jamesa403 wrote:
This goes back in time, but in 1989 I bought a 1984 Coachman with 96,000 miles on it. I sold it in 2003 for a Bigfoot. It was a rental unit, but I was the second owner after the rental company. It was a plain jane 26 foot. We put another 45,000 miles on it - the only major mechanical problem was the timing belt. It had a 460 Ford engine and I didn't realize it needed the timing belt changed at 100,000 miles. Luckily there was no engine damage. The major thing that I didn't pay attention to was the roof, and the leaking problem. The roof leak didn't seem to be a problem at first (visible water marks), but when it was pulled apart, I'm surprised the roof hadn't caved in. If there was anything that you need to watch is leaking. Mileage doesn't bother me, but leaking will kill it quicker than anything. The repair job was over $10,000, but insurance paid a good chunk of that.
This was our first RV experience, and we travelled all over North America from LA to Alaska to Newfoundland. Now we are on our 3rd RV, and looking to buy our next one.
Good luck with your new to you RV - just keep fixing all the little cracks on the roof and at the seams. It will pay off in the end.
Man, that's quite the RV journey you've had! The timing belt story gave me a little scare, but it's the roof issue that's the real eye-opener. Good on you for sharing that tip about leaks; it's something I'll definitely keep an eye on for my own RV. Here's to more safe and epic road trips!
