160K miles in F450 for Class C

[mightykandy]

Hi,

I am in the process of buying a Class C 28" RV built on F450. Currently it has about 160K miles on it. The current owner has extended service warranty and there was no claims for engine issue and i also did pre-purchase inspection with the local RV dealer and service, it came out good.

Even though the condition of the engine is good now, i am concerned that 160K miles maybe too much to drive around with the family?

I am a novice in this area. Earlier i had camping trailer but first time with Class C.

Any feedback on this forum would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Kandy

[mightykandy]

@cgmartine - then how did you end up managing the situation?

I am not only worried about my kids and wife but also the two big german shepherds who will be with us 🙂

[cgmartine]

Not to hijack this thread, but a couple of years ago, my class C broke down on the freeway and AAA would not send out a truck. Never got an explanation. I just cancelled my motorhome coverage.

[IAMICHABOD]

Congratulations on your purchase of a Former Rental you have become Officially #98 on the list of owners.

I have AAA with the RV add on for many years and have been pleased with their service, no out of pocket expense and the will tow me where I want to go unlike the GS service or send out the proper services to help me out, which they have done in the past.

[mightykandy]

Thank you everyone for the great feedback on this time. I went ahead and bought this RV after pre-purchase inspection check and extended warranty transfer (available one more year). The interior anyways has been artfully redesigned by the current owner. I am planning to local camping trips this year and test it out.

I have taken roadside assistance as part of my RV insurance but i found out that it will reimburses for the expenses and not like AAA which will come and help out. Is this good enough?

[Majestic31]

used class c bought last summer 2011 28a Majestic.
Since I bought this RV, Replaced ALL the tires, Wheel alignment, Back up camera,Vent covers,Bilstein HD shocks front and rear, Radiator overflow tank,
heavy duty SUMO SPRINGS bump stops front and rear made the ride 100%better no more steer corrections every few seconds,nor more swaying on corners no more rocking when trucks go by, TV bracket and new TV, Water filter system

[jimx200]

Too many miles on it. My dad owned a truck dealership for 25 years (mid 80-2005) and we would get in well serviced trucks (mostly 3/4 ton and hd delivery vans) and usually around the 200,000 mile mark and they all needed major work. A rental with that many miles is way too many. With shop labor rates North of $100 a hour and expensive parts, you will rue the day you bought it. A rebuilt trans is $4,000 and a a/c compressor and drier is $1000 rebuilt, more for new. In short, it's a money pit

[path1]

mightykandy wrote:

Kandy.....i am concerned that 160K miles maybe too much to drive around with the family?

Well then buy something your family would do better in.

To this day a family story of ours is broken down at a transmission slash junk yard for most of our vacation. Did make friends with 2 junk yard dogs with about 10 pounds of grease on them. That's was on old 87 pick up.

Your zip code...we bought from same place in 08 or 09 if buying from Cruise America in Everett. No problems for us and we also have a large trailer for snowbirding since retiring. Their prices for what you get is great IMO. You can go through the "rental thread" linked above and make your choice. Lots of hints in that thread. We use ours all over PNW. But it did take awhile for me to change all the strap on stuff and fluids. As a hint...If you buy a locking gas cap keep your old one. Mine won't pass smog with locking cap. Don't know why. We couldn't get them to come down in price any but did get them to install awning and a/c and new battery for no additional cost. Nothing major has broken on ours. Just got off the winter mold and junk this weekend getting ready go places before summer rush is upon us. I would do any other inspection, real close just to make sure. Pull out drawers and make sure runners are all OK. We made 3 trips to get one that passed our inspection. We got a model 23P that was being forced out of rental pool to make room for their new little guy. There is a lot to do after you buy to be what I call road ready. Jack, spare, and getting it outfitted. You'll probably want a better mattress (unless you've spent time sleeping on wash boards):) Forget about the front end. Just call it time for a new. Then finding a alignment shop you can fit in there overhead door is another story, at least for me it was. And M/H's not known as being good on front ends anyway. Majestic's...Just about everything in them is off the shelf, so easy to get parts. Unlike some RV's that parts are hard to find. They encouraged Boeing credit union for time reasons, whole thing was done in 2 business days. Filled out app one day and sales guy called next day saying, ready to pick up. CA didn't want cash or cashiers check. We paid off the loan 3 months later and boeing never released what is called "release of legal owners interest" Took 4 months for boeing to find the paperwork to get them off paper work as legal owner. Not CA fault that Boeing was messed up. We would buy again. Bear in mind posts dealing with rentals, people comment that never owned a rental. Once you read through the rental thread, you probably will have a better understanding of them. If you can't do some of the work yourself they could cost you $$$. But they are not that hard and lots of youtube vids and help on here when you get stuck.

[theoldwizard1]

First, from my Googling, that motorhome is built on an E450 chassis not and F450 chassis. Big difference !

