Newbie from Colorado

[mslamtntv]

Hello from Colorado! I've been a lurker and lover of Tears for many years. A couple years ago I took my 6'1" husband to a local tear gathering to convince him that he could fit into a tear. He caught the fever and since then I've been looking for our 'starter' tear. We don't have the skills to build our own - I'm even glue gun challenged! So we're looking to buy one to get us started. I wanted some advice on one we are looking at a 2006 Pleasant Valley 5 x 10: http://denver.craigslist.org/rvs/3093374871.html I went to look at it tonight and can negotiate a price under 5k. Here are my questions:

1. Is <5k a good price for this tear?

2. In the last picture on the post, you can see some 'waving' on the shell. There is also waving on the top as well. I don't see any leaks or reason for the waving in the shell. Should I be worried about this or is it just cosmetic?

I'm looking forward to move from lurking to being a full fledged member!

Thank you!
Tonya

[doug hodder]

You're out nothing to look, at least you will start seeing some differences between the teardrops and see what you want and what you don't want. I don't know what the top skin is on that tear, but it is possible that the "waviness" you are seeing is caused by expansion of the material in the sun. I have a stand up that gets waves in the roof on it when it gets hot....goes away when it's cool. Look for any sign of water intrusion around the galley hinge area, and on the bottom inside of the doors. It may have gotten wet once or so, but if it's a chronic problem it should show. Just my opinions. Welcome from an ex-Coloradan. Doug

[mslamtntv]

There are a couple things about this tear that make me hesitate, the wavy skin being a big one. I have been looking at teardrops for years, finally have a bit of a budget for one this year. I think I'll kick back and wait for the right one. For now, I'll keep watching Craigslist and the for sale boards. And looking at the Hall of Fame and drooling!

[asianflava]

I don't really know if the wavy skin would be a show stopper. Like Doug said, it could be just from the expansion/contraction of the skin, as you know, we've been having some really hot weather lately (as you know), that could be the cause. I don't know if it's painted aluminum or filon, but both would do that. You could also e-mail Pleasant Valley to see what they think.

[bdosborn]

Welcome to the list! That wavy section on the front would worry me too, I agree it looks like it might be water damage. Besides, it seems like they're asking top dollar for it, it should be in perfect shape.
Bruce

[doug hodder]

If you went to look at it last night...did you get any pics that you could share that might show the interior near the area of the waviness and any other things that may concern you? How old is it and how did they store it? Doug

[bdosborn]

Doug's right, I looked a little closer at the pic and it might just be "oil canning" of the exterior skin (but I wouldn't eliminate water damage). Some more pictures might help, if you took some. Did it feel mushy under the skin or was it firm? I'd look at the bottom of the front wall (right under the spare tire) to see if there's any water damage hiding under there.

My tear was covered with Filon and it would oil can on the front since I floated the roof skin and didn't glue it down. However, there were big waves across the entire front, not a whole bunch of little bumps.That's what makes me suspicious.

Bruce

[Verna]

Pleasant Valley made tear drops for Little Guy and was bought out by Little Guy.

This particular model looks like the Silver Shadow, which is Little Guy's top of the line model. The Silver Shadow has a number of different options, such as colors other than "silver". The Silver Shadow is covered with aluminum, which makes the wavy above the diamond plate a bit strange.

The 2006 6-wide is one of the models that had a lot of leaking problems. If the VIN begins with "1L9", then it was manufactured in Indiana, and it may be one of the leaking models. BUT, my 4-wide has the 1L9 VIN, and it doesn't have the leaking problems.

Just some of the research I've done since I did buy a Little Guy.

[mslamtntv]

Unfortunately when I went to get my camera out to take some pictures, the camera case was empty! So, no pictures other than what is on Craigslist. The tear was outside when we saw it, but the temp was in the 80's that day. He said that he keeps it in the garage when it's not in use. He is at least the second owner. There was larger waves on the skin on the roof. It seemed like the waves were following the ribs underneath of the skin. Not sure if that was actually the case, just what my impression was. The top felt firm, not much give when I pressed on it.

I am probably taking it off my list for now. I think the price is still a bit high. It doesn't have a top vent/fan or a few other 'nice to haves'. I've just been saving and waiting for so long to get my first tear, I'm ready to jump on the first decent one.