In Shop Pre Purchase RV Inspection for Used Unit Buyers

• why nothing here is performed away from the facility

• what a full roof replacement actually costs
• frame findings and what they take to correct

• bus conversions and owner built systems
• bunkhouse fifth wheel structure and tanks
• slide in campers and the truck under them

Structure and running gear on the lift

Frame welds, cross members, spring hangers, shackles, wet bolts, tank supports and the underside of every slide room, inspected from beneath rather than inferred from above.

Roof and floor metered on a grid

Readings taken systematically and recorded with locations, so the extent of any wet area is a map rather than an adjective.

Every system operated on every source it has

Slides cycled and measured, awnings deployed, appliances run on propane and on shore power, pumps and tanks filled and dumped, levelling exercised through a full sequence.

Generator proven on a stepped load bank

Loaded toward rated output with voltage and frequency watched, and hours read from the meter. A start and an idle is not a test.

Tires, brakes and tow readiness assessed

DOT date codes read on every tire including the spare, brake components inspected, bearings checked, and the hitch or pin box examined for wear and cracking.

Electrical, solar and lithium installations reviewedwhere applicable

Capacity, wiring standard, fusing and documentation on aftermarket work, which matters for safety and for any future claim.

1. 1

   Arrange the unit, the permission and the consumables

   By appointment

   The seller brings the unit or agrees to its collection and gives written permission for us to operate and lift it. Propane in the cylinders and fuel in the tank are the buyer's responsibility, because appliances and a generator cannot be tested without either.

2. 2

   Walk the exterior and map the sealant

   1 hour

   Every roof penetration, seam, window surround and cap joint is examined and photographed, and sealant condition is recorded by location. Fresh bead over failed bead is a specific finding, and it changes where we meter next.

3. 3

   Meter the roof deck and the floor on a grid

   1 hour

   Readings are taken systematically across the deck and along every floor perimeter, cabinet base and slide opening. A grid produces a map of any wet area, and a map is the only version of this finding a seller will accept.

4. 4

   Put it on the lift

   1 hour

   Frame, cross members, welds, suspension, tank supports and slide undersides get looked at from beneath. This is where the findings that end purchases live, and it is the single reason this inspection cannot happen anywhere but a shop.

5. 5

   Run everything, on every source

   2 to 3 hours

   Slides cycled and measured at the corners, awnings out and in, every appliance fired on propane and on shore power, water system pressurized and held, tanks filled and dumped, generator loaded on the bank, levelling run through a full cycle.

6. 6

   Write it as triage with prices attached

   1 to 2 hours

   Findings are sorted into what must be done before use, what needs budgeting inside a year, and what is cosmetic and will never matter. Each of the first two categories carries a price, and that is what turns a report into a negotiating position.

• The seller says everything works and cannot say when anything was last used
• The unit has been sitting on the same patch of gravel for two or three years
• Fresh sealant on the roof, applied over the old sealant rather than instead of it
• A soft or springy area underfoot near a slide opening or the entry step
• Interior wall panels with a wavy surface or a lifted edge at a seam
• Tires with plenty of tread and a date code showing eight or nine years
• Service records that stop abruptly three years before the current listing
• A price noticeably below comparable listings with no explanation offered

• Outdoor storage in Southern California sun, which ages roof sealant and window gaskets far faster than mileage ever would
• Long idle periods, which are harder on appliances, seals, tires and brake components than regular use is
• Deferred sealant maintenance, where a bead was topped up annually and the substrate underneath was never inspected
• Slide rooms cycled while the unit sat off level, wearing rails on one side and racking the opening
• A previous repair completed without addressing what caused it, which an inspection can identify and a listing photograph cannot
• Aftermarket solar, lithium and inverter work installed without documentation, which is both a safety question and a valuation question

• Delmhorst pin meters and a Tramex scanner for gridded roof deck and floor readings
• Stepped load bank for proving an Onan or Cummins set against its rated output
• Dexter and Lippert axle, shackle, wet bolt and Correct Track inspection on towables
• Lippert Schwintek, Power Gear and BAL slide systems cycled and measured at the corners
• Suburban, Dometic, Norcold and Furrion appliances run on each available source
• Victron, Xantrex and Battle Born installations checked for capacity, wiring standard and documentation

• Treating a seller's demonstration as a test. Starting a generator, running a slide once and turning a tap on proves that those things happened today, and nothing more.
• Buying on the strength of a clean interior. Cosmetic condition and structural condition are almost unrelated on an RV, and the expensive faults are all hidden.
• Walking a roof you have not metered. A deck can carry your weight and still be wet enough that the membrane is the least of its problems.
• Accepting fresh sealant as evidence of maintenance. A bead applied over a failed bead hides the substrate rather than protecting it, which is a reason to meter more carefully rather than less.

I tell every buyer the same thing before we start: you are not paying me to tell you the unit is good, you are paying me to tell you what it will cost. Every used coach has findings, and a report with none in it would be a report nobody checked. What I care about is the two or three items that change the decision rather than the price, and those are almost always underneath. A roof that meters wet across half its deck, a crack starting at a spring hanger, delamination running the length of a wall. I have watched people fall in love with an interior and then go very quiet under the lift, and that is exactly what this fee is for.

Which findings should actually stop somebody buying a used RV?

Structural and systemic ones. A frame crack propagating from a spring hanger or pin box mount, delamination running the length of a sidewall, and a roof deck metering wet across a third or more of its area. Nearly everything else is a price, and a report that puts numbers against those prices is a negotiating tool.

Why do you need propane in the cylinders and fuel in the tank?

Because appliances and generators cannot be tested without them. A refrigerator, water heater, furnace and cooktop each need firing on gas, and a generator needs fuel to reach rated output on the load bank. A unit arriving empty loses a large share of what the inspection is worth.

Do you road test the chassis as part of a buyer inspection?

On a motorised unit we run it, check brakes, steering response, charging and gauges, and read the chassis modules. It is a functional check on local roads rather than a long drive. On a towable the equivalent is axle, brake, bearing and hitch inspection on the lift, plus wheel and tire condition.

Is the roof checked by walking it or by metering it?

Both, and the metering is what matters. A deck can carry weight and still be saturated. Readings are taken on a grid and recorded against locations, which produces a map of any wet area. Where the pattern follows a seam or covers a large share of the deck, the membrane is the least of the problem.

How do buyers actually use the report to negotiate a price?

By handing over specifics. Sellers argue with impressions and concede to numbers, so a line saying four tires are nine years old by date code, with a replacement figure attached, moves a price. The report separates must do now from budget within a year, and the first category is where negotiation happens.

Does the inspection cover the tow vehicle or the hitch as well?

The hitch, pin box, coupler and their mounting are inspected as part of a towable inspection, since that is where towing loads concentrate and where cracking shows. A separate tow vehicle is its own job, and we will tell you whether the truck you intend to use is rated for the unit you are buying.