How much water is too much….should I still buy?

[Redapple63]

I really appreciate everyone weighing in. My wife and I were pretty much of the same thinking. It’s too bad. We really like the layout and unfortunately it looks like the production run was somewhat limited.

Grasping at straws here….could those water mark have been caused by condensation pooling?

Not likely. Marks like that are representative of accumulation. I doubt you would see marks like that from condensation unless it was there long term, which is another reason to walk away.

Bill

[Riverbug]

Agree with @Redapple63, that seems like a lot for condensation. And where it's located, just doesn't seem likely.

[LMagelitz]

Regarding the mice….whatever trailer you get, if you have hydraulic thru-frame slides, GD and all the other similar manufacturers that I’ve seen don’t seal where the hydraulic cylinder ram goes thru the frame. You have to get creative about sealing that asap, because a small squirrel will fit thru that hole (let alone a mouse), directly into the underbelly, and then the rest of the coach.

[llr2800]

The 2nd picture looks like the panel may have gotten wet before the build as the 2x doesn't look like it was wet.
The 4th picture I would be concerned about and would want to know were the water came from and check around the area very close.
Is the ceiling picture under an air duck run? If so it was probably condensation and not much that can be done do to minimal insulation there, I have condensation on mine sometimes. I would do a close inspection of the roof on any used and maybe new RV and especially near the marks.
I didn't look up the unit but I assume it is aluminum framed so there won't me any frame damage from this.

[Fsalmy]

I purchased a 1966 Shasta Astroflyte that had what appeared to be a small leak in the street-side, rear corner. I had planned on removing the affected areas and doing a cosmetic restoration on the rest of the camper. That small leak that looked very similar to the first two or three photos posted by the OP turned out to be what was a long standing roof leak around the black tank vent. My small repair and cosmetic restoration turned into a complete gut of the interior and a skin-off restoration. There was mold throughout the entire ceiling, framing studs were rotten, even the floor was rotten and had to be removed and replaced. I bought the camper for a great deal, but the amount of hidden damage was unreal. After replacing the floor, installing new vinyl tile, new studs, new wiring, routing custom wall paneling, a new ceiling and all new insulation, the restoration stalled. I couldn't tell you how many hours my wife and I have in that camper. What was once a one-year max restoration project, including a small leak repair, turned into a complete gut because water had managed to find its way through the entire camper.

Years ago, I used to have a remodeling/renovation business specializing in historic homes. The lesson I learned from that, which should have been applied to the camper (but wasn't), was that whatever water damage that was visibly evident had to be multiplied by a factor of 3 or 4 (or 10x) for the hidden damage. I walked away from one job that only had tell tale evidence of water damage along one baseboard near a fireplace. It was an 1800's era, 3-story house with multiple gabled roofs and plaster and lathe walls. We found a roof leak due to chimney flashing that had failed. We opened up the first wall to find mold everywhere. It extended to an adjacent wall. And another wall. And another. And then to the floor above, and in the ceilings. Everywhere we cut a keyhole window into the walls, even two or three rooms away from the primary source of the leak, we found mold. We could not find any other leaks in the roof, but looking at how the water traveled down all of the various ceiling joists and roof trusses, its no wonder such a large percentage of the house was affected. The house was being renovated for a baby products store. The owner of the house (a commercial property owner with lots of retail and historic apartment buildings) let the baby store owners cancel the lease, paid us for our time and some materials, and then I heard, but can't confirm the house was condemned. Its too bad. It was a really neat old house with incredible potential for retail use.

The moral of the story, at least in my experience, is that what you can see and what you can's see are often vastly different with the latter being far more extensive. Given my history, if that was a camper I was looking at, I'd run away. Far away. And I'd being spraying Mold Control behind me as I ran.