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Topic: Buying a 1984 22 feet TK! Excited and terrified at the same time. Thoughts?  (Read 498 times) previous topic - next topic
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Buying a 1984 22 feet TK! Excited and terrified at the same time. Thoughts?
Hey all,

I am so glad I found this forum. I am in Southern California and tomorrow I will potentially be driving a 1984 Lazy Daze TK home. Wife and I have fallen in love with the layout and even love the late 70's early 80's look. Don't plan to change a thing aesthetically. Owner said he put in a new engine 1k miles ago and changed starter, manifold, rebuilt carb, tires are about 2 years old. Inside, all of it works except the oven. He also fixed leak by window vent and I believe just closed off the big front window entirely. No generator. Inside looks incredibly well taken care of.

I know the concerns with buying such an old vehicle. But I don't have the money to buy a $20k rig and honestly just want to take the plunge. My son is 5 years old, loves the beach, loves camping and I want to give him that experience.

Selling price was posted at 13k, then down to 10k and now I am potentially negotiating to $8,800. I am NOT mechanically inclined in any way. But I do have honest friends (plumbers, construction and a/c, electricians) who will give me honest help. Also, my wife's uncle owns a truck repair shop and often works on big RVs and motorhomes. 

Anyone still using an '84? How has it been? Thoughts on the price? Motorhome prices are high, LD has a great reputation and then I am Southern California where everything is 85% more expensive just because. You gotta 😂 or else you'll just be😖 all the time.

Any thoughts on the price? Any helpful tips would be appreciated. Again, my budget can't stretch more than that. My wife and I are pretty set on the TK model and even prefer the vintage look. But reality is reality. Thanks for your input. You all are amazing! What other motorhome has a huge following as this one? Insane!
A 1984 T/K, GM chassis
Re: Buying a 1984 22 feet TK! Excited and terrified at the same time. Thoughts?
Reply #1 –
Welcome to the Forum.

You will find a few here that once owned an older LD, but not so many now. We owned a 1983 Front Lounge for eight years before buying a new 2003 LD.
The 1983 rig was OK but was underpowered which made trips to the mountains interesting, with slow accents up to 10,000'  where it refused to go. The carburetor would be running so rich at the altitude that the engine couldn't run right. If used locally for beach runs, you will be fine.
The Quadrajet carb is one of the more difficult carbs to work on. I  hope your friends are old and have experience working on this obsolete device. I had a lot of issues with the carb and eventually replaced it with an Edelbrock after-market carb. The Edlebrock is easier to set up with their jetting kit. Another issue with the Quadrajet is having the carb's floats fail and sink, causing very rich conditions. The float bowls have plugs that can leak and empty the float chamber when parked, leading to long, difficult starting. This can be fixed by epoxying the plugs in place.
https://www.edelbrock.com/performer-series-600-cfm-carburetor-with-electric-choke-in-satin-egr-1400.html.

The distributors can seize up, which eliminates the proper advance of the spark, the distributor can be disassembled and lubed to overcome this problem.

The 350 V8, which I assume, had a small cooling system that often caused overheating, the reason why so many older LDs, with the 350 V8 have had the engines replaced. Make sure the cooling system is in top shape, especially if you plan on summer trips.
The front suspension's weak point is the idler arm, Thurce of leaksey can fail after 30,000 miles and cause sloppy steering.

Leaks are what kill many LDs. The 1984's roof has multiple seams that must be sealed. The front cap and window are another weak point, they WILL leak if not sealed regularly. The end caps and windows are another common source of leaks.

I hope you have carefully checked the interior for signs of leaks. The most common area for leaks is the front bunk, in the corners, and around the window. Look at the ceiling throughout the rig, any signs of sagging or water staining indicate leaks. Poke around the bottom and corners of the window for leaks.
 If any rot is found...turn around and walk away. Leaks are very very difficult and expensive to repair, often exceeding the value of the RV.

Expect any work done by a shop to be very expensive, $150-200 or more an hour is common, and the parts, when you can find them, cost more than car parts. Many shops and  mechanics refuse to  work on motorhomes, so have a willing mechanic lined up before buying,

If buying an antique  LD, I would not want anything older than 1991. Newer came with fuel injection (no carb), an overdrive transmission (better mileage and longer engine life), and a one-piece front cap without the window that eliminates most of the front cap leaks...
We have had many new members buy old LDs that appear to be nice but turn out to be money pits. Try not to be one of them. Professional inspection can save you many thousands of dollars.

As I have said many times, RVing is not a cheap lifestyle, you have to pay to play.
Happy hunting
Larry

Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: Buying a 1984 22 feet TK! Excited and terrified at the same time. Thoughts?
Reply #2 –
Just a thought.  The OP post is similar to others regarding 1980’s and older LDs and the reply offers immensely valuable advice.  I’d like to suggest that Larry’s post be cut and pasted into a separate post and pinned in the appropriate section.   The subject might be something like “Buying a Pre 1990 Lazy Daze.”

