How Do I Get Rid Of Dead Motorhome?

[dickcarl]

Blew the head gasket on our '88 Itasca.  Stuck in Arkansas until we close on the new one.  Having trouble finding anyone to take the old one.  Tried "RV Parts" guys, "Veterans Donations" place, Craigslist.

Mechanic doesn't want to turn it into a permanent taco truck for his lot.

[Rickf1985]

Head gasket is not that big of a deal, Why doesn't the mechanic take the title and put a head gasket on it and sell it? Unless it is in really rough shape it should bring at least 3500 bucks. well more than enough to cover his bill.

[khantroll]

Many people in Arkansas don't like to mess with used/old RVs. Mostly, it's because they can't be financed. Salvage yards often won't even take them.


Towing them is insanely expensive here too. I had to find a guy who moves far equipment to get the price of 20 mile move down below a grand.



Where about in AR are you Carl? There 's a fellow in Scott who parts them out. If you check the Little Rock craigslist you can find his ads.

[dickcarl]

Well, head gasket is the low end.  Could be cracked head or worse.  No way to tell until I give him money to dig in.  If it's an entirely new (reman) we're looking at $7,000 plus.  On a good day this coach is worth $3.

Tried the guy in Little Rock, doesn't respond to the Craigslist ad.

[Rickf1985]

I have never, EVER, seen a cracked head on a 454.I have seen quite a few head gaskets. This guy just does not want to work on it. The older coaches are becoming a lot more popular all over, I don't understand why they would not be doing so in Arkansas. I am going to run into the same problem with my Pace Arrow but that one is in bad shape body wise. I plan to just get the sawsall out and cut the body up and throw it out in the trash a little at a time. They can't say a darn thing about it since I pay for trash removal and it is not hazardous waste. Once the body is gone the metal is no problem to scrap.

[dickcarl]

I agree with you, but I'm not in a place to bet several thousand dollars on getting it fixed.  I've done that bet twice before (entire engine rebuilds) and promised I'll never, ever do it again.

But if you prepay the shipping, I know a guy who could have it in your driveway in three days.

[Rickf1985]

  Thanks but two is enough right now. I paid 600 for a running a driving Pace Arrow with all working interior. All I need to do is get it all out and stored. I actually bought it for the 6500 watt generator and two AC units.

[tmsnyder]

Craigslist 'free' ad gets rid of stuff quick.

[khantroll]

Rick,


Arkansas lags about two and half years behind in everything. I think we are starting to see it, with folks asking for more money on older coaches. But we don't have infrastructure for older coaches. I live in the second largest city in the state, and there is one RV repair place. The dealerships don't like to work on motorhomes, and will often refuse work on any RV more then 10 years old. There is one (struggling) vintage restoration guy in the Little Rock area.


As for regular mechanics...a normal automotive mechanics shop will tell you to take it to one of the above, or take it to a heavy truck shop (even once you explain that  you have Dodge R/B engine and a 727 like a pickup).  The heavy truck shop says it isn't a heavy duty setup (even if you explain that it is classified as a medium duty vehicle) and to take it somewhere else.


It's not insurmountable if you have time to kill, because you can eventually find a small shop who needs the work, etc.  But if you are just passing through, or if the RV is in a place where it needs to be moved NOW, and it doesn't move on it's own or would be dangerous to move, it can be quite a hassle. That's why you'll find rigs for sale for 500 to 1000, because no one knows what to do with them. I recently called a guy to see if I couldn't score some parts of a running Classic Winnebago he had posted for 1000. He had gotten so fed up with the situation he took a sawzall to it, carted the body to the dump and scrapped the frame.

[tmsnyder]

Is the motor accessible under a dog house?   Yank the head, what's the worse that can happen? It's already broken, you're not going to break it worse.  Even if the head is cracked, a good used head can't be that much or get a re manufactured head.  Or get a pair of new aftermarket heads from Summit.


If you need someone to do it, check with the local hot rod club, they will know someone that can come out with tools and wrench on it for some reasonable $/hour.  They may even know where to get a good used set of heads!

[legomybago]

Mechanic doesn't want to turn it into a permanent taco truck for his lot.

I think this is the BEST idea here?? The mechanic could eat tacos anytime he wants!!

[tmsnyder]

I bought a truck that had a knock in the engine, and found a guy that would put in a good used motor for cheaper than I could buy the motor; $700.  Incidently he was a friend of a friend that was a racer.  There's guys like that all over that work on motors and just basically want beer money to do it.

[M & J]

Like Rick is. Move to Arkansas Rick.


We lived in NWA for several years. Beautiful country being in the foothills of the Ozarks.

[Rickf1985]

Used to be, Hunched over and yanking a 70 lb. head is out of the question anymore. Just came from the doc's this morning and my weight limit is up to 35 lbs.! I did no tell him about the 50 lb. bags of dog food and bird seed. W% W% He told me the bones are firmly fused so that means I need to get those back muscles going again and twice a week at PT alone is NOT going to do it.

[Rickf1985]

Captain Dirk has the same motor home, maybe he would be interested in it? Transport would be the issue but you could make the offer.

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

A real shame.  Nothing hard about doing a head job.  Wish I were closer.

[CapnDirk]

Heck, if he were closer I'd go help him out to!


Another thing in regards to Craigslist is put an ad in the "gigs" area.  Either someone may want to make a buck on the side and could do it at their home (will it move some distance if you keep water in it?).  Or the same mechanic might want it for $500 or so.


I paid $2300 for mine, and the engine and trans were about the only thing that did work