Lunar Roadstar 720 - anyone had one of these? (1 Viewer)

[Sidders]

Hi,
Been offered the above Moho (03 plate) and just wanted to see if anyone has had one of these and can share their experience/review.
I’ve read they can be particularly susceptible to water ingress.
The Moho is currently with JMC Motorhome specialists, having both engine and hab service work done pre-sale. There was damp picked up which is being stripped back and remedied as well as a few other items which are also being remedied/replaced - control panel, tap, etc.
The current owner seemingly hasn’t penny pinched on maintenance, indeed the current bill is running into excess of several thousand. There was also a brand new larger style fridge freezer fitted last year, I know these aren’t cheap either. Whilst on the one hand it’s reassuring that the owner hasn’t shied away from maintenance, the damp concerns me a little as apparently it’s already been repaired for damp, though we’re not entirely sure at this stage if that was done properly.
I appreciate it’s a 17 year old van and the damp issue is one that can happen to any van I guess if it’s not checked regularly and treated quickly. Having previously had converted vans, damp was never really an issue (I did renew seals in skylights annually just to keep on top of things).
Any advice if you’ve ran one of these is appreciated

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Depends what is “driving” the desire to purchase this particular example

ANY 17 year old motorhome is going to be a lottery-purchase regarding damp and/or mechanicals

 

[namwaldog]

We had an 04 reg Roadstar 720 and was as dry as a bone for over 2 years until this happened in Spain...

Flooded MH advice?

We are currently at Puerta du Duquesa, just S. Of Estepona. Our daughter flew out to Malaga on Friday so we booked an apartment for a week. We parked the MH on the car park at the back right next to the A7/N340. Weather here has been awful for over a week so we were keeping an eye on the MH...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

On a serious note.. the salvage for ours was sold on to someone in the UK who put a recon engine in it .

It disappeared from DVLA radar about 6 months later and I suspected that he had put a personalised plate on it.

Hoping it isn't the one you are looking at.

If you want me to have a look at any images you have, I should be able to confirm (or not) if it is the one we lost.

Barry

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[7735]

Are Lunar still trading? , 17 years old what’s the situation with spares particularly body parts.

spongy

 

[Cheshirecat57]

Lunar have ceased trading last year

 

[Sidders]

We had an 04 reg Roadstar 720 and was as dry as a bone for over 2 years until this happened in Spain...

View attachment 412991

Flooded MH advice?

We are currently at Puerta du Duquesa, just S. Of Estepona. Our daughter flew out to Malaga on Friday so we booked an apartment for a week. We parked the MH on the car park at the back right next to the A7/N340. Weather here has been awful for over a week so we were keeping an eye on the MH...

www.motorhomefun.co.uk

On a serious note.. the salvage for ours was sold on to someone in the UK who put a recon engine in it .

It disappeared from DVLA radar about 6 months later and I suspected that he had put a personalised plate on it.

Hoping it isn't the one you are looking at.

If you want me to have a look at any images you have, I should be able to confirm (or not) if it is the one we lost.

Barry

Holey Moley Barry

You're not going to believe it, I used to live in that neck of the woods and the same happened to my company car at the time in what I think is the same car park/area just round from the port - see attached (pic is from around 2007).

Thanks for the heads up re van, this one is a an 03 (reg no MW03 KUA) and the owner has had it for 10 years so don't think it's the same van if yours was an 04. Happy to fire over pics as I get them.

Just seen the comments re Lunar no longer trading

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[Sidders]

Depends what is “driving” the desire to purchase this particular example

ANY 17 year old motorhome is going to be a lottery-purchase regarding damp and/or mechanicals

Fair point, I'll make sure the garage goes through it with a fine toothcomb, which to be fair they seem to be doing so far

 

[CazPaul]

Take a damp meter with you.

 

[lunarman]

Check under and behind the rear wheel arches, The wood behind the fairings is prone to rotting.

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[namwaldog]

Todd's motorhomes at Lostock Hall, Lancashire are very close to where the Lunars were built and they sold a lot of Lunars at the time.
The spares and service team were always helpful when we had our 720.
Good luck, we really enjoyed ours. The end bathroom was great. Loads of room everywhere. Outside lockers a little sparse but we once managed 20 cases of wine under the nearside bed/couch.

Barry

 

[Sidders]

Are Lunar still trading? , 17 years old what’s the situation with spares particularly body part

Todd's motorhomes at Lostock Hall, Lancashire are very close to where the Lunars were built and they sold a lot of Lunars at the time.
The spares and service team were always helpful when we had our 720.
Good luck, we really enjoyed ours. The end bathroom was great. Loads of room everywhere. Outside lockers a little sparse but we once managed 20 cases of wine under the nearside bed/couch.

