John & Judy McCain purchased this 1989 Vixen SE in January 2003 from Ted Stephens (sold in about 2006). The Vixen was in pretty good shape when they got it and they made it even better.   They installed new upholstery, flooring, and a new stereo CD with changer as you will see on the Interior page.  On the exterior, they installed a Max-Aire to cover a Fantastic Fan in the bedroom area, a new RV Satellite Antenna (Winegard Model RM-8000) that incorporates the latest GPS technology so all you do is punch a button and it will find the correct satellite, and new Michelin steel-belted radial tires.  They replaced the ball joints recently when they had the front-end aligned and the clearance lights have all been replaced.  The combined holding tank is now devoted entirely to blackwater and a separate greywater tank has been added.  The greywater drains via 0.5" garden hose connections that should be changed to 1.25" so that the drains will run faster.  They installed a new starting battery along with two new accessory batteries, and had a new compressor, accumulator,  orifice, and recharged the air conditioner with freon.   Now there is plenty of cold air!  The generator is working after a tune up last summer and resetting the trip switch.  

Take a look at the Reconstruction page for views of the work that Mike Day's - The Body Shop (Las Cruces) completed on the exterior.    They installed new gaskets on both doors and the rear window.  The roof windows were replaced with new Lexan windows and the gaskets replaced.  The air shocks were replaced by normal sealed gas shocks.  All the Ted Stephens recommended engine and transmission cooling modifications have been made including engine intake and exhaust vent fans and front / rear scoops (now molded in fiberglass on the rear panel).  

The mileage when John & Judy bought the Vixen was about 60,000 miles and it is now about 72,000 miles.  During 2003, they made trips from California to New Mexico, Texas, then back to Washington State.  At the end of the summer of 2003, they went from Washington State to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and back to their winter home in Las Cruces, New Mexico via Anniston, Alabama.  In March 2004, they traveled back to Washington State from Las Cruces via the Pacific Coast Highway.  During May 2004, they traveled back to Las Cruces from Sequim via Portland (OR), Salt Lake City (UT), and Cortez (CO).  The Vixen runs great and handles like a large car.  

Cumulative travel of John & Judy in this Vixen.

There were only about 587 Vixens produced from 1986 through 1989.  This Vixen has the Vixen identification number of 0554, the last four numbers of the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).  The 1986 through 1988 and six units during 1989 were produced using a BMW diesel engine and standard transmission.  In 1989, this Vixen and about 200 other Vixens were produced with a Buick V6 engine and automatic transmission.  The nice thing about the 1989 SE is that the parts are mostly standard GM parts such as the engine and transaxle (1988 Buick) and much of the chassis including the suspension (1/2 or 3/4 ton GMC/Chevrolet van).  This makes the 1989 SE far easier to maintain than the earlier TD's even though the Vixen purists would probably disagree.  A quick scan of the Vixen  Websites (MSN and Vixen Owners Association) will illustrate the number of TD problems versus those of the SE.