How long does a motor last in a Class A?

Hi,

There is more than one report of the Ford V-10 lasting 1 million miles. The transmission--not so much.

I would buy a unit not more than 5 years old, if possible.

Pico2011 wrote:
With all the manufacturers that went out of business, I would think a third party warranty would be even more important? I would of course try and purchase one from a manufacturer still in business (Thor, Winn, Itasca, etc) , but not sure that will be possible.

I'd have no problems buying a used, out of business, Country Coach. They closed down in 2009. Same with Bluebird. As to warranty, I have a savings account that covers my "warranty" issues. Don't need any third party warranty.

Thanks, all good comments.

How does one justify the cost of new vs. used?

The way I see it (and please correct me if I am way off base) a new 2014 37 gas model is 130K MSRP (so 100K OTD with the usual 25%-30% discount) with a 3/36 warranty. Where as a used 07-08 of the same size may be 60-65K, but then you have to add on the maintenance, warranty, if any, assuming about 5K for tires and tune up, about a 30-35K savings and less depreciation hit when I sell it in a few years to trade up to a full time DP.

Does my math add up? :)

Are my assumptions logical in this case?

I do not know the cost of extended warranties on a RV, I have purchased the best (bumper to Bumper, 0 deductible) warranty on the last three new cars I have purchased and everyone has paid for itself.

I like being able to drop the vehicle off and telling them to fix it and having no bill, oh yes one other benefit is they put me in a like vehicle while it is being fixed.

Currently have 150,000 on my f350, 145,000 on the Chrysler 300, and 200,000 on the 4.6 Mustang GT

I would do the research before just deciding not to have the coverage. You need to read the small print if it says drive train coverage it is not worth it. My warranty excluded, tires, belts rubber seals on the doors and brake pads, nothing else and that was the way it was written, no small print. It was expensive up front but worth it in the long run if you keep the vehicle.

Go for the used one.Do not buy an extended warranty , not worth the paper they are printed on .Just put the money up for any needed repairs.

Though it is true many manufacturers went out of business. The ENGINE in a gasser is most likely either a Ford, or a Chevy and both companies are still very much alive thanks to the Government bailouts (Please do not comment on the bailouts, I won't say more about them).

That said. I'm not entierly sure what grade these engines are.. I do know that FORD, specifically, makes much the same engine in several different "Classes" (Car, Small truck, BIG TRUCK) But do not know if GM does this (Suspect they do).

I have driven a Ford 8000 Gas Conventional Semi.

Hundreds of thousands of miles between major fixes.

That said: A lot depends on how well it is taken care of.. in the case of that Ford 8K.. The regular driver was a certified mechanic, Both gas and Diesel.

With motor homes, Ask for service records if they have 'em, With scheduled maintenance 100K, 200K, more is not at all uncommon.

With "Super Chips" and no oil changes. 1000 miles is not uncommon, or less.

(That said there are some good, proven, super chips (Like Ultra Power and Banks).. There are also some stinkers out there which I won't name)

I would check on the internet for any particular year and model you are interested in. Avoiding any that have a great potential for failure like the 6.0 in a diesel, or certain years of the v10 engines where the sparkplugs were known to blow out for examples. Thats about the best you could do along with making sure the previous owner has records to show it was being mainained properly and finally after you have it narrowed down to a specific unit, pay to have a mechanic check it out. JMO

I purchased my 1998 31' Itasca MH over a 1999 Ford F53 V-10 in February 2005. It has 102,947 miles on it of which I've driven 49,824 miles. Both I and the previous owner maintained proper service. The only major maintenance it has had is a broken transmission linkage and now needs to have the engine power cooling fan fixed. My mechanic says that it is in very good condition and should not expect any other major problems.

I did purchase a 3 year extended repair contract when I bought the unit because of its age & I was new to MH ownership. The contract did pay for the transmission linkage repair but the contract cost me a lot more the than the repair cost them so I didn't renew it and am glad I didn't.

Dave

With all the manufacturers that went out of business, I would think a third party warranty would be even more important? I would of course try and purchase one from a manufacturer still in business (Thor, Winn, Itasca, etc) , but not sure that will be possible.

I also see a few coaches that have a transferable warranty, so that might be a option also.

Very very seldom do you ever hear of a major engine problem in an RV that was properly maintained. Most gas engined RV's can go 200,000+ miles. The same goes for a diesel if, and this is the big if with any engine, they are properly maintained and operated according to the manufacturer, NOT the owner, which may have his own way of maintaining his coach.
From reading this forum through the years you will find that most large expenses comes from non-engine issues, like suspension, radiators, AC units, refrigerators, hydraulics, leak damage, etc. Transmissions, like engines, can cause some problems but if maintained and operated properly, they should last as long as the engine. In most cases, you will hear about the house wearing out long before the drive train does.
For an extended warranty, most have so many exclusions that they are not worth the cost.