Advice on 1997 Pleasureway

[HappyCamper2]

We are newbies inn the motorhome world...we looked at this motorhome...they're asking about $19,000...looks in great shape..58,000 miles..a Ram3500 I believe with the 318 engine...what important things should I look for...good price??? Thanks!

[markopolo]

1977 or 1997 ?

Edit: Topic title updated to 1997 Pleasureway

[HappyCamper2]

OOOPS! Sorry....it's a 1997

[markopolo]

#1 thing on my list to watch out for is rust.

A quick web search shows that asking price is what a few 1997 PW's are listed for. For that price I'd want everything to be in good working order. I'd also want it to include a roof air conditioner and a built in generator. Both of those were optional back in 1997.

Check the DOT codes on the tires. A new set of tires could cost $800 to $1,000.

For tires manufactured after the year 2000 the last four numbers of the DOT code indicate the week and year of manufacture. So if the last four numbers are 5208 that means the tire was made in the 52nd week of 2008.

For tires manufactured before the year 2000 the last three numbers of the DOT code indicate the week and year of manufacture. So if the last three numbers are 496 that means the tire was made in the 49th week of 1996. Tires manufactured before the year 2000 are way too old to use.

RV tires that are older than 6 or 7 years are considered to be too old for RV use by many owners. We tend to run these vans at or nearly at their max weight capacity.

It's a 16 year old unit so some repairs are to be expected. It would be a good idea to have it inspected by a mechanic to check the brakes and things like ball joints. I had to replace both on a 1998 Dodge 3500 van and it was a lot of money.

[booster]

I amazes me how much the prices have increased on used b's. In 2007/2008, when we were originally looking to buy, 1997's were selling for less than that.

[Mike]

The one I had listed in the Trading Post on here fetched almost full ask, without an awning or a generator.
It is interesting, and good for us if we're selling, but not so good if we're buying used.

[AK49er]

We just bought our Coach House six weeks ago and paid a little more than 19K. It had 49K and 50hours on the generator. We live in Alaska so we don't see a whole lot of B's, but there were actually 3 other couples standing behind us waiting to pounce. The only thing I would say is to drive it with some weight in it first, our 3500 drives a little(lot) different with weight, this I am still researching. We love ours and would not trade it for a C or A if we had to keep it, just our lifestyle. B people are different!

[markopolo]

2 1/2 years ago, I would have been 4th in line on a 2003 Roadtrek 190 Versatile also Dodge at $25,000. Someone on another forum picked up 2003 Roadtrek 190 Popular (Dodge) for $22,000 this year. It is hard to find well priced units.

The shortage of used units will continue as the number of new units shipped each year still has not recovered after the recession. Link to data: http://www.classbforum.com/phpBB2/vi...tart=11#p14985

New Class B shipments for the 4 years from 2004 to 2007 totaled 11,300 units.
New Class B shipments for the 4 years from 2008 to 2011 totaled 6,600 units.
That's a 4,700 unit difference for those two 4 year periods.

There are few well priced used Roadtreks for sale listed on Roadtrek Chapter right now: http://www.roadtrekchapter.org/roadtreks-for-sale

[markopolo]

Here the features and specifications found on the web for late nineties Pleasure-Way vans. It should give an idea of what the various models should have.

[HappyCamper2]

Wow!! thanks for all the replies..it will help us out a lot next time we look at it..we told the salesman that we'll be back to look at it again after our trip out of town if it's still there!