are strong. The market for VW campers - Westfalias & Vanagons - is going through the roof. People absolutely love the older Toyota chassis like the Dolphin. And of course, there's a good market for the smaller 18-22' LDs down here in SoCal - especially by the beach.

So, to add it up, don't be so certain about the general condition of LDs. I saw a post once over at RV.net where a guy had looked at 5-7 different and reported that they all had some kind of water damage. I looked our 22' pretty well, but missed a spot and got to experience the joy of repairing a spar & panel section. OTOH, we're in our rig for under $15k, we'll probably keep it forever, and it runs like an absolute champ.

Re: roof resealing

Reply #27 – April 09, 2014, 04:14:27 am

Yahoo Message Number: 145703

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"We just got a bid for both from our local rv repair place of $2300. Called camping world and got bid of $750 for roof only."

My opinion: DO NOT let Camping World mess with your roof! They will almost certainly try to plaster it with a layer of cheap glop that's used for typical rubber roofs, but is inappropriate for the aluminum roof of a Lazy Daze. This goo won't do a good job of sealing, and when it fails and you have to redo the job using the right materials (6" wide Eternabond butyl/vinyl tape), it's going to cost a whole lot more, because the layer of glop will have to be removed first.

I'd stay far away from any shop that wants to reseal your Lazy Daze's roof with anything other than Eternabond. Either find a shop that knows how to use it, or read up on the application procedure and do it yourself. Either way, if done properly, you'll get a seal that lasts longer than you're likely to own the coach.

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels