RV Pre-Purchase Inspection

What we are actually looking for

The inspection is organized around what costs the most to fix, not around what is easiest to see. Water intrusion is first, because it is the leading destroyer of value in this equipment and because its consequences hide inside the structure. Structural condition is second, including frame, welds, and evidence of prior collision or repair. Systems come third: power, gas, plumbing, climate, and appliances, each run through enough of an operating cycle to prove it works rather than that it turns on.

Prior repair history is a category of its own. A unit that has been through a body shop is not automatically a bad buy, and a unit that has been through a bad body shop very often is. Overspray in door jambs, mismatched panel texture, sealant applied over old sealant instead of the old material being removed, and fasteners that do not match their neighbors all tell a story. We photograph what we find and describe it factually, and we leave the conclusion to you.

The report also covers what the unit is legally and practically capable of. Weight ratings and remaining cargo capacity, tire age from the date codes rather than tread depth, and whether the vehicle identification and data plates are present and consistent all go in. Buyers of large fifth wheels regularly discover that the unit they are about to purchase has a few hundred pounds of cargo capacity, and that is a fact worth knowing before money changes hands rather than after.

Moisture, sealant, and structural evaluation

Moisture work starts on the roof and works down. Every penetration is examined for sealant that has cracked, released at an edge, or been layered over rather than removed and redone. Roof membrane condition, seam condition, and the state of the front and rear cap joints get photographed. From there we sweep the interior with a moisture meter, front to back and floor to ceiling, and build a picture of where readings deviate from the dry baseline.

Delamination gets checked by sounding and by sighting down the sidewall in raking light. A separated laminate produces a visible bulge or ripple that a flat photograph in a listing will never show, and a dull note under a mallet confirms it. Around slide openings, at the base of windows, and along the lower few inches of the sidewall are the highest yield areas, and those are exactly the places a walkthrough skips.

Underneath, the belly gets examined for staining, sagging membrane, and evidence of prior water. The frame gets checked for cracks, prior weld repair, straightness, and corrosion at the crossmembers and outriggers. Suspension components, spring arch, and hardware condition are noted, along with any evidence that the unit has been overloaded or has taken an impact. On a motorhome we add the chassis condition items that fall within what we are licensed to assess.

None of this happens in a driveway. The inspection is performed in the shop with the unit inside and on level ground, with roof access, lighting, shore power, and water available. That is a real constraint for a buyer looking at a unit in another county, and it is also the reason the findings are worth what they cost. A meaningful inspection needs a facility, and the seller bringing the unit here is a reasonable thing to ask.

Running the systems rather than glancing at them

Electrical testing covers shore power at both service levels the unit supports, polarity and voltage at the pedestal connection, GFCI function, converter output, battery condition under load, and inverter operation if fitted. If there is a generator, it gets started and loaded rather than merely run at idle, since a generator that starts and a generator that will carry two air conditioners are different things. Solar output is measured at the controller against conditions.

Gas testing means a timed pressure test on a manometer with the result recorded, plus regulator delivery pressure under load. Every gas appliance is lit and run: furnace through a full sequence, water heater on both heat sources, refrigerator on propane and on electric with box temperatures logged over hours, and each cooktop burner and the oven. An absorption refrigerator in particular cannot be evaluated in ten minutes, which is why this is a full day in a bay rather than an hour in a lot.

Plumbing gets pressurized and held, the pump and its cycling behavior observed, every fixture run, and all drains checked for flow and for leaks at accessible connections. Tanks are checked for mounting condition and dump valve seal function. Climate systems run long enough to produce a stable temperature split across the evaporator, and slides are cycled fully in both directions while we watch the seals, the rollers, and the timing of each corner.

What it costs and what you receive

Pricing runs from $250 to $1,200 depending on the vehicle. A single axle travel trailer with two appliances and no slides sits near the bottom. A 45-foot diesel coach with a hydronic heating system, basement air, multiple slides, a generator, air suspension, and a full complement of appliances sits at the top, because there is simply that much more to test and it takes that many more hours. We quote the exact figure from the year, make, model, and options before scheduling, so there is no moving number.

The deliverable is a written report with photographs keyed to each finding, organized by severity rather than by the order we happened to find things. Items that make a unit unsafe or that represent major expense are separated from maintenance items and from cosmetic notes. Where we can put a realistic repair figure on something we do, based on the same posted labor rates we charge anyone. Where the cost depends on what is found during teardown, we say that instead of inventing a number.

What the report is not is a negotiation tactic written on your behalf or an opinion about whether to buy. It is a factual account of the condition of a specific vehicle on a specific day. Most buyers use it in one of three ways: to walk away from a unit with structural water damage, to renegotiate against a documented list, or to buy with confidence and a maintenance plan for the next two years. All three are good outcomes and the third is more common than people expect.

The inspection carries no obligation to have any work performed here, and the fee is not credited against repairs, which keeps the incentives clean. An inspector who is paid based on the repairs he finds is not an inspector. If you do choose to have the work done here afterward, you already have a documented starting point, and the shop has held a California Bureau of Automotive Repair license since 2015 with the record to go with it.

What is included

Roof, seal, and penetration survey

Every penetration and seam examined and photographed, with layered or released sealant called out specifically.

Interior moisture mapping

Meter sweep against a dry baseline across floors, lower walls, ceilings, and slide perimeters.

Structure and frame assessment

Delamination sounding, frame crack and prior weld inspection, and evidence of collision or overload documented.

Full systems operation testing

Power, generator under load, gas appliances lit and run, plumbing pressurized, climate and slides cycled completely.

Timed propane pressure test

Manometer test held for a timed interval with the recorded reading included in the report.

Photo report organized by severity

Safety and major expense separated from maintenance and cosmetic items, with repair figures where they are knowable.

Signs you need this work

• A seller who will not allow the unit to be taken to a shop for inspection
• A listing with no photographs of the roof or the underbelly
• Fresh sealant applied over old sealant along a roof seam
• A ripple or bulge visible when you sight down the sidewall in low sun
• Tires with good tread and a date code more than six years old
• A recent repair the seller describes vaguely or cannot produce paperwork for