1996 Winnebago Vectra 34' Ford

[Teddyspapi]

Good Day and a Happy Belated 4th of July.

Well my search for a Class A continues. Came across a 1996 Winnebago Vectra 34' RA, Ford engine with 34,000 miles on it. Overall, the inside looks decent as well as the exterior.

They claim the tires are new but the DOT code indicates the last four digits are 1106. Which I believe they were manufactured the eleventh week of 2006.

Now for the ugly......couldn't get any of the interior lights to work....I'm sure there is a battery shut off somewhere......but we couldn't find it.....looks like there may be 2 coach batteries and 1 for the engine. I guess it's possible that the coach batteries are dead. The coach did start. the generator did not.

Appears to be a soft spot on the floor outside the bathroom. The coach has a side hallway and you do not have to go through the bathroom to get to the bedroom. Love that!!!!

Of course the graphics are faded and cracked. The driver side windshield is cracked and the passenger side windshield if cloudy in the corners. It's also missing the large awning....brackets and frames.

One of the things that most concern me is; the sheet metal of every basement door is rusted on the inside......the exterior looks great and does not have any delamination.

Please provide me with any imput......Apparently this is a repo as that is what the dealer primarily handles......the bottom line price is 9K.....

Ideally, I would like to take it to a local RV mechanic but they require at least a week to look at it.......don't think the dealer is going to go for that........

Thank you everyone for your kind assistance. PLEASE HELP!!!!!

Thanks,
Paul & Boo Boo (the little schnauzer boy)

[4Knights]

Originally Posted by Teddyspapi

Good Day and a Happy Belated 4th of July.

Well my search for a Class A continues. Came across a 1996 Winnebago Vectra 34' RA, Ford engine with 34,000 miles on it. Overall, the inside looks decent as well as the exterior.

They claim the tires are new but the DOT code indicates the last four digits are 1106. Which I believe they were manufactured the eleventh week of 2006.

Now for the ugly......couldn't get any of the interior lights to work....I'm sure there is a battery shut off somewhere......but we couldn't find it.....looks like there may be 2 coach batteries and 1 for the engine. I guess it's possible that the coach batteries are dead. The coach did start. the generator did not.

Appears to be a soft spot on the floor outside the bathroom. The coach has a side hallway and you do not have to go through the bathroom to get to the bedroom. Love that!!!!

Of course the graphics are faded and cracked. The driver side windshield is cracked and the passenger side windshield if cloudy in the corners. It's also missing the large awning....brackets and frames.

One of the things that most concern me is; the sheet metal of every basement door is rusted on the inside......the exterior looks great and does not have any delamination.

Please provide me with any imput......Apparently this is a repo as that is what the dealer primarily handles......the bottom line price is 9K.....

Ideally, I would like to take it to a local RV mechanic but they require at least a week to look at it.......don't think the dealer is going to go for that........

Thank you everyone for your kind assistance. PLEASE HELP!!!!!

Thanks,
Paul & Boo Boo (the little schnauzer boy)

Tires are old- maybe new to the rig but not new from manufacture date.- replacement required .

Way too much money for those issues on that year coach, floor rot means a leak- so you have to find the leak and fix it as well as the floor rot. Rust inside the bay doors could be leak from above or bad seals. Awning is going to cost you as well. Did they seal up the holes where the awning used to be? If not you will have water coming in those holes as well.
Good deals can be had from repos if the dealer or bank is going to seriously decrease the price based on condition.
Is this dealer going to fix anything? Replace tires/batteries, make sure everything works? Does it have the Norcold refrig? If so was all recall work done? Any service records with the coach or manuals?
If it were me, I'd move on.

[Ramblin]

I agree 100% with 4Knights. Too much money for a coach with the issues you described. If the dealer would replace the tires with NEW ones (less than 1 yr old), install an awning, fix the floor, replace the windshield, and verify ALL systems in working order, then maybe. Otherwise, walk.

