need good advice June 09, 2009, 06:29:54 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103165I am looking into buying a 1977 dodge lazy daze, any particular questions I should ask the owner? does anyone know if these vehicles are good purchases/reliable. first timer here who has never owned an rv before
Re: need good advice Reply #1 – June 09, 2009, 07:02:28 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103168"I am looking into buying a 1977 dodge lazy daze, any particular questions I should ask the owner? does anyone know if these vehicles are good purchases/reliable. first timer here who has never owned an rv before" Yes, Lazy Dazes are reliable... but any 32-year-old vehicle, especially a motorhome, is a risky purchase. You can assume that there WILL be things that need fixing, both with regard to the Dodge chassis and the LD coach and its appliances. You'll want to set aside several thousand dollars in addition to the purchase price to pay for repairs, new tires and so on. A thorough chassis/engine inspection by a good mechanic is a must, but in addition, you will need to carefully inspect the coach portion. In an RV this old, damage from leaks is almost a certainty, and repairs can involve a major expense, a major amount of elbow grease, or both. You should go to our Files area (see blue text links at left of each website page), open the Buying & Selling folder, and read the document "How do I shop for a used LD?" It'll tell you what questions to ask and what to look for. Despite all the scary stuff I said above, we do have members with 70s-vintage LDs who are happy with them. But they'll tell you that you'd better be prepared to invest a lot of "sweat equity" in a rig that old... so if you're not handy with tools, you might be better off saving your pennies until you can afford something more recent.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: need good advice Reply #2 – June 09, 2009, 07:49:03 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103171thank you, i'll check the site for those questions
Re: need good advice Reply #3 – June 09, 2009, 08:01:37 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103172Quote "thank you, i'll check the site for those questions""I am looking into buying a 1977 dodge lazy daze, any particular questions I should ask the owner? does anyone know if these vehicles are good purchases/reliable. first timer here who has never owned an rv before" Neek: Personally, I would never consider any RV this old unless you have good mechanical skills. It could nickle and thousand dollar you to its grave. Even if an RV mechanic gives it his/her seal of approval, you can only imagine what could go wrong (as soon as you take title) with a vehicle this old.Chris (mechanically challenged)
Re: need good advice Reply #4 – June 09, 2009, 08:55:19 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103177At 04:02 PM 6/9/2009, you wrote:QuoteDespite all the scary stuff I said above, we do have members with 70s-vintage LDs who are happy with them. But they'll tell you that you'd better be prepared to invest a lot of "sweat equity" in a rig that old... so if you're not handy with tools, you might be better off saving your pennies until you can afford something more recent. We were very lucky to have "inherited" my parents' 1980 LD...a mere three years younger than the one this person (name, please?) is looking at. Due to meticulous maintenance over its entire life span (having been owned by the same obsessive-compulsive person since new), we had very few problems with the LD part (the interior, mostly), and just what you would expect in terms of vehicle maintenance on the engine, transmission, undercarriage, etc.That said, however, there came a point when I felt nervous driving more than a few miles from home. The RV was getting OLD, and more and more unexpected and unanticipated problems were cropping up. Neither my husband nor I are seriously mechanical, and it finally came to the point a few years ago that we replaced it with another LD, but this time seriously newer. We are still thrilled with it, and loved our old one, too. But unless you really do enjoy and can deal with mechanical issues, I'd look for something a bit newer.Sonsie 2001 RK
Re: need good advice Reply #5 – June 09, 2009, 10:20:57 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103179"I am looking into buying a 1977 dodge lazy daze, any particular questions I should ask the owner? does anyone know if these vehicles are good purchases/reliable. first timer here who has never owned an rv before." I have a 1979 Lazy Daze which I bought two years ago and I'm very happy with it. It wasn't in the best shape cosmetically when I got it, and so most of my work has gone into making it look pretty, including painting the exterior (you can see photos in the photo section on the Yahoo site under "1979 Lazy Daze"). Now this summer I'm having a lot of fun enjoying the results of my labor. Mechanically, I've had the ignition worked on ($60), the engine battery replaced ($80), the cab A/C repaired ($200), and the radiator replaced with a new beefier model than the original ($1,000). But all in all I probably haven't spent any more in the past two years on mechanical problems than many have with newer models. You can count on needing mechanical repairs sooner or later no matter the age of the rig. But I'm sure you already know that. The same solid workmanship and quality that makes the newer Lazy Dazes so desirable also make the older ones still solid after 30 years. The original stove and refrigerator in mine are still going strong. I did replace the toilet, and am very happy with that upgrade.As others have mentioned, the number one enemy of any RV is water damage, and the older the rig is the more chance there is of that. Mine needed major repair work in the upper bunk area by the previous owner. We did further work on it when painting it, and tightened it up even more. Now she's almost as good as new and I'd really miss not having that front bunk window in a newer Lazy Daze. The first thing I do when I wake up in the early morning is pull back the curtain of that window and enjoy the sunrise. And on a clear night you can lay in bed and look out at the stars. There are a lot of naysayers on this list when it comes to buying an older Lazy Daze. But as in any vehicle, the condition of the vehicle you are considering is more important than what year it is. Mine was solid mechanically, and I knew I could handle the cosmetic upgrades that I wanted to give it. So far there haven't been any surprises, and I've been very happy with my purchase. But then I enjoy the character of older vehicles, houses, etc. My first vehicle as a teenager in 1980 was a 1964 21-window VW bus painted kelly green and dubbed "The Pickle," if that says anything! If you have any questions about the late 70s vintage of Lazy Dazes, I'll be happy to answer any I can.Fern1979 22' "Dorie"
Re: need good advice Reply #6 – June 10, 2009, 08:56:08 am Yahoo Message Number: 103187"My first vehicle as a teenager in 1980 was a 1964 21-window VW bus painted kelly green and dubbed "The Pickle," if that says anything! -Fern, 1979 22' "Dorie"Fern,I can't speak about an older Lazy Daze but I did have an old VW bus of the same vintage that I deeply loved way back in my college days in the previous century (and even then my VW was old, so what does that say about me?) I can see why you named your green one "Pickle."Mine was yellow and I dubbed it "Yellow Submarine" - how many of you geezers out there know where I got that name?Doyle2005 MB - Green (yellow not available!)[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: need good advice Reply #7 – June 10, 2009, 09:09:07 am Yahoo Message Number: 103189Quote from: Doyle Cook" ...Mine was yellow and I dubbed it "Yellow Submarine" - how many of you geezers out there know where I got that name? Probably every geezer who knows the words to "Wild Thing"--the name of our silver LD--can answer your question!TinaP 2006 MB "Wild Thing" NE 59 LD 2967 (we think that's an appropriate rig #...we were 29 once and were married in 67; come to think of it, we were 59 once, too)
Re: need good advice Reply #8 – June 10, 2009, 11:14:30 pm Yahoo Message Number: 103233QuoteProbably every geezer who knows the words to "Wild Thing"--the name of our silver LD--can answer your question! Yep, Tina, this geezer absolutely does know not only the words to "Wild Thing" but also what "Yellow Submarine" refers to!BTW... we got The Call from the Mothership today!!!Martha in Santa Fe
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