barmcd wrote:
The title says it all. We started out with a trailer, moved to a 5th wheel and now are contemplating moving to a class A diesel pusher in the 34-36 foot range. We just started researching and have a ton of questions, mostly about the vehicle parts. I think we have enough experience to check out the house parts like water supply, waste system and refrigerator etc.
First, about service--do RV dealers, that sell class A units, also work on the running gear? Or, do you have to take the coach to a heavy truck repair center to get engine or chassis work done?
Are there any inherent advantages of one chassis/engine combo over another. We have experience with Cummins engines in our Dodge trucks, but see a lot of units have Cat engines. Are they similar in performance and reliability?
How many miles can you go before brakes need service and how much does it cost?
Would it be prudent to change out all the belts and hoses on a rig that old and what kind of cost are we looking at.
How many miles can we expect to get out of a set of tires and how much do replacement tires run?
How reliable are things like self leveling jacks and the electric steps and more importantly how much does it cost to repair those types of things?
My experience has been that if your pulling a fifth wheel with a diesel pickup get a diesel pusher motorhome, you won't be happy with a gasser. I went from my fifth wheel pulling it with a Dodge Cummins to brand new 38ft. gasser motorhome and ended up getting a 42ft. diesel pusher. Mainly because I didn't like all that noise right underneath my feet and the constant down shifting. There's no comparison between the ride and the noise.
As to your questions:
No, you won't get RV dealers to work on chassis components not in a gasser or a diesel.
I wouldn't shy away from any diesel pusher because of the engine brand. We have an ISL 400 Cummins but a CatC9 probably would be just as good.
If you're worried about the belts and hoses change them. But, I'm a firm believer in "if it ain't broke don't fix it. Having said that, I just had to have the serpentine belt replaced on my Cummins to the tune of $470, $360 of it being labor. There's 38000 miles on our unit and we drove it for 3 years and 16,000 miles before that happened.
We replaced the tires on our motorhome at 32,000 miles and 8 years. Most people say replace after 6 years. But ours had plenty of tread left after 8 yrs. I just didn't want to take a chance on them. For Hankook AH12's it cost me $2900 on the motorhome. I don't think you'll have to worry about the mileage as much as the time.
We haven't had any problems with our jacks or steps. We had to replace our Nocold 1200 refrig and went with a residential unit. Best upgrade we've ever done. The Norcold 1200 is something I would try and steer clear of. Also, just had to replace the front A/C, but after nearly 10 years and the last three full timing, you'll have that.
Finally, 38,000 miles and the brakes are fine.
