Water Damage Question

[tsmart11]

I am considering buying a used Diesel Pusher. It is a 1998 Fleetwood Discovery. It is extremely clean, and is affordable to us. The problem is that I noticed a bulging ridge on the exterior wall near the door. It runs vertically to the left of the window for a few feet. I have read about delamination, however this is not flexible but rigid and will not give when pressing on it. Inside the coach there is evidence of water damage as well on the interior wall.

The question is if the water leak is stopped, how serious is this bulge to the coach. Should I stay away from this purchase? The price for this Diesel and how great the condition of rest of the coach is make me want to pursue it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Tommy

[jmonroe]

At the very least, I'd recommend you have a disinterested third party, with some RV knowledge, look it over. It could range from disasterous, to just cosmetic. I can tell you that a walk through any busy campground, on any given weekend, and you'll see a lot of motor homes of a similar vintage with similar issues.

Good luck.

[Roodriver]

Do a search on the web or look in the FMCA magazine for companies that repair this kind of damage, and send them a picture. This kind of problem can be very very very expensive. With motorhomes it may be best to walk away from problems when you first spot them.

Ward

[tsmart11]

Thanks for the responses. Good suggestions. However, this unit is actually 4 hours away from us. We went to drive it yesterday with the expectation we were buying it only to discover this problem. I was hoping someone on the forum had direct experience with this sort of issue.

I am waiting to hear from the dealer's service department on Monday.

Regards,

Tommy