Take it to a shop that specializes in front end alignments and have them check the complete front suspension. At a minimum, expect to need 4 shock absorbes, but you might need a lot more !

Also, you need a reputable shop to check the front and rear brakes. You may or may not need them.

Unless you have maintenance records, you probably DO want to do the two following items.

Get the transmission fluid changed. You might want to take it to a dealer, because I highly recommend replacing the fuild with genuine Motorcraft ATF.

Swap the spark plugs.

Other than that, make sure the engine has oil (probably should check it every fuel stop until you establish if is using oil) and change it based on the Ford Severe Duty Maintenance Schedule.

Happy motoring.

[nodepositnoretu]

klutchdust wrote:

midnightsadie wrote:
just my .02 cents thats a lot of miles even well taken care of, things only have a life span of so long ,there going to start showing up.but who knows?just me I would not buy anything with that amount of miles on it.

I would and do and here's why. Not debating your choice, not at all, I enjoy all sides of a story:

Recently I drove my friends Kenworth T-2000 big rig truck to the maintenance shop for an oil change, it was then going to head out to Florida for a race , it hauls a 45 foot trailer and they gross around 75K pounds give or take. The truck leaves and with two drivers does not rest until it reaches Florida a few days later, It has 720K miles on it.It runs great.

I don't understand the concern that something will go wrong after a specific point in time. My dad ran Ford Mercury's as a kid and they made 100K and then to the bone yard they went.That was then, cars didn't last as long despite being as heavy as a Sherman tank. Step-son ran his toyota well over 300k without having second gear for 50K miles, he revved it a little longer then shifted. I had a K-5 Blazer, 1990 with 275K miles and never had the valve covers off. I did put a glass of water on the air cleaner while it was idling.

I say this because some folks read about the the perceived longevity of vehicles and that at a certain mileage HAVE TO have this and that, no they don't. They HAVE TO have oil and filter every 5 K miles. They don't need a new transmission at XXX miles. My friend ran his transmission shop for 35 years, he said "change the fluid when it's not red" And the filter.

Enjoy your rig, invest in AAA with 100 mile tow limit or so and enjoy yourself.

Truer words could not be said, thanks on the flip side you’ve had very good luck and likely don’t beat the snot out of your vehicles. Now metal being metal and motors being man made anything is subject to failure at any given time. I know I’m not making sense but wide body planes fly over the ocean with two engines............it’s called probability and statistics.......

[Lwiddis]

How many miles are you expecting to add to the 160k now on the unit? How long do expect even a well maintained drivetrain to last?

[klutchdust]

midnightsadie wrote:
just my .02 cents thats a lot of miles even well taken care of, things only have a life span of so long ,there going to start showing up.but who knows?just me I would not buy anything with that amount of miles on it.

I would and do and here's why. Not debating your choice, not at all, I enjoy all sides of a story:

Recently I drove my friends Kenworth T-2000 big rig truck to the maintenance shop for an oil change, it was then going to head out to Florida for a race , it hauls a 45 foot trailer and they gross around 75K pounds give or take. The truck leaves and with two drivers does not rest until it reaches Florida a few days later, It has 720K miles on it.It runs great.

I don't understand the concern that something will go wrong after a specific point in time. My dad ran Ford Mercury's as a kid and they made 100K and then to the bone yard they went.That was then, cars didn't last as long despite being as heavy as a Sherman tank. Step-son ran his toyota well over 300k without having second gear for 50K miles, he revved it a little longer then shifted. I had a K-5 Blazer, 1990 with 275K miles and never had the valve covers off. I did put a glass of water on the air cleaner while it was idling.

I say this because some folks read about the the perceived longevity of vehicles and that at a certain mileage HAVE TO have this and that, no they don't. They HAVE TO have oil and filter every 5 K miles. They don't need a new transmission at XXX miles. My friend ran his transmission shop for 35 years, he said "change the fluid when it's not red" And the filter.

Enjoy your rig, invest in AAA with 100 mile tow limit or so and enjoy yourself.

[klutchdust]

I have friends who use the Ford V-10 in pick-up trucks. The first one has over 300K miles on it, a few ignition coils and a water pump and it runs great. Second crew cab dually driven by his crew had almost 500K, just missed it by about 150 miles and the engine had a cylinder failure.
Big strong engines, power to spare, change your oil, it's about half way there. Now when you think about it, how many miles do you think you would put on your rig in a year. Everyday drivers average 12K.
If the price is right and you have maintenance records on all items with the rig then go get it and get those kids in there and start smiling.

[midnightsadie]

just my .02 cents thats a lot of miles even well taken care of, things only have a life span of so long ,there going to start showing up.but who knows?just me I would not buy anything with that amount of miles on it.

[IAMICHABOD]

Well it is a Former Rental,I would have no qualms about it at all. They are maintained well and refurbished to be user ready and safe.


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