New here and looking at an '84 Winnebago Elandan

[Randy_in_Ohio]

Greeting everyone! I've been reading here a couple days this looks like a great group.

I have been kicking around the idea of getting an RV.  we are a family of 5 (Me, My wife, daughter-15, twin boys-12)  We enjoy skiing and wakeboarding and have a 93 Sport Nautique that we use every chance we get throughout the summer months. We enjoy taking the boat to nearby lakes and camping for the weekends, we have been doing our camping in tents but My wife and I are just about fed up with tent life!  Last month I ran into a guy While we were camping at Salt Fork Lake and he had just bought a new Fleetwood fancy motor home. while talking to him he mentioned that he was looking to sell his old motor home so I gave him my email and asked him to send me some info. It's an 84 Elandan 34' here are the details he sent me:

"454 cubic inch Chevy engine; 52,000 miles; 6.5 KV Onan generator (98 hours); Carrier 13,500 BTU roof air 5 years old; upgraded Dometic Americana 2 way refrigerator; microwave; 4 burner stove with oven; separate shower & bathroom; new windshield curtains; new awning 15 ft; bedroom awnings; electric step; 100 gallon freshwater tank; 3 holding tanks with LED level gauges; propane hot water heater with auto ingnition; Reese hitch; new tires and brakes at 48,000 miles; well maintained & very clean."

I went over and looked at it last weekend and I was pretty impressed. He's asking 5k for it.  It started right up and it was cold. Everything seemed to work. The guy seemed like he took good care of it. One thing that bothered me was the floor, it had some spongy areas, he told me that he had asked a local RV shop about it and they told him that this was typical of these models and that the floor was not wood but sheet metal and fiberglass/foam and that this was normal for this year and not really a concern.  i??

I'm looking for any help I can get from this community. should I be concerned about the floor? Is there any known issues with this model I should be looking for? 

also, I've looked all over and can not find the towing capacity for this motor home.  My boat is about 4-5k pounds, how do you think this MH would pull her?

[DaveVA78Chieftain]

Regarding your pictures - Album is not set for public access

Floors are typically plywood over steel girder joists however there appears to be a aluminum underflooring forthis model (http://www.winnebagoind.com/products/previous-models/1984/pdfs/winnebago/84-Elandan-bro.pdf).  Walls and roof are the foam/fiberglass sandwich.  Soft floor, which is normally repairable, is most likely due to water damage (wood rot).

Dave

[Randy_in_Ohio]

Thanks for the reply Dave.  I looked underneath the coach and I don't see any wood, it looks like maybe sheet metal sprayed with some type of rubburized material, kinda like a spray in bed liner but whitish colored.

[tiinytina]

nice rig.. agree wtih Dave.. spongy means water damage... underlay floor is plywood with maybe aluminum sheet as bottom layer which is then sprayed with an insulating foam treatment  (same as ours)...   you'll only find it once you rip out the carpet (which we replaced with laminate)... Also climb onto the roof... and look for low spots... see if anything is "spongy" up there.... you'll also need to reseal that roof probably.. use search.. lots of posts on that.

Tina

[Randy_in_Ohio]

How much is involved with replacing the floor ?

I climbed onto the roof and it looked OK, all of the seams had been sealed up with some sort of white caulking type stuff. I didn't walk around up there, but it looked clean and level. He swore that there was never water leaking in, but I was kinda skeptical of the new roof panels on the interior in the kitchen and living area... he said that he had replaced them because the vinyl covering was peeling off...?   Is this guy blowing smoke up my behind? He has only owned it for the last 8 years and said he bought it off of his brother-in-law. Said the floor has been like that since he bought it. I really like the looks of it, and I have an appreciation for things from this era. And I don't mind getting my hands dirty with a floor project. But I would rather not spend all summer working on it. maybe I would be better off spending more on something newer? Do you guys think it's worth 5k? or should I try to bargain with the floor issue?  How would it do pulling my 4-5k pound boat?

[ClydesdaleKevin]

It would pull your boat no problem, but the trick is backing it down the boat ramp... :)rotflmao

Seriously though, its a fine art backing a boat down a boat ramp with a truck...now imagine doing it with a 30 foot motorhome when you can't even see out the back window.   I've seen people do it, but its tough!  You'd probably be better off taking 2 vehicles, the truck you pull the boat with, and the motorhome.  If you are skilled enough to use just the motorhome, now you have to think about the steepness of the boat ramp.  I saw one poor fellow in Virginia Beach get his motorhome stuck halfway down the boat ramp because the drop off was so steep...the concrete at the top of the ramp jammed into the bottom of his coach and wedged him there, It tore up his skirting and seemed to be all the way to his drive shaft.  Not pretty!  Motorhomes typically have long long wheelbases, so you have to consider carefully the steepness of the boat ramp.

