1998 Beaver Monterey pre buy inspection

[Wayne Ridsdale]

 Hi all
Thanks for the replies to the mushy brake issue I outlined on a previous post. I am going to try and go back out and have another look on Sunday with a friend of mine who has more experience with MC's

The PO bypassed the seaward diesel water heater system a put a small office/residential 110 volt in one of the closets. I didn't pay much attention to this when I was looking at the unit, But I am thinking now that this fix was probably a mistake. I would appreciate any opinions on the this and on the original water heating system. I also am not sure from what I can find if the furnace system is some how connected to the water heating system?

We noticed there were seatbelts on only the 2 front seats and none on the couch where newer models have them. is this normal for this year of MC?

Also is there any problems in particular I should be aware of and looking at for this year and model.

We were impressed with the fit, finish, and condition  of this coach.

Thanks
Wayne Ridsdale

[Jerry Emert]

My 2003 only has belts on the Driver, Navigator seats.  Can't find anyone to install any citing liability.  No real good place to put them anyway.  Good luck.
Jerry

[Edward Buker]

Wayne,

No intent here to encourage or discourage you here.... Before you buy I would be absolutely sure to exercise every single system in the coach, every switch, diesel heating system, roof air, dash air, awnings, leveling system, check that all the gauges work, faucets, holding tanks, water fill, water pump, refrigerator, cruise control, wipers, dash fan speed, every compartment door, all the 120V outlets, generator, inverter/charger, radio, Tvs, camera, age of tires, inspect the roof for cracks and condition, etc. The web may have some good checklists to start from.

If the house systems all looks good, then I would have the coach taken to a good truck center and have an inspection done of the chassis for leaks, broken shock mounts, especially inspect/fix the brake system, radiator fan, radiator condition, front end, engine for leaks. All the fluid conditions should be checked. They should be able to print out any trouble codes from the engine or transmission and check for prior work from your serial numbers.

The message here is to be sure that the coach is in excellent condition before you buy, or known issues are discovered and are corrected and not at your expense unless you agree. These are older machines and can be difficult and expensive to correct if something is missed. You get one chance to here to really determine if this motorhome is worthy enough for you to purchase or to take a pass and move on. There are many coaches on the market, many have issues, many are good, you just have to be sure you do your homework and know what you are buying.

Our motorhome only has the two seatbelts also.

Later Ed

[Dick Simonis]

I would be a very concerned over that strange HW heater conversion.  That seems like an odd approach that cost a lot more than just replacing the original.  It might also negate the ability to provide hot water using the Hurricane.

You might want to check into this carefully with an eye towards what it would take to reverse the mod back to original.

Personally, this alone would cause me to shy away.

[Steve Huber Co-Admin]

Wayne,
Apparently sofa seat belts were not included in the circa 2000 coaches. Neither our 2001 Contessa or our current 2000 Marquis had/have them. They could be added if one wanted to remove the sofas and drill mounting holes through the floor so washers and nuts could be installed on the underside. I saw one coach where the after market belts were "secured" to the floor with bolts into the wood only. Not smart..
I think the Seaward water heating system is very similar to the Hurricane used in 2000 coaches. The PO may have added the residential tank because the internal tank started to leak. I had to replace mine a couple of years ago. If you go with the coach you may want to contact ITR or Rixens in OR. Both are very helpful in walking you through diagnostic and repair of your water system. IMHO the Hurricane system with the water heater and heat exchanger is one of the best and most trouble-free systems out there.
Steve

[Lawrence Tarnoff]

Our 1999 Contessa also did not have seat belts other than those on the driver and navigator seats.  The couch, however, had cutout for two pair of belts.  I put in one pair, affixing them to the verticle steel struts behind the sofa.  Tight squeeze for drilling, but doable.

Larry

[LaMonte Monnell]

No passenger couch seat belts on my 2001 Contessa, but slits are in the couch for them.

[Keith Moffett]

There are things wrong with that coach.  Every coach has them. If you buy it at the right price, you will have 10 K to make improvements.
walk away if you cant get a great price!  Nothing on these is cheap!

[David T. Richelderfer]

Our 2004 Marquis has seat belts under the couch.  They were up through the slits when we purchased the coach three years ago.  We have never used them so we pushed them back down through the slits to the floor.  I am suggesting the seat belts may be there under the couch with several other things that find their way to places out of site, i.e., toys, hats, pencils, remote controls, etc.

