Contemplating purchase of 1975 D21

[tomr]

Hi:

I've been lurking for a while, and am looking at buying a 1975 D21 Brave. I had an old dodge-based Tioga in the past, so I'm a bit familiar with what I'm getting "in" to 
This one seems to have been fairly well looked after. Rims have been changed (I think) to 16". I assume that is not stock ? It seems to have somewhat "newish" white colored header pipes. Any advice appreciated...thanks 

[tiinytina]

Have the owner crank up everything especially the fridge, ac, water heater, water system and furnace.FW and waste water tanks should be inspected etc. Look in all of the upper cabinets for water damage. I would have the rig run through your states motor vehicle inspection as well. We are glad we did the inspection on the first rig we almost bought... owner claimed all it needed was tires... inspection proved it needed $5k worth est of work and he wouldn't drop the price. We had to replace the fridge in the rig we did buy and that was $1200 (replaced with new dual propane electric). 

Use the search feature on this site to look up info etc.
Tina

[tomr]

Thanks for the info/advice...getting inspected as I type. If all goes well, it'll be in the driveway by the weekend  8)
There's lots to learn and figure out. I would not even consider buying it if it were not for the great info on this site. My thanks to the admin folk. The rims are indeed 16" ones, but the spare is still the original 17.5"...guess I'll be looking for a rim   

Tom

[tomr]

Well, the D21 is in my yard, and I'm no longer contemplating 
I had to drive it for a little more than an hour in order to get it home...fun drive but a tad larger than my VW camper 
I'll add some pics when I get a chance...looking forward to figuring everything out...
Tom

[Oz]

Congratulations and totally awesome!  It won't take long to figure things out.  The greatest benefit to owning one of these classic Winnebagos is its simplicity.  Enjoy the camping season!

[Froggy1936]

Congratulations, Tom  You have graduated from VW to W  You will have a fantastic place to camp or live if necc. But you will never run out of things to fix / repair / update. Tho you may run out of money   Frank

[tomr]

Graduated...that's a nice way of putting it. The VW is great for lightweight camping, but we really needed a "cabin on wheels". I wanted to go with the 125" wheelbase. My last motorhome was  built on the Dodge 145" and that's getting too lengthy for my taste. I also did not like the cramped cockpit space in the Class C. The old Brave really shines in this respect. When you have to get up out of the driver's seat to adjust the center rear view mirror, you know that's enough space 
As for the money, I may live to eat these words but I don't see the Brave being more expensive to maintain than the VW 
Anyway, I'm making new discoveries each day; I got at the furnace this weekend, and to my delight, I found it's a Suburban NT30SP...just turn up the thermostat, and it lights  I'm not so sure the 1975 Brave came with this ? Likely an upgrade by some previous owner ?

Tom

PS as for a name, I know it's already taken, but The Ark is sounding good so far.

[Chuck]

I'm totally jealous!  That's a good looking ride you got yourself there! 8)

[Cooneytoones]

Welcome Tom...Congrats ...........Now you are no longer a lurker and are definately one of us....the few, the proud, the brave, the broke...Looks like a great rig. Treat er' good....and good luck.....again Welcome to CW.

He Jack..... how about Jack'Shack

Timmy