Looking at a RT 190P next week.

[Atlee]

Just looking at the pictures, its flawless inside and out. It's a 2008 model, with 124,000 miles on it. More miles than I'd prefer. I prefer 100K or less. Also, the tires will need replacing almost immediately. They are at least 5 years old. It has a replacement transmission and 3-way refrigerator which are at least 4+ years old.

It comes with Velcro screens for the side and rear doors, plus the bed cushion for the front passenger and right lounge seat. Important when we take the grand kids camping.

Remains to be seen what condition the genny is in, and being an 08 model, it has the macerator.

Asking price is $39,800 which seems a bit high to me. We will see.

 

[booster]

Just looking at the pictures, its flawless inside and out. It's a 2008 model, with 124,000 miles on it. More miles than I'd prefer. I prefer 100K or less. Also, the tires will need replacing almost immediately. They are at least 5 years old. It has a replacement transmission and 3-way refrigerator which are at least 4+ years old.

It comes with Velcro screens for the side and rear doors, plus the bed cushion for the front passenger and right lounge seat. Important when we take the grand kids camping.

Remains to be seen what condition the genny is in, and being an 08 model, it has the macerator.

Asking price is $39,800 which seems a bit high to me. We will see.

That would be a nearly identical unit to what we got new in 2008, although it was a 2007 build and one of the first of the new redesign.


The screens, front bed, aluminum wheels, bumper covers, generator, two battery combination was a very common configuration for the their "stock" builds to put on the dealer lots, I think.


If you decide to buy it, be sure to get an inspection. The slightly early transmission failure might indicate non stellar maintenance (or may not).


Points to check are are fluids condition and cleanliness, front end steering parts to make sure they are tight and have been greased regularly, particulary the idler arm upper grease point for the support pivot, wheel bearing tightness, brakes, and noise for the chassis. Pretty much everything on the coach side needs to be checked, especially the batteries.


The Chevies have been quite durable from what we have seen, in general. The only real weakness of the 2008 is the parasitic drain on the starting battery is a bit high so you need a trickle charge if it sits very long.


If it is on a dealer lot at that price, you probably have a lot of room to negotiate it down, as the market is a buyer's market right now.

 

[Atlee]

That would be a nearly identical unit to what we got new in 2008, although it was a 2007 build and one of the first of the new redesign.


The screens, front bed, aluminum wheels, bumper covers, generator, two battery combination was a very common configuration for the their "stock" builds to put on the dealer lots, I think.


If you decide to buy it, be sure to get an inspection. The slightly early transmission failure might indicate non stellar maintenance (or may not).


Points to check are are fluids condition and cleanliness, front end steering parts to make sure they are tight and have been greased regularly, particulary the idler arm upper grease point for the support pivot, wheel bearing tightness, brakes, and noise for the chassis. Pretty much everything on the coach side needs to be checked, especially the batteries.


The Chevies have been quite durable from what we have seen, in general. The only real weakness of the 2008 is the parasitic drain on the starting battery is a bit high so you need a trickle charge if it sits very long.


If it is on a dealer lot at that price, you probably have a lot of room to negotiate it down, as the market is a buyer's market right now.

:thanx: This is a private sale, so I don't know how much room I have. We will see next week.

 

[phantomjock]

Get the Inspection!

You can probably find an inspector at a local RV Shop. Many are state-certified. It can give you some peace of mind (transmission-perhaps), but knowledge about the RV componenets too: Refer, macerator, inverter, batteries, etc. Well worth the 300 bucks or so and might help with negotiations.

best of luck.

Cheers - Jim

 

[phantomjock]

Update - as booster said, our 2008 Chevy170P has the parasitic starting battery drain too. Easily solved with a battery disconnect switch at the battery.

Cheers - Jim

 

[jjrbus]

When I sold an RV the buyer insisted on having it inspected at a dealer, I was there for the inspection. After what I saw I would never pay an RV dealer for an inspection! https://nrvia.org/locate/

 

[Atlee]

Did a look see of the aforementioned 190P. Appearance wise, it was as advertised. Spotless inside and outside. Only outside flaw that was noticeable were some small areas where the clearcoat was coming off the leading edge of the fiberglass roof.