[Wayne Ridsdale]

Thanks for the replies and advice;

I spent some time today going over the systems on the MC today and found a few issues.

My friend pointed out 2 areas where the aluminum skin had delaminated under the bottom corners of a couple windows. He says this is from water infiltration and will get worse from freeze thaw transitions right now it seems a minor problem. I hope??

The seller agreed to bring the unit to the city where I will have a Truck dealership do a safety and a pre buy inspection.

The propane Onan Gen set quit while we were testing systems and would not start till we let it sit for a while. It acted as if it was running low on fuel. When we walked around the back to look at it there was a strong propane smell. I can get the local Onan dealer ( just down the street from the truck dealer) to look at it when it is in town.

The, I think it is a Girard, awning works but I don't think the arms extend as far as they should. Should the 3 jointed arms straighten completely?? Is this a matter of adjustment??

The 4 way remote mirror toggle switch has had the toggle broken off. I assume it is not that hard to find replacement part and to install it. Again I hope??

I still am not sure how the hot water/furnace system works. The Beaver data sheet says the MC has a hurricane furnace and a Suburban  SW10d water heater.  The Hurricane  info says it supplies cabin heat "and" on demand hot water using diesel and recaptured engine heat as a power source. The Suburban info says it is a 10 gal hot water tank using propane to heat the water. However, to confuse me more, when I look in the basement I have a Seaward F600, a 6 gal 110 volt/ captured engine heat water heating system.  I assume that some  where in the MC's history the Suburban was changed for the Seaward, but I am, as I said, not sure if or how the Hurricane fits in with the hot water system and if it does has it been effected by the PO bypassing the Seaward hot water system. I also am not sure where the Hurricane system is located. It seems to be wrapped around the Seaward tank??

To compound my present unease, I forgot to check the furnace system while I was there and when I phoned the seller he wasn't sure if they had ever tried to use the furnace. (I will be able to spend some time when the MC is in the city to check the furnace.)

Can any one help me here?? I will try and attach a couple of pictures of the Hot water compartment. You will be able to see where the PO cut the in and out lines to the heater and joined them together in front.

Thanks again for you help
Wayne Ridsdale




   

 

[Tom and Pam Brown]

Wayne, I am not sure why anyone would choose to cut supply lines from the water heater and install another.  The amount of time installing another and running the lines took longer than replacing the seaward that is there and most likely more expensive. To answer your question, the hurricane is below the seaward, the lines at the bottom of the seaward are from the hurricane heater and heats the water in the tank when in operation.  The girard awning arms sound normal as far as extension.  The window issues you describe are leaking into the fiberglass walls and yes delamination is a big issue on this type of coach.
 The amount of work needed and the unknown issues could cost you thousands unless you can do the work yourself.  Just my opinion, good luck sir.

[Tom and Pam Brown]

Wayne, send me an email with your conatct number and let's discuss jtb59@bellsouth.net.

[Edward Buker]

Wayne,

There are many coaches out there that were well loved and taken care of. This one sounds like it has a sorted past and some significant issues. While no used coach is perfect, you do want to be quite selective and get the best one you can find in your price range.

I personally would not buy a coach with delamination if I could help it. I know this kind of info provides you with a dilemma, but better to be safe then sorry.

If you have the means and skills to fix these things yourself and like this type of work, that is one thing. If not you have to find skilled help and these issues can be costly and time consuming to repair. I would get estimates for the things that are known to be wrong with the coach so you know where you are headed total cost wise if you were to buy, better yet let the seller have these things fixed before you close the deal and sign on the dotted line. Just one persons opinion...

Later Ed


 

[LaMonte Monnell]

Wayne,
I totally agree with Ed and the others. Seems like a lot of systems on this coach have been hacked in many ways.

When I bought my Contessa three years ago I didn't get an inspectors opinion as I thought having a Class C prior for a few years was enough.

After I purchased the coach and started digging around I found many things that needed replacing, and none were cheap!

It is easy to overlook things, be sure to step back and think seriously, then evaluate the dollar cost to get all these items up to working order.

It may be a great deal at the right price, or maybe something better is waiting for you.

[Wayne Ridsdale]

I would like to thank all of you that responded to my varied questions and musing about the MC, especially Tom Brown who phoned me to discuss the various issues I was looking at. The seller has another buyer at this point that has made a where is/as is offer that he will probably except and it is better then any offer I would have made even before my due diligence. But I learned a lot in the process that I can use while I continue the search.
Thanks again.
Wayne Ridsdale