Advice please on new diesel pusher
Hi. New member here, about to purchase my first motor home. Lived aboard a large boat for many years, understand the experience, just want to do it on land now due to age and physical restrictions. ...
Forum Discussion
The Spartan Chassis is excellent, very robust and generally "overbuilt" which you will come to appreciate.
My 98 was 11 years old when purchased and it had new airbags, belts and hoses.
The ball-joint issue mentioned above is the one complaint about the Spartan Independent Front Suspension design. They are "lubed for life" but tend to lose their boots and thus their lube. Around $3K to replace-any heavy truck alignment shop can check them for you. The IFS will give you a very good driving experience as you are virtually not affected by passing semi's and OTR buses.
Spartan and American Coach both give excellent customer support. They will treat you like you just bought a new $500K unit from them.
American Coaches are very well designed with all fuses, circuit breakers etc. labeled. Wiring harnesses are well laid out and properly protected from chafing etc. All solderless terminals used are from one leading manufacturer (Molex) and are installed using Molex application tooling. This best practice is rarely found MH manufacturing (most let the electricians crimp with whatever tool happens to be in their tool belt). Think of Hatteras in the boating world as one of the few boat builders that follows this best practice.
These coaches are well insulated thermally and acoustically.
A well designed and well maintained Motor Home is a breeze from a maintenance perspective compared to a boat. No barnacles, no salt water running through the cooling system etc. Also when you have maintenance performed they are independent heavy truck shops with labor rates around $60 an hour. Here in S. Florida the marine guys were well north of $100 per hour.
Having a diesel engine and generator allows you to use the Speedco nation-wide network of lube, oil change and filter shops. They will also service your generator for less than you would pay for the materials. No appointment, in and out in less than an hour.
All of the products that I learned about owning boats for 20 years have been very useful in maintaining the RV (303 Aerospace, Boeshield T-9, Meguiars wax etc.)
The other thing that is important in making the ownership experience a pleasant one is large tankage. You will find that you have plenty of fuel, propane, fresh water, grey and black water capacity on an American Coach.
My 98 was 11 years old when purchased and it had new airbags, belts and hoses.
The ball-joint issue mentioned above is the one complaint about the Spartan Independent Front Suspension design. They are "lubed for life" but tend to lose their boots and thus their lube. Around $3K to replace-any heavy truck alignment shop can check them for you. The IFS will give you a very good driving experience as you are virtually not affected by passing semi's and OTR buses.
Spartan and American Coach both give excellent customer support. They will treat you like you just bought a new $500K unit from them.
American Coaches are very well designed with all fuses, circuit breakers etc. labeled. Wiring harnesses are well laid out and properly protected from chafing etc. All solderless terminals used are from one leading manufacturer (Molex) and are installed using Molex application tooling. This best practice is rarely found MH manufacturing (most let the electricians crimp with whatever tool happens to be in their tool belt). Think of Hatteras in the boating world as one of the few boat builders that follows this best practice.
These coaches are well insulated thermally and acoustically.
A well designed and well maintained Motor Home is a breeze from a maintenance perspective compared to a boat. No barnacles, no salt water running through the cooling system etc. Also when you have maintenance performed they are independent heavy truck shops with labor rates around $60 an hour. Here in S. Florida the marine guys were well north of $100 per hour.
Having a diesel engine and generator allows you to use the Speedco nation-wide network of lube, oil change and filter shops. They will also service your generator for less than you would pay for the materials. No appointment, in and out in less than an hour.
All of the products that I learned about owning boats for 20 years have been very useful in maintaining the RV (303 Aerospace, Boeshield T-9, Meguiars wax etc.)
The other thing that is important in making the ownership experience a pleasant one is large tankage. You will find that you have plenty of fuel, propane, fresh water, grey and black water capacity on an American Coach.
