Looking at used campers and found this one a couple hours away for a great price... Great. Only issue is a pulled right rear jack. I'll get better pics from the seller tomorrow. I'm thinking as long as the frame is not rotten, I could fix it well enough with lag screws, maybe some reinforcing plywood.
anyone have any experience doing a repair like this? If reasonable enough, the price is so good I could possibly have a dealer do the repairs. Any have a ballpark cost? Thanks.

 

That happened to mine. Not repairable within reason. I backed into my jack with a trailer while turning - rookie move - then attempted longer lags and epoxy in the holes - did not work. I attempted "repair" within 24 hours. I can't imagine trying to work with rotten wood... It's probably rotten down to the corner and 2-3' into each side too. I'd walk away unless you want the camper for parts.

Technically, anything is repairable but to do that right is a BIG job. You must peel siding rear and side, inner panels as well and replace the framing members that are undoubtedly damaged and rotten. unseal, remove, then reseal the windows (as far back to get the siding off. Pain in the ***. Siding is all jacked up too. That there is what we call a salvage camper.

Lance are stout campers but they are still only made of flimsy *** 2x2 framing. I would walk away from that no matter how good of a deal it is unless you plan to put it on the truck and keep it there forever, in which case... cover it with aluminum and don't ever plan to have a jack on that corner again.

Id suggest you buck up, get out your wallet and find something that isn't wrecked. No discount will compensate for the amount of work that thing needs.

 

I have a solid $4000 worth of experience with that type of thing. What year is that camper?

I have / had a 97 Lance Legends 880. Took it in to a friend who runs and RV Repair shop to check out a soft spot where they ran the refrigerator condensation drain through the bottom side overhang. Also had a little separation starting on one of the wings. Just looking at the surface of it, it looked like maybe a couple of hundred dollars at best.
This is what it looked like the day before I took it in...






They got started on the repairs by pulling the skin so they could see and fix the deck around the drain and the wing. When they pulled the skin, this is what they found...

Metal Jack mount and wood around the metal jack mount.

Wood around the refer box. It pretty much looked like this all the way down the lower side of the camper. None of this was visible until they took the skin off.



Both corners on this side of the camper had to be repaired as well as the plywood down this entire side.

If you have wood rot and water damage to that extent around the jack, be very, very careful about the other 3 corners and everything in between.

We got ours repaired only because I got a friends discount in addition to a military discount....and we were free and clear on the title. We used it for that summer and then found where there might be some other problems starting to develop. We decided to get out from under it before more major repairs.

 

If you have to pay to get it fixed instead of doing it yourself, be prepared. The wood I can see looks bad. If that is bad, there are a lot of other places also. I have repaired campers from the floor joist up and have found there are always other leaks.

One thing to remember, ALL campers leak, even new from the factory. It's built in standard equipment. They use as little sealant as possible to save money, and are built on a fast assemble line by people who don't want to be there who are being rode by the supervisor to hurry up. The factories do not want a camper to last past 5-7 years before big problems arise so they can sell new ones to replace the rotted ones. They are built to fail.

With any camper, including new, go over every inch with a fresh layer of sealant designed for the section you are sealing. Look around all lights and windows. If you don't see sealant, put some there. Corner molding is another place to add an extra layer. Reseal everywhere on the roof at every seal point. Look at how many almost new fiberglass campers have waves in them. That's water damage. The warranty is basically useless when you have leaks. Repairs can take months, and there is no lemon law on campers, and basically no law that says they have to honor the warranty at all.

That's my rant on the very shady business practices of camper manufacturers.

 

 

Pass on it unless you can rebuild it and you get it for virtually nothing...

 

Thanks for the replies... Never did get the better pics from the seller today. I'm guessing they know it is rotten. I'm going to pass.
not new to campers or RVs. Actually have a 27' toy hauler. Have had a couple slide in campers over the years. Looking for a camper for an upcoming cross country trip with the wife and kid. I'll keep looking.