16' Series Advice for purchasing 2nd Hand

[APG]

Hi All,
I'm considering getting a 16.49-3OB. I'm hoping to hire one shortly to confirm it will work as well as I hope for the family. We are not in a hurry to get it, and I'm just trying to collect information to help buy a good one at the moment.
I'd love any advice on what to look out for in getting one - common problems, manufacturing changes of significance, things to look out for.

For example, I've been convinced (thanks largely to this forum) that it's worth getting one manufactured after mid 2008, ie a hard lid model.
I've read that a few have had leaks around the hinge - particularly if made ~2015, but also enough to convince me this repairable if picked up early enough.
I know they changed the suspension a few times, but I'm not sure what is worth looking out for here. I can see from ones for sale there were some internal changes (aircon location, dinning area), but havn't noticed anything that really effects usability.

Any suggestions for what to look out for? Anything that would make the van dangerous, unreliable, or just annoyingly difficult/expensive repairs. Any changes that make setting up/packing up quicker? Or even just changes that effect the resale price.

Most grateful for any advice! (Including links to other relevant threads I didn't see)

 

[Drover]

There's a number of threads with these details and most apply to all vans...............

First thing is look at the wear and tear, cleanliness, if its grotty then give it a miss, if they can't keep things clean and tidy usually means the rest is lacking care.
Check around windows and vents inside any signs of colour change in these areas means water leaks, you don't want to be getting into that sort of hassle....

If canvas is badly stained it could be weakend from the mould thats been cleaned off so a good check of edges and stitching.
Check mattresses for condition, all locks and latches in fact everything that opens and shuts.

Awning isn't getting ratty.

Tyres if not new will tell you if it needs the suspension looked at, basically they shouldn't have any abnormal wear and check the code stamped on the side to make sure they aren't over 5 or 6 yrs old..... look for the DOT stamp, the last group of numbers is the date with the last 2 digits being the year and the first 2 are the week number...........

Underneath the bottom of the floor can be stained, thats normal just from road use but any really dark or where the colour has lightened give it a jab with a key to see if its soft, then it means an internal water leak, not good at all...

Once the tyre kick has been done then start on seeing that everything works and if they are unable to plug into power/water etc be suspect and just had a service last week is a suss sign as well, don't take a promise to get it sorted as gospel from salesman or private seller, everything must be in order before you drop the money on counter................. Scams don't always happen in the cyber world.

Buying pre loved not all the new van dramas should be encountered, they should be sorted, water leaks and scrubbing ttyres is the most common things found along with mouldy canvas....... Buying from a dealer you have some recourse but private you haven't and never ever buy sight unseen or put a deposit down unless you have touched it and verified ownership, an interstate rego plate will mean roadworthy, gas and electric check, so more money.............

 

[APG]

Thanks very much Drover, some really good advice there.
Cheers, Andrew

 

[Crusty181]

The leak hinge doesn't cause damage, it just allows water to get past the hardlid hinge and run onto the top the bedend. That also isnt a major issue in itself, the bigger issue is bedend shape, in particular a shape that is loose across the top and allows water pooling on top of the bed ends. The hinge isnt sealable hardware so water getting through it could be the lid struts being set too high and encouraging the rain water to run backwards toward the hinge. The bedends shape templates Jayco uses seem to have a fairly large tolerance in that some dont pool and other do. You might think that more pressure on the hockey stick will remove the slack, but that wont solve the issue. The first few HL models didn't hava hockey at all. I recall a widespread issue with water leaking when the lid was closed with the those models that had the HL that closes onto the face of the face rather than the into the early (and now later) moulded recess. Our 16.49.1 rear bed pooled badly and I made Jayco re manufacturer the bed end. The front bed end was perfect from factory. The suspension will be either sprung or coil, and the coil appeared as Jtech 1 in 2014 and will be the same on every OB until whenever the Jtech 2 appeared. Check roof alignment, struts and mounts, brakes, bearings, anode and hws interior (torch). We sold our 16.49.1 after 6 years and its looked like new. We recently sold our 20.63.1 after 6 years and it also looked like new. We use our vans a lot .... so if it doesn't present like new there is a reason for that and maybe a good reason to keep walking. Unrepaired issues are like cockroaches, there are likely more lurking and with caravan issues what appears to be an easy fix are often not.