5K is a pretty fair price, even with a few soft spots in the floor.  But if you can use it as a bargaining chip to get it cheaper, then do it.  But don't worry about a few little spongy spots.  As long as you don't feel like its so soft your are going to fall through it, then enjoy it all summer long, and save the floor as a late fall/winter/early spring project. 

Have fun!

Kev

[Randy_in_Ohio]

It would pull your boat no problem, but the trick is backing it down the boat ramp... :)rotflmao

Yeah, I planned on having another tow vehicle available to launch with. often we have other friends that join us and we could use one of their vehicles or have my wife follow with my truck... My issue is that I have a wife that is afraid to pull anything with the truck, and to be honest, I don't want her pulling my boat!  She wouldn't feel comfortable driving this MH either...  I may be able to pull it off at some of the not too steep ramps. It may help if I installed a backup camera too.

[Elandan2]

I have seen many rigs with a receiver hitch on the FRONT bumper to allow pushing the trailer down the ramp to launch.  Rick

[Randy_in_Ohio]

A front hitch crossed my mind too Rick. I know a guy who uses one on his Suburban and it works great. Sure would be a head turner at the boat ramp!  The front hitch would be great for carrying bikes too. I think with a front hitch, a backup camera and some extra eyes,  I could manage at most of the ramps we go to, after a little practice of course. I've never even driven one of these things! 

Where would I look to confirm floor rot? Can I pick up the carpet somewhere to have a look underneath? I'm going to do some research here on floor repair. I only noticed soft spots in the high traffic areas of the living area and kitchen. I really think this guy took good care of this MH while he had it and used it quite a bit.  I just really like the looks of it, I think with a little bit of work it could be a great looking coach. Is there anywhere else I should be looking for trouble?

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Usually the carpets in these things go wall to wall, and then the cabinets and all that are bolted down on top of them.  That said, you could cut the carpet along a cabinet near one of the soft spots, and lift it up and inspect the floor...but you very likely won't notice any visible damage, since you said it was in the high traffic spots.  Let me explain.

Our last coach, now proudly owned by our fearless leader Mark, had a soft spot right as you walk in up the steps.  When I pulled up the old carpet when we bought it and laid down linoleum, there was no visible damage at all to the plywood.  It was dry and solid without a hint of dryrot.  Going under the coach, I could see it was flexing between the floor joists, which really were way too far apart to support 3/4 inch plywood forever.  I was going to weld in a couple of crossmembers there, but never got to it before we got our new rig and Mark took possesion of Excalibur.

I simply think that the plywood was getting fatigued over time and heavy traffic.  Plywood is glued together in layers to make a solid strong unit, but I can imagine over time the glue failing in parts and it becoming more flexible and feeling soft.  You might find the same thing I did...no visible damage, but too far a span between joists.  Again, save the floor for a winter project, and if you don't get it done by spring, then save it till next fall and enjoy your rig as is this coming summer. 

Make yourself up a priority list as to what has to be done first...important things first like brakes, tune ups, all your driving lights, etc...all systems up and running, your front hitch for the boatramp, etc.  If you have time and money to address the less important things like cosmetics and the floor (if its not so soft you feel like you are going to fall through it) before your season starts, then go for it.

Owning a vintage RV is always a work in progress, so take your time and enjoy it.

Kev

[Randy_in_Ohio]

Well, I have been up and down and all over the road looking at RV's and I have come back to this Elandan, the first one I looked at.

I looked at travel trailers and campgrounds to park them at,  gave a lot of consideration to a class C motorhome, and something about this one keeps calling me back. I guess I just dig the old-school looks and feel it has been well cared for by the PO. And I like the price. I figure at 5k I can use it for a year or two hopefully without any major problems, and be able to recoup my money if I decide to upgrade later.   I called and talked to the owner again last night and he still has it. I told him I want to drive it but we will have to wait until the weather gets a little better. If it drives as well as it looks and runs I think I'm going to go for it!

So I'm starting to think about what I want to do to it once I have it in my driveway.   

1. Backup camera
2. Flat panel TV,   the PO used an old CRT TV that he stuck on top of the pull down bunk!
3. maybe install a front hitch...
4. the doors on the wardrobe are missing, the PO says he has them but they are in pieces??  So I may be building some new ones.

Hopefully I'll  be officially joining the site soon!

[JDxeper]

Don't forget the used RV Buying Checklist, on the side bar to the right.  Might help a little on the inspection.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

In all the years we've been doing this, we've never had a backup camera, nor felt the need for one.  With someone behind you as a spotter, you'll learn how to back these things into almost any spot without the camera.

