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Weight Kills Deal
I started looking for a used class C motor home, something with under 70,000 miles that would be able to make a week-long vacation per year and several nearby weekend jaunts. The price would need to be one that wouldn't make me feel like I needed to use it every weekend to justify the cost/investment. I spotted a 1987 Prelude by El Dorado. OK, so they went out of business. The chassis is by Ford. That should be easy enough to get parts for. 67,000 miles. OK, that's good. Ford 460 engine. Great! Salesman said he bought it from an old man who just wanted to move it. Hmmmm. Still, nice length -27 1/2', and the axle centers measure 186", so the wheelbase-to-length ratio is 56.3%, so that's good. GVWR is 11,700 pounds. That sounds light but there's enough there to take a look. But the unit is over 500 miles away! OK, so I'll drive there overnight and take a look. If it scales OK, I'll make an offer. Drive all night, sleep 2 hours on a side road. Deputy stops to see if I'm a mass murderer. Nope, just quieter than a rest stop on the Interstate. But I need to get moving. Get to the dealership. Paint's faded a bit. Interior is a bit worn. Walk around; the body isn't beat up, so Pops must have been a good backer (or pulled forward into his spots). Left all his dishes and stuff in the unit. No roof leaks in cabover sleeping area. Looking at the roof, patch material in quite a few places, so they must have seen the leaks coming. All right, next step, weigh the motor home. Truck scales, "Why would you want to weigh the unit?" asks the salesman. I want to know if there's any payload capacity. "Huh? Never had anyone ask me," says the salesman. So we mess around for 45 minutes and finally find a commercial scale about 4 miles from the dealership. Drive the motor home there. Ask the trucker how it works. "Just pull the unit on the scale and press the button. They weigh you and you go to the fuel desk." $7.50 for first weight and $1 for the next. So I pull on the scale and push the button and a garbled voice comes over the speaker. I think she said, "Do you want fries with that?" but I'm not sure, so I say "Pepsi and cheeseburger" and pull off the scale and up to the fuel counter. Give the clerk $8.50, but I didn't realize the scale was a sectional one where they can weigh the total unit and both axles in one shot, saving a lot of time and hassle. The motor home had a GVWR of 11,700 pounds. GAWR front axle 4,200 pounds; rear axle 7,500 pounds. Found that tag inside the driver's door. The motor home had half a tank of gas, no water since it was winterized, the dishes, and me (not sure that I hopped off the scale in time). The weigh ticket showed 3,380 pounds on the steering axle, 8,320 pounds on the drive axle, and 11,700 pounds gross weight. OH, NO! Before I load up the wife, the kids, and a few extra things, it is overweight and overloaded on the rear axle. Darn ( or words to that effect). Drive the motor home back to the dealership, back it in, turn it off, give the keys, shake the salesman's hand, and tell him, "Thanks, but no thanks". I jump back in the van and take off for home, having had 2 hours sleep in about 38 hours. Guess I could be an intern or resident with those hours. And got to see a lot of the countryside. Some thoughts, observations, and questions:
If we can eliminate the lemons, it makes the job of finding a good motor home easier. Mike Cole, Ohio |
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