Barry

Cheers for the pointer Barry
Yep, the missus already loves the look of space at the rear bathroom and kitchen in the middle....wait till she hears re the room to stash 20 cases of wine

 

[CazPaul]

I thik Lenny HB used to have a Lunar home on wheels.

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[SteveJ]

We have a 1999 Roadstar 620. We had a couple of areas where there was water ingress but picked up on it very quickly, dealt with it and have had no issues since. The weak point on the 620 was where the top and bottom panels meet, the panels a screwed through to the floor inside and then covered with a side strip which is sealed with butyl mastic. The mastic dries out and water seeps in behind the side strip, slowly being drawn into the floor. As long as you can get to the affected area it isn't to major a job to cut out the damp area and replace, fixing it in with a delaminated floor repair kit and replacing the side strip with new mastic etc. Did both sides over a weekend but the ingress wasn't too bad and was thankfully only under the rear seats so easy to get to. The other leak was a tiny hole in the roof following a freak hail storm, and when I say tiny I mean a pin prick sized hole. If parked up on a slight slope the roof could pool water and then it started to be drawn in. Quick roof clean, a small glass fibre patch and a coat of Acrylpol sealed that up.
Otherwise the build quality and robustness of a Lunar of this kind of age appears to be pretty good.
Whilst Lunar may have only ceased trading last year you will need to bear in mind that model specific spares for a 17 year old MH are like rocking horse droppings. Not sure how many 720s were produced but I suspect that most body parts would have to be repaired rather then replaced if they were Lunar specific.
Mechanically it is only going to be a good as it has been looked after. Ours is 21 years old now and the MOT station we go to is always amazed at how good it is underneath, the only advisory he could put on it this year was slight surface rust on the steering rack. So if it's been well maintained it could keep going with no issues for a fair while yet.

 

[Sidders]

SteveJ - thanks muchly, some great advice in there . I'll have the bottom panels checked too. All they've found so far is what appears to be a historic leak in the roof that was treated at the time externally, however nothing was done from the inside and it was left to dry out. Just examining whether it's fully dry and if it can be freshly boarded, or if the wood needs to be replaced and then boarded. I believe it's a case of cupboards and shower unit removal if the wood is being replaced. I take it your wood wasn't damaged during your roof leak?
Many thanks
Sid

 

[CazPaul]

SteveJ - thanks muchly, some great advice in there . I'll have the bottom panels checked too. All they've found so far is what appears to be a historic leak in the roof that was treated at the time externally, however nothing was done from the inside and it was left to dry out. Just examining whether it's fully dry and if it can be freshly boarded, or if the wood needs to be replaced and then boarded. I believe it's a case of cupboards and shower unit removal if the wood is being replaced. I take it your wood wasn't damaged during your roof leak?
Many thanks
Sid

Good grief, walk away if you ask me, it will happen again

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[SteveJ]

Sidders , Thankfully whilst we ended up with a faint water mark on one of the ceiling panels the water ingress was actually fairly minor, it tracked along an interior lighting wire and into a light fitting. Thankfully it was during the day so lights not on. Ran a dehumidifier for a few weeks and kept checking with a damp meter and was happy with the result. Thankfully we spotted it pretty quickly and temporarily patched it virtually as soon as it stopped raining with gaffer tape so limited the possible damage. If the battens and panels do need replacing it is a huge job as all the overhead lockers will need to be dismantled if the build process was the same for the 720 as the 620, it looks like the lockers are built up in place and can't simply be removed from the sides. Was looking at making additional shelves/dividers for some of the lockers in ours which would have been relatively easy if you could remove the row of lockers and work from the back, but on inspection I determined that it was a pointless exercise.

 

[Sidders]

SteveJ , well caught on yours , guess it's all about catching it quick and dealing with it. I may just walk if it's too bad, though the current owner has pretty much given the garage a blank check to sort everything.

CazPaul , I hear you - do you speak from experience?

 

[CazPaul]

SteveJ , well caught on yours , guess it's all about catching it quick and dealing with it. I may just walk if it's too bad, though the current owner has pretty much given the garage a blank check to sort everything.

CazPaul , I hear you - do you speak from experience?

Of motorhomes yes, but not Lunar in particular.

I have heard lots of damp reports against them and if it's got to have work done now for damp it will certainly do so in the future.

I just don't think they were a quality manufacturer and you could buy better.

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