Purchasing advice needed 2000 Pleasure Way

[Mikayla]

I have a deposit on a 2000 PW motor home with over 200000 miles. Dodge 3500 gas engine.

I've done a lot of reading and spend a lot of time in forums and RV groups over the last few months so I was smart enough to follow the advice of the experts ( all of you ) and hired a inspector. He did find several things wrong with the unit and the sellers have lined up a appointment with a mechanic and to have the power steering hose leak fixed this on Monday. The generator will get a service on Thursday. The transmission was rebuilt approx. 2 years ago and fortunately is under warranty until the 30th. It has about 1500 miles on it. Super lucky on that, they thought it had just expired, hopefully the repair will come with a extended warranty.

I'm assuming the mechanic will be able to figure out where all the leaks are coming from, why and what to do about it.
The owner is only concerned about two of them and tells me a little drip of fluid here and there is to be expected on a older vehicle and it's generally best to let things be until they break.

I would love your opinion on that. I'm not trying to be unrealistic or unreasonable.

The generator quit when the inspector turned on the air conditioner so he wrote it up and let it be. The owner was able to keep the generator going and run the air conditioner after a two minute warm up period and decreasing the temperature slowly. He said that's how it's supposed to be done.

I have no clue so I'm asking you.

The water heater hasn't been used in a very long time ( years ? ) so the inspector didn't run it because he didn't want to risk damaging it. He recommended full service first.

Am I taking a risk that it may not work again?

And then there is this : Dash AC system:
" Recommend further evaluation of the AC clutch on the compressor. Clutch was making a loud noise when engaging. "

I can't even imagine what that is or how much of a issue/ cost this could present or who fixes it.


I hope I can make this deal happen, I've been searching and doing homework since last year. That said, I will walk away rather than sign up for a heart ache. The van will be my daily driver and needs to be reasonably reliable. I would upgrade my AAA and add the RV. I'm hopeful but realistic.

The sellers are a very friendly retired couple, appear well educated and I believe they are acting in good faith.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

[Bruceper]

A few small leaks or drips is pretty normal on a vehicle that age, but they can also be fixed and there's no reason not to fix them.

The A/C compressor isn't too expensive, but it needs to be evacuated which means it requires a properly equipped shop.

Needing to warm up the generator isn't such an issue, but it likely means that the carb needs service and probably needs some service work.

[Mikayla]

I am getting a lot of negative feedback from many people and will likely pass. I don't feel at ease anymore following our phone conversation that's why I posted at here and in other groups.
Thank you for taking the time to respond.

[jmai]

At 200,000 miles, the golden age is over. You already have a bit of a laundry list of known problems. These engines are long lived however.

AC can probably be fixed, but you likely need more parts than just an AC clutch as well as specialized AC service from a qualified technician, (as opposed to a "do it yourself in the garage" set-up).

You mention that this is going to be daily driver. that's good and bad.

Good-things turn and get used and lubricated.

Bad-when things turn and get used and lubricated daily, they still wear out. Driving this daily will make it wear out faster.

I'd pass on this one.