Maint./Repair $$ 10yr old DP

The engine and Allison 3000 should be fine if there is normal maintenance.

At ten years, you may have flat screen upgrades, residential refer or Amish CU if Norcold 1200LRIM, water pump, water heater, slide toppers, solar panels, roof seal, tires and batteries. I did all of this plus a Travler HD dish for DirecTV the past two years.

If you buy a well-maintained coach, you should have reasonable maintenance after the first year.

Good luck. This is a good plan -- the 2005 coaches with ISL 400 would be my first choice.

I still own 1972 Prevost conversion even with family "shrinking" we moved to cabover camper.
Did not drive "the bus" for 3 years, but when the potential buyer wanted to take it for test drive, some tire pumping and new batteries were all I needed.
The only problem was some cleaning of electrical connectors here and there.
Old Detroit after sitting for 3 years took 2 seconds to fire up.
I think it is not the age that matter in this choice, but quality of coach you are considering.
I am asking 20 grands for fully usable Prevost ;)

I have a Fleetwood Expedition. Its a 2001 Model. DP with Cummin's engine and Allison Tranny.
We have fulltimed in that same MH for over 11 years and have to say, for about the first 10 years it was really maintenance free except for PM. Trouble free miles could be expected every time I pulled the jacks up.
For the last couple years, things are starting to show wear. Yeah, the diesel will last perhaps 300,000 miles. But all those extra pieces that are attached to the engine are wearing out. The fan fell off. Replacement for it and belts and hoses $2,930.00. Plus a wrecker tow for 7 miles. Thank goodness for Coachnet. The fuel pump failed, this time 90 miles on a lowboy, again, thanks Coachnet, but the simple replacement of a fuel pump? $560.00.
But...I wouldn't trade the ride and quietness of travel for anything else. I have no plans to trade, its still a very reliable MH.

I bought an 11 year old Beaver last year. 34k miles at the time. Looks new on outside, everything works. After first year (last April) I put about 1800 in it replacing all fluids in engine, tranny and generator. All filters replaced including hydraulic, oil and fuel, chassis lube, oil hubs, basically everything I could think of. Then the exhaust pipe, alternator and a metal cooling line.
From now on I'm hoping to spend a lot less.
Would I do it again, oh hell yeah! The beaver is a great coach, everything top of the line, tag axle, HydroHot heating. I could not afford a coach like this new. It handles well and rides well. Goof luck.

I bought a '99 Holiday Rambler Endeavor last august for $33k. Came with a TOAD(tow car) and complete towing setup for that price. The car is a 2006 honda CRV that is in great shape.

I love the ride, handling, air brakes and all the goodies that come with owning a DP. The engine is a 5.9 cummins 275HP and is enough power that I don't need more. It's silent in the front end when climbing even the steepest grade. The diesel generator is awesome and quiet, and will power everything onboard all at once.

I have had a few issues with the refrigerator(recall problem), a fuel line on the engine, and just recently having problems starting the engine. But I will sort that out shortly. My coach is 16 years old and i'd buy it again in a second. HR and monaco are solid coaches.

mtofell1 -

1. Make sure you get a well built model and not one with known design problems. Keep in mind Beaver, Monaco, and Newmar have big lines with lots and lots of models. The quality of design and component quality with differ significantly between models and size within those model range. Meaning some coach lengths will have good chassis length and enough CCCs and some will not. There is a huge difference between the bottom end of the Beaver or Monaco or Newmar line and the top.

2. Buy a coach that the owner has taken care of. If everything is working well and in good condition when you buy it you only have to fix the new things that go wrong.

3. I would suggest adding Country Coach to your list.

We've sold our 2004 Newmar Dutch Star with 60,000 miles. We bought it new with over 100 custom changes. We kept meticulous records of maintenance and minor repair. It ran perfectly. Even if you have to put some money into routine repairs or updates, you'll still be way ahead. A diesel will still have a lot of miles on it. Look for a side radiator. Good luck!

Crespro wrote:
The engine and Allison 3000 should be fine if there is normal maintenance.

At ten years, you may have flat screen upgrades, residential refer or Amish CU if Norcold 1200LRIM, water pump, water heater, slide toppers, solar panels, roof seal, tires and batteries. I did all of this plus a Travler HD dish for DirecTV the past two years.

If you buy a well-maintained coach, you should have reasonable maintenance after the first year.

Good luck. This is a good plan -- the 2005 coaches with ISL 400 would be my first choice.

Crespro lists what could go wrong or need to be upgraded.

We bought our 2005 Fleetwood Excursion 39S at seven years old and it's now ten years old with nothing wrong with it. We did about $2,000 of maintenance on it to include changing all oils to include leveler oil, antifreezes and filters in both the main engine and generator. New house and starting batteries. Changed the TVs, and some general maintenance.

The only thing we've had break is the alternator. So other than the original maintenance it's been rather cost free except for oil changes. I expect it to stay that way. We use it 5 - 6 months a year. The tires were almost new when we got it, so they have a few years left. About the only thing I haven't done to it is have the air dryer filter changed.

Part of the secret to lower operating cost is being able to do a fair amount of maintenance yourself and then finding a good RV shop to get to every couple of years for things you don't want to do.

The Cat C7 is a good engine also.

Bill

What was recommended to me on this site is prior to purchase take the RV to a good RV mechanic who has a pit and have them go over the RV from top to underneath and they will give you a list of what if any needs to be replaced or repaired. This will give you a good handle on what's what very quickly. The mechanic I brought it to let me go under the RV while it was in the pit. They will even check the roof.

I purchased mine almost one year ago. It's 18 years old and didn't come with one service record nor did I have anyone inspect it. After I drove it from florida to home in connecticuit without any problems I spent about $500.00 on filters,antifreeze,oil and changed the the tranny fluid over to transynd. Still trouble free.