[NeilV]

You are looking at almost $3,000 in tires just to get moving.

That generation had a weak spot in the cross member visible from inside the rear comparment looking forward. It is a corrugated sheet metal member above the rear wheels that supports the floor and sidewalls of the coach and it tends to crack at the top of the member above where it goes over the Ford F53 frame rails below. The bulge in the floor going into the master bedroom will many times be from the rear of the coach body sagging from the cross member collapsing.

The house sub frames are mild steel and do not hold up well to road salt so if you are having rust issues inside the basement doors you would do well to crawl under to inspect the box tube frames that the house sits on. I looked at one that you could literally grab sections of the box tubing and pull fistfulls off of.

The Ford 460 was known for popping exhaust manifolds at the rearmost studs so look for missing manifold studs toward the back of the engine also.

My first coach was a 95 Vectra 33RQ so I am familiar with some of the issues inherent with the design.

[Nick-B]

I pretty much agree with the comments so far. 9K for a '96 Vectra would be a great price IF it were in better condition, but seems like a lot wrong with it and typically you'll find even more issues later - after you've bought. If you can do some of the repairs yourself it might be OK but I'm thinking you can find better even if the price is higher.

Only thing I disagree with is tire price. A '96 Ford gasser should only have the 16" tires. All 6 of them will be closer to $1500.

Good luck with your search.

[4Knights]

Originally Posted by Nick-B

Only thing I disagree with is tire price. A '96 Ford gasser should only have the 16" tires. All 6 of them will be closer to $1500.

Good luck with your search.

Wouldn't think they would have a 16 as that is real small for the weight most folks put in their RVs.

My 94 (Chevy if it makes a difference) has 6 225/70r19.5 tires that I'm replacing now-
costs out the door mounted/balanced=
Sampsons is $1200
sumotomas is $2250
Hankooks is $2500
Continental is $3200
Goodyears is $3700
Michelins for $3800

These prices are the Discounted price since I buy through the Army Base Tire Store/gas station.

[NeilV]

Originally Posted by Nick-B

I pretty much agree with the comments so far. 9K for a '96 Vectra would be a great price IF it were in better condition, but seems like a lot wrong with it and typically you'll find even more issues later - after you've bought. If you can do some of the repairs yourself it might be OK but I'm thinking you can find better even if the price is higher.

Only thing I disagree with is tire price. A '96 Ford gasser should only have the 16" tires. All 6 of them will be closer to $1500.

Good luck with your search.

19.5 rims on a 34 foot Class A Vectra in 96 on a Chevy and MICHELIN LT235/85R16 LRE on the Ford.

http://www.winnebagoind.com/service/...6/96wm34ra.pdf

Still about $300 to $400 per tire plus mounting etc. 7 tires including the spare so $2,100 to $2,800 plus mounting and balancing.

That coach also may have Jet Air self leveling suspension which will most likely require some maintenance. The automatic load sensing valves alone are about $500 each and two are required. All the sway bar bushings and links will need to be checked and most likely replaced or it will be all over the roadway. And do not overlook the rear track bar bushings either. With the cut away half springs those are what keep the rear axle centered under the coach. The compressor pack will have seen better days also and will at least need a ring set or replacing also. When the Jet Air is tuned correctly it is a really great feature and will level you coach against a strong steady cross wind and rides like a dream, well at least the back half does.

[micd]

I would pass. For $10K you can find something of that era in much better shape. Good for you for checking the date code on the tires. Everyone says the tires are new. Even when they are 12 years old.

[Teddyspapi]

Yesterday I was mourning the loss of the Vectra.....I arrived at 11:45 AM as scheduled to take a nother look and I had my "motorhome checklist" in hand....

This time they had the generator running and it sounded good....Just as I was about to check the refridgerator.......a guy also looking at the coach stated that he just bought it........

Perhaps a Blessing in disquise.....So the search goes on.

Thank you everyone for your feedback.....This forum is invalueable, thanks to fine people like yourself.

Paul