Supposedly the generator is hardly ever used, but it started up immediately and never missed a beat. Later it was put under load when the Cool Cat A/C was run.

They had not run the furnace either. Had to look up the instructions on how run it. But it worked fine. Really warmed the RV. That's when we used the A/C to cool it back down.

It rode great. Cabinetry was solid and hardly rattled.

What surprised me a little when driving it was how light the steering felt. Let me explain. Harkening back to the Plymouths my family used to have, the power steering was full time, from crawling through parking lots up to highway speeds. Now power steering is proportional. More while crawling through parking lots, less at highway speeds. Didn't seem squirrely though.

Understandably I suppose, they were not inclined to move off their price any. It's only been listed a couple of weeks. I saw the ad the first day it went up.

So we are, at present, still looking. I would revisit this one at a lower price.

 

[booster]

Did a look see of the aforementioned 190P. Appearance wise, it was as advertised. Spotless inside and outside. Only outside flaw that was noticeable were some small areas where the clearcoat was coming off the leading edge of the fiberglass roof.

Supposedly the generator is hardly ever used, but it started up immediately and never missed a beat. Later it was put under load when the Cool Cat A/C was run.

They had not run the furnace either. Had to look up the instructions on how run it. But it worked fine. Really warmed the RV. That's when we used the A/C to cool it back down.

It rode great. Cabinetry was solid and hardly rattled.

What surprised me a little when driving it was how light the steering felt. Let me explain. Harkening back to the Plymouths my family used to have, the power steering was full time, from crawling through parking lots up to highway speeds. Now power steering is proportional. More while crawling through parking lots, less at highway speeds. Didn't seem squirrely though.

Understandably I suppose, they were not inclined to move off their price any. It's only been listed a couple of weeks. I saw the ad the first day it went up.

So we are, at present, still looking. I would revisit this one at a lower price.

A 2008 should not have the super light steering feel as they have the new design steering gear modification in them if the chassis is 2007 or newer. I wonder if the gear has been replaced or the alignment is off as it should have moderate force and powered centering and return feel.


A 2008 in good shape and not from a rust prone area will probably be in the low $30s these days, I think. The pricing is very fluid now and changes rapidly and can be very different in different areas of the country, besides. During the pandemic they were getting well over $50K for a 2008 in good shape and owners remember that price when they go to sell, not today's market rate.

 

[Atlee]

A 2008 should not have the super light steering feel as they have the new design steering gear modification in them if the chassis is 2007 or newer. I wonder if the gear has been replaced or the alignment is off as it should have moderate force and powered centering and return feel.


A 2008 in good shape and not from a rust prone area will probably be in the low $30s these days, I think. The pricing is very fluid now and changes rapidly and can be very different in different areas of the country, besides. During the pandemic they were getting well over $50K for a 2008 in good shape and owners remember that price when they go to sell, not today's market rate.

I was a little surprised at the light feeling. It did not ever have the tendency to either pull to one side or to wander from side to side.

This one was priced at $39,800 for a 190P w/ 124K miles on it. These folks were the 4th owner, and somewhere along the way, one of the owners failed to pass on all the manuals. She did give me a complete Carfax for it.

If I were able to get in the low 30's, I would be inclined to get it.

 

[otr]

If you have a mechanic who you trust for your regular car they would be a good place to start for an inspection, a Chevy van is a Chevy van and a good local mechanic should be familiar with it. The RV systems should be able to be checked out with the seller, RV shops have much higher hourlies than a typical mechanic, and many systems are intuitive

 

[sunriver05]

I would try to get the seller to take it to an RV shop to check out the camper systems. Part of the sales agreement if you agree to their price. I have a 2014 Roadtrek , service on the gen was $900, service on the ALDE in floor heating was $800 and change. I went to RNR and Blue Compass, would not go back . Service advisers quoted me one thing, came to pick up, price almost double, they conveniently aren’t around to discuss bill, when your ready to pay up and go !

 

[ChicagoTom]

Update - as booster said, our 2008 Chevy170P has the parasitic starting battery drain too. Easily solved with a battery disconnect switch at the battery.

Cheers - Jim

I use a dash trickle charger and it's enough to keep it topped off, even with my anti rodent light flashing under the hood. This just plugs into the cigarette lighter and it's easy, because the outlets on the Chevy are live when off.