How many engine miles is too many?

Hi,

I am a rookie RV owner, however, my advice would be to spend a bit more on a better unit then taking the cheap route. I learned the hard way. I purchased a 1987 Fleetwood Jamboree with about 37,000 miles that just passed inspection (supposedly) in the state of PA. I paid $2,300 from someone selling it on Craigslist. However, when I took the RV to my mechanic he said it was a death trap and not worth repairing. Major rust problems all around, bad brakes and brake lines, manifold leaks, transmission leaks, etc. I ended up selling it for $1,500 even after I made full disclosure to they buyer of the issues the RV had. I actually gave him a copy of my mechanics report listing all of the problems.

I then saw a 2000 Coachmen Santara 31ft with 57,000 miles on the lot of a used car dealer. They were listing the unit for $10,000 - however, it had some water damage but everything else worked great (generator, refrig, a/c in both the RV and the Ford E450 chasis with a Trition V10, hot water heater, furnace,etc). I had a guy who repairs RV water damage take a look at it and he said it would cost about $4,000 to repair the water damage and reseal the roof to make it "like new". I was able to get the used car dealer to sell it to me for $4,000 considering the water damage. Since they only sold cars I think they wanted to get rid of it as quick as possible. I took the unit to my mechanic and he changed the oil, flushed the coolant, changed the transmission fluid, put on new brakes all around plus new calipers in the rear and installed air bags and checked everything else out for $1500. Therefore, all in I am a little under $10,000 for a 2000 unit that runs like a charm and everything works great.

Just make sure the axle on the Toyota chassis models has been upgraded due to the recall. The old Toyota Hilux (they are not Tacomas) models were basically unstoppable. Slow as molasses, but hard to kill.

Winnebago used to make a small class C on a Toyota chassis. I see those on the road ALL the time. Mr AW was an RV mechanic in a past life, he says those RVs get around 18 mpg and are very reliable. Might fit your needs?

Thanks for all the posts....

At my price range of 5-10K I think I would only be in the market for a gas RV; I don't see many short Class C diesels for under 10K. As stated my goal is to spend two months traveling the national parks in the west. My desire is to pick up a 21 to 24 foot Class C for relatively low cost yet reliable enough to get me through my two month trip. I'd like to keep the cost low...I see a lot of 80s Class C on Craigslist for $3500 - $6500. But since I understand from your posts that I need to keep in mind fuel injection and transmission concerns, perhaps I need to spend closer to 10K and get an early or mid 90s RV.

Bobbo wrote:
Gas engine - 200,000 miles.
Diesel - double that.

Good advice. :)

I just want to add that the Mercedes diesel in the Sprinter based RVs run over 500k miles in commercial vans. Mine has around 160k and is just broken in.

As others have said, overall condition is probably the best indicator. Yes, RV drivetrains CAN go for many miles. They also CAN fail after low miles. If the rest of the coach has been maintained in good condition, then the engine has likely been done so as well. And even then, it is always a bit of a******shoot buying a 10+ year old motorhome.

Case(s) in point:

Our first coach was a 1979 Roll-a-Long, puchased in 1989 for $12K. It had 96,000 miles on it. We ran it for 10 years and it never missed a beat. Our next (and current) RV was a 1988 Jamboree purchased in 1999 for $15K. It had only 38,000 miles on it, and the trans went out on the second trip!

What you want is perhaps do-able, but make sure you go through it very thoroughly before your long trip, and take a few "shake-down" trips first to identify weaknesses as well. The fact that you are to be traveling alone means that you can look for units that are a bit smaller than many which may mean that they have not been as overloaded as a larger unit may have been. Good luck with your search (and your "de-angering" trip).

Engine, cooling system, brakes and transmission plus dash AC are expensive replacement items. The RV generator, appliances, furnace, roof AC, and awning, are all costly items to replace or repair. Tires need to be replaced every four to six years for safety.House box water leaks can cause serious damage that is expensive to have repaired. If you can do most replacments and repairs yourself, buying a late 70's rig for $5K may be cost-effective/sensible.

RV gas chassis engines are truck versions of gas engines used in cars. While a car engine can last well over 200,000 miles, a truck engine has to work much harder. I have several friends that have had their gas engines replaced just under 100,000 miles. I don't know if the replacement was required due to lack of preventive maintenance or just premature failure.

Since most wear and tear occurs at startup, one may assume trucks that are running almost constantly would last much longer than RV's that see intermittent use. Also, RV operators may stress their engines more than an experienced truck driver.

Before you spend your hard earned money, have a mechanic do a compression check as well as an exhaust analysis. Finally, if you find an otherwise really good deal, used replacement engines are not all that expensive. I've had gas engines replaced in two RVs with used V8 engines from a junk yard for under $5K each. (Both vehicles belonged to my kids.)

carringb wrote:

Bobbo wrote:
Gas engine - 200,000 miles.
Diesel - double that.

Newer diesel - 250,000 miles
Ford Triton motor - double that.

No joking here. Yes, motors last longer under recreational use, but as a fleet manager our diesels wore out quick.

Fwiw I have 364,000 on my V10, which puts out an extra 80 or so hp over stock, and has towed about 200,000 of those miles with an average combined weight over 20,000 pounds.

I worked for Blue Star Airport Shuttle in Portland OR, where some of the E-350 vans have a 5.4L gas engine, and all had between 275,000 and 425,000 miles on them. They would put about 120,000 miles a year on each van. Talk about wearing out the tires, every 3-4 months!

We also had a 2004 F-550 based bus with a 7.3L diesel with well over 350,000 miles on it. It also ran like a charm.

I would stay away from pre-1987 motorhomes. THey did not have fuel injection. So they run different at higher altitudes. Transmissions also got much better around 1998.

Fred.

The first thing I look for is oil leaks when an engines have been over heated or have blow by they are more likely to leak. Same thing with transmissions if they leak or the fluid Smell's burnt look out big $$$$$!
On a old vehicle you are look for a dirty under side one that clean means someone steamed cleaned it(dealers always do making it harder to find leaks) oh did I tell you I hate fixing leaks?

Gary