Thanks! Just wanted to post an update on what we ended up doing. We took delivery of our new Motorhome a Cruise America Majestic 25a. It's a little different than the 23a in that the inside has a wrap around couch/table, the vanity is in the bathroom, the fridge is next to the range and it seems to have a bit more storage. Its been a whirl wind since we picked it up and there were a few gotchas that we ran into. Nothing major but things that needed attention none the less. (Full disclosure we did not have an full inspection done but relied out our own research to guide us on our decision.) Overall we are very happy with our purchase and our first trip was a little over 4400 miles from Central California to Norther Alabama in the span of 3 weeks with no major issues. I've included a TLDR version of what we ran into but if you like the full story read on below.
TLDR version.
Make sure to test drive at freeway speed if possible.
Driveline needed attention.
Some of the Wheels Tires were not balanced.
Gas cap made check engine light turn on.
Transmission was overfilled
Small leak in the loft vent.
Everything else was worked great!
Duct tape is your friend
All of these things happened either before we left or on the way to Alabama and we had Zero issues on the 2200 miles home.
Ok here's the full story. On the day of pickup we did a final walk through and made a note of things that we would like fixed which they agreed to do. One of the unfortunate things was that someone had backed into the passenger fender and put a small dent. We pointed this out in the photos we took when we first went to look at the RV and they agreed to fix the damage as we had already placed a deposit. All other issues were minor and were also agreed to be fixed. The RV came with new tires, a new coach battery, new brakes, a full propane tank and a full tank of gas. All in all in great condition considering its usage.
After we signed the paperwork and headed out a few things popped up during the drive home on the freeway. It was the first time I had driven it freeway speed so I wasn't sure what to expect noise wise, though it became evident to me something was off when a vibration was present at certain speeds. I had a safety inspection scheduled with a shop near my house so I made a note of it for the mechanic. Also on my ride home the check engine light came on which was a little surprising as it was had not been on before.
The safety inspection yielded nothing major, the driveline had some runout in it which was causing some of the vibration that I felt and one of the u-joints needed to be replaced, and the inner wheels/tires at the rear had not been balanced at all. Once those things were addressed it ran very smooth down the road. The gas cap ended up being the cause of the check engine light so that was an easy fix. All in all with the inspection, driveline work and a gas cap it cost about $600. Unfortunate but glad I caught it before we hit the road.
Everything in the RV functioned as it should and was going great until Arizona. We were climbing some of the steeper grades on HWY 40 and crested the hill when I looked back to see a giant cloud of smoke coming from our motorhome. I felt like I was James Bond and I had turned on our smoke screen to escape the bad guy. We quickly pulled over and found quite a bit of transmission dripping on the ground. After pulling the dog house from the cab I was able to see that some transmission fluid had been pumped through the vent at the top of the transmission and had sprayed all over the underside including the exhaust pipe. I made a few calls and was told that it is common for this transmission to push fluid through the vent if overfilled and would it would most likely not happen again. Which ended up being the case. We cleaned up everything as best we could and continued on checking the vent / top of the transmission at each stop to see if more fluid had escaped (none did). We never encountered this issue for the remainder of our trip and the trans fluid has remained at the correct level ever since.
The other issue we ran into was in Oklahoma, we got caught in the crazy weather they were having a few weeks back and the vent door for our range got blown off. I noticed it flapping while we were driving down the road and had been taping it down but forgot and we got caught in some strong winds. Luckily I was told to take duct tape an I was able to patch it up to keep any rain from getting in. Not sure why the door wouldn't stay closed, but its now on the freeway somewhere in Oklahoma.
The only other problem I had was we discovered a small leak in the loft vent when we were faced with some torrential rain. The folks at Cruise America were more than happy to cover the cost of the repair and told me to pick any shop nearby, however we were unable to find a shop that had an opening before we were going to head back on the road. I was able to get on the roof when we arrived at our final stop in Alabama and remedy the leak with a little caulking and some elbow grease.
All of these things happened on the way to Alabama and we had Zero issues on the 2200 miles home. Heck on a few legs of our journey I was able to get 12mpg. I was actually shocked at how well the motorhome ran. I do have some shocks planned as a upgrade in the near future and the wife and I are dreaming up some creative ideas to make things even more functional. We will also be upgrading the mattress as it was just too firm for my achy bones.
All and all we had a great trip, even my wife who swore she would never like being in an RV loves our motorhome and is already planning more trips. A lot of lessons learned and and glad we went the route we did and bought used. I've heard of people buying new motorhomes/trailers and having worse problems than we did. I will say that its a must to at a minimum to get a safety inspection at a shop to ensure that the mechanical aspects of the RV are sound before heading on the road. It gave us peace of mind and ensured our successful trip.
Sorry for the wall of text but I figured I'd share our story so that it may help anyone else who is looking to buy. While we did have some issues it was nothing major and I wouldn't let it scare you from looking at one of these motorhomes. Thanks to everyone in this thread for all of your information. It really helped us in our ultimate decision to go forward with our purchase.
So I raise my cup to you fine folk for this wealth of information and support. Cheers!
IAMICHABOD wrote:
Racerboy75 Welcome to the Forum and a future member of the Former Rental Owners Club!
I hope all goes well with your inspection and maybe ownership of a Former Rental.
I know that there is a lot to sift thru here but as you can see there are some very helpful members here,if there is anything that you have questions about just ask or send me a PM,I have a lot of stuff archived so I can go back and see if there is anything I can help with.
Please come on back and tell us how everything turned out. The Twilight Zone,I like that.
Again Welcome and good luck with everything!
