1988 Pace Arrow

[Little John]

Hi We are really new to the Class A RV's. We will probably love it once all the probs on the 88 Pace Arrow are diagnosed and fixed. We would love to hear from other 88 Pace Arrow users. Especially ones who have had extensive leakage in the back--(previous owners) and if any of you have painted the exterior fiberglass. Thanks

John

[OKiceman]

We had a 1989 Pace Arrow and it was the biggest piece of junk around. Leaked like a sieve. We had the right side replaced by Fleetwood due to delaminations and about 3 years later had to have both sides redone at my cost. The biggest leak sources was the front and rear cap to the roof joint. This is a very poorly designed joint and finally got the leak stopped long enough to sell it after we had the sides fixed. The dealer basically covered with another cap and sealed it again. In addition, the windows had leaks and caused delamination there as well. I pulled some of the windows and resealed with new butyl tape. Everyone I pulled had the tape installed wrong by Fleetwood.

We had the coach repainted by a auto shop that had a booth that would take an semi tractor. All total we spent $20K on it trying to fix leaks, delamination and cosmetics.

The problem wi th the leaks was you can not see what all is rotted or rusted inside the wall until you pull it apart. We had substantial structural damage due to the water leaks.

Sorry I cannot be much help on that one.

Ken

[LGM]

We had a 92 Pace Arrow and it was GREAT, once I realized that it had air bags in the front that I was supposed to inflate !! Wow what a ride with air in those bags !!!

I would think that if you have any excessive leaks in a unit that age they would be highly visable to the eye and nose by now.

True that there were leak and delam. problems with MOST motorhome in that era, however a lot of that has to do with proper care and maintenance as well.

I would give all of the seams and seals a good look.

A classic coach like yours takes time and money to make it perfect.
If the mechanical and electrical is good the rest will fall into place.

Good luck with your vintage mobile.

[The Capt]

Little John you have definately taken on a quality project. I'm interested in "all the problems are diagnoised and fixed" refers too. The '88 Pace Arrow like any other coach of it's age will need some TLC to get it back to the condition you are wanting.
As far as the water leaks at the back ( do you know where the water leak actually is) are concerned, water can travel great distances before finally showing through. The leak may not be at the back cap as some suggest, maybe it is. I would want to make sure that all vents, roof seams and other needed areas are sealed well with di-clor self leveling sealer or a equivelant once the roof leak had been fixed and repaired.
You can do it if your handy. There's no atomic science here. Take your time and we will help you through it.
If you feel it is something more than you care to take on, my suggestion would be to go to a repair shop close by and talk to a couple of the tech's. It's amazing how much less a job runs when the tech's do it away from the dealership. I've saved thousands this way. Same job, lot less $$.

Derek aka Mindcandies

[Krenox]

I have seen the delamination effect different coaches and not others of the same makes. It makes you wonder if it matters what area of the country they were mostly used in? I have see this problem with even a high end Country Coach of that era but have seen more people say positive things of these makes. Maybe it was a bad batch of siding material that came from the same supplier and it hurt several RV manufacture who used it.

[OKiceman]

Fleetwood had serious QC problems and delaminations problems in 1988 and up to about 1992. At this point they seemed to get a grip on things and improved the lamination process. While we had the 1989, we kept a close eye out on the roof and semas as well as othe like coaches during our travels. The only coaches from Pace Arrow and Southwind in the era which we saw without delamination problems were coached from the dry states or the units were stored indoors.

If you have much delamination or water intrusion, I'd seriously consider just how much money you are willing to put into the coach. It can turn into a real money put and you do not have a clue as to what the internal damage can be.

Ken