Hello! New owner of an 87 chieftain 31

[marklanderson]

Hi, I'm Mark, and I recently bought a 1987 Winnebago Chieftain 31 in an online auction. It's currently at a storage lot an hour from home, so I've been spending a lot of time reading the forums and working on my plan of attack.

Here are some initial photos, including the original window sticker: https://imgur.com/a/O2kcKgx

Other than a missing piece of headliner and a milk jug for the radiator overflow, it looks to be in good condition and mostly stock. The tires are dated 2004 and are cracking. The ad said the previous owner drove it to the lot, so I tried to start it yesterday just to see what would happen, and it turned over nicely but didn't fire. Kicked on the pedal a few times and smelled gas. I didn't want to run down the batteries so I only cranked it in a few short bursts. Then I noticed the aftermarket manual choke on the dash. Tried once more with choke, but same result, so I decided to wait until my next trip, where I'll remove the doghouse and take a closer look at everything. Wish me luck!

[Oz]

Welcome! Starting out with a starting challenge.  Not a biggie.  You'll get it running in no time.

[Mlw]

Hello Mark, Welcome to the forum

I like the Chieftans, they are so cool. And yours came with all the paperwork and booklets. I'm Jealous 

For starting, help her out spraying some starter fluid in the primaries (choke) or just put a splash of gas in there. If you don't have both but do have brake cleaner in a spraycan, that will do it to and it will probably start right as you say the previous owner drove it to the lot.

I have the same problem after trying to start my Betsy after one week, She goes and dies immediately and then Starting her without help can then take minutes.

If I put a splash of gas in the primaries I just have to push her thru two cylinders and away she goes and she keeps running.

Just a tip, hope it goes for you too,

Greetings, Marc

[marklanderson]

Thanks to you both for your warm welcomes. I'll be making another trip up to check things out this weekend. So many systems to explore on this beast, but I can't wait to get her fired up... it will be such a relief to hear it run and to have a better idea what I've got.

[Oz]

I'm sure it will.  We have a used RV buyer's checklist in the "forms" tab on the main nav bar which can help you methodically ecaluate and document the conditions of pretty much everything.