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n4hwl's avatar
n4hwl
Explorer
Sep 19, 2017

Dependability of an older Tiffin Phaeton

I have a 2004 Phaeton. It is 40 ft long with 4 slides. I bought this motorhome when it 4 years old and had 30 k miles on it and it now has 93 k miles. It has a Cat C7 7.2 liter engine in it. I have changed the oil every 3k miles, I know too often, but I have. I have kept all maintenance items up to date over the years. I want know what you think about the dependability of continued use of my motorhome in the future. I usually drive about 10,000 miles a year. I have recently had some expensive breakdowns while on a 3 month trip out west, I'm from Tennessee, and am starting to wonder about getting a newer Tiffin . Below are some of the major repairs I have had over the years.

A new air conditioner compressor 9 years ago.
A new wet bay floor and a new driver slide floor about 6 years ago.
New converter/inverter about 5 years ago.
A new alternator about 4 years ago.
A new set of injectors and a new turbo about 3 years ago.
A new rear air conditioner about 2 years ago.
On the current trip I have had to get a new rear differential installed, expensive, and my water pump locked up 2 days after I picked it up from that repair.

I have replaced so much over the years that I don't know if I should consider the major items in good shape and continue driving it of be scared for the next big ticket item to go out and get a newer motorhome. I do plan to get with the Cat shop when I get home, I am in California now, and do a blow by test and get a better idea of the shape of the engine piston and cylinder walls. It seems to have good power but if it has excessive blow by I will be shopping for something else.

I just need your opinion about my options and future dependability of this Phaeton.

Thanks

Ken

4 Replies

  • I've had several anticipated repairs and a few that were not planned on. Inverter/converter died 2 weeks after I brought it home. Lost the alternator coming home from Florida last spring. Other fixes include a new cooling unit for the fridge, new water inlet valve, propane detector, expansion tank cracked, and 2 new tvs. I knew I would have some repairs and I'm really not far from what I thought the costs might be
  • I just posted this last night. It's running along about the same. It just seems like I've had a lot of repair but I'm finding out a lot of people have had problems so maybe I'm not any more unlucky than everybody else
  • You've posted these questions on at least three different forums. Did you get any consensus of opinions or are they all over the place?
  • We have an '06 Phaeton with a C7 Cat, purchased new in Dec of '05

    Your list compared to ours. 12 years full time and 127K miles.

    "A new air conditioner compressor 9 years ago."----Ours original, We did have a Air Dryer installed this summer by Bay Diesel.

    "A new wet bay floor and a new driver slide floor about 6 years ago." -- 2 wet bay floors in the 7 past years (1st wasn't the composite floor) and DS slide floor 4 years ago

    "New converter/inverter about 5 years ago." ---Ours Original

    "A new alternator about 4 years ago."---Ours Original

    "A new set of injectors and a new turbo about 3 years ago." ---Ours Original

    "A new rear air conditioner about 2 years ago." ---Ours Original, got new fan blades this summer, up front we're on AC #4

    "On the current trip I have had to get a new rear differential installed, expensive," --- Ours Original

    ---"and my water pump locked up 2 days after I picked it up from that repair." ---Ours Original

    We had our injector cups replaced in Dec '15 took 7 different times in the shop to find problem, including Freightliner in Gaffney (#4 on the list)

    Lost fan belt March '16 only time "on the hook"

    On windshield #4, latest was replaced in Red Bay as the other 3 were this past June.

    Still driving it