Miles

Miles don't matter as long as maintenance has been good. I'd rather have a high mileage, well cared for coach over a low mileage unit that was neglected.

If the chassis has been well cared for, it will outlast the house, regardless of mileage.

Hi,

I believe age is a more important factor. It got so I could not buy chassis parts for my 1987 class C diesel.

When I bought my (former) Cruise America rental it had 109,000 on the odometer. I've been fulltiming in it ever since. Since it was a fleet vehicle I did not worry about the high mileage. What did give me pause is the fact that no service history was provided to me. I solve that by establishing a new service baseline. I had every single fluid and filter replaced - including on the generator. Since then I have had the spark plugs and spark plug boots replaced, and the upper and lower ball joints replaced.

To assist with flat towing I had a rear trac bar installed, upgraded the front sway bar, and replaced the OE steering damper with a Safe-T-Plus steering stabilizer.

I agree with all of the above; the house is much more trouble than the chassis, so age rather than miles is a better predictor of problems for the buyer. I would rather have a 3 year old unit with 100K miles than a 10 year old unit with 30K miles.

Any Class C model year that doesn't start with a 2 is a big caution in my eyes. And that's being generous.

Both Mocoondo, and Ichambod are big fans of ex-rentals. Icamabod has not chimed in yet, but I am sure he will.

Both are good guys, and make valid points. The average RV use is, I believe 5 to 6 k a year. And most folks don't own them more than 10 years or so.

So if you start with one at 100k, 10 years later you are at 160k. (V-10 still going strong at that point, one would think)

They often state the house part will fall apart long before the drive train. I agree, but the other part of that is the higher the milage, one would guess the more use on the house internal systems, heater, fridge etc. So one would think they would be prone to fail earlier, than a low use unit.

I think I am an unusual buyer, in that I plan to keep stuff for 20 to 25 years.
So in my case I want to start with a 3 to 5 year old rig with no more that 30K.

So say 20 years @ 6K per year equals 120K, plus the orignal 30 150K.

I bought with 5k 4 years old 9 years ago. Now at 55K, no house faliures, no drive train issues.

In my mind the biggest factor is how long do you want to keep it? If many many years in my opinion go 3 to 5 years old with low miliage.

But if you are sort of looking for a "starter MH" I think an ex-rental could be a valid choice.

Seeing as to how I own an older Class C I would offer this advice.
Check the oil. If it is pitch black walk away.
Check the transmission fluid. If it is brown, not pink, walk away.
Look under the engine. If it is covered with leaking fluids, walk away.
Take it for a drive:
Get it up to 50 MPH and downshift. If it doesn't slow down or sounds weird, walk away.
Take it up to 50 miles an hour and apply the brakes sufficiently enough to stop within 100 yards. If it shudders like the RV is falling apart, walk away.
Look at the coach. The condition of the coach will give you an idea of how much attention the previous owners gave the drive train.
I purchased my Class C two years ago with only 37K miles. Have not had any problems with the transmission or engine and it smog's to California standards so I would not necessarily eliminate a vehicle with low mileage. If the vehicle has 100K+ I would definitely have a compression test done on the engine.

I always think mileage dictates hours of usage. There is a "cost" for something
being used.

Brian

Near here there was a nice Triple E that was driven about 20 miles from where it was bought used, parked in a permanent spot on a local farm, and lived in for several years. The owner tried to sell it where it was for about a year, then finally moved it away somewhere and I guess it was sold. A true low mileage special no doubt!

hmmm. this raises a very interesting scenario.
10 years old garage queen with less than 10k miles, clean as a dime or
under 3 years old, modestly maintained ex-fleet with over 120k miles?

ofcourse for the sake of discussion, they would have to be nearly the same price.

rmasonschneider wrote:
hmmm. this raises a very interesting scenario.
10 years old garage queen with less than 10k miles, clean as a dime or
under 3 years old, modestly maintained ex-fleet with over 120k miles?

ofcourse for the sake of discussion, they would have to be nearly the same price.

The extremes leave a very easy answer: "None of the above".