My half baked suggestion.🤫
Re: Buying a 1984 22 feet TK! Excited and terrified at the same time. Thoughts?
Reply #3 –
Larry's comments about the QuadraJet for the GM engine, is similar to my opinion about the Dodge engine Carter Thermoquad carburetors. Poorly thought out, junky build and poor performance! Again the carb floats were made out of plastic instead of a metal hollow can. They would absorb fuel and eventually not rise up high enough to shut off fuel, resulting in a very rich mixture. They also had the throttle linkage go through the top of the carb and relied on rubber grommets to prevent leakage! (with ethanol, they needed replacing every few months.) I'm sure they were responsible for many vehicle fires!
     My 1980 Lindy built on a Dodge '79 SportsVan chassis, had a 360 C.I.D. displacement V8. About the size of the Chevy 350 engine.  I put on a Holley Spreadbore, new carb, and most of the problems got much better. In California I had to argue with the smog people, who knew very little about carburetor engines. I benefitted from a higher than 8500# GVWR which made it legal for me to have the Holley Carb in place. But many mechanics wouldn't believe me that the electric pull off solenoid was also legal, so every two years I'd put the old stuff (vacuum operated) back on, to pass smog, then reinstall the electrics that went with the Holley. I'd say I finally found a mechanic who could read, just down the street from me, and I always went back to him for smog related checks.  With sealed, non tamper, jets my Lindy couldn't do anything over 9000 feet altitude. I had to put in a choke pull off to defeat the choke at high altitudes, just to get it to start.
     I also had over heating issues until I put in a four core new radiator, and a huge separate transmission cooler. I ran that back into the radiator cooler to warm it back up before it went back into the tranny. That helped cool the engine a bit also.
    While the 460 CID Ford was a good engine, Ring Manifold made a good living replacing exhaust manifolds. Ford finally bought Ring, and the 460's survived until the V10 replaced it.
     Fuel injected, full closed loop, computer run engines, are the best.   RonB.
RonB (Bostick) living in San Diego
Original owner of "Bluebelle" a '99 TKB
Re: Buying a 1984 22 feet TK! Excited and terrified at the same time. Thoughts?
Reply #4 –
I will take Ed and Margee's suggestion under advisement with Larry. I don't want to 'kill' the market for older motorhomes, and proposed usage can make them still a reasonable purchase, for low mileage, low altitude situations.
   RonB
RonB (Bostick) living in San Diego
Original owner of "Bluebelle" a '99 TKB
Re: Buying a 1984 22 feet TK! Excited and terrified at the same time. Thoughts?
Reply #5 –
Quote from: Joel S.  - 
Anyone still using an '84? How has it been? Thoughts on the price? Motorhome prices are high, LD has a great reputation and then I am Southern California where everything is 85% more expensive just because. You gotta 😂 or else you'll just be😖 all the time.
The fact you are asking about the wisdom of owning a 1984 motorhome is solid evidence you should not own one. If you want to travel in an motorhome, get a motorhome with fuel injection, and as new as you can afford: it will be more reliable, safer, and parts and mechanics much easier to find. Brand is irrelevant when the vehicle is 35+ years old!
2005 Jayco 24SS
Re: Buying a 1984 22 feet TK! Excited and terrified at the same time. Thoughts?
Reply #6 –
Or--don't shoot me!--get a trailer. They're much less expensive than motorhomes, so you can afford a much newer one. (That's assuming you have a vehicle capable of safely pulling a trailer that's big enough for you and your family, but that's a topic for a whole different forum.)

I owned a 1985 Twin/King Lazy Daze for a number of years and had many enjoyable adventures in it (as well as various mechanical problems)... but that was twenty years ago, when it was half as old as the forty-year-old rig you're looking at now. And I'm reasonably handy mechanically and electrically, so I was able to do a fair amount of work on it myself.

That said, if you do buy the '84 T/K you opened this thread with, stick around. We have plenty of members who can help you over the rough spots. Welcome to the LD Forum!
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
 
Re: Buying a 1984 22 feet TK! Excited and terrified at the same time. Thoughts?
Reply #7 –
Dear LD Wannabee:

Please, please consider the previous responses in the most careful of ways.  These folks know very very deeply of what they speak!

The first check you write (to buy the rig) will NOT be the last.  First financial consideration will be the tires.  Never mind the miles, 5 years is the max.  No cheating.  It's the life of your child and your wife riding on those tires.  If you are NOT mechanical I do hope you live under a lucky star. 

Having an RV is a blast and the LD was perfect for the two of us, two folks who had never even gone camping or RV-ing as guests.  We had many years of adventures and luckily no bad adventures.  I highly recommend it as a family activity.  Taking your child to the beach will be a blast, as will some farther afield adventures.  Even just out to Grandma and Grandpa's house to sit in the driveway will be cool.

I think Andy's recommendation of a travel trailer as a starting point is a very good one. 

I hate to be a blast of cold water on your immediate plans, but this LD opportunity may not be the right one for you at this time. 

TinaP
formerly of "Wild Thing" 2006 MB



2006 MB