It may come in handy for backing a boat down a ramp, but you said you might install a front hitch.

The only other thing I can think of that might make it nice to have a backup camera is that you can see you tow vehicle or boat without turning around to look out the back window.  Our RV doesn't even have a rearview mirror, so once in a while I'll have Patti take a look out the window to make sure the Jeep is still there...lol!

Sounds like a good deal, and I'm sure you'll enjoy owning it.  Elandans are neat rigs...not a lot of storage...we almost bought one once and its was the lack of storage that was the only reason we didn't.  But we fulltime it and need more storage than most folks.

Kev

Kev

[ibdilbert01]

I love my backup cams.   Y!

I've got 4, with night vision.  Two on the mirrors, one that faces straight down at the ground in the back, and one that points straight back like what a review mirror would do.   With this configuration there are no blind spots, and backing into even the tightest spot is easy without a spotter, at night, in poor lighting.   The cam that faces down covers the back bumper, so you can backup without fear of hitting anything.  It also makes hitching up to a tow bar or trailer super easy.  The mirror mount cams make changing lanes super easy, guaranteeing no blind spots.   The cam facing straight back becomes the replacement for a review mirror. 









Like Kev, I don't need them, in fact my RV is so small it almost seems silly, but I feel so much more confident backing into tight spaces and even changing lanes.  I sure would miss them if I didn't have them.   Y!

[LJ-TJ]

Show OFF 

[ClydesdaleKevin]

LOL!  You just like gadgets...and that is one neat gadget!  Now THAT I could see being useful...multiple cameras with a high tech screen that displays simultaneously.  With our rig, the mirror cams really would make it nice, as would the one facing down at the bumper, especially if we ever decided to pull a trailer again.  The rear view is just a bonus.  Sweet setup Dilbert!  I like the GPS in your dash too.  All high tech like a Firefly...lol!

Kev

[Randy_in_Ohio]

That's a pretty sweet setup there Dilbert!  I never even considered side view camera's...

[Randy_in_Ohio]

I'm thinking about what I should do with the wardrobe storage area in the galley across from the stove. Presently, the doors are missing and it is just a big open hole with the board running vertical down the middle where the doors would catch. The owner says that he has these doors but they are broken up. So the question is, should I try to build new doors or just leave them off and maybe install some shelves?  Any Ideas here?  Does anyone have pictures of what it looked like originally or what you have done to improve this storage space?  Thanks for the input.

[brians69d24]

There are used rv parts junkyards thru out the country.  You should be able to find them somewhere.
brian

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Take the broken up doors from the owner when you buy it, and then if they are really bad, so bad you can't fix them yourself, bring them to a local cabinet maker.  Most cabinet maker/antique restoration people can rebuild the doors, fabricating new wood if they need too, or they can rebuild a set of doors from scratch that exactly match the originals, as long as they have the originals to use as a template/model.  They are surprisingly affordable, especially with the current economy and lack of work. 

I'm going to attempt to repair 3 of my cabinet doors that need repair, but if the attempt fails or I don't like the results (I'm a good woodworker, but not a cabinet maker), I'll be bringing mine to a local cabinet maker.

If you decide to go with just shelves, or using the space for something like a washer/dryer, make sure you have rails on the shelves to keep items from flying off around corners, and bolt down the washer/dryer.

Kev

[Froggy1936]

Randy you can contact Winnebago.com and they will supply you with an original sales brochure and floor plan if you give them info year model and winne ser no  Frank

[sharkfot]

Hey, if you still need pics of the closet (pantry) doors let me know at ben3rd@earthlink.net - - -  I have the exact same rig and can supply you good quality pics.

Regards,

Ben III
Lakeland, FL

[Randy_in_Ohio]

Well I was hoping I was going to get to test drive this rig this weekend. The weather forecast looked great... then it snowed Saturday!  Next weekend isn't looking good either.  I'm really anxious now to see how this thing drives. If it drives as good as he says it does, I'm bringing it home.

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Excellent!  I really like the Elandans.  Like I said, we came REALLY close to buying one ourselves, but since we are fulltimers the storage was the issue so we bought the Holiday Rambler.  I think you'll love owning the Elandan...they are an awesome coach.

Kev

[Randy_in_Ohio]

With three kids and two dogs I think storage is going to be a bit of an issue. I keep thinking about where my Weber Q grill is going to ride, I''m hoping it will fit in one of the storage compartments, if not hopefully it will fit in the shower!  We'll make it work!

I really like this thing too. After looking at the new models with big price tags and crappy build quality. I can really appreciate where Winnebago was when they created this vehicle. Seems like they were way ahead of the game at the time, and the quality is a lot better than what some manufactures are using today.

I've enjoyed reading your adventures kev. very cool.